Taiga Building Products Ltd. Announces Fiscal Year 2009 and Fourth Quarter Financial Results
Fri May 22, 6:59 PMBURNABY, BC, May 22 /CNW/ - Taiga Building Products Ltd. ("Taiga" or the "Company") today reported fourth quarter and March 31, 2009 fiscal year earnings.
Fiscal Year 2009 Earnings Results
For the fiscal period ending March 31, 2009, sales were $1,005.9 million, down 5.5% from $1,064.9 million last year. Sales were lower primarily due to reduced new home construction levels in the last three months of the year. Gross margin for the fiscal year was $100.6 million or 10.0% of sales compared to $111.4 million or 10.5% of sales in 2008. This translates to a 9.7% reduction in gross margin dollars for the year.
Net earnings for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009 were $0.2 million compared to $2.2 million in 2008. EBITDA for the fiscal period decreased to $27.7 million compared to $42.8 million in 2008.
Fourth Quarter Ended March 31, 2009 Earnings Results
Sales for the three months ended March 31, 2009 were $178.8 million, down 15.3% from $211.2 million reported for the same quarter last year. This is primarily due to the reduced demand, as new housing activity slowed dramatically in the period. Gross margin for the fourth quarter was $17.6 million or 9.8% of sales compared to $28.1 million or 13.3% of sales in the comparative quarter of 2008. The 37.4% reduction in gross margin dollars reflects weaker sales revenue, falling prices and a more competitive environment. Net loss for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009 was $4.5 million compared to Net loss of $3.6 million in the comparative quarter of 2008. EBITDA was negative $1.8 million compared to positive $12.0 million for the comparative quarter of 2008.
Liquidity Management
As announced in Taiga's March 23, 2009 Press Release, the Company continues to undertake major cost reduction initiatives. On an annual basis, savings are expected to exceed $22.0 million.
On April 9, 2009, Taiga announced it is deferring monthly interest payments on its 14% Notes and expects this will continue for the foreseeable future. The interest payment deferral, along with cost management initiatives are providing appropriate levels of liquidity under current market conditions. As a result Taiga does not expect to breach any financial covenants associated with its credit facilities.
Per Taiga's dividend policy, the Company will not be paying further dividends on its common shares for Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2009.
Selected Consolidated Statement of Earnings
For the Fiscal Year Ended
(in thousands of dollars, except for per share amounts)
March 31,
2009 2008
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Sales $1,005,925 $1,064,858
Gross margin 100,557 111,445
Distribution 19,297 18,812
Selling and administration 57,853 51,660
Interest 6,316 7,990
Subordinated debt interest expense 15,782 15,782
Non-operating expense (income) (922) 2,456
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Earnings before income taxes 2,231 14,745
Provision for income taxes 2,039 12,515
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Net earnings 192 2,230
Net earnings per share(1) 0.01 0.07
EBITDA(2) 27,727 42,785
For the Three Months Ended
(in thousands of dollars, except for per share amounts)
March 31,
2009 2008
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Sales $ 178,751 $ 211,198
Gross margin 17,566 28,132
Distribution 5,120 5,803
Selling and administration 15,475 11,342
Interest 1,189 1,590
Subordinated debt interest expense 3,946 3,946
Non-operating expense (income) (1,117) 1,160
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Earnings (loss) before income taxes (7,047) 4,291
Provision for (recovery of) income taxes (2,553) 7,940
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Net loss (4,494) (3,649)
Net loss per share(1) (0.14) (0.11)
EBITDA(2) (1,849) 12,026
Notes:
(1) EPS is earnings per share calculated using the weighted average
number of shares.
(2) Reference is made above to EBITDA, which represents earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. As there is no
generally accepted method of calculating EBITDA, the measure as
calculated by Taiga might not be comparable to similarly titled
measures reported by other issuers. EBITDA is presented as management
believes it is a useful indicator of a company's ability to meet debt
service and capital expenditure requirements and because management
interprets trends in EBITDA as an indicator of relative operating
performance. EBITDA should not be considered by an investor as an
alternative to net income or cash flows as determined in accordance
with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.
The foregoing selected financial information is qualified in its entirety by and should be read in conjunction with, our audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009 and accompanying notes and management discussion and analysis filed on Sedar at www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains certain forward-looking information and statements relating, but not limited, to future events or performance and strategies and expectations of Taiga. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as "consider", "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "predict", "potential", "continue" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Examples of such forward looking statements within this press release include statements relating to: our anticipated results of operations, including cost reduction savings; our expectations regarding market conditions; the sufficiency of our cash requirements and our ability to remain in compliance with our debt covenants. Readers should be aware that these statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations or beliefs and are based on information currently available to Taiga and although Taiga believes it has a reasonable basis for making the forward-looking statements included in this document, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. By its nature, the forward-looking information of Taiga involves numerous assumptions and inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in business strategies; the effects of litigation, competition and pricing pressures; changes in operational costs; changes in laws and regulations, including tax, environmental, employment, competition, anti-terrorism and trade laws; and Taiga's anticipation of and success in managing the risks associated with the foregoing. A further description of these additional factors can be found in the periodic and other reports filed by Taiga with Canadian securities commissions and available on Sedar (http://www.sedar.com).These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Taiga does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to update or revise any forward looking information, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Contactsregarding Taiga please contact: Tom Stefan
Vice President
Finance and Administration
Phone: (604) 438-1471
Fax: (604) 439-4242 Mark Schneidereit
Manager
Corporate Planning
Phone: (604) 438-1471
Fax: (604) 439-4242
