Reitmans (Canada) Limited announces its results for the 13 and 52 weeks ended February 2, 2019

Adjusted EBITDA increased 32% to $57.7 million in fiscal 2019

MONTREAL, April 3, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ -

52 weeks ended February 2, 2019

Results from operating activities for the 52 weeks ended February 2, 2019 ("fiscal 2019") were $18.2 million as compared to a loss of $27.2 million for the 53 weeks ended February 3, 2018 ("fiscal 2018"), which included a $26.3 million goodwill impairment charge. Excluding the impact of the impairment of goodwill in fiscal 2018, results from operating activities were a loss of $0.9 million. The improvement of $19.1 million in fiscal 2019 is primarily attributable to a reduction in selling, distribution and administrative costs of $33.9 million, partially offset by a reduction in gross profit of $14.8 million.

Sales for fiscal 2019 decreased by $41.4 million or 4.3%, to $923.0 million, as compared with fiscal 2018. The decrease is primarily attributable to a net reduction of 42 stores and the impact of having an additional week in fiscal 2018 of approximately $12.4 million in sales. The inclusion of the extra week in fiscal 2018 is due to the Company's floating year-end. The Company continues to execute against a plan adapting to the new retail environment by reducing its store presence in select markets while enhancing its e-commerce capabilities. Comparable sales¹, which include e-commerce sales, decreased 0.6%.

Gross profit for fiscal 2019 decreased $14.8 million or 2.8%, to $509.5 million as compared with $524.3 million for fiscal 2018. This decrease was primarily due to the impact of having an additional week in fiscal 2018 of approximately $6.9 million in gross profit, and increased promotional activity in fiscal 2019. Gross profit as a percentage of sales for fiscal 2019 increased to 55.2% from 54.4% for fiscal 2018 due to the positive foreign exchange impact of approximately $7.7 million on U.S. dollar denominated purchases included in cost of goods sold.

Net earnings for fiscal 2019 were $6.8 million ($0.11 basic and diluted earnings per share) as compared with $16.0 million net loss ($0.25 basic and diluted loss per share) for fiscal 2018. The improvement in net earnings of $22.8 million is primarily attributable to the $26.3 million goodwill impairment charge incurred during fiscal 2018 and the increase in results from operating activities, offset by the decrease in net finance income and the increase in income tax expense.

Excluding the impact of the impairment of goodwill in fiscal 2018, net earnings for fiscal 2019 of $6.8 million ($0.11 basic and diluted earnings per share) compared to $10.3 million net earnings ($0.16 basic and diluted earnings per share) for fiscal 2018. The decrease in net earnings of $3.5 million in fiscal 2019 is primarily attributable to the decrease in net finance income and the increase in income tax expense, partially offset by the increase in results from operating activities.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ for fiscal 2019 was $57.7 million as compared with $43.7 million for fiscal 2018, an increase of $14.0 million. The improvement in adjusted EBITDA is primarily due to the reduction in selling, distribution and administrative costs, partially offset by the decrease in gross profit.

13 weeks ended February 2, 2019

Results from operating activities for the 13 weeks ended February 2, 2019 ("fourth quarter of fiscal 2019") were a loss of $1.9 million as compared with a loss of $6.3 million for the 14 weeks ended February 3, 2018 ("fourth quarter of fiscal 2018"), an improvement of $4.4 million. The improvement is primarily attributable to the Company's reduction in operating costs of $22.2 million, partially offset by the reduction in gross profit of $17.8 million.

Sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 were $226.9 million, as compared with $264.2 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018.  The decrease of $37.3 million is primarily attributable to a net reduction of 42 stores and the sales impact of having an additional week in the fourth quarter of 2018 of approximately $19.2 million. The inclusion of the extra week in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 is due to the Company's floating year-end. The Company continues to execute against a plan adapting to the new retail environment by reducing its store presence in select markets while enhancing its e-commerce capabilities. Comparable sales¹, which include e-commerce sales, decreased 5.3%.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 decreased $17.8 million or 13.0%, to $119.1 million as compared with $136.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. This decrease was primarily due to the impact of having an additional week in the fourth quarter of 2018, which amounted to approximately $11.7 million of gross profit, and increased promotional activity in the fourth quarter of 2019. Gross profit as a percentage of sales increased to 52.5% from 51.8% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 primarily due to a positive foreign exchange impact of approximately $1.9 million on U.S. dollar denominated purchases included in cost of goods sold.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 was $8.9 million ($0.14 basic and diluted loss per share) as compared with $2.0 million net loss ($0.03 basic and diluted loss per share) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018.  The increase in net loss of $6.9 million is primarily attributable to the increase in net finance costs and the decrease in income tax recovery.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 was $7.0 million as compared with $5.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, an increase of $1.6 million. The improvement in adjusted EBITDA is primarily due to the reduction in selling, distribution and administrative costs, partially offset by the decrease in gross profit.

Dividends

At the Board of Directors meeting held on April 3, 2019, a quarterly cash dividend (constituting eligible dividends) of $0.05 per share on all outstanding Class A non-voting and common shares of the Company was declared, payable April 25, 2019 to shareholders of record on April 15, 2019.

