High Liner Foods

- Reports Continued Sales and Adjusted EBITDA growth for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended 2022 -

LUNENBURG, NS, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - High Liner Foods Incorporated (TSX: HLF) ("High Liner Foods" or "the Company"), a leading North American value-added frozen seafood company, today announced financial results for the fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2022.

"We ended the year with another solid quarter of earnings, including higher sales, gross profit and Adjusted EBITDA, supporting our delivery of the fourth consecutive year of Adjusted EBITDA growth," said Rod Hepponstall, President and Chief Executive Officer of High Liner Foods. "This is a tremendous result that stands out in our corporate history and reflects the significant transformation of our business and the talent and hard work of our team."

"Our success during 2022 and in the fourth quarter was driven by strong operational performance, ongoing business improvements, efficiencies, investment in inventory and in key customer, supplier and distributor relationships. This strengthened our ability to deliver solutions for our customers and consumers based on quality, convenience and value and helped further our competitive positioning in the market."

Mr. Hepponstall, added, "In the year ahead, we will continue to execute against our branded and value-added strategy to innovate across our portfolio and inspire innovation in the category."

Key financial results, reported in U.S. dollars ("USD"), for the fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2022, or Fiscal 2022, are as follows (unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are relative to the fifty-two weeks ended January 1, 2022, or "Fiscal 2021"):

• Sales increased by $194.3 million, or 22.2%, to $1,069.7 million compared to $875.4 million and sales volume increased by 17.2 million pounds, or 7.4%, to 250.9 million pounds compared to 233.7 million pounds;
• Gross profit increased by $31.4 million, or 15.8%, to $229.9 million compared to $198.5 million, while gross profit as a percentage of sales decreased to 21.5% compared to 22.7%;
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ increased by $13.5 million, or 14.9%, to $103.9 million compared to $90.4 million, while Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Sales⁽¹⁾ decreased to 9.7% compared to 10.3%;
• Net income increased by $12.5 million, or 29.6%, to $54.7 million compared to $42.2 million and diluted earnings per share ("EPS") increased to $1.56 per share compared to $1.20 per share;
• Adjusted Net Income⁽¹⁾ increased by $6.9 million, or 15.4%, to $51.7 million compared to $44.8 million and Adjusted Diluted EPS⁽¹⁾ increased to $1.48 per share compared to $1.28 per share; and
• Net Debt⁽¹⁾ to Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ was 3.7x at December 31, 2022 compared to 3.0x at the end of Fiscal 2021 due to increased investment in inventory.

Key financial results, reported in USD, for the thirteen weeks ended December 31, 2022, or the fourth quarter of 2022, are as follows (unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are relative to the fourth quarter of 2021):

• Sales increased by $22.4 million, or 9.8%, to $250.3 million compared to $227.9 million and sales volume decreased by 0.3 million pounds, or 0.5%, to 58.4 million pounds compared to 58.7 million pounds;
• Gross profit increased by $6.2 million, or 12.8%, to $54.8 million compared to $48.6 million and gross profit as a percentage of sales increased to 21.9% compared to 21.3%;
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ increased by $4.8 million, or 23.3%, to $25.4 million compared to $20.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Sales increased to 10.1% compared to 9.0%;
• Net income increased by $3.9 million, or 54.2%, to $11.1 million compared to $7.2 million and diluted earnings per share ("EPS") increased to $0.32 per share, compared to $0.20 per share.
• Adjusted Net Income⁽¹⁾ increased by $3.2 million, or 35.2%, to $12.3 million compared to $9.1 million and Adjusted Diluted EPS⁽¹⁾ increased to $0.35 per share compared to $0.26 per share.

The Company continued to deliver strong operational performance in the fourth quarter. The success can be attributed to the strength of the Company's supply chain, investment in inventory and tailored offering to customer segments.

In our foodservice business the Company gained market share as our branded and value-added offering continues to provide operational efficiencies and menu innovation, two priorities for customers in the current market. In retail, High Liner Foods did experience slightly softer volume in retail during the fourth quarter, compared to the same period in the prior year, driven by the inflationary environment and the recessionary headwinds which led to price sensitivity across the entire grocery sector. However, the Company benefited from its value offering, in terms of price and packaging size, appealing to a slightly greater price sensitivity in the market.

