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Velan Inc. Reports Its Year-End and Fourth Quarter 2017/18 Financial Results

MONTREAL, May 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velan Inc. (TSX:VLN) (the “Company”), a world-leading manufacturer of industrial valves, announced today its financial results for its fiscal year and fourth quarter ended February 28, 2018.

Highlights

  • Sales of US$102.6 million for the quarter
  • Net loss1 of US$8.2 million for the quarter, including a one-time tax expense of US$4.3 million resulting from passage of U.S. tax reform legislation
  • Order backlog of US$464.5 million at the end of the quarter
  • Net new orders received (“Bookings”) of US$72.9 million for the quarter
  • Net cash2 of US$61.0 million at the end of the quarter
  • Returned US$1.7 million to shareholders in the quarter and US$7.3 million in the fiscal year by way of dividends and share repurchases
  • Quarterly dividend reduced to CA$0.03 per share, payable June 29, 2018
  Three-month periods ended     Fiscal years ended  
(millions of U.S. dollars, excluding per share amounts) February 28,
2018
  February 28,
2017
    February 28,
2018
  February 28,
2017
 
 
Sales
$ 102.6   $ 102.8     $ 338.0   $ 331.8  
                           
Gross profit   17.3     28.9       68.6     88.5  
Gross profit %   16.9 %   28.1 %     20.3 %   26.7 %
                           
EBITDA2   (1.2 )   12.6       (4.4 )   26.2  
EBITDA2 per share – basic and diluted   (0.05 )   0.58       (0.20 )   1.21  
                           
Net earnings (loss)1   (8.2 )   3.7       (17.8 )   7.7  
Net earnings (loss)1 per share – basic and diluted   (0.38 )   0.17       (0.82 )   0.36  

 

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2018 (unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in U.S. dollars and all comparisons are to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017):

  • Net loss1 amounted to $8.2 million or $0.38 per share compared to net earnings1 of $3.7 million or $0.17 per share last year. EBITDA2 amounted to a negative balance of $1.2 million or $0.05 per share compared to a positive balance of $12.6 million or $0.58 per share last year. The $11.9 million decrease in net earnings1 is primarily attributable to significantly weaker margins, increased administration costs and the negative effects of the U.S. tax reform legislation passed during the current quarter, which resulted in a one-time tax expense inclusion of $4.3 million.

  • Sales remained relatively stable for the quarter, decreasing by $0.2 million or 0.2% from the prior year. While sales were lower in the current quarter when compared to the comparative period in the prior year, they were stronger when compared to the previous three quarters of the current fiscal year. Sales for the quarter were improved in the Company’s Italian subsidiary, while its North American operations realized lower sales due to delays in shipments of certain large project orders caused by various customer-related, supply chain and internal operational issues.

  • Bookings decreased by $53.0 million or 42.1% for the quarter. The decrease in bookings is primarily attributable to the Company’s French operations which had won $55 million in large project orders in the prior year comparable quarter to supply valves towards the construction of a nuclear power plant in the U.K. While bookings remained relatively flat if these orders are not taken into account, the Company’s North American operations continue to struggle as the current highly competitive environment in many of its markets continues to put downward pressure on pricing and lead times, despite the fact that the outlook in most of these markets are beginning to show signs of improvement.

  • Gross profit percentage decreased by 1,120 basis points from the prior year quarter. Despite the fact that sales remained relatively stable and that the Company maintained control over its labour and overhead costs, the gross profit percentage decreased significantly due primarily to shipping a product mix with a greater proportion of projects with lower margins, a decrease in production which reduced the amount of current period direct labour and production overhead costs that could be capitalized, and warranty provisions. In addition, shipping delays due to customer-related and internal operational issues resulted in an increase in provisions for inventory ageing, which had a direct negative impact on the Company’s margins. The lingering pricing pressure and the Company’s inherent fixed overhead costs due to its large global manufacturing footprint continue to have a negative impact on its gross profit percentage, particularly in its North American operations which saw a 320 basis point increase in its material cost as a percentage of sales in the quarter. The Company aims to address these latter issues through its strategic initiatives, namely materials management, targeting higher margin segments and overhead reduction.

  • Administration costs for the quarter increased by $3.7 million or 19.5% for the quarter. The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in sales commissions and freight charges as well as an increase in costs associated with the Company’s ongoing asbestos litigation. The fluctuation in asbestos costs is due more to the timing of settlement payments than to changes in long-term trends.

