NLH Nova Leap Health Corp

NOVA LEAP HEALTH CORP. (TSXV: NLH) (“Nova Leap” or “the Company”), a growing home health care organization, is pleased to announce the release of financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. All amounts are in United States dollars unless otherwise specified.

Nova Leap Q1 2022 Financial Results

Financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022 include the following:

• Q1 2022 revenues were the highest in the Company’s history;
• Q1 2022 revenues of $7.297 million increased by 45.4% relative to Q1 2021 revenues of $5.020 million and were 23.5% higher than Q4 2021 revenues of $5.910 million;
• The Company recorded the 7th consecutive quarter of revenue growth and 5th consecutive quarter of record revenues; A graph accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a63e8350-a466-4e60-8856-5b3b939556f5
• Q1 2022 Adjusted EBITDA was the second highest in the Company’s history;
• Q1 2022 Adjusted EBITDA increased to $227,562 from negative Adjusted EBITDA of $38,692 in Q1 2021 and negative Adjusted EBITDA of $58,894 in Q4 2021 (See calculation of Adjusted EBITDA below); A graph accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/04d2f3e1-f65f-443d-88c9-d30569c4b385

• Q1 2022 operating loss decreased to $198,829 from an operating loss of $307,531 in Q1 2021 and $449,089 in Q4 2021;
• The Company reported a net loss of $389,674 in Q1 2022 as compared to net income of $882,189 in Q1 2021. Q1 2021 was positively impacted by COVID-19 relief programs which had increased net income by $1.253 million after taxes;
• The Company had a cash balance of $1.646 million as of March 31, 2022, as well as full access to the unutilized revolving credit facility of $1.200 million (CAD$1.500 million).
• The Company’s non-revolving demand loan of $1,600,000 which had a maturity date of April 30, 2022 was extended to December 31, 2022 to coincide with the expected collection of the ERC receivable.

Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) Transition and Succession Plan

Megan Spidle, who has been the Company’s CFO since 2016 and Corporate Secretary since 2019, will be stepping down from those roles by the end of June. As part of a planned transition and her desire to refocus her efforts, Megan will lead Nova Leap’s corporate development team in the areas of financial due diligence and post-acquisition integration.

Lisette Hachey, who has held progressive roles since joining Nova Leap as Controller in January 2021 and who currently holds the position of Director of Finance, will assume the roles of CFO and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining Nova Leap, Lisette served as CFO and Corporate Secretary of Corridor Resources Inc. (now Headwater Exploration Inc.) (HWX:TSX) for approximately 14 years.

President & CEO’s Comments

“I would like to thank Megan for her outstanding work as CFO since the Company’s early days in 2016”, said Chris Dobbin, President & CEO of Nova Leap. “Megan has built an excellent team of professionals supporting Nova Leap’s home care operations and she has been instrumental in virtually every aspect of our success. I am thrilled that she is going to continue playing such an important role within corporate development, an area where she has already contributed significant value.

I am equally pleased that Lisette will be taking on the roles of CFO & Corporate Secretary. We were very fortunate when Lisette joined the Company in early 2021 given her depth of experience. Since that time, the Company has benefitted significantly from that experience and it is a natural progression for her to assume the roles given her 14 years of public company experience as CFO.

From an operational perspective, we are starting to see the positive results of late 2021 acquisitions impact our financials. With record revenues for the 5th consecutive quarter and the second best Adjusted EBITDA reported in Nova Leap’s history, the Company is off to a good start to the year.

When we reported Q3 2021 results, we disclosed a Q1 2022 annualized revenue target of at least $30 million. We were exceptionally close coming in at $29.7 million. On an annualized basis, this represents an approximate 40% increase above 2021 reported revenues of $21.279 million. As we appear to be moving towards dealing with Covid in our everyday lives, the team is working hard to move our U.S. operating segment Adjusted EBITDA back to pre-pandemic levels. We are taking a balanced approach as we focus on caregiver recruitment and retention and we have begun allocating additional resources to business development initiatives that we believe will yield long term sustainable organic growth for some of our existing agencies. Q1 2022 Adjusted EBITDA is already higher than Adjusted EBITDA for full year 2021.