While global supply chain pressures persist in the industry, High Liner Foods' scale and proactive inventory investment enabled the Company to improve customer service levels during the current quarter. "We are fortunate that our diversified supply chain was able to withstand the significant pressure of the past year and that our balance sheet enabled us to make the necessary investments in inventory to maximize our ability to satisfy demand for our products. As pressures alleviate, we are well positioned to serve our customers during the forthcoming seasonal peak in demand as we enter the Lenten period," said Mr. Hepponstall.

For the purpose of presenting the Consolidated Financial Statements in USD, CAD-denominated assets and liabilities in the Company's operations are converted using the exchange rate at the reporting date, and revenue and expenses are converted at the average exchange rate of the month in which the transaction occurs. As such, foreign currency fluctuations affect the reported values of individual lines on our balance sheet and income statement. When the USD strengthens (weakening CAD), the reported USD values of the Parent's CAD-denominated items decrease in the Consolidated Financial Statements, and the opposite occurs when the USD weakens (strengthening CAD).

Investors are reminded for purposes of calculating financial ratios, including dividend payout and share price-to-earnings ratios, to take into consideration that the Company's share price and dividend rate are reported in CAD and its earnings, EPS and financial statements are reported in USD.

The financial results in USD for the thirteen and fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2022 are summarized in the following table:

Sales volume for the thirteen weeks ended December 31, 2022, or the fourth quarter of 2022, decreased by 0.3 million pounds, or 0.5%, to 58.4 million pounds compared to 58.7 million pounds in the thirteen weeks ended January 1, 2022, or the fourth quarter of 2021. In our retail business, sales volume was lower primarily due to consumers becoming more price-conscious, resulting in softer demand for seafood products as consumers switch to lower cost meal solutions, including our value portfolio. In our foodservice business, sales volume was higher due to the reduced COVID-19 restrictions on the Company's foodservice customers in the fourth quarter of 2022 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, leading to increased demand, as well as increased new business in the current quarter compared to the same period in the prior year. The lower sales volume was also partially due to the continued impact of global supply chain challenges on raw material supply to North America, that impacted the Company's sales volumes by an estimated 1.8 million pounds in the fourth quarter. This supply shortage however is a significant improvement compared to the impact in the first three quarters of Fiscal 2022, as the Company invested in working capital to address the supply chain challenges.

Sales in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by $22.4 million, or 9.8%, to $250.3 million compared to $227.9 million in the same period in 2021, reflecting pricing actions related to inflationary increases in input costs partially offset by the decrease in sales volume discussed above, as well as a change in sales mix. The weaker Canadian dollar in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter of 2021 decreased value of reported USD sales from our CAD-denominated operations by approximately $4.7 million relative to the conversion impact last year.

Gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by $6.2 million to $54.8 million compared to $48.6 million in the same period in 2021 and gross profit as a percentage of sales increased by 60 basis points to 21.9% compared to 21.3%. The increase in gross profit reflects the inflationary-pricing actions discussed previously and some improvement in the operating efficiencies at our plants, which was partially offset by the decrease in sales volume discussed above and change in product mix. The weaker Canadian dollar decreased the value of reported USD gross profit from our CAD-denominated operations by approximately in $1.1 million relative to the conversion impact last year.

Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by $4.8 million to $25.4 million compared to $20.6 million in the same period in 2021 while Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales increased to 10.1% compared to 9.0%. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA is a result of the increase in gross profit and decrease in distribution expenses, partially offset by the increase in net SG&A expenses.

Reported net income in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by $3.9 million to net income of $11.1 million (diluted EPS of $0.32) compared to $7.2 million (diluted EPS of $0.20) in the same period in 2021. The increase in net income was due to the increase in Adjusted EBITDA, decrease in share-based compensation expense and a decrease in income tax expense. The increase in net income was partially offset by an increase in finance costs and an increase in business acquisition, integration and other (income) expense.

Reported net income in the fourth quarter of 2022 included certain non-routine expenses classified as "business acquisition, integration and other (income) expense." Excluding the impact of these non-routine items or other non-cash expenses, and share-based compensation, Adjusted Net Income in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by $3.2 million or 35.2% to $12.3 million compared to $9.1 million in 2021. Adjusted Diluted EPS increased $0.09 in the fourth quarter of 2022 to $0.35 as compared to $0.26 in the same period of the prior year.

Net cash flows (used in) provided by operating activities in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased by $47.8 million to an outflow of $55.8 million compared to an outflow of $8.0 million in the same period in 2021 due to unfavorable changes in non-cash working capital primarily due to the increased investment in inventory, higher finance costs and income taxes paid, which was partially offset by higher cash flows from operations.

