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Calian Reports Unaudited Results for the Fourth Quarter and FY23

(All amounts in release are in Canadian dollars)

OTTAWA, Nov. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Calian® Group Ltd. (TSX:CGY), a diverse products and services company providing innovative healthcare, communications, learning and cybersecurity solutions, today released its unaudited results for the fourth quarter and FY23 ended September 30, 2023.

Highlights of record performance in Q4:

  • Revenue up 10% to $176 million
  • Gross margin at 31.7%, above 30% for the sixth consecutive quarter
  • Adjusted EBITDA1 at $20 million, up 7%

Highlights of FY23:

  • Revenue up 13% to $659 million
  • Gross margin at 31.0%, up from 29.1% last year
  • Adjusted EBITDA1 at $66 million, in line with last year
  • Operating free cash flow of $45 million
  • Net liquidity of $176 million
  • Repurchased 32,094 shares for consideration of $1.7 million
  • Acquired Hawaii Pacific Teleport on August 1st, 2023
  • Appointed President, IT & Cyber Solutions
  • Entered definitive purchase agreement to acquire Decisive Group

The Company will file the audited financial statements and annual report in early December 2023.

 
Financial Highlights Unaudited
Three months ended
Unaudited
Twelve months ended
(in millions of $, except per share & margins) September 30, September 30,
  2023   2022       % 2023   2022       %
Revenue   175.9     160.6     10 %   658.6     582.2     13 %
Adjusted EBITDA1   20.4     19.1     7 %   66.0     65.9     %
Adjusted EBITDA %1   11.6 %   11.8 %   (20 bps)   10.0 %   11.3 %   (130 bps)
Net Profit   5.1     1.2     328 %   18.8     13.6     39 %
EPS Diluted $ 0.43   $ 0.10     330 % $ 1.61   $ 1.19     35 %
Adjusted Net Profit1   12.7     10.3     24 %   40.4     44.0     (8 %)
Adjusted EPS Diluted1 $ 1.07   $ 0.90     20 % $ 3.45   $ 3.87     (11 %)
Operating Free Cash Flow1   10.7     14.1     (24 %)   44.8     47.2     (5 %)
               

1 This is a non-GAAP measure. Please refer to the section “Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to most comparable IFRS measures” at the end of this press release.

Access the full report on the Calian Financials web page.
Register for the conference call on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

“We finished the year with a record quarter as revenues, gross margin and adjusted EBITDA reached new historical highs,” said Kevin Ford, Calian Chief Executive Officer. “In FY23 we generated double-digit revenue growth with all four segments contributing. Our adjusted EBITDA remained flat. With two recent acquisitions, and adjustments in our operating costs, we are poised to see continued increase in our profitability.”

“Given the ongoing robust demand for our products and services, the contribution from recent acquisitions and the benefits from our restructuring plan, we are confident in our ability to post another record year. At the midpoint of our guidance range this translates into revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth of 15% and 32%, respectively, over FY23,” concluded Mr. Ford.

Fourth Quarter Results

Revenues increased 10%, from $161 million to $176 million, driven by double-digit growth in Advanced Technologies, Health and Learning.

  • Advanced Technologies: Revenues increased 72% to $53 million driven by product sales, the contribution from the Hawaii Pacific Teleport acquisition and the unwinding of backlog due to ongoing easing of supply chains.
  • Health: Revenues increased 31% to $52 million driven by significantly increased demand with our long-standing customers as well as short-term health response demand.
  • Learning: Revenues grew 11% to $24 million driven by strong demand for military training with existing Canadian customers as well as demand for new products and technologies for NATO customers due to geo-political issues and renewed focus on readiness.
  • ITCS: Revenues decreased 31% to $48 million as expected, mainly due to lower shipments in its product resale business based in the U.S., as the fourth quarter last year saw a disproportionate amount of product shipments due to the easing of supply chain issues.

Gross margin reached a record 31.7%, representing its 6th consecutive quarter above 30%. Adjusted EBITDA reached a record $20 million and adjusted EBITDA margin returned to double digits from Q3 levels to reach 11.6%.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

“In FY23 we generated $45 million in operating free cash flow, representing a 68% conversion rate from adjusted EBITDA,” said Patrick Houston, Calian CFO. “We continued to have a disciplined approach to capital deployment with the view of maximizing return on investments. We used our cash to invest in the business with acquisitions and earnout payments of $68 million and capex of $8 million and provide a return to shareholders in the form of dividends of $13 million and share buybacks of $2 million. We ended the year with $176 million in net liquidity, well-positioned to pursue our growth objectives,” concluded Mr. Houston.

