WesternOne's New CEO Provides an Update on his First 100 days

VANCOUVER, Dec. 10, 2014 /CNW/ - Peter Blake, the new CEO for WesternOne Inc. ("WesternOne") (Toronto Stock Exchange: WEQ, WEQ.DB and WEQ.DB.C) is pleased to provide an update of his first 100 days on the job.

"WesternOne is made up of two business units – WesternOne Infrastructure Services and Britco. I joined WesternOne in September because I felt my skills and experience could be put to good use to help grow both units of this company. And to date, despite what has happened to the share price of companies in the modular construction and oil and gas sectors due largely to macroeconomic factors and the correlated effect on WesternOne, I am excited about what I have seen. Our prospects and opportunities going forward are excellent. In my early days, apart from meeting with many of our employees, customers and investors, we have been busy with many things, including the following:

• Syndicating and launching our $38.6 million equity offering, utilized in part towards our $20 million acquisition of the assets and business of Enerbuilt Technologies Inc. ("Enerbuilt"), increasing WesternOne's ownership in Britco Structures USA LLC ("Britco USA") from 45% to 65%, and investing in more flameless and gas-fired heaters for our heat division within WesternOne Infrastructure Services.
  
  
• Integrating the Enerbuilt acquisition made in late September into WesternOne's heat division. The construction heat season is presently in full swing and we are very pleased with our expanded fleet and related utilization levels, our related propane sales and margins, and the overall integration of the Enerbuilt team and operations into WesternOne's team.
  
  
• Commencing Phase 2 of the Manitoba Hydro workforce accommodations project, including construction, delivery and installation of 1,500-bed units. We currently anticipate completing delivery and installation within the first half of 2016.
  
  
• Manufacturing 720-bed units for Phase 2 of the Devon Energy Pike project in Alberta. We currently anticipate completing delivery and installation by the latter half of 2015.
  
  
• Operating at continued strong utilization with Britco's modular space rental fleet of 1,700 units in BC, supported by new branch locations in Prince George and Prince Rupert which are strategically located for future growth in Northern BC.
  
  
• Exceeding our operating plans in our Britco USA business, with multi-million dollar orders of well-site camps recently placed, serving customers operating in Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming, Texas and Pennsylvania.

In my travels over the last several weeks, it has really opened my eyes to the general misunderstanding by many market participants of WesternOne's primary business activities.  I believe there is a perception that WesternOne is only a modular manufacturing company that is directly tied to the oil and gas industry.  However, about 80% of our current revenues are derived from construction and infrastructure related activities and over half of our adjusted EBITDA is generated by our aerial and heat divisions.  Even with our oil and gas industry customers, for example, most of our flameless heaters go to support maintenance of existing operations and are not connected to new capital expenditures.

Over the next several months, my priority will be to continue to communicate with investors and shareholders about the diversity and breadth of our income generating activities and our principled and disciplined growth strategy.  It's all about doing what we do best.

My role as CEO is equal parts strategic and financial and I view my primary mandate is as follows:

1. Prudently deploy existing and new capital, and execute our plans;
2. Identify and execute accretive growth opportunities; and
3. Grow shareholder value.

With WesternOne Infrastructure Services, we will continue to provide exceptional customer service and expertise in construction, infrastructure, energy and other industries to our customers in Western Canada. We have more heaters now than ever before and we have opened four new locations over the past 14 months, and plan to continue to grow by deploying capital in a highly disciplined manner.

At Britco, we will focus on our core competencies of modular manufacturing inside our facilities in BC, Alberta and Texas, and delivering and installing in our key markets. We are the industry leader in customizing, designing and building permanent, temporary and dual purpose modular buildings, and we do it well."

Looking Ahead

"We have seen some significant declines in the market capitalization and share prices of companies that have, by some market participants, been held up as comparable entities – with reductions in the range of 53% and 69% since September 1. WesternOne shares through this time have also experienced a decline of 56% which is equally dramatic.  Despite some of these market-related challenges over my first 100 days, I am excited and very optimistic about our future. We have an exceptionally good culture of hard-working and customer-focused entrepreneurial employees, some good brand recognition in our markets, and a strong customer base. I believe we are well positioned to grow with solid core competencies to serve our diverse customers in their multiple industries and geographies."

Non-IFRS Measures

"Adjusted EBITDA" is not a recognized measure under IFRS and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. References to adjusted EBITDA are to net income (loss) from continuing operations before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, gain/loss on financial derivatives relating to changes in the fair market value of the fixed interest rate swap, business acquisition and trust conversion costs, debenture issuance costs, gain/loss on debentures relating to changes in their fair values, gain/loss on issuances of shares relating to the conversion of debentures, share based compensation, foreign exchange gains/losses, restructuring costs and write-down of capital assets, intangible assets and goodwill. For a full description of adjusted EBITDA refer to "Non-IFRS Measures" in Management's Discussion and Analysis dated November 13, 2014.

Forward-looking Information

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" information that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and it may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", project", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions.

Such information includes, without limitation, statements with respect to: the prospects and business opportunities of WesternOne, the anticipated timing of completion of Phase 2 of the Manitoba Hydro workforce accommodations project and Phase 2 of the Devon Energy Pike project, future growth in Northern BC, WesternOne's plan to communicate to investors and shareholders about the diversity and breadth of its income generating activities and growth strategy, and WesternOne's growth strategy relating to core competencies including providing exceptional customer service and deploying capital in a highly disciplined manner. Actual events or results may differ materially.

Forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by WesternOne, including, without limitation: the outlook of WesternOne's business and the economy in Western Canada and the United States, the supply and demand for WesternOne's products and services and management's assessment of future plans and operations. Although the forward-looking information contained in this press release is based upon what WesternOne's management believes to be reasonable assumptions, WesternOne cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information. Forward-looking information reflects current expectations of management regarding future events and operating performance as of the date of this press release. Such information involves significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking information, and a description of these factors can be found under "Risk Factors" in WesternOne's Annual Information Form dated March 28, 2014 and Management's Discussion and Analysis dated November 13, 2014, which are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to WesternOne. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this press release and WesternOne assumes no obligation to update or revise such forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.

About WesternOne

WesternOne seeks to acquire and grow businesses in the construction and infrastructure services sectors in order to generate stable dividends to its shareholders and achieve capital appreciation.

Additional Information

Additional information relating to WesternOne and other public filings, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on WesternOne's website at www.weq.ca.

Trading Symbols

Toronto Stock Exchange: WEQ, WEQ.DB and WEQ.DB.C

THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE WesternOne Inc.