AND Andlauer Heathcare Group Inc

TORONTO, Aug. 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc. (TSX: AND) ("AHG" or the "Company") today reported its financial results for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2023 ("Q2 2023" and "YTD 2023", respectively).

• Revenue totaled $157.4 million, a decline of 7.1% from $169.4 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022 ("Q2 2022");
• Operating income was $22.6 million compared to $30.2 million in Q2 2022;
• Net income totaled $15.7 million, or $0.37 per share (diluted), compared to $21.0 million, or $0.49 per share (diluted), in Q2 2022;
• Total comprehensive income was $10.7 million compared to $27.6 million in Q2 2022;
• EBITDA totaled $39.5 million compared to $46.3 million in Q2 2022; and
• EBITDA Margin was 25.1% compared to 27.3% in Q2 2022.

"We generated solid results in our second quarter this year, though not as strong as our record quarterly results a year ago when we benefited from superior U.S. truckload rate premiums, higher revenue related to COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary products, and unusually high air freight forwarding volumes. Our revenue in the second quarter last year also reflected higher fuel surcharges," said Michael Andlauer, Chief Executive Officer of AHG. "Despite the lack of these tailwinds, our consolidated revenue for the first half of this year is higher than the same period a year ago and our EBITDA margins for the quarter and year-to-date remain within our pre-pandemic historical range. We continue to pursue acquisitions to further expand our platform and drive incremental growth."

Revenue for Q2 2023 decreased by 7.1% to $157.4 million, compared with $169.4 million in Q2 2022. The decrease is primarily attributable to lower fuel surcharge revenue, lower volume of air freight shipments and reduced revenue related to COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary products. The Company's COVID-19 related revenue declined to approximately 0.8% of consolidated revenue in Q2 2023, compared to approximately 2.6% of revenue in Q2 2022.

Revenue for the healthcare logistics segment totaled $43.7 million, a decrease of 9.0%, or approximately $4.3 million, compared with Q2 2022. The decline in segment revenue was attributable to a 5.8% year-over-year decrease in the Company's logistics and distribution product line revenue and a 31.3% decline in packaging revenue. The decrease in logistics and distribution revenue was due to lower outbound order handling activities for Accuristix and reduced transportation billings impacted by fuel surcharge programs from carriers, which are passed on to customers. The decrease is also partially attributable to $2.1 million of revenue recognized in Q2 2022 related to certain pass-through expenses which were reclassified to logistics and distributions revenue for LSU in accordance with IFRS 15 during the fourth quarter of 2022. This net revenue treatment has been consistently applied during YTD 2023. The decline in packaging revenue primarily reflects the loss of one of the Company's packaging customers in the first quarter of 2023 ("Q1 2023") and lower volume from AHG's remaining base of packaging customers compared to Q2 2022.

Revenue in the specialized transportation segment totaled $113.7 million, a decrease of 6.4%, or approximately $7.7 million, compared with Q2 2022. The decline in segment revenue reflects a 2.7% decrease in ground transportation revenue, a 33.4% decline in air freight forwarding revenue and a 4.5% decrease in revenue from AHG's dedicated and last mile delivery product line.

The decrease in ground transportation revenue is primarily attributable to lower fuel costs passed on to customers as a component of pricing. AHG's ground transportation revenue, excluding fuel, in its Canadian network increased by approximately 3.0%. The Company has continued to experience downward pressure on its US-based truckload rates as opportunities to obtain rate premiums in the year ended December 31, 2022 ("Fiscal 2022") related to equipment and driver shortages have now diminished. AHG believes that its US-based ground transportation revenue and related margins returned to pre-pandemic levels in YTD 2023, and the Company does not foresee a return to the premiums achieved in Fiscal 2022.

The decline in air freight forwarding revenue was attributable to lower fuel surcharge revenue and lower weight shipped by customers compared to Q2 2022. AHG's air freight forwarding customers shipped an unusually high volume during Q2 2022 due to supply chain issues during the period. AHG believes that the volumes shipped during Q2 2023 were more typical of expected air freight forwarding volumes and resulted in revenue slightly higher than its Q1 2023 air freight forwarding revenue of $7.5 million. Approximately 30.0% of the $3.9 million year-over-year decline in air freight forwarding revenue during Q2 2023 was attributable to lower fuel surcharge revenue. The $0.8 million year-over-year decline in AHG's dedicated and last mile delivery product line revenue reflects lower fuel surcharge revenue compared to Q2 2022, partially offset by continued organic growth.

Cost of transportation and services was $78.9 million, or 50.1% of revenue, compared with $82.8 million, or 48.9% of revenue, for Q2 2022. The lower cost of transportation and services for Q2 2023 was primarily attributable to lower fuel costs in line with the decreases in revenue related to fuel prices. The increased operating ratio reflects lower pricing in AHG's U.S. truckload operations. 

Direct operating expenses were $26.4 million, or 16.8% of revenue, compared with $28.3 million, or 16.7% of revenue, for Q2 2022. Direct operating expenses in Q2 2023 reflect a reduction in outbound volume in AHG's Accuristix logistics and distribution operations.

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses were $12.7 million, or 8.1% of revenue, compared with $12.1 million, or 7.2% of revenue, for Q2 2022. The increase was due to AHG's investments in supporting its business growth. SG&A expenses for Q2 2023 were in line with the Company's expectations on a percentage of revenue basis.

Operating income totaled $22.6 million, a decrease of $7.6 million compared to $30.2 million for Q2 2022. The decrease is primarily attributable to reduced contributions from Boyle Transportation and Skelton USA, lower air freight forwarding revenue and the decline in revenue related to COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary products.

Net income was $15.7 million, or $0.37 per share (diluted), compared with $21.0 million, or $0.49 per share (diluted), in Q2 2022. Lower segment net income before eliminations for AHG's specialized transportation segment was primarily attributable to reduced contributions from Boyle Transportation and Skelton USA, and lower segment net income from the Company's healthcare logistics segment reflects reduced order handling activity, as discussed above.

Total comprehensive income was $10.7 million compared to $27.6 million in Q2 2022. Total comprehensive income differs from net income due to the acquisition of foreign operations (Boyle Transportation and Skelton USA), which resulted in a negative foreign currency translation adjustment of $5.0 million in Q2 2023 compared to a positive foreign currency translation adjustment of $6.6 million in Q2 2022.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA")¹ totaled $39.5 million compared with $46.3 million for Q2 2022. The decrease is due to the factors discussed above and primarily reflects lower contributions from the Company's US-based truckload operations and lower revenue related to COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary products. EBITDA Margin¹ was 25.1% in Q2 2023, compared to 27.3% in Q2 2022, which is in line with the Company's pre-pandemic historical EBITDA Margin¹ range.

The Company paid a dividend (encompassing the period from April 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023) in the amount of $0.08 per subordinate voting share and multiple voting share on July 17, 2023.

Subject to financial results, capital requirements, available cash flow, corporate law requirements and any other factors that AHG's Board of Directors may consider relevant, it is the Company's intention to declare a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per subordinate voting share and multiple voting share on an ongoing basis.

As at June 30, 2023, there were 20,082,328 subordinate voting shares and 21,840,000 multiple voting shares issued and outstanding.

AHG's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") for Q2 2023 are available on the Company's website at www.andlauerhealthcare.com and on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca.

Michael Andlauer, Chief Executive Officer, and Peter Bromley, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call for analysts and investors on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

To join the conference call without operator assistance, you may register and enter your phone number at: https://emportal.ink/3rlhehx to receive an instant automated call back. Alternatively, you can dial (416) 764-8650 or (888) 664-6383 to reach a live operator that will join you into the call.

You can access a live webcast of the call under the Presentations & Events section of AHG's investor website at: www.andlauerhealthcare.com/andlauer-healthcare-presentations-events

To access a replay of the conference call, dial 416-764-8677 or (888) 390-0541, passcode: 967454 #. The replay will be available until August 9, 2023. The webcast will be archived on the Company's website following the conclusion of the call.

AHG is a leading and growing supply chain management company offering a robust platform of customized third-party logistics ("3PL") and specialized transportation solutions for the healthcare sector. The Company's 3PL services include customized logistics, distribution and packaging solutions for healthcare manufacturers across Canada. AHG's specialized transportation services in Canada, including air freight forwarding, ground transportation, dedicated delivery and last mile services, provide a one-stop shop for clients' healthcare transportation needs. Through its complementary service offerings, available across a coast-to-coast distribution network, AHG strives to accommodate the full range of its clients' specialized supply chain needs on an integrated and efficient basis. The Company also provides specialized ground transportation services, primarily to the healthcare sector, across the 48 contiguous U.S. states. For more information on AHG, please visit: www.andlauerhealthcare.com.

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to the Company's future financial outlook and anticipated events or results and may include information regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, growth strategies, addressable markets, budgets, operations, financial results, taxes, dividend policy, plans, objectives and expectations with respect to COVID-19. Particularly, information regarding the Company's growth expectations, performance, achievements, payment of dividends, prospects, potential acquisitions, financial targets or outlook is forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "outlook", "forecasts", "projection", "prospects", "strategy", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "commencing" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, targets, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. Such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances surrounding future expectations which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, estimates and assumptions, including but not limited to those assumptions described under the heading "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" in the Company's MD&A for Q2 2023. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 2, 2023, which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the opinions, estimates or assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results or future events might vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as of the date made. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date of this news release and are subject to change after such date and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws.

This news release contains certain non-IFRS measures. These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS, do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Company's results of operations from management's perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of the Company's financial information reported under IFRS. AHG uses non-IFRS measures including "EBITDA" and "EBITDA Margin". These non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of the Company's operating performance and thus highlight trends in its core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures. AHG also believes that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers. AHG management also uses non-IFRS measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, to prepare annual operating budgets and to determine components of management compensation.

EBITDA

AHG defines EBITDA as net income for the period before: (i) income tax expense (recovery); (ii) interest income; (iii) interest expense; and (iv) depreciation and amortization.

AHG believes EBITDA is a useful measure to assess the Company's financial performance because it provides a more relevant picture of operating results by excluding the effects of expenses that are not reflective of the Company's underlying business performance.

EBITDA Margin

AHG defines EBITDA Margin as EBITDA divided by revenue. EBITDA Margin represents a measure of the Company's profitability expressed as a percentage of revenue.

AHG believes EBITDA Margin is a useful measure to assess the Company's financial performance because it helps quantify the Company's ability to convert revenues generated from clients into EBITDA.

SOURCE Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc.