ZCL Composites Reports Q2 2018 Financial Results and Appoints Ted Redmond as President and Chief Executive Officer

EDMONTON, Aug. 9, 2018 /CNW/ - ZCL Composites Inc. (TSX: ZCL) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018.  The Board of Directors is also pleased to announce that Ted Redmond has been appointed as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 10, 2018.

Financial Results:  Q2 2018 compared with Q2 2017 (Continuing Operations)

• Revenue of $46.8 million, down $6.5 million or 12% from $53.3 million;
• Gross profit of $8.4 million (18% of revenue), down $3.5 million or 29% from $11.9 million (22% of revenue);
• Net income of $3.9 million or $0.13 per share (fully diluted), down $2.1 million or $0.07 per share from $6.0 million or $0.19 per share (fully diluted);
• Adjusted EBITDA of $6.2 million (13% of revenue), down $3.3 million from $9.5 million (18% of revenue);
• Backlog of $52.3 million, up $0.8 million or 2%, from $51.5 million; and
• Quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, up 13% from $0.12 per share, to be paid on October 15, 2018 to shareholders of record on September 30, 2018.

Financial Results:  First Half 2018 compared with First Half 2017 (Continuing Operations)

• Revenue of $78.7 million, down $6.4 million or 7% from $85.0 million;
• Gross profit of $13.0 million (17% of revenue), down $5.0 million or 28% from $18.0 million (21% of revenue);
• Net income of $4.4 million or $0.14 per fully diluted share, down $2.5 million or 37% from $7.0 million or $0.22 per fully diluted share; and
• Adjusted EBITDA of $7.7 million (10% of revenue), down $5.0 million or 39% from $12.6 million (15% of revenue).

"In the second quarter of 2018, revenue increased compared with the first quarter of 2018, however as expected, it did not match the exceptionally strong results in the second quarter of 2017," said Ron Bachmeier, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Increased resin input costs, competitive pricing pressures and expenditures on manufacturing and plant safety improvements, in combination with a tightening labour market, contributed to reduced profitability in the quarter compared to the prior year."

"Order entry and quoting activity is currently stronger relative to 2017.  Therefore, management expects moderate organic growth in revenue in the second half of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017," said Mr. Bachmeier.

Appointment of President and Chief Executive Officer

Effective September 10, 2018, Ted Redmond has been appointed by the Board of Directors as President & Chief Executive Officer.  "The Board is confident that Ted brings the required skills, expertise, and experience to guide the Company in refreshing and updating the strategic growth plan and continuing to initiate and implement operational improvement plans," said Tony Franceschini, Chairman of the Board of Directors.  He added, "As previously reported, Ron Bachmeier will continue to provide advisory and special project services through 2019, and will assist the new CEO in ensuring a smooth transition."  The Board of Directors would also like to thank Mr. Bachmeier for his dedicated and exemplary service to the Company over the past 32 years and particularly his successful leadership as President and CEO over the past six years.

Mr. Redmond brings 20 years of experience as President/CEO/EVP of manufacturing and energy businesses.  Most recently, for the past eight years, he has been President & CEO of a North American crane and heavy haul company servicing the construction, heavy industrial and energy markets.

Throughout his career, Mr. Redmond has participated in over 15 M&A transactions, led organic growth initiatives and has implemented rigorous process improvements leading to higher margins and lower production costs.  Early in his career, he also spent seven years as a strategy consultant with Boston Consulting Group where he was involved in over 40 strategy consulting assignments.

Mr. Redmond's educational background includes a degree in engineering from the University of Alberta, a masters' degree in engineering from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from Stanford University.

"It is an honour to be appointed as President & CEO of North America's largest manufacturer and supplier of fiberglass reinforced plastic underground storage tanks.  I look forward to working with the ZCL team and the Board of Directors to drive continued success through revenue growth and margin improvements," said Mr. Redmond.

Dividends

The Board has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, the same rate as the prior quarter and a 13% increase over the $0.12 declared at the same time last year.  The dividend will be paid on October 15, 2018, to the shareholders of record as of September 30, 2018.

Backlog

Backlog was $52.3 million as at June 30, 2018, up $0.8 million or 2%, from $51.5 million a year earlier. 

In the Fuel Markets, backlog of $45.9 million was $0.3 million or 1% higher compared to the second quarter of 2017. The Fuel backlog increase was derived from Canadian Fuel Markets, up $0.5 million compared with a year earlier and International markets, up $0.4 million compared with June 30, 2017.  The increase was partially offset by a 2% decrease in US Fuel Markets, compared with a year earlier.

Water & Wastewater Markets backlog of $5.8 million, was up $1.0 million or 21%, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2017. US Water & Wastewater Markets were up $0.7 million (source currency), compared with a year earlier, prior to a $0.3 million positive impact on the conversion of US dollar denominated backlog to Canadian dollars for reporting purposes. Canadian Water & Wastewater Markets were comparable to the same quarter in 2017.   

Oil & Gas Market backlog of $0.5 million was down $0.6 million from $1.1 million a year earlier. The decline is primarily attributable to ZCL's decision in 2017 to cease offering products to Industrial & Oil Sands Markets.

