Toronto, Ontario — Quebec-based automotive paint manufacturer Uni-Select Inc. have reported a “strong start to the year” following the release of the company’s Q1 financial report on Thursday.
The company noted a number of highlights from Q1 in the report:
- EBITDA(1) of $24.8 million; adjusted EBITDA(1) of $28.2 million or 7.6 percent of sales, up $11.4 million or 350 basis points versus the first quarter of 2020, reflecting sustainable efficiency gains realized over the last twelve months;
- Positive free cash flows(1) of $27.4 million generated, up 100.0 percent from the first quarter in 2020;
- Minimized working capital impact through cash collection activities and active inventory management. Net debt (1) level similar to December 2020;
- Consolidated sales of $370.1 million, down 9.2 percent year-over-year, impacted by consecutive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic; negative consolidated organic growth(1) of 10.2 percent; and
- EPS of $0.01; adjusted EPS(1) of $0.09, up from ($0.10) last year.
All amounts are expressed in thousands of US dollars, except per share amounts and percentages.
The virtual shareholders meeting also included an election of the company’s new directors, who included Michelle Cormier, Martin Garand, Stéphane Gonthier, Matthew B. Kunica, Chantel E. Lenard, Brian McManus, Frederick J. Mifflin Pierre A. Raymond, David G. Samuel and Brent Windom.
Uni-Select president, CEO and newlye-elected director, Brent Windom, issued the following statement following the release of the company’s first quarter financial results:
“We had a strong start to the year, as our adjusted EBITDA(1) and related margin were up a robust 68 percent and 350 basis points, respectively, essentially driven by the sustainable benefits provided by our continuous improvement initiatives in all of our businesses despite being up against a comparable quarter that was marginally impacted by the early stages of the pandemic. As expected, our sales were down nine percent year-over-year, essentially attributable to the slower recovery in our refinish business in the U.S.
“In the first quarter, we typically invest in our working capital. This investment was partly mitigated by the active management of our working capital and capital deployment. Given our improved profitability and proactive cash management, we ended the quarter with a total net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio(1) of 3.8x, from 4.2x in the fourth quarter of 2020, as well as available liquidity of $267 million.
“Looking forward, with the visibility we have today, we expect our 2021 consolidated results to progressively improve over 2020. We also anticipate ramping up capital investments to pre-COVID levels and end the year with a level of total net debt similar to 2020. We are confident in the sustainability of the improvements realized in our business. We are continuing to focus on our sales initiatives and the next phase of our continuous improvements, to further build shareholder value.”