Year Ended Fiscal 2018 (unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in U.S. dollars and all comparisons are to the prior fiscal year):

  • EBITDA2 amounted to a negative balance of $4.4 million or $0.20 per share compared to a positive balance of $26.2 million or $1.21 per share last year. Despite an increase in sales, the $30.6 million decrease in EBITDA2 is primarily attributable to significantly weaker margins and increased administration costs.

  • Net loss1 amounted to $17.8 million or $0.82 per share compared to net earnings1 of $7.7 million or $0.36 per share last year. The $25.5 million decrease in net earnings1 is primarily attributable to a lower EBITDA2 and the negative effects of the U.S. tax reform legislation passed during the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year, which resulted in a one-time tax expense inclusion of $4.3 million.

  • Sales amounted to $338.0 million, an increase of $6.2 million or 1.9% compared to last year. Sales were positively impacted by an increase in shipments from the Company’s Italian subsidiary, which were offset by decreased shipments from the Company’s North American operations. Delays in shipments of certain large project orders caused by various customer-related, supply chain and internal operational issues, and lower shipments of non-project commodity valves negatively impacted the Company’s North American operations.

  • Bookings amounted to $320.9 million, a decrease of $127.3 million or 28.4% compared to last year. This decrease is due primarily to lower project orders booked by the Company’s French, German and Italian subsidiaries, all of which had recorded significant large project orders in the prior year period. This decrease was partially offset by improved bookings in the Company’s North American operations.

  • Despite the fact that sales outpaced bookings in the year, the Company ended the year with a backlog of $464.5 million, an increase of $26.3 million or 6.0% since the beginning of the current fiscal year. This increase in backlog was substantially due to the positive impact of the strengthening of the euro spot rate against the U.S. dollar over the course of the year.

  • Gross profit percentage decreased by 640 basis points from 26.7% to 20.3%. This decrease is due primarily to the Company’s North American operations, which shipped a product mix with a greater proportion of projects with lower margins, coupled with pricing pressure brought on by fierce competition and continued weakness in certain markets; this loss of margin was only partially offset by the material cost savings achieved by the Company’s supply chain improvement initiatives. Furthermore, the Company’s North American operations were impacted by a significant backlog of project valves which it was not able to deliver due to various customer-related issues and internal operational issues.

  • Administration costs amounted to $85.4 million, an increase of $9.5 million or 12.5%. This increase is primarily attributable to an increase in sales commissions and freight charges resulting from the higher sales volume, an increase in technology license fees paid on the sale of certain highly-engineered cryogenic valves by the Company’s French operations, and an increase in costs recognized in connection with the Company’s ongoing asbestos litigation. The fluctuation in asbestos costs for the year is due more to the timing of settlement payments in these two years rather than to changes in long-term trends.

  • The Company ended the year with net cash2 of $61.0 million, a decrease of $11.5 million or 15.9% since the beginning of the year. This decrease is primarily attributable to cash used in operations, investments in property, plant and equipment, long-term debt repayments as well as distributions to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases.

  • Foreign currency impacts:

    • Based on average exchange rates, the euro strengthened 4.9% against the U.S. dollar when compared to the same period last year. This strengthening resulted in the Company’s net profits and bookings from its European subsidiaries being reported as higher U.S. dollar amounts in the current year.

    • Based on average exchange rates, the Canadian dollar strengthened 1.8% against the U.S. dollar when compared to the same period last year. This strengthening resulted in the Company’s Canadian dollar expenses being reported as higher U.S. dollar amounts in the current year.

    • Based on spot exchange rates, the euro strengthened 15.3% against the U.S. dollar when compared to the rate at the end of the last fiscal year. This strengthening resulted in losses of $1.8 million incurred on foreign exchange forward contracts used by the Company to hedge the net monetary position of its European subsidiaries. This strengthening also resulted in a positive cumulative translation adjustment of $15.9 million which was recorded directly in equity through other comprehensive income (loss).

    • The net impact of the above currency swings was generally unfavourable on the Company’s net loss1, although it was generally favourable on the Company’s equity.

“Fiscal year 2018 was a very challenging year in terms of both sales and net earnings1. Margins were negatively impacted by both lower volumes and competitive pressures, in spite of some of our cost savings efforts. In addition, our fourth quarter tax provisions also reflected the costs of the recent US tax reform changes,” said John Ball, CFO of Velan Inc. “. Regardless, our balance sheet remains strong as we made efforts to conserve cash and manage working capital. For this reason, the quarterly dividend has been adjusted to CA$0.03 per share, effective June 2018. The challenge for fiscal year 2019 is to follow through on a number of strategic sales and cost reduction initiatives.”

