Trimac Announces its Third Quarter Results

CALGARY, Oct. 29, 2014 /CNW/ - Trimac Transportation Ltd. (TSX: TMA) ("Trimac" or the "Company"), Canada's leader in bulk trucking, announces the release of its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 ("current quarter" and "current year").

Highlights for the third quarter:

• Revenue before fuel surcharges increased 3.9 percent, with all segments experiencing improvements.  These increases were from higher volumes with existing customers, new business awards and revenue earned in new shop and transload locations.  A business loss in resource commodities hauling partially reduced these revenue improvements.
• EBITDA decreased 3.3 percent which was mainly attributable to operating inefficiencies in the National Tank Services' segment and in resource commodities hauling due to lower than expected customer demand.  
• Earnings before income tax expense increased 4.6 percent, primarily due to lower depreciation expense and lower finance and other costs
• Earnings per share decreased $0.03 to $0.18 per share in the current quarter, while adjusted earnings per share decreased $0.01 to $0.19 per share. Revaluation adjustments for the non-controlling interest liability and forward contract resulted in higher earnings per share in the third quarter of 2013.

Selected Financial Highlights

					Three months ended Sept 30			Nine months ended Sept 30
(in millions of dollars, except per share data)					2014	2013	Variance	2014	2013	Variance
Financial Results
	Revenue:
	Bulk Trucking revenue before fuel surcharges				91.2	89.2	2.2%	263.1	255.4	3.0%
	National Tank Services third party revenue				4.6	3.6	27.8%	13.3	10.6	25.5%
	Bulk Plus Logistics				5.9	5.1	15.7%	16.1	15.4	4.5%
					101.7	97.9	3.9%	292.5	281.4	3.9%
	EBITDA
	Bulk Trucking				12.3	12.6	-2.4%	31.1	29.7	4.7%
	National Tank Services				1.0	1.4	-28.6%	2.8	3.3	-15.2%
	Bulk Plus Logistics				1.2	1.0	20.0%	2.9	3.1	-6.5%
					14.5	15.0	-3.3%	36.8	36.1	1.9%
	Earnings before income tax expense:
	Bulk Trucking				5.3	4.8	10.4%	10.8	8.3	30.1%
	National Tank Services				0.4	0.9	-55.6%	1.2	1.9	-36.8%
	Bulk Plus Logistics				1.1	0.8	37.5%	2.5	2.6	-3.8%
					6.8	6.5	4.6%	14.5	12.8	13.3%
	Share Information:
	Cash dividends declared per share				0.07	0.07		0.21	0.21
	Earnings per share (basic)				0.18	0.21		0.40	0.39
	Earnings per share adjusted				0.19	0.20		0.41	0.38
	Other Information:
	Net property, plant and equipment additions				4.0	7.5		18.3	27.3

Outlook
Trimac will continue to drive towards operational excellence in all its operating segments by focusing on reducing operating expenses, improving asset utilization and increasing both market share and profitability to add value for our shareholders and customers.  Management expects to close the year with a lower operating cost base resulting from our relentless pursuit of operational excellence. 

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend
The Board of Directors today declared a dividend of $0.07 per share on the Class A shares, payable on January 15, 2015 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2014.  This dividend is designated as an eligible dividend pursuant to subsection 89(14) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and any provincial legislation pertaining to eligible dividends.    

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements".  Trimac cautions that, by their nature, these forward-looking statements are based on suppositions, risks, and uncertainties as well as on management's best possible evaluation of future events. Trimac cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the actual results or performance of Trimac or the transportation industry may be materially different from the outlook or any future results or performance implied by such statements.  Please see "Forward-Looking Statements" in Trimac's MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 for a discussion of the material factors that could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking information contained herein and the material factors and assumptions that were applied in preparing such forward-looking information.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
EBITDA and adjusted earnings per share are financial measures not prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.  Management considers these non-GAAP measures useful in evaluating the performance of Trimac's operations.  These measures should be considered in addition to, not a substitute for, the financial performance measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Profile
Trimac is Canada's largest provider of bulk trucking services with operations from coast to coast.  In addition, through its National Tank Services division, Trimac performs repairs, maintenance, trailer fabrication and tank-trailer cleaning services for both the Trimac fleet and for third party commercial customers. Trimac also provides third party transportation logistics services in Canada and the United States through its wholly owned subsidiary Bulk Plus Logistics.  Shares of Trimac Transportation Ltd. are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TMA.

For more detailed information, please visit our website at www.trimac.com or SEDAR at www.sedar.com and review our MD&A and the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the Company. 

You are invited to join us on a conference call (conference ID number 1611939) at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, November 3^rd, 2014. For North American participants, please dial 1-800-524-8950 or for international participants, please dial ++1-416-260-0113 at least 10 minutes prior to the start time of the call. An audio playback of the call will be available starting Tuesday, November 4^th, 2014 on our website at http://www.trimac.com/page/eventscalendar.

SOURCE: Trimac Transportation Ltd.

Edward V. Malysa, President & Chief Operating Officer, Trimac Transportation Ltd., Telephone: [phone], Facsimile: 403-298-5146; Scott D. Calver, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Trimac Transportation Ltd., Telephone: [phone], Facsimile: 403-298-5146