High Liner Foods

- Q3 highlighted by strong increases in earnings per share, EBITDA, and net income -

LUNENBURG, NS, Nov. 10 /CNW/ - High Liner Foods Incorporated (TSX: HLF; HLF.A), a leading North American value-added frozen seafood company, today reported financial results for the thirteen week period ended October 2, 2010.  All amounts are reported in Canadian dollars. 

Financial and operational highlights for the quarter include (all percentage changes are relative to the third quarter of 2009):

• Adjusted EBITDA increased 19.4 % to $12.4 million;
• Net income increased 20.5% to $6.2 million, or $0.41 per share, compared to $5.1 million, or $0.28 per share;
• Sales for the quarter were $144.3 million, an increase of 0.4% due to the stronger Canadian dollar;
• Sales in pounds increased 3.6% to 43.1 million compared to 41.6 million during the third quarter of 2009.

"High Liner's third quarter performance was strong and built on the momentum generated during the first and second quarters," said Henry Demone, president and CEO, High Liner Foods Incorporated. "The apparent improvement in consumer confidence in the U.S. and our ability to manage costs and leverage our deep-rooted relationships with North America's leading retail and foodservice customers all contributed to strong sales, EBITDA, net income and EPS during the period."     

Financial Results

Approximately half of the Company's operations and assets, and more than 50% of its liabilities, are denominated in U.S. dollars.  As such, foreign currency fluctuations affect the reported values of individual lines on the Company's balance sheet and income statement. When the Canadian dollar strengthens, the reported values decrease and the opposite occurs when the Canadians dollar weakens.

(Amounts in thousands of Canadian $ except per share amounts, unless otherwise noted)
	Thirteen weeks ended Oct 2, 2010	Thirteen weeks ended Oct 3, 2009	Thirty-nine weeks ended Oct 2, 2010	Thirty-nine weeks ended, Oct 3, 2009
Sales in domestic currency	$141,579	$137,657	$435,941	$439,891
Foreign exchange on sales	$2,673	$6,052	$8,085	$38,468
Sales in Canadian dollars	$144,252	$143,709	$444,026	$478,359
Adjusted EBITDA	$12,364	$10,359	$35,889	$32,534
Net income	$6,181	$5,129	$17,806	$15,949
Adjusted net income (1)	$6,222	$5,129	$17,737	$16,515
Earnings per common share	$0.41	$0.28	$1.08	$0.87

Sales for the quarter increased to $144.3 million from $143.7 million compared to the same quarter last year, with the strong Canadian dollar decreasing the value of reported sales by approximately $3.4 million, or 2.4%. Sales in domestic currency were $141.6 million compared with $137.7 million during the same period in 2009. Sales in pounds rose 3.6% to 43.1 million pounds compared to the previous year. The increase in sales during the quarter was primarily attributable to a rise in sales volumes.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter increased to $12.4 million from $10.4 million for the third quarter of 2009. In domestic currency, Adjusted EBITDA increased to $12.2 million compared with $10.0 million in the third quarter of 2009. The increases were due to higher sales volumes combined with lower input costs.

Net income for the quarter increased to $6.2 million, or $0.41 per share, from $5.1 million, or $0.28 per share during the third quarter of 2009.  Earnings per share rose as a result of the retraction of non-voting equity shares in second quarter of 2010 and improved net income.

Dividends

Today, the Board of Directors of the Company resolved to pay a quarterly dividend in the amount of $0.085 per Common and Non-Voting Equity Share payable on December 15, 2010 to shareholders of record on December 1, 2010. 

Outlook

"High Liner is positioned for growth based on the strength of our balance sheet, higher sales volumes and controlled inventory levels," added Mr. Demone.  "The outlook for many of the key species on which High Liner depends is the most positive we have seen in 20 years.  In spite of this increased supply, we are seeing cost increases from the lows experienced in 2009.  This increase is driven by an improving economy in traditional markets as well as new demand from emerging markets. Longer-term, we are preparing for higher seafood and other input costs. To offset these cost increases - which may result in reduced sales volumes as they are absorbed by both the Company and our customers - we are exploring ways of streamlining efficiencies throughout the Company. Additionally, we remain focused on executing our strategic goals of continued profitability and investing in the sustainability of our industry."

Please visit the Investor Information section of the High Liner Foods website at http://www.highlinerfoods.com to view the Company's Third Quarter Balance Sheets and Statements of Income, Statements of Comprehensive Income, Statements of Retained Earnings and Statements of Cash Flows.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call on Thursday November 11 at 2:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. AT) to discuss its third quarter financial results.  To access the conference call by telephone, dial 647-427-7450 or 1-888-231-8191.  Please connect approximately ten minutes prior to the beginning of the call to ensure participation.  The conference call will be archived for replay by telephone until Thursday, November 18, 2010 at midnight.  To access the archived conference call, dial 1-800-642-1687 and enter the reservation number 18628132.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at www.highlinerfoods.com.  Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast.  The webcast will be archived at the above website for one year.

About High Liner Foods Incorporated

High Liner Foods Incorporated is a leading North American processor and marketer of prepared, value-added frozen seafood.  High Liner's branded products are sold throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico under the High Liner^®, Fisher Boy^®, Mirabel^® and Sea Cuisine™ labels, and are available in most grocery and club stores.  The Company also sells its High Liner^®, FPI^® and Mirabel^® food service products to restaurants and institutions, and is a major supplier of private label seafood products to North American food retailers and food service distributors.  High Liner Foods is a publicly traded Canadian company, trading under the symbols HLF and HLF.A on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

This document contains forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of the conditional tense, the words "may", "should", "would", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "estimate", "foresee", "objective" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or variations of them or words and expressions of similar nature., Specific forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to expectations with respect to seafood and other costs, a strong Canadian dollar, planned volume growth, anticipated financial performance market forces and the state of the economy.  These statements are based on a number of factors and assumptions including, but not limited to: availability, demand and prices of raw materials, energy and supplies; the condition of the Canadian and United States economies; product pricing; foreign exchange rates, especially the rate of exchange of the Canadian dollar to the U.S. dollar; our ability to attract and retain customers; our operating costs; interest rates; and continued access to capital.  The statements are not a guarantee of future performance.  By their nature, forward-looking statements involve uncertainties and risks that the forecasts and targets will not be achieved.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as actual results may differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements.  We include in publicly available documents filed from time to time with securities commissions and The Toronto Stock Exchange, a discussion of the risk factors that can cause anticipated outcomes to differ from actual outcomes.  Except as required under applicable securities legislation, we do not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise..

For further information about the Company, please visit our website at www.highlinerfoods.com or send an e-mail to investor@highlinerfoodinc.com. 

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