Yves Leduc, President and CEO of Velan Inc., said, “Fiscal year 2018 was my first year as CEO of the Company and it was by far the most challenging. Our results are deeply disappointing as we suffered a loss on slightly increasing revenues. The poor bookings experienced by our North American operations in the prior year were not followed with the expected recovery this year. The usual strong performance of our French operations, coupled with the impressive sales recovery of our Italian operations, could not offset our performance in North America. Meanwhile, the complexity of our project manufacturing business keeps increasing at a pace faster than our improvements. This, combined with sharply contracting margins in project valves, contributed to a notable margin decline, again mostly in our North American operations. While we are making progress in transforming the Company through our strategic plan, Velocity 2020, which was launched last year, such improvements are overshadowed by our business results. As such, we are currently re-assessing our strategic plan to determine how it can be adapted to include ways to simplify our business and rapidly broaden our cost reduction initiatives. Simply put, we will need to make important changes to improve our operating results.”

Dividend

The Board declared an eligible quarterly dividend of CA$0.03 per share, payable on June 29, 2018, to all shareholders of record as at June 15, 2018.

Conference call

Financial analysts, shareholders, and other interested individuals are invited to attend the fourth quarter conference call to be held on Thursday, May 24, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. (EDT). The toll free call-in number is 1-800-672-0241, access code 21889742. A recording of this conference call will be available for seven days at 1-416-626-4100 or 1-800-558-5253, access code 21889742.

About Velan

Founded in Montreal in 1950, Velan Inc. (www.velan.com) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial valves, with sales of US$338 million in its last reported fiscal year. The Company employs over 1,800 people and has manufacturing plants in 9 countries. Velan Inc. is a public company with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VLN.

Safe harbour statement

This news release may include forward-looking statements, which generally contain words like “should”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “continue” or “estimate” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar expressions, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are disclosed in the Company’s filings with the appropriate securities commissions. While these statements are based on management’s assumptions regarding historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that it believes are reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may differ materially from those expressed herein. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by the applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Non-IFRS measures

In this press release, the Company presented measures of performance and financial condition that are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards (“non-IFRS measures”) and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These measures are used by management in assessing the operating results and financial condition of the Company. In addition, they provide readers of the Company’s consolidated financial statements with enhanced understanding of its results and financial condition, and increase transparency and clarity into the operating results of its core business.

The term “EBITDA” is defined as net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares plus depreciation of property, plant & equipment, plus amortization of intangible assets, plus net finance costs plus income tax provision. Refer to the “Reconciliations of Non-IFRS Measures” section in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis included in its Annual Report for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2018 for a detailed calculation of this measure.

The term “net cash” is defined as cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments less bank indebtedness, short-term bank loans, and current portion of long-term bank borrowings. Refer to the “Reconciliations of Non-IFRS Measures” section in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis included in its Annual Report for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2018 for a detailed calculation of this measure.

1 Net earnings or loss refer to net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares.

2 Non-IFRS measures – see explanation above.

 

 
Velan Inc.    
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Financial Position 
(Unaudited)    
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)  
       
As At   February 28,   February 28,  
    2018   2017  
    $   $  
Assets      
       
Current assets    
Cash and cash equivalents   85,391     84,019  
Short-term investments   647     974  
Accounts receivable    137,382     125,512  
Income taxes recoverable    8,012     7,145  
Inventories     170,790     173,089  
Deposits and prepaid expenses   4,222     3,391  
Derivative assets   604     1,202  
      407,048     395,332  
       
Non-current assets    
Property, plant and equipment   89,864     91,535  
Intangible assets and goodwill   20,210     19,023  
Deferred income taxes   22,034     12,951  
Other assets    1,037     456  
       
      133,145     123,965  
       
Total assets   540,193     519,297  
       
       
Liabilities      
       
Current liabilities    
Bank indebtedness   20,848     7,792  
Short-term bank loans    1,074     1,650  
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities   63,441     60,641  
Income taxes payable   2,186     946  
Dividend payable   1,678     1,631  
Customer deposits   48,963     43,953  
Provisions      10,798     10,600  
Accrual for performance guarantees   32,655     26,943  
Derivative liabilities   1,615     799  
Current portion of long-term debt   8,151     7,115  
      191,409     162,070  
       
