TRADING SYMBOL: TSX: AW.UN
VANCOUVER, BC, July 28, 2021 /CNW/ -
- Same Store Sales Growth(1) was 33.5% for Q2 2021 as
compared to Q2 2020 when the impact of COVID-19 on A&W
restaurants was at its peak.
- Same Store Sales Growth(1) for the year to date
period ended June 20, 2021 was
12.2%.
- The monthly distribution rate will be increased from 13.5¢ per
Unit to 15.0¢ per Unit beginning with the July 2021 distribution that is payable
August 31, 2021.
SECOND QUARTER 2021 RESULTS
A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (the "Fund") and A&W
Food Services of Canada Inc. ("A&W Food Services") today
reported results for the second quarter and year to date period
ended July 20, 2021. The Fund
will hold a conference call to discuss the results on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time (4:00 p.m. Eastern Time). The call can be
accessed by dialling toll-free 1-800-367-2403 or (647)
490-5367 Passcode 6533796#. A replay will be available
until August 4, 2021 by dialling
toll-free 1-888-203-1112 or (647) 436-0148 Passcode 6533796#.
Same Store Sales(i) for the second quarter of 2021
increased by 33.5% as compared to the same quarter of 2020. Same
Store Sales(i) for the 24-week period ended June 20, 2021 increased by 12.2% as compared to
the comparable period in 2020. When comparing the results of
the second quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2020 it is
important to note that COVID-19 had the most pronounced impact on
A&W restaurants to date in the second quarter of 2020.
During the second quarter of 2020 the number of A&W's
restaurants that were temporarily closed due to restrictions or
other COVID-19 related reasons peaked at 230 and the A&W
restaurants that remained open were restricted to drive thru
operations, delivery and take-out for most of the quarter.
The Same Store Sales Growth(i) of 33.5% for the second
quarter of 2021 is a reflection of Canada being on the road to recovery from
COVID-19, which has led to increased guest counts and a reduction
in the number of A&W restaurants that are temporarily closed,
as compared to the second quarter of 2020. Since the second quarter
of 2020, when COVID-19 impacts on A&W were at their peak, Same
Store Sales Growth(i) has trended upwards.
Actions required in response to COVID-19 continue to adversely
impact A&W restaurant operations across Canada, particularly for those restaurants
located on urban street fronts and in shopping centres. Throughout
the year to date period ended June 20,
2021, there continued to be a number of A&W restaurants
that were either temporarily closed or were not able to offer
dine-in services due to government imposed COVID-19 restrictions.
As at July 27, 2021, eight
restaurants remained temporarily closed. These temporarily closed
A&W restaurants are expected to reopen when permitted to do so,
however, there continues to be uncertainty related to COVID-19 and
its impact on our business. It is possible that the number of
restaurants temporarily closed increases again as the situation
evolves in the next year.
As a result of the performance by restaurants in the Royalty
Pool, the monthly distribution to unitholders will increase from
13.5 cents per Unit to 15.0 cents per Unit, beginning with the July
distribution which is payable on August 31,
2021. The new distribution rate translates into an
annualized distribution rate of $1.80
per Unit, an increase of 11.1% from the prior level of $1.62 per Unit.
"Although we continue to feel the impacts of COVID-19 on our
business, with the declining case numbers and easing of
restrictions across Canada we are
confident that through the efforts of our franchisees A&W is on
the road to recovery", said Susan
Senecal, President and CEO of A&W Food Services. "We are
pleased that the strong performance of the restaurants in the
royalty pool has allowed the Fund to increase distributions to the
unitholders."