Net Debt increased by $114.5 million to $385.5 million at the end of Fiscal 2022 as compared to $271.0 million at the end of Fiscal 2021, primarily reflecting higher bank loans on December 31, 2022 as compared to Fiscal 2021, partially offset by lower lease liabilities on December 31, 2022 as compared to Fiscal 2021.

Net Debt to Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA was 3.7x at December 31, 2022 compared to 3.0x at the end of Fiscal 2021, due to the increase in Net Debt as a result of increased investment in seasonal working capital and inflation in raw materials. In the absence of any major acquisitions or unplanned capital expenditures in 2023, we expect this ratio to be back to the Company's long-term target of 3.0x at the end of Fiscal 2023.

Mr. Hepponstall said, "I am confident in the resilience of our business through market cycles and believe we are poised to once again deliver year over year Sales and Adjusted EBITDA growth, which combined with strong improvements in working capital, will allow us to generate significant cash flow from operations and create value for all stakeholders."

"While there will inevitably be periods of short-term economic contraction that will impact consumer choices in restaurants or at the grocery store, we have proven the resiliency of our business and the competitive advantages offered by the diversification of our business, portfolio and supply chain. We will leverage these strengths to continue to drive topline growth in 2023 and position us to inspire more seafood consumption and expand the category over time."

To help mitigate the potential impact of inflationary and economic pressures on financial performance, High Liner Foods will draw on the diversification of its business, supply chain and deploy an increasingly data-driven approach to understanding the evolving needs and preferences of customers and consumers across North America. The Company will use customer insights to inform innovation and optimize choice and value within its portfolio at a variety of price points.

The Company has a strong balance sheet and is well equipped to invest in organic growth, explore opportunities for transformative growth through potential M&A activities to build shareholder value and continue to grow the dividend over time. It anticipates making capital expenditures of approximately $25.0 million for Fiscal 2023, to fund further modernization of the asset base, explore automation opportunities maintain and upgrade facilities and invest in marketing initiatives.

Today, the Company's Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of CAD$0.13 per share on the Company's common shares, payable on March 15, 2023 to holders of record on March 2, 2023. These dividends are considered "eligible dividends" for Canadian income tax purposes.

The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. ET (11:00 a.m. AT) during which Rod Hepponstall, President & Chief Executive Officer, Paul Jewer, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer and Anthony Rasetta, Chief Commercial Officer, will discuss the financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022. To access the conference call by telephone, dial 416-764-8659 or 1-888-664-6392. Please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call to ensure participation. The conference call will be archived for replay by telephone until Thursday, March 23, 2023 at midnight (ET). To access the archived conference call, dial 1-888-390-0541 and enter the replay entry code 854018#.

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 Company's Audited Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A as at and for the fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2022 were filed concurrently on SEDAR with this news release and are also available at www.highlinerfoods.com.

The Company reports its financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Included in this media release are the following non-IFRS financial measures: Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Net Sales, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted EPS, Net Debt and Net Debt to Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA.

The Company believes these non-IFRS financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors in measuring the financial performance and financial condition of the Company for the reasons outlined below. These measures do not have any standardized meaning as prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other publicly traded companies, nor should they be construed as an alternative to other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Sales

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization adjusted for items that are not considered representative of ongoing operational activities of the business. The related margin, Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Sales, is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales, where net sales is defined as "Sales" on the consolidated statements of income.

We use Adjusted EBITDA (and Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales) as a performance measure as it approximates cash generated from operations before capital expenditures and changes in working capital, and it excludes the impact of expenses and recoveries associated with certain non-routine items that are not considered representative of the ongoing operational activities, as discussed above, and share-based compensation expense related to the Company's share price. For the fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2022, Adjusted EBITDA also excludes the $10.0 million in insurance proceeds as described in the Recent Developments section on page 5 of the Company's MD&A. We believe investors and analysts also use Adjusted EBITDA (and Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales) to evaluate the performance of our business. The most directly comparable IFRS measure to Adjusted EBITDA is "Net income" on the consolidated statements of income. Adjusted EBITDA is also useful when comparing to other companies, as it eliminates the differences in earnings that are due to how a company is financed. Also, for the purpose of certain covenants on our credit facilities, "EBITDA" is based on Adjusted EBITDA, with further adjustments as defined in the Company's credit agreements.