Non-current liabilities    
Long-term debt   13,978     15,318  
Income taxes payable   2,078     -   
Deferred income taxes   2,889     2,784  
Other liabilities   8,222     7,214  
       
      27,167     25,316  
       
Total liabilities   218,576     187,386  
       
Equity       
       
Equity attributable to the Subordinate and Multiple Voting shareholders          
Share capital   73,090     73,584  
Contributed surplus    6,057     6,017  
Retained earnings   256,668     281,343  
Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (19,790 )   (35,550 )
      316,025     325,394  
       
Non-controlling interest   5,592     6,517  
       
Total equity   321,617     331,911  
       
Total liabilities and equity   540,193     519,297  
       


 
Velan Inc. 
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
(Unaudited) 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars, excluding number of shares and per share amounts)
           
  Three-month periods ended
February 28
  Fiscal years ended
February 28
  2018   2017     2018   2017  
  $   $     $   $  
           
           
Sales    102,607     102,835       337,963     331,777  
           
Cost of sales   85,258     73,944       269,378     243,249  
           
Gross profit   17,349     28,891       68,585     88,528  
           
Administration costs   22,702     18,950       85,437     75,868  
Other expense (income)   (84 )   579       1,463     (408 )
           
Operating profit (loss)   (5,269 )   9,362       (18,315 )   13,068  
           
Finance income   541     328       1,102     992  
Finance costs   (605 )   (623 )     (1,299 )   (1,066 )
           
Finance income (costs) – net   (64 )   (295 )     (197 )   (74 )
           
Income (Loss) before income taxes   (5,333 )   9,067       (18,512 )   12,994  
           
Provision for (Recovery of) income taxes   3,685     4,981       361     4,680  
           
Net income (loss) for the period   (9,018 )   4,086       (18,873 )   8,314  
           
Net income (loss) attributable to:          
Subordinate Voting Shares and Multiple Voting Shares   (8,221 )   3,707       (17,811 )   7,737  
Non-controlling interest   (797 )   379       (1,062 )   577  
    (9,018 )   4,086       (18,873 )   8,314  
           
Net income (loss) per Subordinate and Multiple Voting Share                  
Basic   (0.38 )   0.17       (0.82 )   0.36  
Diluted   (0.38 )   0.17       (0.82 )   0.36  
           
           
Dividends declared per Subordinate and Multiple  0.08    0.08      0.31    0.31  
  Voting Share  (CA$0.10  (CA$0.10    (CA$0.40  (CA$0.40
           
           
Total weighted average number of Subordinate and          
  Multiple Voting Shares           
Basic 21,621,935   21,698,670     21,640,632   21,722,089  
Diluted 21,621,935   21,703,812     21,640,632   21,727,697  
           

 

 
Velan Inc.          
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(Unaudited)          
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)      
             
  Three-month periods ended
February 28
  Fiscal years ended
  February 28
  2018   2017     2018   2017  
  $   $     $   $  
             
             
Comprehensive income (loss)    
             
Net income (loss) for the period   (9,018 )   4,086       (18,873 )   8,314  
             
Other comprehensive income (loss)            
Foreign currency translation adjustment on foreign operations 
whose functional currency is other than the reporting 
currency (U.S. dollar)
  3,449     208       15,938     (2,014 )
             
Comprehensive income (loss)   (5,569 )   4,294       (2,935 )   6,300  
             
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to:            
Subordinate Voting Shares and Multiple Voting Shares   (4,772 )   3,723       (2,051 )   5,276  
Non-controlling interest   (797 )   571       (884 )   1,024  
             
    (5,569 )   4,294       (2,935 )   6,300  
             


 
Velan Inc. 
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity  
(Unaudited) 
(in thousands of U.S. dollars, excluding number of shares) 
                 
                 
                 
  Equity attributable to the Subordinate and Multiple Voting shareholders    
  Number of shares Share capital Contributed surplus Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income (loss)
Retained earnings Total Non-controlling interest Total equity
                 
Balance - February 28, 2017   21,667,235     73,584     6,017   (35,550 )   281,343     325,394     6,517     331,911  
                 
Net income (loss) for the period -   -   - -     (17,811 )   (17,811 )   (1,062 )   (18,873 )
Other comprehensive income (loss) -   -   -   15,760   -     15,760     178     15,938  
                 
