Winnipeg, Manitoba — The Boyd Group reported its Q1 2022 financial results Wednesday, confirming that the company saw “some modest recovery of demand for services in Canada,” as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted across the nation.
Sales increased by 32 percent to US$556.8 million for Boyd’s U.S. and Canadian operations, up from US$421.6 million in the same period of 2021. Same-store sales were up 14.7 percent from Q1 2021.
Gross profit increased by 26.5 percent, said the Boyd Group, while adjusted EBITDA increased 1.9 percent to US$53.8 million, compared with adjusted EBITDA of US$52.7 million, or 12.5 percent of sales in the same period of 2021, which included US$3.4 million of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.
Adjusted net earnings decreased to US$2.1 million, compared with US$8.3 million in the same period of 2021 and adjusted net earnings per share decreased to US$0.10, compared with US$0.39 in the same period of 2021.
Boyd Group President and CEO Timothy O’Day noted that the company “continues to negotiate an unprecedented number of meaningful price increases from clients” and cited “continuing cost pressure impacting the level of margin improvement we have experienced thus far.”
“We are experiencing pricing differences between clients, which is a key area of focus in continuing pricing discussions,” added O’Day. “Until these differences are addressed, continuing wage pressure has an impact on Boyd’s near-term ability to meaningfully improve labour margins.”
O’Day also said the company remains focussed on attracting talent to the industry and addressing wage increases.
“There is an urgent need to raise wage rates in order to attract talent to the industry, and client pricing needs to reflect this market change. Notwithstanding near-term challenges, Boyd remains confident in the business model and the Company’s plan to double the size of the business on a constant currency basis from 2021 to 2025 against 2019 sales, with same-store sales being a primary driver of growth in the very near term.”
The company also added 11 locations in Q1 2022: eight through acquisition and three start-up locations, it said.