Normal Course Issuer Bid

In the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, as part of its Normal Course Issuer Bid, the Company repurchased 32,094 shares for cancellation in consideration of $1.7 million. Since the launch of the Normal Course Issuer Bid on September 1, 2023, the Company repurchased 59,320 common shares for cancellation in consideration of $3.0 million.

Entered into a Definitive Purchase Agreement to Acquire Decisive Group

On November 9, 2023, Calian entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Ottawa-based Decisive Group Inc. for up to CAD$74.7 million. This includes the amount to be paid in cash at closing of CAD$50.0 million. The definitive purchase agreement is effective immediately. Calian anticipates the transaction to close on December 1, 2023. See press release for further details.

Appointed President, IT and Cyber Solutions

On November 6, 2023, Calian appointed Michael Tremblay to the position of President, IT and Cyber Solutions effective December 1, 2023. With 38 years of sales, marketing, operations, general management experience, coupled with considerable knowledge of public sector clients, Mike has held senior executive positions with Microsoft, SAP, Fujitsu Consulting, JDS Uniphase, EDS Systemhouse and Digital Equipment Corporation. See press release for further details.

Quarterly Dividend

Today, Calian declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share. The dividend is payable December 27, 2023, to shareholders of record as of December 11, 2023. Dividends paid by the Corporation are considered “eligible dividend” for tax purposes.

Guidance

         
    Guidance for the year ended Sept. 30, 2024
         
(in thousands of Canadian $)   Low   High
Revenue   730,000   790,000
Adjusted EBITDA   83,000   89,000

This guidance includes the full-year contribution from the Hawaii Pacific Teleport acquisition and assumes the closing of the Decisive Group acquisition on December 1st, 2023. It also includes the benefits from the restructuring plan announced in August 2023.

About Calian

We keep the world moving forward. Calian® helps people communicate, innovate, learn and lead safe and healthy lives. Every day, our employees live our values of customer commitment, integrity, innovation and teamwork to engineer reliable solutions that solve complex problems. That’s Confidence. Engineered. A stable and growing 40-year company, we are headquartered in Ottawa with offices and projects spanning North American, European and international markets.

Visit calian.com to learn about innovative healthcare, communications, learning and cybersecurity solutions.

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Media inquiries:
[email protected]
613-599-8600 x 2298

Investor Relations inquiries:
[email protected]

DISCLAIMER

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as “intend”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, and including currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Company’s most recent annual report and other reports filed by Calian with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

Calian · Head Office · 770 Palladium Drive · Ottawa · Ontario · Canada · K2V 1C8
Tel: 613.599.8600 · Fax: 613-592-3664 · General info email: [email protected]

CALIAN GROUP LTD.
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
As at September 30, 2023 and 2022
(Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data)
 
    September 30,   September 30,
    2023   2022
ASSETS            
CURRENT ASSETS            
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 33,734   $ 42,646  
Accounts receivable     173,052     171,453  
Work in process     16,580     39,865  
Inventory     21,983     18,643  
Prepaid expenses     19,040     23,780  
Derivative assets     155     123  
Total current assets     264,544     296,510  
NON-CURRENT ASSETS            
Capitalized research and development     1,068     2,186  
Equipment     26,709     16,623  
Application software     9,446     10,395  
Right of use assets     34,637     16,678  
Investments     3,673     670  
Acquired intangible assets     75,160     57,087  
Prepaid expenses     10,386      
Deferred tax asset     967     1,054  
Goodwill     159,133     145,959  
Total non-current assets     321,179     250,652  
TOTAL ASSETS   $ 585,723   $ 547,162  
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY            
CURRENT LIABILITIES            
Debt facility   $ 37,750   $ 7,500  
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities     105,550     126,096  
Contingent earn-out     11,263     25,676  
Provisions     2,848     1,249  
Unearned contract revenue     32,423     46,210  
Derivative liabilities     353     812  
Lease obligations     4,949     4,115  
Total current liabilities     195,136     211,658  
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES            
Lease obligations     32,057     14,920  
Contingent earn-out     2,535     2,874  
Unearned contract revenue     15,592      
Deferred tax liabilities     12,031     12,524  
Total non-current liabilities     62,215     30,318  
TOTAL LIABILITIES     257,351     241,976  
             
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY            
Issued capital     225,540     213,277  
Contributed surplus     4,856     3,479  
Retained earnings     96,859     92,198  
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)     1,117     (3,768 )
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY     328,372     305,186  
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY   $ 585,723   $ 547,162  
Number of common shares issued and outstanding     11,812,650     11,607,391  

CALIAN GROUP LTD.
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF NET PROFIT
For the three and twelve month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022
(Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data)
 
