ROUGEMONT, QC, May 12, 2023
/CNW/ - Lassonde Industries Inc. (TSX: LAS.A) ("Lassonde" or
the "Corporation") today announced its financial results for its
first quarter ended April 1,
2023.
Financial Highlights:
|
|
|
First quarters ended
|
(in millions of
dollars, unless otherwise indicated)
|
|
|
|
|
April 1,
2023
|
April 2,
2022
|
∆
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
Sales
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
547.3
|
|
509.0
|
|
38.3
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
136.6
|
|
135.6
|
|
1.0
|
|
Operating
profit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
26.2
|
|
22.4
|
|
3.8
|
|
Profit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17.6
|
|
15.0
|
|
2.6
|
|
Attributable
to:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Corporation's
shareholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17.1
|
|
14.8
|
|
2.3
|
|
|
Non-controlling
interest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.5
|
|
0.2
|
|
0.3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPS (in
$)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.51
|
|
2.14
|
|
0.37
|
|
Weighted average number of shares outstanding
(in thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6,822
|
|
6,924
|
|
(102)
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
43.1
|
|
39.7
|
|
3.4
|
|
Adjusted EPS1 (in
$)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.48
|
|
2.37
|
|
0.11
|
|
Note:
These are financial highlights only. Management's Discussion and
Analysis, the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial
statements and notes thereto for the quarter ended April 1, 2023
are available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com and on the
Corporation's website.
|
"Lassonde Industries enjoyed a strong performance during the first
quarter and we will continue to invest in our operations to become
a more efficient organization. We are confident that progress on
our multi-year strategy will continue through the remainder of
2023, with more significant benefits to be achieved in 2024. Over
the next few quarters, we will maintain focus on macro-economic
conditions to ensure we are responding to the needs of our
customers and consumer trends as we execute our multi-year strategy
to drive long-term value," said Nathalie
Lassonde, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chair of the
Board of Directors of Lassonde Industries Inc.
"Each of our divisions delivered solid performance in the
quarter, with our U.S. business demonstrating increased tangible
benefits from project Eagle. Sales increased as our price
adjustments and an optimized sales mix more than offset a volume
contraction, which partially resulted from actions taken to
rationalize our product portfolio. Additionally, through Project
Eagle, we are seeing improved efficiencies in our U.S. facilities
and lower transportation costs realized in part through the
implementation of a new transportation management system," added
Vince Timpano, President and Chief Operating Officer of Lassonde
Industries Inc.
First Quarter Highlights:
- Sales of $547.3 million.
Excluding a $19.5 million favourable
foreign exchange impact, sales were up $18.8
million (3.7%) from the same quarter last year, mainly due
to selling price adjustments and to a favourable change in the
sales mix of U.S. private label products, partly offset by a
decrease in sales volume, mainly in the U.S.
- Gross profit of $136.6 million
(25.0% of sales), up $1.0 million
from the same quarter in 2022. Excluding a $2.4 million favourable foreign exchange impact,
gross profit was down $1.4 million
from the same quarter last year;
-
- Higher cost for all inputs, especially apple and orange
concentrates; and
- Increase in the Corporation's conversion costs.
- Operating profit of $26.2
million, up $3.8 million from
the same quarter last year;
-
- $10.3 million decrease in
transportation costs incurred to deliver products to clients,
resulting from decreases in fuel surcharges and in base
transportation rates and from savings related to the use of the new
transportation management system in the U.S.;
- $2.9 million unfavourable foreign
exchange impact that affected the conversion of the selling and
administrative expenses of the U.S. entities into Canadian
dollars;
- Increase of certain administrative expenses;
- Higher selling and marketing expenses; and
- $1.3 million decrease in expenses
related to the multi-year strategy (the "Strategy").
- Excluding items impacting comparability, adjusted
EBITDA1 was $43.1 million,
up $3.4 million from the same quarter
last year.
- Profit attributable to the Corporation's shareholders of
$17.1 million, resulting in basic and
diluted earnings per share ("EPS") of $2.51, up $2.3
million and $0.37,
respectively, from the same quarter in 2022. Excluding items
impacting comparability, adjusted EPS1 was $2.48 compared to $2.37 in the same quarter last year.