FINANCIAL RESULTS
(dollars in
thousands except per unit amounts)
|
Period
from Mar 29, 2021
to
Jun 20, 2021
|
Period
from Mar 23, 2020 to
Jun 14, 2020
|
Period
from Jan 1, 2021 to
Jun 20, 2021
|
Period
from Jan 1, 2020 to
Jun 14, 2020
|
Same Store Sales
Growth(i)
|
33.5%
|
-31.6%
|
12.2%
|
-18.7%
|
Number of restaurants
in the Royalty Pool
|
994
|
971
|
994
|
971
|
Gross sales reported
by A&W restaurants in the Royalty
Pool(ii)
|
$350,641
|
$253,173
|
$661,367
|
$561,852
|
Royalty
income
|
$10,519
|
$7,596
|
$19,841
|
$16,856
|
General and
administrative expenses
|
96
|
214
|
302
|
407
|
Term loan and other
interest (net)
|
611
|
543
|
1,217
|
1,052
|
Current income tax
provision
|
1,893
|
1,967
|
3,925
|
2,997
|
Total distributable
cash generated for distributions and
dividends(iii)
|
$7,919
|
$4,872
|
$14,397
|
$12,400
|
Distributable cash
per equivalent unit (2021 – 19,132,830 units; 2020 – 18,556,378
units)(iii)(iv)
|
$0.414
|
$0.262
|
$0.752
|
$0.668
|
Distributions and
dividends declared per equivalent unit
|
$0.405
|
-
|
$0.640
|
$0.318
|
Net
income(v)
|
$8,095
|
$4,240
|
$14,834
|
$9,788
|
Net income excluding
non-cash items(v)
|
$7,865
|
$3,727
|
$13,989
|
$11,432
|
|
|
Notes:
|
(i)
|
"Same Store Sales"
and "Same Store Sales Growth" are calculated as the change in the
gross sales reported by A&W restaurants in the Royalty Pool (as
defined below) that operated, or were temporarily closed at any
point due to COVID-19, during the entire 12-week and 24-week
periods ending June 20, 2021 and June 14, 2020 and is based on an
equal number of days in each quarter. "Same Store Sales" and "Same
Store Sales Growth" are non-IFRS measures – see "Non-IFRS
Measures". This important information is provided as it is a key
driver of growth in the Fund. See "Sales
Performance".
|
(ii)
|
"Gross sales reported
by A&W restaurants in the Royalty Pool" is calculated in
respect of A&W restaurants in Canada in the Royalty Pool (as
defined below), as the amount of gross sales reported to Food
Services by franchisees of such A&W restaurants in the Royalty
Pool without audit, verification or other form of independent
assurance and the gross sales of A&W restaurants owned and
operated by Food Services in the Royalty Pool, in each case, after
deducting amounts for discounts for coupons and other promotional
offerings and applicable sales taxes.
|
(iii)
|
"Distributable cash", "distributable cash
per equivalent unit", "total distributions and dividends declared
and accrued per equivalent unit" and "payout ratio" are non-IFRS
measures. See "Non-IFRS Measures". This
information is provided as it identifies the amount of actual cash
generated to pay distributions to unitholders and dividends to Food
Services. See "Distributable Cash" and footnote (iv) below
for more information, including a description of how these non-IFRS
measures are calculated.
|
(iv)
|
Equivalent units
includes units of the Fund ("Units") and limited voting units of
the Fund ("Limited Voting Units" and together with the Units, the
"Trust Units") and common shares of A&W Trade Marks Inc.
("Trade Marks") that are exchangeable for Trust Units. The number
of equivalent units and distributable cash per equivalent unit in
2021 is calculated on a fully-diluted basis and includes the
116,329 LP units (as hereinafter defined) exchangeable for 232,658
common shares of Trade Marks representing the remaining 20% of the
initial consideration for the January 5, 2021 adjustment to the
Royalty Pool, which LP units are held back until the number of LP
units is determined in December 2021 based on the actual annual
sales reported by the new restaurants. See "Adjustment to the
Royalty Pool". The number of equivalent units and distributable
cash per equivalent unit in Q2 2020 is calculated on a
fully-diluted basis and includes 152,965 LP units, exchangeable for
305,930 common shares of Trade Marks representing the remaining 20%
of the initial consideration for the January 5, 2020 adjustment to
the Royalty Pool but does not include the adjustment to reduce the
final consideration by 5,193 LP units, equivalent to 10,386 common
shares of Trade Marks, made in December 2020 based on the actual
system sales for the A&W Restaurants added to the Royalty Pool
as part of the January 5, 2020 adjustment to the Royalty
Pool.
|
(v)
|
Net income in 2021
and 2020 includes unrealized gains and losses on an interest rate
swap, amortization of deferred financing fees and deferred income
taxes. These non-cash items have no impact on the Fund's
ability to pay distributions to unitholders. The Fund's net
income excluding these non-cash items is presented for information
purposes only. "Net income excluding non-cash items" is a
non-IFRS measure – see "Non-IFRS Measures".
