Zedcor earns $2.47-million in Q2, 3 cents per share.
ZEDCOR ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER RESULTS FOR 2023 WITH INCREASE IN YEAR OVER YEAR REVENUE AND $0.03 EARNINGS PER SHARE
Zedcor Inc. has released its financial and operating results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2023.
Q2 2023 revenues were $6.2 million and the Company had net income before income taxes of $2.5 million or $0.03 per share. This represented a 18% increase in revenues compared to Q2 2022 and a 62% increase in net income for June 30, 2023.
Zedcor recorded $1.8 million of adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended June 30, 2023. This compares to $1.7 million of adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended June 30, 2022.
During the quarter, the Company has allocated approximately 26% of its MobileyeZ security tower fleet to Ontario. These towers are being utilized at construction and automotive customer sites. Zedcor has continued to allocate security towers to Eastern Canada as it expands its service capabilities in Eastern Canada.
Todd Ziniuk, President & CEO said: "We continue to see strong demand for our MobileyeZ security towers across all sectors. We have also expanded to the United States which will further expand our assembly capabilities and also allow us to get access to a large market. We are planning to exit 2023 with approximately 45 security towers in the US while continuing to expand in Canada, with a focus on Eastern Canada. We are also seeing demand for our services across different industry verticals that we are excited about. In April, we launched a pilot project with a large home improvement retailer which is proceeding extremely well, and we are moving towards an anticipated contract with this customer. With our expanded financing in place, we remain on track to exit 2023 with approximately 900 security towers, a diversified customer base and a growing, North American footprint."
Zedcor recorded $6,216 and $12,659 of revenue for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. This compares to $5,256 and $9,887 of revenue from for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022. The revenue growth of 18% and 28% is the result of a larger fleet of security towers located throughout the Company's six service centers in Canada. Adjusted EBITDA grew to $1,824 and $3,959 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $1,694 and $3,067 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022. This was a growth of 8% for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and a growth of 29% for the six months ended June 30, 2023.
The Company's security and surveillance services saw increased revenues and EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to 2022 due largely to increased customer demand of its larger fleet of MobileyeZ security towers. Zedcor exited the period with 679 MobileyeZ security towers which was an increase of 173 when compared to December 31, 2022 and 313 units when compared to June 30, 2022.
Financial and operational highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 include:
- Net income was $2,472 for the three months ended June 30, 2023. This compares to net income of $1,528 for the three months ended June 30, 2022. For the six months ended June 30, 2023 net income was $3,224 compared to net income of $1,956 for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in net income is directly attributable to: 1) a larger fleet of towers and strong customer demand which drove utilization and, in turn, revenues; and 2) $2,159 in other income. As part of the sale of the Company's Rental segment assets in 2021, the Company is to receive a 35% bonus for every dollar of EBITDA over certain thresholds. As a result of this agreement, the Company will receive $2,159 for the second anniversary payment.
- Continued traction across Ontario. The Company expanded to Ottawa in Q2 2022 and Toronto in Q3 2022. As at June 30, 2023, approximately 26% of the Company's MobileyeZ security tower fleet is located in Ontario. This represents a growth of 8% from the end of Q1 2023 and 15% from the start of the year. We are seeing strong demand for the Company's services in Eastern Canada and additional security towers will be delivered to Ontario and Manitoba in 2023.
- Continued expansion in the Manitoba market. Zedcor opened its equipment and services center in Winnipeg in December 2022. In Q1 2023, the Company secured a project with a Manitoba based construction company for up to 18 electric MobileyeZ security towers across 8 locations in Manitoba. This contract will last up to 10 months with the possibility to extend indefinitely or be relocated to the customer's other construction sites.
- Diversification away from the Company's core pipeline construction customers. As the Company increases its fleet of MobileyeZ and expands geographically, our risk related to customer concentration is decreased. Zedcor's services are customer and industry agonistic and we continued to see that in the first half of the year 2023 as we continued to diversify our customer across the construction industry and launched a pilot program with a big box retailer in Q2 2023. The pilot has progressed well and we plan to negotiate a contract with the customer in Q3 2023.
- The Company continued to attract new customers across Canada. For the 3 months ended June 30, 2023, the Company provided services to over 50 new customers. For the 6 months ended June 30, 2023, the Company has added over 120 new customers.
- On track US expansion. Subsequent to June 30, 2023, the Company has leased a facility and during the quarter, the Company has hired its first employee in the US. In addition, the Company has shipped a small number of security towers for research & development purposes to help ensure supply targets are met for its 2024 expansion program. We anticipate to exit the year with approximately 45 Solar Electric MobileyeZ, which will be the preferred unit for this market going forward.
On June 6, 2023, the Company entered into a second amending agreement ("Second Amended Financing Agreement") which increased the Company's equipment financing from $6.0 million to $15.0 million. As at June 30, 2023, the Second Amended Financing Agreement provides the Company with the following:
- A $6.1 million term loan that is fully committed for five years ("Term Loan"). The Term Loan bears interest at 5.15% and will have monthly blended principal and interest payments of $116.
- A $15.0 million revolving equipment financing facility ("Revolving Equipment Financing"). The Company is able to draw on this facility at any time for up to 100% of new equipment purchases. The draws bear interest at Prime + 2.0% and each draw will be amortized over 5 years with blended principal and interest payments. As at June 30, 2023 the Prime Interest Rate was 6.95% and the interest rate on the Revolving Equipment Financing was 8.95%. As the Company pays down the Revolving Equipment Financing, it can borrow back up to the facility maximum of $15.0 million.
- An authorized overdraft facility ("Authorized Overdraft") up to $3.0 million, secured by the Company's accounts receivable, up to 75%, less priority payables which are GST payable, income taxes payable, employee remittances payable and WCB payables. The Authorized Overdraft is due on demand and any outstanding overdraft bears interest at Prime + 1.5%. As at June 30, 2023 the Prime Interest Rate was 6.95% and the interest rate on the Revolving Equipment Financing was 8.45%.
The Second Amended Financing Agreement is secured with a first charge over the Company's current and after acquired equipment, a general security agreement, a subordination and postponement agreement with a director of the Company with respect to a note payable, and other standard non-financial security.
The agreement has the following quarterly financial covenant requirements, calculated on a trailing twelve month basis:
- a debt servicing covenant of no less than 1.25 to 1.00;
- a funded debt to EBITDA covenant of no more than 3.00 to 1.00.
As at June 30, 2023, the Company is in compliance with its financial covenant requirements. The debt servicing ratio as calculated based on the Second Amended Financing Agreement was 2.89 to 1.00 and the funded debt to EBITDA was 1.55 to 1.00.
CREDIT RISK
The Company extends credit to customers, primarily comprised of pipeline construction companies and construction companies, in the normal course of its operations. Historically, bad debt expenses have been limited to specific customer circumstances. However, the volatility in economic activity may result in higher collection risk on trade receivables. The Company has reviewed its outstanding accounts receivable as at June 30, 2023 and believes the expected loss provision is sufficient.
OUTLOOK
Zedcor continues to execute its long-term strategy of growing its technology enabled security services across North America. While there were supply chain delays throughout Q1 which slowed down the Company's ability to build security towers, these were largely resolved in Q2. Zedcor continues to effectively use a mix of cash flow and debt to build additional MobileyeZ security towers to provide surveillance services to our expanding customer base. In addition, there are inflationary pressures that the Company is actively monitoring to maintain margins and this remains a priority for management.
Utilization of the Company's surveillance towers declined at the start of Q2 2023 but has rebounded to above 80% in June 2023. While we expect the utilization rates to remain strong going forward, there will be volatility on a monthly basis as the Trans Mountain Expansion Pipeline project comes to an end and equipment is redeployed to other customers throughout the Company's operating regions. The Company has grown its salesforce across Canada in order to obtain contracts for its MobileyeZ and continue to expand its service offering to different industries. With the anticipated completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion Pipeline by the end of 2023 the Company is situated with a growing salesforce and expanded geographical footprint to be able to diversify its customer base while maintaining utilization rates. This was evidenced in Q2 as Zedcor was able to redeploy a significant portion of the MobileyeZ returned from Trans Mountain to new customers, including starting a pilot project with a major home improvement retailer.
Priorities that the Company intends to focus on for the remainder of 2023 and 2024 include:
- Obtaining more customers, with a focus on enterprise level customers, and diversifying customer base including geographically and across different industry verticals. The Company is seeing strong demand for its MobileyeZ across Canada and has expanded to the United States in the second half of 2023. Based on preliminary research, there is a large market for Zedcor's integrated solution of MobileyeZ security towers with monitoring services. Due to significant spending on infrastructure in the USA, the Company believes its products, coupled with Zedcor's commitment to customer service, are perfectly situated for this market. Zedcor also intends to grow its presence in Eastern Canada.
- Continued expansion across Canada. The Company expanded to Ontario with equipment and service centers in Ottawa and Toronto. The Company has secured customers in Ontario and Quebec and intends to allocate a sizable portion of its 2023 capital spending to expand its Eastern Canada operations and fleet size. The Company has also hired salespeople and branch managers for all of its equipment and service centers across Canada.
- Maintaining margin levels by increasing operational efficiency and continuing to invest in technology. Zedcor has investigated a number of artificial intelligence options that will reduce the number of alarms in its monitoring center. We will be investing in technological solutions to help us exploit this and are actively testing options.
- Building new, innovative products based on customer demand. As the Company has obtained customers in different industry verticals, it has seen an increasing number of use cases for its MobileyeZ. This includes a need for additional sensor technology in both the retail and construction industries. As a result, the Company intends to increase its product offering in sensor technology to help customers solve issues around asset security. As the Company expands into different geographies, we intend to continue to develop additional types of MobileyeZ security towers, including a full solar security tower.
- The Company intends to continue to generate customer and shareholder value and positive earnings per share. By effectively managing its growth, executing on the above noted strategies and increasing its capital markets presence, Zedcor will be able to continue to generate positive earnings per share, grow its shareholder base and increase share price.