On a sequential quarter basis, the total backlog increased by $7.3 million or 16% from $44.9 million at March 31, 2018.  The increase was driven by both the Fuel Markets which were up $5.4 million compared to a quarter earlier and Water & Wastewater Markets, up $2.1 million.  Oil & Gas Markets were down $0.2 million compared to March 31, 2018.  The increase in backlog over the prior sequential quarter was due to the normal seasonal nature of the business.

Financial Position

Our balance sheet remained strong, with working capital of $37.0 million and a bank indebtedness balance of $1.1 million.  We expect to return to a net cash position in the second half of 2018.

2018 Outlook

For the full year 2018, we expect revenue to be comparable to 2017. Revenue growth in our core Fuel Markets is expected from the continued replacement of the aged infrastructure and new to industry construction, and market share gains against steel.  This is being supported by increased order entry in Fuel Markets compared with a year earlier.  At this point in the year, we believe our emerging Water & Wastewater Markets revenue will be comparable with a year earlier. 

We will continue to work toward our long-term profitability improvement initiatives, however for the full 2018 year, we expect lower profitability relative to 2017 due to a combination of increased resin input costs, competitive pricing pressures and a temporary reduction in production efficiencies.  Due in part to a tightening labour market, we have encountered challenges in implementing certain of the initiatives relating to manufacturing, leading to inefficiencies and reduced throughput when compared with a year earlier.  The product and process standardization and productivity initiatives are taking longer to implement than initially anticipated, however we remain confident they will yield benefits over the longer term.

We remain confident in meeting our 10/10/10 objectives of revenue, profit and dividend growth over the longer term, but the achievement of these goals is not guaranteed in each individual year.

Summary Financial Results

The Company's management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") and unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the ZCL website at this link: https://www.zcl.com/en/investor-relations/financials.html.

Conference Call

ZCL Composites Inc. has scheduled an investor conference call for 9:00 a.m. Mountain Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) on Friday, August 10, 2018, to discuss its financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018.

To access the conference call by telephone, please call (416) 764-8688 from the greater Toronto area, or dial toll free 888-390-0546 from elsewhere in North America.  An audio webcast may be accessed through the Investor Events tab on the ZCL website at https://www.zcl.com/en/investor-relations/webcasts.  Audio replays will be available on the ZCL website shortly after the conclusion of the conference call.

The conference call will include prepared remarks by ZCL's President and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Bachmeier and by ZCL's Chief Financial Officer, Kathy Demuth.  After the prepared remarks, ZCL will accept questions from analysts and institutional investors. The public is invited to listen to the conference call in real time or by replay.

Note on Non-IFRS Measures:

ZCL uses both IFRS and non-IFRS measures to make strategic decisions and to set targets and believes that these non-IFRS measures are useful for providing securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties with additional information to assist them in understanding components of our financial results.  This includes a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our operating performance.  Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA per diluted share and working capital are non-IFRS measures that are used by ZCL and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies.

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA per diluted share

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as income from continuing operations before finance expense, income taxes, share-based compensation, depreciation of property, plant and equipment, amortization of intangible assets, gains or losses on sale of assets, and impairment of assets.  Adjusted EBITDA per diluted share is defined as adjusted EBITDA divided by weighted average diluted shares outstanding.

Working Capital

Working capital is defined as current assets less current liabilities.

About ZCL Composites Inc.

Our mission is to deliver Peace of Mind through corrosion resistant solutions that preserve and protect the environment.  More information about ZCL is available on our website at www.zcl.com.

Advisory Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information as defined under applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under the heading "Outlook" and elsewhere concerning future events or the Company's future performance.  All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements including the Company's objectives or expectations for revenue and earnings growth, income taxes as a percentage of pre-tax income, business opportunities in the Fuel, Water & Wastewater, Oil & Gas and International markets, efforts to reduce administrative and production costs, manage production levels, anticipated capital expenditure trends, activity in the fuel and other industries and markets served by the Company and the sufficiency of cash flows and credit facilities available to cover normal operating and capital expenditures. The use of any of the words such as "seek," "anticipate," "plan," "contemplate," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "propose," "forecast," "may," "will," "shall," "project," "predict," "potential," "targeting," "intend," "could," "might," "should," "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.  No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this document should not be unduly relied upon.

These factors include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in the level of capital expenditures in the Fuel, Water & Wastewater, and Oil & Gas markets, drilling activity and oil and natural gas prices, and other factors that affect demand for the Company's products and services, industry competition, the need to effectively integrate acquired businesses, uncertainties as to the Company's ability to implement its business strategy effectively, political and economic conditions, the Company's ability to attract and retain key personnel, raw material and labour costs, fluctuations in the US dollar, euro and Canadian dollar exchange rates, and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form, and elsewhere in this press release and other documents filed with Canadian provincial securities authorities. These documents are available to the public at www.sedar.com. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the reporting currency is in Canadian dollars.

In addition to the factors noted above, management cautions readers that the current economic environment could have a negative impact on the markets in which the Company operates and on the Company's ability to achieve its financial targets. Factors such as continuing global economic uncertainty, tight lending standards, volatile capital markets, fluctuating commodity prices, and other factors could negatively impact the demand for the Company's products and the Company's ability to grow or sustain revenues and earnings. Fluctuations in conversion rates of the US dollar to Canadian dollar and euro to Canadian dollar also have the potential to impact the Company's revenues and earnings.

The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this report should not be unduly relied upon.

The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this report. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on the Company's behalf, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. 

SOURCE ZCL Composites Inc.

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