|
Royalty income for the second quarter of 2021 was $10,519,000 based on gross sales reported by
restaurants in the Royalty Pool(ii) of $350,641,000, compared to royalty income of
$7,596,000 and gross sales reported
by A&W restaurants in the Royalty Pool(ii) of
$253,173,000 for the second quarter
of 2020. Year to date royalty income for 2021 was $19,841,000 based on gross sales reported by
restaurants in the Royalty Pool(ii) of $661,367,000, compared to royalty income of
$16,856,000 and gross sales reported
by A&W restaurants in the Royalty Pool(ii) of
$561,852,000 for the comparable
period in 2020. The increase in royalty income and gross
sales for the quarter and year to date is driven by the increase in
Same Store Sales(i) and the additional net 23 new
restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 5, 2021. The five additional days
in the year to date period for fiscal 2021, as compared to the year
to date period for fiscal 2020, also contributed to the year to
date increase in royalty income.
General and administrative expenses for the second quarter of
2021 decreased by $118,000 to
$96,000 from $214,000 for the second quarter of 2020.
Year to date general and administrative expenses were $302,000 compared to $407,000 for the comparable period in 2020. The
decrease in general and administrative expenses in 2021 is
primarily attributable to additional costs incurred in 2020 for
special meetings and advisory services related to COVID-19 that
were non-recurring in 2021.
Term loan and other interest (net) was $611,000 for the second quarter of 2021,
$68,000 higher compared to the second
quarter of 2020. The increase was due to a higher effective
interest rate on the term loan. An interest rate swap
agreement is used to manage risks from fluctuations in interest
rates and facilitate uniform monthly distributions when
paid.
Current income taxes payable decreased by $74,000 for the quarter and increased by
$928,000 year to date. Total income
tax including current tax, non-cash deferred income tax and
refundable income tax decreased by $401,000 for the quarter and increased by
$561,000 year to date. The decrease
in total income tax for the quarter is largely due to a decrease in
refundable income tax as a result of the Fund not paying
distributions in the second quarter of 2020. The year to date
increase in total income tax is largely due to a $5,607,000 increase in net income before taxes.
The increase in net income before taxes is driven by an increase in
royalty income and a $2,681,000
year-over-year positive variance in the fair value adjustment on
the interest rate swap.
The Fund's net income under International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) includes non-cash items, such as the fair value
adjustment of the interest rate swap, that have no impact on the
Fund's ability to pay distributions to unitholders. Therefore, net
income is not the only or most meaningful measure of the Fund's
ability to pay distributions and consequently, non-IFRS measures of
"distributable cash", "distributable cash per equivalent unit",
"total distributions and dividends declared and accrued per
equivalent unit" and "payout ratio" are reported to provide
investors with more meaningful information. The payout ratio is
calculated by dividing total distributions and dividends declared
and accrued per equivalent unit, by the distributable cash per
equivalent unit generated in that period.
The Fund's net income for the second quarter of 2021 was
$8,095,000 compared to $4,240,000 for the second quarter of 2020. Year
to date 2021 net income was $14,834,000 compared to $9,788,000 for the comparable period in 2020. The
$5,046,000 year to date increase in
net income was a result of the $2,985,000 increase in royalty income, the
$2,681,000 positive variance on the
unrealized gain (loss) on the interest rate swap and the
$105,000 decrease in general and
administrative expenses, less the $561,000 increase in total income tax expense and
the $164,000 increase in net interest
expense.
Distributable cash per equivalent unit increased by 15.2 cents to 41.4
cents per Unit in the second quarter of 2021 from
26.2 cents per Unit for the second
quarter of 2020. Year to date distributable cash per equivalent
unit increased by 8.4 cents to
75.2 cents per Unit for 2021 from
66.8 cents per Unit for the
comparable period in 2020. The increase in distributable cash per
equivalent unit is a result of the increase in distributable cash
discussed above, partially offset by the increase in the number of
equivalent units.
Three monthly distributions totaling 40.5
cents per Unit were declared in the second quarter of 2021.
No monthly distributions were declared in the second quarter of
2020 as the Trustees of the Fund (the "Trustees") had temporarily
suspended monthly distributions on the Units commencing with the
March 2020 distribution that would
ordinarily have been declared in April
2020. Five monthly distributions totaling 64.0 cents per Units were declared in the 2021
year to date period compared to two monthly distributions totaling
31.8 cents per Unit for the
comparable period in 2020. Total distributions declared and accrued
per equivalent unit year to date were 74.3
cents for 2021 compared to 46.2
cents for the comparable period in 2020.