About Reitmans (Canada) Limited

The Company is a leading ladieswear specialty apparel retailer with retail outlets throughout Canada.  The Company operates 600 stores consisting of 263 Reitmans, 115 Penningtons, 81 Addition Elle, 83 RW & CO. and 58 Thyme Maternity.

¹Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has identified several key operating performance measures and non-GAAP financial measures which management believes are useful in assessing the performance of the Company; however, readers are cautioned that some of these measures may not have standardized meanings under IFRS and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar terms used by other companies.

In addition to discussing earnings in accordance with IFRS, this press announcement provides adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("adjusted EBITDA") as a non-GAAP financial measure.  Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net earnings before income tax expense/recovery, dividend income, interest income, net change in fair value of marketable securities, realized gain or loss on disposal of marketable securities, interest expense, impairment of goodwill, depreciation, amortization and net impairment charges.  The following table reconciles the most comparable GAAP measure, net earnings or loss, to adjusted EBITDA.  Management believes that adjusted EBITDA is an important indicator of the Company's ability to generate liquidity through operating cash flow to fund working capital needs and fund capital expenditures and uses the metric for this purpose.  The exclusion of dividend income, interest income and expense and the net change in fair value of marketable securities and the realized gain or loss on disposal of marketable securities eliminates the impact on earnings derived from non-operational activities.  The exclusion of impairment of goodwill, depreciation, amortization and impairment charges eliminates the non-cash impact.  The intent of adjusted EBITDA is to provide additional useful information to investors and analysts.  The measure does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS.  Although depreciation, amortization and impairment charges are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, as such, adjusted EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for these replacements.  Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered either as discretionary cash available to invest in the growth of the business or as a measure of cash that will be available to meet the Company's obligations.  Other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA differently. From time to time, the Company may exclude additional items if it believes doing so would result in a more effective analysis of underlying operating performance. The exclusion of certain items does not imply that they are non-recurring.  Adjusted EBITDA should not be used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS or as an alternative to net earnings, net cash provided by operating, investing or financing activities or any other financial statement data presented as indicators of financial performance or liquidity, each as presented in accordance with IFRS. Although adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by securities analysts, lenders and others in their evaluation of companies, it has limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's results as reported under IFRS.

The Company considers results from operating activities a useful measure of the Company's performance from its retail operations.  The Company has also determined that a useful measure would be results from operating activities before impairment of goodwill, which is a non-cash item.  Additionally, earnings per share excluding impairment of goodwill both on a basic and diluted basis have been presented which removes the impact of impairment of goodwill on net earnings used for calculation purposes.  Both of these supplementary measures are considered useful information and should not be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. 

The Company uses a key performance indicator ("KPI"), comparable sales, to assess store performance and sales growth. The Company has embarked on an omnichannel approach to engaging with customers. Due to the cross-channel behavior of consumers, the Company has launched its initiative aimed at appealing to its customers' shopping habits through either online or store channels.  This approach allows customers to shop online for home delivery, pickup in-store, purchase in any of our store locations or ship to home from our stores when products are unavailable. Due to customer cross-channel behavior, the Company reports a single comparable sales metric, inclusive of store and e-commerce channels. Comparable sales are defined as sales generated by stores that have been continuously open during both of the periods being compared and include e-commerce sales.  Comparable sales exclude sales from wholesale accounts.  The comparable sales metric compares the same calendar days for each period.  Although this KPI is expressed as a ratio, it is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies.  Management uses comparable sales in evaluating the performance of stores and online sales and considers it useful in helping to determine what portion of new sales has come from sales growth and what portion can be attributed to the opening of new stores.  Comparable sales is a measure widely used amongst retailers and is considered useful information for both investors and analysts.  Comparable sales should not be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

The following table reconciles net (loss) earnings to adjusted EBITDA:

Forward-Looking Statements

All of the statements contained herein, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, are forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond the Company's control.  Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's expectations only as of the date of this Press Announcement.  Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current estimates, beliefs and assumptions, which are based on management's perception of historical trends, current conditions and currently expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes, are appropriate in the circumstances.  This Press Announcement contains forward-looking statements about the Company's objectives, plans, goals, aspirations, strategies, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, performance, prospects, opportunities and legal and regulatory matters. Specific forward-looking statements in this Press Announcement include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's anticipated future results and events, future liquidity, planned capital expenditures, amount of pension plan contributions, status and impact of systems implementation, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and cost reduction and productivity improvement initiatives as well as the impact of such initiatives.  These specific forward-looking statements are contained throughout the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") including those listed in the "Operating and Financial Risk Management" section of the Company's MD&A. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "foresee", "could", "estimate", "goal", "intend", "plan", "seek", "strive", "will", "may" and "should" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company and its management.

Numerous risks and uncertainties could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected in the forward-looking statements.  Please refer to the "Forward-Looking Statements" section of the Company's MD&A for fiscal 2019.

Other risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that the Company presently believes are not material could also cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in its forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The reader should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included herein. These statements speak only as of the date made and the Company is under no obligation and disavows any intention to update or revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstances or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable securities law.

The Company's complete financial statements including notes and Management's Discussion and Analysis for fiscal 2019 are available online at www.sedar.com.

Montreal, April 3, 2019

Jeremy H. Reitman
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (514) 385-2630
Corporate Website: www.reitmanscanadalimited.com

SOURCE Reitmans (Canada) Limited