    21,667,235     73,584     6,017   (19,790 )   263,532     323,343     5,633     328,976  
                 
Effect of share-based compensation -   -     40 -   -     40   -     40  
Share repurchase   (45,300 )   (494 ) - -     (136 )   (630 ) -     (630 )
Dividends                
  Multiple Voting Shares -   -   - -     (4,824 )   (4,824 ) -     (4,824 )
  Subordinate Voting Shares -   -   - -     (1,904 )   (1,904 ) -     (1,904 )
  Non-controlling interest -   -   - -   -   -     (41 )   (41 )
                 
Balance - February 28, 2018   21,621,935     73,090     6,057   (19,790 )   256,668     316,025     5,592     321,617  
                 
                 
Balance - February 29, 2016   21,737,135     74,345     5,941   (33,089 )   280,380     327,577     5,542     333,119  
                 
Net income (loss) for the period -   -   - -   7,737     7,737     577     8,314  
Other comprehensive income (loss) -   -   - (2,461 ) -     (2,461 )   447     (2,014 )
                 
  21,737,135   74,345   5,941 (35,550 )   288,117     332,853     6,566     339,419  
                 
Effect of share-based compensation -   -   76 -     -      76   -     76  
Share repurchase (69,900 ) (761 ) - -     (165 )   (926 ) -     (926 )
Dividends                
  Multiple Voting Shares -   -   - -     (4,745 )   (4,745 ) -     (4,745 )
  Subordinate Voting Shares -   -   - -     (1,864 )   (1,864 ) -     (1,864 )
  Non-controlling interest -   -   - -   -   -     (49 )   (49 )
                 
Balance - February 28, 2017   21,667,235     73,584     6,017   (35,550 )   281,343     325,394     6,517     331,911  
                 


 
Velan Inc.          
Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow  
(Unaudited)          
(in thousands of U.S. dollars)          
           
  Three-month periods ended
February 28
  Fiscal years ended 
February 28
  2018   2017     2018   2017  
  $   $     $   $  
           
           
Cash flows from          
           
Operating activities          
Net income for the period   (9,018 )   4,086       (18,873 )   8,314  
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to cash provided          
  by (used in) operating activities   (3,891 )   3,265       6,994     10,267  
Changes in non-cash working capital items   3,996     (7,059 )     9,986     (11,434 )
Cash provided by (used in) operating activities   (8,913 )   292       (1,893 )   7,147  
           
Investing activities          
Short-term investments   814     (825 )     327     2,251  
Additions to property, plant and equipment   (1,830 )   (1,730 )     (6,202 )   (7,721 )
Additions to intangible assets   (32 )   (831 )     (437 )   (910 )
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment,
and intangible assets
         
  intangible assets   66     220       141     399  
Net change in other assets   (551 )   134       (507 )   482  
Cash provided by (used in) investing activities   (1,533 )   (3,032 )     (6,678 )   (5,499 )
           
Financing activities          
Dividends paid to Subordinate and Multiple Voting shareholders   (1,692 )   (1,632 )     (6,681 )   (6,584 )
Dividends paid to non-controlling interest -   -       (41 )   (49 )
Repurchase of shares -     (572 )     (630 )   (926 )
Short-term bank loans   (12 )   337       (576 )   331  
Increase in long-term debt -   5,079       -      5,079  
Repayment of long-term debt   (854 )   (581 )     (3,206 )   (5,904 )
Cash provided by (used in) financing activities   (2,558 )   2,631       (11,134 )   (8,053 )
           
Effect of exchange rate differences on cash    1,526     (7 )     8,021     (1,708 )
           
Net change in cash during the period   (11,478 )   (116 )     (11,684 )   (8,113 )
           
Net cash – Beginning of the period   76,021     76,343       76,227     84,340  
           
Net cash – End of the period   64,543     76,227       64,543     76,227  
           
Net cash is composed of:          
  Cash and cash equivalents   85,391     84,019       85,391     84,019  
  Bank indebtedness   (20,848 )   (7,792 )     (20,848 )   (7,792 )
           
    64,543     76,227       64,543     76,227  
           
Supplementary information          
Interest received (paid)   443     353       532     641  
Income taxes reimbursed (paid)   370     (2,447 )     (3,752 )   (7,722 )
           

 

For further information please contact:
Yves Leduc, President and Chief Executive Officer
or
John D. Ball, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (514) 748-7743
Fax: (514) 748-8635
Web:  www.velan.com 

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