- As at April 1, 2023, long-term
debt, including the current portion, stood at $268.4 million, representing a net debt to
adjusted EBITDA ratio1 of 1.67:1.
- Dividend of $0.70 per share, paid
on March 15, 2023.
Multi-Year Strategy
To provide clarity and orientation on the opportunities to
pursue and to optimize capital allocation decisions, in early 2022,
the Corporation developed a multi-year strategy. This Strategy aims
to accelerate revenue growth, improve overall profitability, and
drive long-term value by focusing on three strategic pillars.
- Building a growth-oriented portfolio;
- Driving sustainable performance; and
- Improving capacity to act.
Associated Incremental Operating Expenses
During fiscal 2022, the Corporation began its strategic review,
completed the diagnostic step of Project Eagle, invested in a
project to optimize the current capacity of its specialty food
division, and began implementing new cloud-based management
systems, including demand planning and transportation management
systems. During the first quarter of 2023, the Corporation has
mainly continued its implementation of new cloud-based management
systems and made various investments in support of the three
pillars of its Strategy. The Corporation reported expenses of
$11.0 million in fiscal 2022 and
additional expenses of $1.1 million
in the first quarter of 2023.
Associated Capital Expenditures
The Corporation is dedicating capital expenditures aligned with
its Strategy to support growth, enhance productivity, and invest in
innovation and sustainable development. These investments included
two projects in 2022 to improve production efficiency and capacity
in Canada with a third project
authorized in the first quarter of 2023, continuing to upgrade the
enterprise resource planning ("ERP") software in Canada along with investments in the U.S. to
improve production efficiency and to deploy a new single serve line
in the Corporation's plant based in North
Carolina.
Project Eagle
Launched in the second quarter of 2022, Project Eagle is a
component of the Corporation's Strategy specifically aimed at
revitalizing its underperforming U.S. operations, with the
objective to capture growth, improve margins, and drive long-term
sustainable performance. In addition to reviewing the U.S.
operations' products and customers portfolio, Project Eagle also
seeks to identify and address key issues hampering performance
within its supply chain and manufacturing facilities, including
product simplification, process realignment, employee training, and
capital deployment.
After completing the diagnostic step of Project Eagle, the
Corporation recently took important steps to reduce its stock
keeping units ("SKU") complexity, harmonize packaging formats,
consolidate formulas, and rationalize low-margin products and/or
customers. The portfolio simplification should allow the
Corporation to reduce execution complexity, which would limit
downtime related to production changeovers and ultimately increase
throughput. The Corporation also completed the first phase of the
implementation of a cloud-based transportation management
system. Early benefits from both initiatives began
materializing in the first-quarter performance.
The capital designated in support of Project Eagle will be
deployed in three areas: (1) updating existing equipment to limit
unscheduled downtime; (2) increasing throughput on existing
equipment; and (3) investing in new equipment in support of
increased capacity in on-trend formats. While the equipment
upgrades are expected to result in short-term disruptions, the
Corporation expects they will be significantly outweighed by the
medium- to long-term benefits.
Finally, some of the initiatives deployed under Project Eagle
will ultimately benefit the rest of the organization; for instance
the deployment of new transportation management and demand planning
systems are first rolled out in the U.S. and then throughout the
Corporation.
Outlook
Lassonde continues to expect the largest factors impacting its
performance in fiscal 2023 will be the financial health of
consumers, the inflationary environment, and the frequency and
severity of supply chain disruptions. As a result, the Corporation
is making the following forward-looking statements for fiscal
2023:
Sales growth rate
- During the first quarter of 2023, the Corporation has taken
additional pricing action on its branded and private label product
offerings, including adjusting contracts with certain customers to
recover cost increases it incurred. It expects the run rate effects
of such pricing action to be felt during the balance of the year.
The Corporation also expects further pricing action to be
implemented over the course of 2023 as inflation persists.
- For 2023, barring any significant external shocks and excluding
foreign exchange impacts, Lassonde expects that its sales growth
rate should be in the mid to high single-digit range, mainly driven
by selling price adjustments. The Corporation is, however, closely
monitoring the evolution of consumer food habits and demand
elasticity in a context of price increases.
Productivity and service level
- Labour and operational initiatives, together with fewer supply
chain constraints, are expected to improve the Corporation's
ability to supply demand and return to historical order fill rate
levels, particularly in the U.S.