    Three months ended   Year ended
    September 30,   September 30,
    2023     2022     2023     2022  
Revenue                        
Advanced Technologies   $ 52,521     $ 30,517     $ 178,363     $ 150,398  
Health     51,568       39,470       184,856       167,141  
Learning     24,228       21,799       106,192       91,668  
ITCS     47,631       68,764       189,172       172,965  
Total Revenue     175,948       160,550       658,583       582,172  
                         
Cost of revenues     120,152       110,400       454,371       412,946  
Gross profit     55,796       50,150       204,212       169,226  
                         
Selling and marketing     10,545       13,064       45,410       32,514  
General and administration     22,034       17,004       81,363       65,408  
Research and development     2,836       1,015       11,452       5,372  
Profit before under noted items     20,381       19,067       65,987       65,932  
                         
Depreciation of equipment, application software and capitalized research and development     2,133       2,308       9,043       6,974  
Depreciation of right of use assets     1,352       950       4,501       3,629  
Amortization of acquired intangible assets     4,460       3,484       14,874       20,555  
Restructuring expense     2,618             2,618        
Other changes in fair value     (314 )           (314 )      
Deemed compensation     403       3,314       550       4,314  
Changes in fair value related to contingent earn-out     416       2,289       3,858       5,555  
Profit before interest income and income tax expense     9,313       6,722       30,857       24,905  
                         
Lease obligations interest expense     159       143       531       451  
Interest expense     634       7       365       295  
Profit before income tax expense     8,520       6,572       29,961       24,159  
                         
Income tax expense – current     3,776       5,650       12,919       14,307  
Income tax recovery – deferred     (375 )     (273 )     (1,843 )     (3,752 )
Total income tax expense     3,401       5,377       11,076       10,555  
NET PROFIT   $ 5,119     $ 1,195     $ 18,885     $ 13,604  
                         
Net profit per share:                        
Basic   $ 0.43     $ 0.10     $ 1.61     $ 1.19  
Diluted   $ 0.43     $ 0.10     $ 1.61     $ 1.19  

CALIAN GROUP LTD.
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the three and twelve month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022
(Canadian dollars in thousands)
 
    Three months ended   Year ended
    September 30,   September 30,
    2023     2022     2023     2022  
CASH FLOWS GENERATED FROM (USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES                        
Net profit   $ 5,119     $ 1,195     $ 18,885     $ 13,604  
Items not affecting cash:                        
Interest expense     634       7       365       295  
Changes in fair value related to contingent earn-out     416       2,289       3,858       5,555  
Lease obligations interest expense     159       143       531       451  
Income tax expense     3,401       5,377       11,076       10,555  
Employee share purchase plan expense     130       125       597       518  
Share based compensation expense     1,618       571       3,273       1,927  
Depreciation and amortization     7,945       6,742       28,418       31,158  
Deemed compensation     403       3,314       550       4,314  
Other changes in fair value     (314 )           (314 )      
      19,511       19,763       67,239       68,377  
Change in non-cash working capital                        
Accounts receivable     (8,971 )     (41,755 )     1,393       (28,822 )
Work in process     6,166       13,785       23,285       15,444  
Prepaid expenses and other     (3,848 )     (10,443 )     (829 )     (20,137 )
Inventory     1,873       681       (3,340 )     (4,340 )
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities     9,475       20,962       (17,947 )     15,142  
Unearned contract revenue     4,918       403       928       11,333  
      29,124       3,396       70,729       56,997  
Interest paid     (791 )     (150 )     (895 )     (747 )
Income tax paid     (5,629 )     (3,258 )     (13,059 )     (13,109 )
      22,704       (12 )     56,775       43,141  
CASH FLOWS GENERATED FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES                        
Issuance of common shares net of costs     760       571       2,901       2,705  
Dividends     (3,335 )     (3,249 )     (13,163 )     (12,765 )
Draw (repayment) on debt facility     37,750             30,250       7,500  
Payment of lease obligations     (1,261 )     (929 )     (4,382 )     (3,655 )
Repurchase of common shares     (1,670 )           (1,670 )      
      32,244       (3,607 )     13,936       (6,215 )
CASH FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES                        
Investments                 (2,689 )      
Business acquisitions     (59,834 )     (2,928 )     (68,494 )     (65,566 )
Capitalized research and development           (2 )     (86 )     (177 )
Equipment and application software     (2,368 )     (2,240 )     (8,354 )     (7,148 )
      (62,202 )     (5,170 )     (79,623 )     (72,891 )
                         
NET CASH OUTFLOW   $ (7,254 )   $ (8,789 )   $ (8,912 )   $ (35,965 )
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD     40,988       51,435       42,646       78,611  
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD   $ 33,734     $ 42,646     $ 33,734     $ 42,646  


RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO MOST COMPARABLE IFRS MEASURES

The following non-GAAP measures are mainly derived from the consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS; therefore, others using these terms may calculate them differently. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP performance measures does not imply that these are necessarily nonrecurring. From time to time, we may exclude additional items if we believe doing so would result in a more transparent and comparable disclosure. Other entities may define these measures differently than we do. In those cases, it may be difficult to use similarly named non-GAAP measures of other entities to compare performance of those entities to the Company’s performance.