The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA with measures that are found in our Consolidated Financial Statements, and calculates Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Sales.

 

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS

Adjusted Net Income is net income adjusted for the after-tax impact of items which are not representative of ongoing operational activities of the business and certain non-cash expenses or income. Adjusted Diluted EPS is Adjusted Net Income divided by the average diluted number of shares outstanding.

We use Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS to assess the performance of our business without the effects of the above-mentioned items, and we believe our investors and analysts also use these measures. We exclude these items because they affect the comparability of our financial results and could potentially distort the analysis of trends in business performance. For the fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2022, Adjusted Net Income also excludes the $10.0 million in insurance proceeds as described in the Recent Developments section on page 5 of the Company's MD&A. The most comparable IFRS financial measures are net income and EPS.

The table below reconciles our Adjusted Net Income with measures that are found in our Consolidated Financial Statements and calculates Adjusted Diluted EPS.

 

Net Debt and Net Debt to Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA

Net Debt is calculated as the sum of bank loans, long-term debt (excluding deferred finance costs and modification gains/losses) and lease liabilities, less cash.

We consider Net Debt to be an important indicator of our Company's financial leverage because it represents the amount of debt that is not covered by available cash. We believe investors and analysts use Net Debt to determine the Company's financial leverage. Net Debt has no comparable IFRS financial measure, but rather is calculated using several asset and liability items in the consolidated statements of financial position.

Net Debt to Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as Net Debt divided by Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA (see above). We consider Net Debt to Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA to be an important indicator of our ability to generate earnings sufficient to service our debt, that enhances understanding of our financial performance and highlights operational trends. This measure is widely used by investors and rating agencies in the valuation, comparison, rating and investment recommendations of companies; however, the calculations of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to those of other companies, which limits their usefulness as comparative measures.

The following table reconciles Net Debt to IFRS measures reported as at the end of the indicated periods in the consolidated statements of financial position and calculates Net Debt to Rolling Twelve-Month Adjusted EBITDA.

Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of the conditional tense, the words "may", "should", "would", "could", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "estimate", "foresee", "objective", "goal", "remain" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or variations of them or words and expressions of similar nature. Actual results could differ materially from the conclusion, forecast or projection stated in such forward-looking information. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statements will materialize. Assumptions, expectations and estimates made in the preparation of forward-looking statements and risks that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our current expectations are discussed in detail in the Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time, including the Risk Factors section of our MD&A for the fifty-two weeks ended December 31, 2022 and the Risk Factors section of our 2022 Annual Information Form. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance, development and results of High Liner Foods' business include, but are not limited to, the following factors: compliance with food safety laws and regulations; timely identification of and response to events that could lead to a product recall; volatility in the CAD/USD exchange rate; competitive developments including increases in overseas seafood production and industry consolidation; availability and price of seafood raw materials and finished goods and the impact of geopolitical events (and related economic sanctions) on the same; the impact of the U.S. Trade Representative's tariffs on certain seafood products; costs of commodity products, freight, storage and other production inputs, and the ability to pass cost increases on to customers; successful integration of acquired operations; potential increases in maintenance and operating costs; shifts in market demands for seafood; performance of new products launched and existing products in the market place; changes in laws and regulations, including environmental, taxation and regulatory requirements; technology changes with respect to production and other equipment and software programs; enterprise resource planning system risk; adverse impacts of cybersecurity attacks or breach of sensitive information; supplier fulfillment of contractual agreements and obligations; competitor reactions; completion and/or advancement of sustainability initiatives, including, without limitation, initiatives relating to the carbon workplan, waste reduction and/or seafood sustainability and traceability initiatives; High Liner Foods' ability to generate adequate cash flow or to finance its future business requirements through outside sources; credit risk associated with receivables from customers; volatility associated with the funding status of the Company's post-retirement pension benefits; adverse weather conditions and natural disasters; the availability of adequate levels of insurance; management retention and development; economic and geopolitical conditions such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the implementation and/or expansion of related sanctions policies; and the potential impact of a pandemic outbreak of a contagious illness, such as COVID-19 pandemic, on general economic and business conditions and therefore the Company's operations and financial performance. Forward-looking information is based on management's current estimates, expectations and assumptions, which we believe are reasonable as of the current date. You should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. Except as required under applicable securities laws, we do not undertake to update these 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. 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.

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

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

SOURCE High Liner Foods Incorporated

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