From a macro perspective, we are operating in an inflationary environment and one with rising interest rates. Nova Leap is well positioned to deal with both items. Our gross margin remains within historical ranges coming in at 34.8% for Q1, the higher end of our normal range. Our debt is combined of fixed rate promissory notes and variable rate demand loans. Given the low amount of demand loans on the Company’s balance sheet the impact of increasing interest rates increases on existing debt is minimal. Accounts receivable collection remains excellent.  

I would describe the current M&A environment as exceptionally challenging. On the one hand, we are seeing acquisition opportunities that are very compelling. On the other hand, the capital markets environment is not conducive to being able to act on certain acquisition opportunities to the extent we would like. We are being selective and will pick our spots where appropriate as we continue to drive the long term value of the Company.”

Further information on the assumptions and risks associated with our target financial metrics is included below under the heading “Forward Looking Information”.

This news release should be read in conjunction with the Unaudited Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, notes to the financial statements, and management's discussion and analysis, which have been filed on SEDAR.

About Nova Leap

Nova Leap is an acquisitive home health care services company operating in one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. & Canada. The Company performs a vital role within the continuum of care with an individual and family centered focus, particularly those requiring dementia care. Nova Leap achieved the #42 ranking on the 2021 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies, the #2 ranking on the 2020 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies and the #10 Ranking in the 2019 TSX Venture 50™ in the Clean Technology & Life Sciences sector. The Company is geographically diversified with operations in 11 different U.S. states within the New England, Southeastern, South Central and Midwest regions as well as Nova Scotia, Canada.

NON-IFRS AND OTHER MEASURES:

This release contains references to certain measures that do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS as prescribed by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement IFRS measures by providing a further understanding of operations from management’s perspective. Accordingly, non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of financial information reported under IFRS. The Company presents non-IFRS financial measures, specifically Adjusted EBITDA (as such term is hereinafter defined), as well as supplementary financial measures such as annualized revenue. The Company believes these non-IFRS financial measures are frequently used by lenders, securities analysts, investors and other interested parties as a measure of financial performance, and it is therefore helpful to provide supplemental measures of operating performance and thus highlight trends that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures.

Adjusted Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”), is calculated as income (loss) from operating activities plus amortization and depreciation and stock-based compensation expense. The most directly comparable IFRS measure is operating income (loss).

Annualized revenue is calculated as actual revenue extrapolated from the beginning of the year or date of acquisition over 365 days.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-IFRS MEASURES:

	Q1-22 ($)	Q1-21 ($)	Q4-21 ($)
Operating loss	(198,829)	(307,531)	(449,089)
Amortization and depreciation	330,888	215,017	218,005
Stock-based compensation	95,503	53,822	172,190
Adjusted EBITDA	227,562	(38,692)	(58,894)

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION:

Certain information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements, such as statements regarding future expansions and cost savings, timing of receipt of ERC, and plans regarding future acquisitions and business growth, including the timing of closing recently announced acquisitions, anticipated annualized revenue or annualized recurring revenue run rate growth and anticipated consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margins. This information is based on current expectations and assumptions, including assumptions described elsewhere in this release and those concerning general economic and market conditions, availability of working capital necessary for conducting Nova Leap’s operations, availability of desirable acquisition targets and financing to fund such acquisitions, and Nova Leap’s ability to integrate its acquired businesses and maintain previously achieved service hour and revenue levels, that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. Risks that could cause results to differ from those stated in the forward-looking statements in this release include the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or any recurrence, including government regulations or voluntary measures limiting the Company’s ability to provide care to clients (such as shelter-in-place orders, isolation or quarantine orders, distancing requirements, or closures or restricted access procedures at facilities where clients reside), increased costs associated with personal protective equipment and sanitization supplies, staff and supply shortages, regulatory changes affecting the home care industry or government programs utilized by the Company (such as ERC), other unexpected increases in operating costs and competition from other service providers. All forward-looking statements, including any financial outlook or future-oriented financial information, contained in this press release are made as of the date of this release and included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future, and these statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information:

Chris Dobbin, CPA, CA, ICD.D
Director, President and CEO
T: 902 401 9480
E:cdobbin@novaleaphealth.com