Management believes that providing certain non-GAAP performance measures, in addition to IFRS measures, provides users of the Company’s financial reports with enhanced understanding of the Company’s results and related trends and increases transparency and clarity into the core results of the business. Adjusted EBITDA excludes items that do not reflect, in our opinion, the Company’s core performance and helps users of our MD&A to better analyze our results, enabling comparability of our results from one period to another.

Adjusted EBITDA

 
    Three months ended   Year ended
    September 30,   September 30,   September 30,   September 30,
    2023   2022
  2023   2022
Net profit   $ 5,119     $ 1,195     $ 18,885     $ 13,604  
Depreciation of equipment and application software     2,133       2,308       9,043       6,974  
Depreciation of right of use asset     1,352       950       4,501       3,629  
Amortization of acquired intangible assets     4,460       3,484       14,874       20,555  
Restructuring expense     2,618             2,618        
Other changes in fair value     (314 )           (314 )      
Lease interest expense     159       143       531       451  
Changes in fair value related to contingent earn-out     416       2,289       3,858       5,555  
Interest expense (income)     634       7       365       295  
Deemed Compensation     403       3,314       550       4,314  
Income tax     3,401       5,377       11,076       10,555  
Adjusted EBITDA   $ 20,381     $ 19,067     $ 65,987     $ 65,932  


Adjusted Net Profit and Adjusted EPS

 
    Three months ended   Year ended
    September 30,   September 30,   September 30,   September 30,
    2023   2022
  2023   2022
Net profit   $ 5,119     $ 1,195     $ 18,885     $ 13,604  
Restructuring expense     2,618             2,618        
Other changes in fair value     (314 )           (314 )      
Changes in fair value related to contingent earn-out     416       2,289       3,858       5,555  
Deemed Compensation     403       3,314       550       4,314  
Amortization of intangibles     4,460       3,484       14,874       20,555  
Adjusted net profit     12,702       10,282     $ 40,471     $ 44,028  
Weighted average number of common shares basic     11,790,964       11,399,172       11,714,887       11,343,615  
Adjusted EPS Basic     1.08       0.90       3.45       3.88  
Adjusted EPS Diluted     1.07       0.90       3.45       3.87  


Operating Free Cash Flow

 
    Three months ended   Year ended
    September 30,   September 30,   September 30,   September 30,
    2023   2022   2023   2022
                         
Cash flows generated from operating activities   $ 22,704     $ (12 )   $ 56,775     $ 43,141  
Capitalized research and development           (2 )     (86 )     (177 )
Equipment and application software     (2,368 )     (2,240 )     (8,354 )     (7,148 )
Free cash flow   $ 20,336     $ (2,254 )   $ 48,335     $ 35,816  
                         
Free cash flow   $ 20,336     $ (2,254 )   $ 48,335     $ 35,816  
Adjustments:                        
Change in non-cash working capital     (9,613 )     16,367       (3,490 )     11,380  
Operating free cash flow   $ 10,723     $ 14,113     $ 44,845     $ 47,196  
Operating free cash flow per share     0.91       1.24       3.83       4.16  

The Company uses adjusted net profit, and adjusted earnings per share, which remove the impact of our acquisition amortization and gains, resulting in accounting for acquisitions and changes in fair value to measure our performance. Operating free cash flow measures the company’s cash profitability after required capital spending when excluding working capital changes. These measurements better align the reporting of our results and improve comparability against our peers. We believe that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-GAAP measures in the evaluation of issuers. Management also uses non-GAAP measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, prepare annual operating budgets and assess our ability to meet our capital expenditure and working capital requirements. Adjusted profit and adjusted earnings per share are not recognized, defined or standardized measures under IFRS. Our definition of adjusted net profit and adjusted earnings per share will likely differ from that used by other companies (including our peers) and therefore comparability may be limited. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for or be considered in isolation from measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Investors are encouraged to review our financial statements and disclosures in their entirety and are cautioned not to put undue reliance on non-GAAP measures and view them in conjunction with the most comparable IFRS financial measures. The Company has reconciled adjusted net profit to the most comparable IFRS financial measure as shown above.

Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. TheTechOutlook.com takes no editorial responsibility for the same.

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