Key commodity and input costs
- The Corporation has recently noticed some stabilization in the
inflation trend of most of its input costs and is expecting this
trend to continue until the end of fiscal 2023. However, the
Corporation is still closely monitoring the price of orange
concentrate since the price for this key commodity has been at an
elevated level over the last 12 months, even reaching a new
historical peak of US$2.86/lbs sol.
in April 2023.
- Given that a large portion of the raw material purchases made
by Lassonde's Canadian operations are in U.S. dollars, a
strengthening of this currency against the Canadian dollar could
result in a higher cost for products sold in the Canadian market.
Furthermore, the Corporation is expecting an unfavourable foreign
exchange impact for 2023 when considering its hedged
positions.
Expenses, including expenses related to the Strategy
- The Corporation's performance-related salary expenses are
expected to return to normal levels in 2023.
- During 2023, Lassonde plans to continue deploying its Strategy,
revitalizing its U.S. operations, and upgrading its technology
infrastructures. It also plans to continue implementing new
cloud-based demand planning and transportation management systems,
the aim being to improve customer service and lower overall
distribution costs. It also intends to explore the potential impact
of upgrading its U.S. ERP. Spending in support of its Strategy is
expected to reach up to $10.0 million
in 2023.
- Higher interest expense is anticipated given higher rates on
floating rate debt as well as a higher average indebtedness level
compared to 2022.
Effective tax rate
- Effective tax rate should be about 26.5% for fiscal 2023.
Working capital
- As supply chain challenges appear to be dissipating, the
Corporation has revised its inventory accumulation strategy and,
although noticing an increase at the end of the first quarter, it
expects to progressively reduce its inventory levels. As a result,
its Days Operating Working Capital1 should trend
towards the upper end of its historical levels (pre-COVID-19)
during 2023 and within its historical range by the end of fiscal
2024. However, this strategy might be impacted by
(i) opportunistic decisions to secure inventory ahead of
potential additional price increases from suppliers, (ii) the
objective of ensuring an adequate service level, or (iii) the
identification of new potential supply chain disruptions.
Capital expenditures
- The Corporation's overall capital expenditures program for 2023
is estimated to reach up to 4.5% of its sales as it continues to
deploy capital in support of its Strategy. This estimate depends on
the timing of disbursements for certain large capital projects and
on the evolution of the macroeconomic environment. The Corporation
expects to return this ratio to a range of 2.0% to 3.0% of its
sales (including a maintenance component and a certain growth
component) by 2025. The new capital assets will be financed, to the
extent possible, using the Corporation's operating cash flows,
although the Corporation may also turn to borrowing if interest
rates and conditions prove advantageous.
The above forward-looking statements have been prepared using
the following key assumptions: the currently observed geopolitical
situation and macroeconomic trends, including employment,
inflation, and interest rates; the strength of the U.S. dollar
(compared to the Canadian dollar); the continuity of recently
observed consumer behaviours and market trends for the
Corporation's products; no material disruption to the Corporation's
operations (including workforce availability) or to its supply
chain; the effectiveness of the Corporation's selling price
adjustment initiatives; the limited impact of the Corporation's
selling price adjustment initiatives on product demand; the
continuity of observed trends in the competitive environment and
the effectiveness of the Corporation's strategy to position itself
competitively in the markets in which it competes; limited
additional cost increases from suppliers; adequate availability of
key inputs; the continuity of recently observed normalized trends
in the throughput capacity of key U.S. plants; expected lead time
for new manufacturing equipment; and adequate contractor or
consultant availability to progress the Corporation's capital
expenditures. The Corporation cautions readers that the foregoing
list of factors is not exhaustive. It should be noted that some of
these key assumptions, including those related to the geopolitical
situation and macroeconomic trends, are volatile and rapidly
evolving. In preparing its outlook, the Corporation made
assumptions that do not consider extraordinary events or
circumstances beyond its control. The Corporation believes 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 should
not be unduly relied upon. Refer to Section 2 – "
Forward-Looking Statements" of the Corporation's MD&A for
the first quarter ended April 1, 2023
for additional information.
Dividend
In accordance with the Corporation's dividend policy, the Board
of Directors declared today a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, payable on June 15, 2023 to all registered holders of Class
A and Class B shares on May 25, 2023.