The current monthly distribution rate of 13.5 cents per Unit translates to an annualized
distribution of $1.62 per Unit. Due
to the performance by restaurants in the Royalty Pool, the monthly
distribution to unitholders will increase from 13.5 cents per Unit to 15.0 cents per Unit beginning with the July
distribution which is payable on August 31,
2021. The new distribution rate translates into an
annualized distribution rate of $1.80
per Unit, an increase of 11.1% from the prior level of $1.62 per Unit.
The payout ratio for the second quarter of 2021 was 88.2%
compared to nil for the same quarter of 2020 as no distributions
were paid due to a COVID-19 related temporary suspension of
distributions in the second quarter of 2020. The year to date
payout ratio for 2021 was 98.8% compared to 69.2% for the
comparable period in 2020. The cumulative surplus of distributable
cash on reserve at the end of the second quarter of 2021 was
$8,748,000, compared to a cumulative
surplus of distributable cash on reserve of $8,967,000 at the beginning of the year, a
decrease of $219,000.
CREDIT FACILITY RENEWAL
Subsequent to quarter end, on July 27,
2021, Trade Marks received approval from its Board of
Directors and has reached an agreement with its existing lender
(the "Bank") to renew its $60,000,000
term loan, $2,000,000 demand
operating loan and interest rate swap (collectively the "Credit
Facility"), all of which mature on December
22, 2022. Trade Marks proposes to extend the Credit Facility
for an additional five years on terms and conditions consistent
with those of the existing Credit Facility. Management is
undertaking this early renewal of the Credit Facility to ensure
stability in the interest rate and to ensure stability in the
associated interest expense impact on distributable cash over the
renewed five year term.
Similar to the existing term loan, the interest rate on the
renewed term loan is expected to be comprised of a fixed swap rate
and a stamping fee that ranges from 0.90% to 1.40% depending on
Trade Mark's debt to EBITDA ratio.
It is anticipated that the existing general security agreement
over the assets of Trade Marks will remain as collateral for the
Credit Facility. Consistent with the current Credit Facility, the
renewed Credit Facility is expected to contain a number of
covenants including the requirement for Trade Marks to meet certain
EBITDA levels and debt to EBITDA ratios during each trailing four
quarter period. Similar to the existing term loan, it is proposed
that interest will only be payable monthly, provided that Trade
Marks' EBITDA tested quarterly on a trailing four quarter basis is
not less than specified amounts. In the event that EBITDA is
less than these specified amounts, the term loan is expected to be
fully amortized over the greater of three years and the remaining
term and repayment will be by way of blended monthly instalments of
principal and interest. A&W Trade Marks Limited
Partnership (the "Partnership") intends to provide its guarantee in
favour of the Bank of all of the indebtedness, covenants and
obligations of Trade Marks. The details of the Credit Facility are
still to be settled by the parties and there can be no assurance
that the parties will reach a definitive agreement.
ABOUT THE FUND
The Fund is a limited purpose trust established to invest in
Trade Marks, which through its interest in the Partnership, owns
the A&W trade-marks used in the A&W quick service
restaurant business in Canada. The A&W trade-marks
comprise some of the best-known brand names in the Canadian
foodservice industry. In return for licensing A&W Food
Services to use its trade-marks, Trade Marks (through the
Partnership) is entitled to royalties equal to 3% of the gross
sales reported by A&W restaurants in the Royalty
Pool(ii).
The Royalty Pool is adjusted annually to reflect gross sales
from new A&W restaurants, net of the gross sales of any A&W
restaurants that have permanently closed. Additional limited
partnership units ("LP units") are issued to A&W Food Services
to reflect the annual adjustment. A&W Food Services'
additional LP units are exchanged for additional common shares of
Trade Marks which are exchangeable for Trust Units. The
19th annual adjustment to the Royalty Pool took place on
January 5, 2021 at which time the
number of restaurants in the Royalty Pool increased from 971 to
994.
On April 16, 2021, A&W of
Canada Inc. ("A&W Canada"), an indirect shareholder of Food
Services, completed a reorganization to provide liquidity for some
of its shareholders and to simplify the indirect ownership of Food
Services (the "Reorganization").
