LAVAL, Québec, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Savaria Corporation (“Savaria”) (TSX: SIS), one of the global leaders in the accessibility industry, is pleased to announce today its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2020.
HighlightsRevenue was $88.4M, up $0.9M, or 1.1%;Gross profit was $30.1M, up $3.1M, or 11.4%;Adjusted net earnings were $7.2M, or $0.14 per share on a diluted basis, up 96.1% and 75.0%, respectively;Adjusted EBITDA was $12.4M, up $1.8M or 17.3%.A word from the President“I am happy with our first quarter results, despite the inherent challenges of COVID‑19. Total revenue reached $88.4 million, a slight increase of 1.1% over last year. Meanwhile, our adjusted EBITDA grew by 17.3% to $12.4 million, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14% compared to 12% in Q1-2019.“With a working capital ratio of 2.4 and a net interest-bearing debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio sitting at 0.2x, our strong balance sheet provides us the financial flexibility to explore acquisition opportunities, while ensuring the security of our dividend,” stated Mr. Marcel Bourassa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Savaria.“While the majority of people want to stay in their own homes as long as possible, COVID-19 has perhaps reinforced the desire for people to seek ways of making their homes accessible or more suitable for home medical care. To this end, we have adopted a new campaign, “Stay at home with Savaria®”, to promote our full portfolio of products, including stairlifts, home elevators, adapted vehicles, patient lifts, slings, medical beds and therapeutic surfaces. More than ever, as seniors and their family members look for solutions for aging in place, they can turn to Savaria.“On March 20th, in light of COVID-19 challenges, we provided a $1,000 bonus to our 1,450 employees. Worldwide, all ten of our factories are open for business and I wish to thank the incredible commitment of our employees for continuing to serve our clients during these unprecedented times,” concluded Mr. Bourassa.Outlook 2020Providing a full year outlook in the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic remains challenging. However, given the Corporation’s financial liquidity and strong balance sheet, we believe our post pandemic future bodes well, as our product offering is aligned with demographics.About Savaria CorporationSavaria Corporation (savaria.com) is one of the global leaders in the accessibility industry. It provides accessibility solutions for the physically challenged to increase their comfort, their mobility and their independence. Its product line is one of the most comprehensive on the market. Savaria designs, manufactures, distributes and installs accessibility equipment, such as stairlifts for straight and curved stairs, vertical and inclined wheelchair lifts and elevators for home and commercial use. It also manufactures and markets a comprehensive selection of pressure management products for the medical market, medical beds for the long-term care market, as well as an extensive line of medical equipment and solutions for the safe handling of patients. In addition, Savaria converts and adapts vehicles to be wheelchair accessible. The Corporation operates a sales network of dealers worldwide and direct sales offices in North America, Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland and United Kingdom), Australia and China. Savaria employs approximately 1,450 people globally and its plants are located across Canada in Laval and Magog (Québec), Brampton, Beamsville and Toronto (Ontario) and Surrey (British Columbia), in the United States at Greenville (South Carolina), in Huizhou (China), in Milan (Italy) and in Newton Abbot (United Kingdom).Compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”)The information appearing in this press release has been prepared in accordance with IFRS. However, Savaria uses EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA per share, adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per share for analysis purposes to measure its financial performance. These measures have no standardized definitions in accordance with IFRS and are therefore regarded as non-IFRS measures. These measures may therefore not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. Additional details for these non-IFRS measures can be found in Savaria’s MD&A, which is posted on Savaria’s website at www.savaria.com, and filed with SEDAR at www.sedar.com.Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes certain statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the securities laws of Canada. Any statement in this press release that is not a statement of historical fact may be deemed to be a forward-looking statement. When used in this press release, the words “believe”, “could”, “should”, “intend”, “expect”, “estimate”, “assume” and other similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. It is important to know that the forward-looking statements in this document describe the Corporation’s expectations as at the date hereof, which are not guarantees of future performance of Savaria or its industry, and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Savaria’s or the industry’s outlook, actual results or performance to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such statements. The Corporation’s actual results could be materially different from its expectations if known or unknown risks affect its business, or if its estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. A change affecting an assumption can also have an impact on other interrelated assumptions, which could increase or diminish the effect of the change. As a result, the Corporation cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and, accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements do not take into account the effect that transactions or special items announced or occurring after the statements are made may have on the Corporation’s business. For example, they do not include the effect of sales of assets, monetizations, mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or transactions, asset write-downs or other charges announced or occurring after forward-looking statements are made.Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Savaria disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing risks and uncertainties include the risks set forth under “Risks and Uncertainties” in Savaria’s latest Annual MD&A as well as other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by Savaria with securities regulators in Canada.Results Webcast and conference call on May 13, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. (EST)Savaria will host a conference call on Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time with financial analysts to discuss results of the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Investors and members of the media are invited to participate on a listen-only basis. Conference call access:Local Dial-in Numbers: (647) 427-7450 or (514) 807-9895North American Toll Free Number: 1 (888) 231-8191
Webcast (EN): https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1313966&tp_key=bee94a683clink to the replay of the webcast will be available on the Corporation’s website at www.savaria.comwww.savaria.com
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