This dividend is an eligible dividend.
Conference Call to Discuss First Quarter 2023 Financial
Results
Open to:
Investors, analysts, and all interested parties
DATE:
Friday, May 12, 2023
TIME:
1:30 p.m. ET
CALL:
416-764-8658 (for Toronto and
overseas participants)
1-888-886-7786 (for other North American participants)
A live audio broadcast of the conference call will be available
on the Corporation's website, on the Investors page or here:
https://www.gowebcasting.com/12535. A replay of the webcast will
remain available at the same link until midnight, May 19, 2023.
Financial Measures Not in Accordance With IFRS
The financial measures or ratios, further described below, do
not constitute standardized financial measures or ratios in
accordance with the financial reporting framework used to prepare
the Corporation's financial statements. These non-IFRS measures
should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for
financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Comparing them
to similar financial measures or ratios presented by other issuers
may not be possible.
Items impacting the comparability between periods
The following table contains a list, description and
quantification of items impacting the comparability of the
financial performance between the periods:
|
|
First quarters
ended
|
(in millions of
dollars)
|
|
|
|
|
April 1,
2023
|
|
|
|
April 2,
2022
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
$
|
Costs related to the
Strategy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.5
|
|
|
2.4
|
Implementation costs of
new cloud-based systems
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.6
|
|
|
-
|
Adjustment related to
non-recoverable sales taxes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.6
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sum of items impacting
comparability on operating profit and EBITDA:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.7
|
|
|
2.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item impacting
comparability on "Other (gains) losses":
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain related to the
preliminary settlement of an insurance claim
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2.1)
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax impact of previous
items
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.1
|
|
|
(0.6)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impact on
profit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(0.3)
|
|
|
1.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attributable
to:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Corporation's
shareholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(0.2)
|
|
|
1.7
|
Non-controlling
interest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(0.1)
|
|
|
0.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA is a financial measure used by the Corporation and
investors to assess the Corporation's capacity to generate future
cash flows from operating activities and pay financial expenses.
Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure used by the Corporation to
compare EBITDA between periods by excluding items impacting
comparability. EBITDA consists of the sum of operating profit and
the "depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization
of intangible assets" item shown in the Consolidated Statement of
Cash Flows. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adjusting the EBITDA
with items considered by the management as impacting the
comparability between periods.
|
|
First quarters
ended
|
(in millions of
dollars)
|
|
|
|
|
April 1,
2023
|
|
|
April 2,
2022
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
Operating
profit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
26.2
|
|
|
22.4
|
Depreciation of
property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible
assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15.1
|
|
|
14.9
|
EBITDA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
41.4
|
|
|
37.3
|
Sum of items impacting
comparability
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.7
|
|
|
2.4
|
Adjusted
EBITDA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
43.1
|
|
|
39.7
|
Adjusted Profit Attributable to the Corporation's Shareholders and
Adjusted EPS
Adjusted profit attributable to the Corporation's shareholders
and adjusted EPS are financial measures used by the Corporation to
compare profit attributable to the Corporation's shareholders and
EPS between periods by excluding items impacting comparability.
They are calculated by adjusting them with items considered by
management as impacting the comparability between periods.
|
|
First quarters ended
|
(in millions of
dollars, unless otherwise indicated)
|
|
|
|
|
April 1, 2023
|
|
|
April 2, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
Profit attributable to
the Corporation's shareholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
17.1
|
|
|
14.8
|
Sum of items impacting
comparability
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(0.2)
|
|
|
1.7
|
Adjusted profit
attributable to the Corporation's shareholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
16.9
|
|
|
16.4
|
Weighted average number
of shares outstanding (in thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6,822
|
|
|
6,924
|
Adjusted EPS (in
$)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.48
|
|
|
2.37
|
Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA
Net debt to adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure used by the
Corporation to assess its ability to pay off its existing debt and
to define its available borrowing capacity. To calculate the net
debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio, net debt is divided by the sum of
adjusted EBITDA from the last four quarters. Net debt represents
long-term debt, including the current portion, less the "Cash and
cash equivalents" item, as they are presented in the Corporation's
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.
(in millions of
dollars, except the net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio)
|
As at
April 1, 2023
|
|
As at
Dec. 31, 2022
|
|
$
|
|
$
|
Current portion of
long-term debt
|
8.1
|
|
|
100.8
|
|
Long-term
debt
|
260.2
|
|
|
148.6
|
|
Less: Cash and cash
equivalents
|
(0.6)
|
|
|
(2.7)
|
|
Net debt
|
267.7
|
|
|
246.7
|
|
Sum of adjusted EBITDA
from the last four quarters
|
160.5
|
|
|
157.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net debt to adjusted
EBITDA ratio
|
1.67:1
|
|
|
1.57:1
|
|
Days Operating Working Capital
Days operating working capital is a financial efficiency measure
used by the Corporation to represent the amount of sales tied up as
operating working capital. To calculate this financial measure,
operating working capital is divided by the last quarter's sales,
as they are presented in this press release, and multiplied by 91
days. Operating working capital is the sum of accounts receivable
and inventories, less accounts payable and accrued liabilities, as
they are presented in the Corporation's Consolidated Statement of
Financial Position.
About Lassonde
Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leader in the food and beverage
industry in North America. The
Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of
private label and national brand products, including ready-to-drink
beverages, fruit-based snacks as well as frozen juice concentrates.
It is also a leading producer of cranberry sauces and specialty
food products such as pasta sauces, soups and fondue broths and
sauces. The Corporation also imports and markets selected wines
from several countries of origin and produces apple cider and
cider-based drinks.
The Company operates 17 plants located in Canada and the
United States and produces its superior quality products
through the expertise of over 2,700 employees. To learn more, visit
www.lassonde.com
The Corporation is active in two market segments:
- Retail sales consist of (i) sales to food retailers and
wholesalers such as supermarket chains, independent grocers,
superstores, warehouse clubs, major pharmacy chains and (ii) online
sales; and
- Food service sales consist of sales to restaurants, hotels,
hospitals, schools, and wholesalers serving these
institutions.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains "forward-looking information" and the
Corporation's oral and written public communications that do not
constitute historical fact may be deemed to be "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. These
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations,
estimates, projections, beliefs, judgments, and assumptions on the
basis of information available at the time the applicable
forward–looking statement was made and considering the
Corporation's experience combined with its perception of historical
trends. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements
with respect to the Corporation's objectives and goals, in addition
to statements with respect to its beliefs, plans, targets, goals,
objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates, and intentions.
Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such
as "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "endeavour", "expect",
"may", "will", "project", "should", "could", "would", "believe",
"plan", "intend", "design", "target", "undertake", "view",
"indicate", "maintain", "explore", "entail", "schedule",
"objective", "strategy", "likely", "potential", "outlook", "aim",
"propose", "goal", and similar expressions suggesting future events
or future performance in addition to the negative forms of these
terms or any variations thereof. These statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and
uncertainties that are difficult to predict.
By their nature, forward-looking 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. Various factors or
assumptions are typically applied by the Corporation in drawing
conclusions or making the forecasts, projections, predictions, or
estimations set out in the forward–looking statements. These
factors and assumptions are based on information currently
available to the Corporation, including information obtained by the
Corporation from third-party sources. In this document,
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those
set forth in above "Outlook" section, which also presents
some (but not all) of the key assumptions used in determining the
forward-looking statements.
Such forward-looking statements relate to future events, are by
their very nature subject to many important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated.
Readers are cautioned that the assumptions considered by the
Corporation to support these statements may prove to be incorrect
in whole or in part. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the results expressed, implied, or projected
in the forward-looking statements contained in this document
include, among other things, risks associated with the following:
the availability of raw materials (including as a result of climate
change, extreme weather, global or local supply chain disruptions,
loss of key suppliers or supplier concentration, impact of
pandemics, geopolitical developments, military conflicts, and trade
sanctions) and related price variations; fluctuations in the prices
of inbound and outbound freight, the impact of oil prices (and
derivatives thereof) on the Corporation's direct and indirect costs
along with the Corporation's ability to transfer those increases
through higher prices or other means, if any, to its clients in
competitive market conditions; failure to maintain strong sourcing
and manufacturing platforms and efficient distribution channels;
disruptions in or failures of the Corporation's information
technology systems, including the ability to access and implement
technology necessary to achieve the Corporation's targets,
commitments and goals, as well as the development and performance
of technology; cyber threats and other
information-technology-related risks relating to business
disruptions, confidentiality, data integrity, and business email
compromise-related fraud; the scarcity of labour in North America and the related impact on the
hiring, training, developing, retaining and reliance of qualified
and/or key personnel together with their productivity, employment
matters (including compensation), compliance with employment laws
across multiple jurisdictions, and the potential for work stoppages
due to non-renewal of collective bargaining agreements or other
reasons; the successful deployment of the Corporation's health and
safety programs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
serious injuries or fatalities, which could have a material impact
on the Corporation's business continuity and reputation and lead to
compliance-related costs; the successful deployment of the
Corporation's Strategy (defined in above "Multi-Year
Strategy" section), including components such as Project Eagle;
climate change and disasters causing higher operating costs and
capital expenditures and reduced production output, and impacting
the availability, quality or price volatility of key commodities
sourced by the Corporation; disputes with significant suppliers;
the increasing concentration of clients in the food industry,
providing them with significant bargaining power that could limit
the Corporation's ability to raise its prices to offset
inflationary pressures; major events, such as systems and equipment
failure, pandemics and natural disasters, or increased frequency or
intensity of extreme weather conditions (including as a result of
climate change), leading to unanticipated business disruptions at
the Corporation's facilities or those of certain suppliers; the
implementation, cost and impact of environmental sustainability
initiatives, as well as the cost of remediating environmental
liabilities; changes made to laws (including tax and tariffs),
regulations, rules and policies that affect the Corporation's
activities as well as the interpretation thereof, and new positions
adopted by relevant authorities; failure to adapt to changes and
developments affecting the Corporation's industry, including
customer preferences, tastes, concerns or perceptions and buying
patterns, market conditions and the activities of competitors and
clients; crisis management and the execution of the business
continuity plan; failure to maintain the quality and safety of the
Corporation's products, which could result in product recalls and
product liability claims for misbranded, adulterated, contaminated,
or spoiled food products, along with reputational damage; damage to
the reputation of the Corporation and its brands, including as a
result of its inability to meet stakeholders' ESG expectations or
to realize expected benefits in that respect; risks related to
fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates, liquidity
and credit, stock price and pension obligations; deterioration of
general macroeconomic conditions, including international
conflicts, which can lead to negative impacts on the Corporation's
suppliers, customers and operating costs; the incurrence of
restructuring, disposal, or other related charges together with the
recognition of impairment charges on goodwill or long-lived assets,
particularly in a context of challenging performance and rising
cost of capital; the sufficiency of insurance coverage; expected
future cash flows and the sufficiency thereof, sources of capital
at attractive rates, future contractual obligations, future
financing options, renewal of credit facilities, and availability
of capital to fund growth plans, operating obligations and
dividends; pension plan performance, including the adequacy of
pension contributions, assets, and potential pension liabilities;
the implications and outcome of potential legal actions, litigation
and regulatory proceedings to which the Corporation may be a party;
and innovation and the future use and deployment of technology and
associated expected future outcome, ability of the Corporation to
protect its intellectual property and the costs incurred to do
so.
The Corporation cautions readers that the foregoing list of
factors is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned that some
of the forward-looking statements in this document, such as
statements concerning sales growth rate, productivity and service
level, key commodity and input costs, expenses (including
Strategy-related expenses), effective tax rate, working capital and
capital expenditures, may be considered to be financial outlooks
for the purposes of applicable securities legislation. These
financial outlooks are presented to evaluate potential future
earnings and anticipated future uses of cash flows and may not be
appropriate for other purposes. Readers should not assume these
financial outlooks will materialize.
More information about risk factors can be found in Section
19 - "Uncertainties and Principal Risk Factors" of the
Corporation's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022. Readers should review this
section in detail.
All forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of
the date hereof. Unless required by law, the Corporation does not
undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements
contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary
statement.
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1 This
measure does not constitute a standardized financial measure in
accordance with the financial reporting framework used to prepare
the Corporation's financial statements. Comparing it to a similar
financial measure presented by other issuers may not be possible.
Refer to Section "Financial Measures Not in Accordance with
IFRS" of this press release for more information,
including the definition and composition of the measure or ratio as
well as the reconciliation to the most comparable measure in the
financial statements, as applicable.
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SOURCE Lassonde Industries Inc.