As part of the Reorganization, and pursuant to the Declaration
of Trust and the Amended and Restated Exchange Agreement, Food
Services exchanged 1,042,000 common shares of Trade Marks for
521,000 Units, which Units were then purchased by shareholders of
A&W Canada at a price of $36.42
per Unit. The 521,000 Units sold are subject to a four-month
statutory hold period under applicable securities laws. After
the exchange and sale of these Units, and as at June 20, 2021 and July 27,
2021, there were 14,585,673 Units outstanding.
The shareholders who purchased the 521,000 Units also entered
into an agreement with three individuals (each a "Designated
Representative"), which agreement provides that any two of the
Designated Representatives are entitled to exercise the voting
rights attached to the 521,000 Units while they remain held by
those shareholders. There is no agreement, arrangement,
commitment or understanding among the Designated Representatives
themselves or amongst the Designated Representatives and those
shareholders as to how the voting rights attached to the 521,000
Units will be exercised in any particular circumstance. The
Designated Representatives, individually, therefore do not have
control or direction over any of the 521,000 Units.
In addition, Food Services exchanged 3,014,040 of its common
shares of Trade Marks for 1,507,020 Limited Voting Units of the
Fund. Limited Voting Units may be converted to Units and have
equal rights and privileges to Units except that holders of the
Limited Voting Units, together with the common shares of Trade
Marks that are exchangeable for Trust Units, are not entitled in
the aggregate to cast more than 40% of the votes cast upon a
resolution with respect to the appointment or removal of Trustees
of the Fund and are not entitled to cast votes upon a resolution to
amend the Declaration of Trust.
Prior to the Reorganization, Food Services owned 26.0% of the
common shares of Trade Marks which were exchangeable into 26.0% of
the total outstanding voting securities of the Fund on a fully
diluted basis. Following the Reorganization, but excluding
the issuance of the excess exchangeable LP units that represent the
remaining 20% of the initial consideration for the January 5, 2021 Adjustment to the Royalty Pool
that are payable in December 2021,
Food Services owned 15.4% of the exchangeable common shares of
Trade Marks and 9.4% of the Fund's Trust Units. Food Services'
ownership of exchangeable common shares of Trade Marks and Trust
Units equated to Food Services owning 23.3% of the total
outstanding voting securities of the Fund on a fully diluted
basis.
Including the issuance of the excess exchangeable LP units that
represent the remaining 20% of the initial consideration for the
January 5, 2021 payable in
December 2021, Food Services'
ownership in the outstanding voting securities of the Fund is
approximately 23.8% on a fully diluted basis (26.5% prior to the
Reorganization). Overall, the Reorganization was not dilutive
to unitholders of the Fund because the calculation of the number of
the fully diluted Trust Units did not change. Post
Reorganization, Food Services holds both Limited Voting Units in
the Fund and exchangeable common shares of Trade Marks, whereas
prior to the Reorganization, Food Services only held exchangeable
common shares of Trade Marks.
The Fund did not receive any proceeds from the Reorganization
and Food Services paid for the expenses of the Reorganization. The
Reorganization does not constitute a change of control of Food
Services, as the existing shareholders will continue to maintain
majority control of Food Services. There is no change in
management or the operations of the Food Services' business in
connection with the Reorganization.
Trade Marks' dividends to A&W Food Services and the Fund,
and the Fund's distributions to unitholders are based on top-line
revenues of the A&W restaurants in the Royalty Pool, less
interest, general and administrative expenses and current income
taxes of Trade Marks.
ABOUT A&W FOOD SERVICES
A&W is the second
largest quick-service hamburger restaurant chain in Canada. Operating coast-to-coast, A&W
restaurants feature famous trade-marked menu items such as The
Burger Family®, Chubby Chicken® and A&W
Root Beer®.
Follow A&W on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AWCanada) and
Twitter @AWCanada or visit www.awincomefund.ca.
Non-IFRS Measures
The Fund believes that disclosing certain non-IFRS financial
measures provides readers of this news release with important
information regarding the Fund's financial performance and its
ability to pay distributions to Unitholders. By considering these
measures in combination with the most closely comparable IFRS
measure, if any, the Fund believes that readers are provided with
additional and more useful information about the Fund than readers
would have if they simply considered IFRS measures alone.
The Fund uses "Same Store Sales Growth", "distributable cash",
"distributable cash per equivalent unit", "total distributions and
dividends declared and accrued per equivalent unit", "payout ratio"
and "net income, excluding non-cash items" as non-IFRS measures in
this news release. These measures do not have a standardized
meaning prescribed by IFRS and the Fund's method of calculating
these measures may differ from those of other issuers or companies
and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other issuers
or companies. For further details, including how such measures are
calculated by the Fund see "Financial Results" above and for
reconciliations of certain of these non-IFRS measures to the most
closely comparable IFRS measure, see the Fund's MD&A for the
second quarter ended July 20, 2021,
which will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com in due
course.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this press release may contain
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws in Canada
(forward-looking information). The words "anticipates", "believes",
"budgets", "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends",
"may", "might", "plans", "projects", "schedule", "should", "will",
"would" and similar expressions are often intended to identify
forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking
information contains these identifying words. Specific
forward-looking statements include statements with respect to: the
expectation that the monthly distribution rate will be increased
from 13.5 cents per Unit to
15.0 cents per Unit beginning with
the July 2021 distribution that is
payable August 31, 2021; expectations
regarding Canada being on the road
to recovery from COVID-19; the expectation that Trade Marks' Credit
Facility will be renewed and the terms under which such renewal
will occur; the expectation that the Partnership will provide its
guarantee in favour of the Bank of all of the indebtedness,
covenants and obligations of Trade Marks; the expectation that
currently closed A&W restaurants will reopen when able to do
so; and the impact of COVID-19, including its impact on store
closures, on the global economy in general and on the businesses of
A&W Food Services and the A&W franchisees in particular.
The forward-looking information is based on assumptions that
management considered reasonable at the time it was prepared, which
assumptions include: current store closures will be temporary and
restaurant performance will continue to improve; the Fund will
receive sufficient revenue in the future (in the form of royalty
payments from A&W Food Services) to maintain monthly
distributions; the projections for the A&W business and the
Fund provided by A&W Food Services are accurate; no material
changes will occur in the quick service restaurant burger market
including as a result of changes in consumer taste or health
concerns or changes in economic conditions or unemployment, the
COVID-19 pandemic or a disease outbreak; and the impacts of
COVID-19 on the A&W system will not significantly worsen. The
forward-looking information is subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the results anticipated by the forward-looking
information. Those risks and uncertainties include, among
other things, risks related to: the impacts of COVID-19 on
the Canadian economy, the QSR industry, the willingness of the
general public to dine outside their homes and travel, all of which
have negatively impacted A&W Food Services and the Fund and
have or may, as applicable, adversely affect each of A&W Food
Services', their franchisees' and the Fund's respective
investments, results of operations, and financial condition;
A&W Food Services may become liable for the lease obligations
of certain of its franchisees, if such franchisees default on their
leases, and such obligations may be significant and A&W Food
Services may be unsuccessful in seeking recovery from such
franchisees, all of which may adversely affect A&W Food
Services' investments, results of operations and financial
condition; A&W Food Services' projections may be inaccurate,
and do not represent a financial forecast and actual results may
differ materially from those anticipated by the projections;
monthly distributions are not guaranteed and may be reduced,
suspended or terminated at any time; the current sales improvement
trends of the A&W restaurants in the Royalty Pool may not
continue and may slow or regress; certain A&W restaurants that
are currently temporarily closed may not reopen; government
restrictions related to COVID-19 may have their durations extended,
or may be reinstated, in the case of those that have recently been
lifted, which measures may restrict the ability of A&W
restaurants to operate, or result in forced closures, further
reduced guest traffic, supply interruptions or staff shortages;
and, government programs expected to be helpful to A&W
Franchisees may not be available to some franchisees, and may not
be available in amounts expected for those franchisees for which
such programs are available and may be terminated at any time, and
following the termination of such programs, or the reduction of
amounts available under such programs, franchisees currently
receiving support under those programs may need to find alternative
sources of financial support and may make requests for such support
from, among other parties, A&W Food Services. Additional
factors which could cause results to differ from current
expectations are described in the Fund's most recent
Management Discussion and Analysis under the heading "Risks and
Uncertainties" and the Fund's Annual Information Form under the
heading "Risk Factors", available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The
forward-looking information contained in this news release
represents the Fund's expectations as of the date of this news
release, and are subject to change after this date. The Fund
assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
information, except as required by applicable law.
SOURCE A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund