Lonestar West Announces 2015 Year End Financial Results

SYLVAN LAKE, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - April 19, 2016) - Lonestar West Inc. (TSX VENTURE:LSI)

today announced the financial results for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Highlights for the year ended December 31, 2015 include:

• Revenues were $50,304,204 for the year ended December 31, 2015, compared to $47,252,647 for the prior year comparable period.
• Gross margin¹ was 20.2% for the year ended December 31, 2015, compared to 23.0% for the prior year comparable period.
• Normalized EBITDAC² was $4,400,657 or 8.7% for the year ended December 31, 2015, compared to $6,545,264 or 13.9% for the prior year comparable period.
• Normalized EBITDAC³ per basic share was $0.15 for the year ended December 31, 2015, compared to $0.25 for the prior year comparable period.
• A non-cash, non-reoccurring impairment charge of $5,673,544 was recorded with respect to goodwill and intangible assets.
• Loss before taxes was $8,586,326 for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to net income before taxes of $1,448,974 for the prior year comparable period. 
• Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2015 was $6,372,370 compared to net income of $1,072,537 for the prior year comparable period.

The Company also reported results for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, highlights include:

• Revenues were $12,224,243 for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, compared to $13,161,175 for the prior year comparable quarter.
• Gross margin¹ was 10.0% compared to 21.4% for the prior year comparable quarter. 
• Normalized EBITDAC² was $11,107 compared to $1,168,960 for the prior year comparable quarter.
• Normalized EBITDAC³ per basic share was $0.00 compared to $0.04 for the prior year comparable quarter.
• A non-cash, non-reoccurring impairment charge of $5,673,544 was recorded with respect to goodwill and intangible assets.
• Loss before taxes was $7,581,098 as compared to $530,374 for the prior year comparable quarter.
• Net loss for the period was $5,297,834 as compared to $415,823 for the prior year comparable quarter.

The results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2015 reflect increasingly challenging North American industry conditions due to continued low oil and natural gas prices which, in turn, has resulted in substantially lower industry activity levels. This has resulted in significant pricing pressure in areas exposed to low commodity prices, due to reduced customer demand and heightened competition for non-energy related projects. To the extent possible, the Company will attempt to mitigate these factors through the diversification of revenues, increased utilization of existing assets through relocation to geographical areas with higher demand, and implementing cost saving measures by streamlining operations.

"The Company is pleased with the revenue growth for fiscal 2015, to set a new record in this challenging environment is certainly positive" commented James Horvath, President and CEO of Lonestar. "We have continued our focus on maximizing utilization, as well as cost control, which has allowed us to achieve a year end gross margin of 20% despite increased pricing pressures. Lonestar is proud of its efforts to diversify its fleet into utility and infrastructure applications, so as to be less dependent on the price of oil."

With the extended decline in the energy markets, the Company is continuing to intensify its focus on cost control while maintaining superior service to its customer base. In addition, the Company will continue to assess the location of its fleet and deploy assets to areas less impacted by the energy markets. 

The Company believes that the United States market for Hydrovac services is still in its early stages of development. Lonestar forecasts that increasing acceptance of the Hydrovac technology across numerous sectors throughout the United States will continue, and that the Company is well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities.

About Lonestar West

Based in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Lonestar West Inc. operates a fleet of 159 Hydrovac, Vacuum and Auxiliary units throughout Western Canada, Ontario, California, and the Southern United States. It is focused on profitably growing its HVAC services to become a major competitor in the North American market.

For more information please visit the Lonestar West website at www.lonestarwest.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This News Release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should" or similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes. In particular, this News Release contains forward-looking statements relating to: demand for the Company's services and general industry activity level; the Company's growth opportunities; and expectations regarding the Company's revenue, normalized EBITDAC and equipment utilization. Lonestar believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon.

Various material factors and assumptions are typically applied in drawing conclusions. Specific material factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to:

• Changes in industry conditions (including the levels of capital expenditures made by oil and gas producers and explorers)
• Credit risk to which the Company is exposed in the conduct of its business
• Fluctuations in prevailing commodity prices, currency and interest rates
• The competitive environment to which the business is, or may be, exposed in all aspects of its business
• The ability of the Company to access equipment and new technologies
• The Company's ability to maintain relationships with key suppliers
• The ability of the Company to attract and maintain key personnel and other qualified employees
• Various environmental risks to which the Company is exposed in the conduct of its operations
• Inherent risks associated with the conduct of the business in which the Company operates
• Timing and costs associated with the acquisition of capital equipment
• The impact of weather and other seasonal factors that affect business operations
• Availability of financial resources or third-party financing, and;
• The impact of new laws or changes in administrative practices on the part of regulatory authorities.

Readers are cautioned that these factors are difficult to predict. Accordingly readers are cautioned that the actual results achieved will vary from the information provided herein and the variations may be material. Readers are also cautioned that the list of factors above are not exhaustive. Before placing reliance on any forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to an investment in securities in Lonestar, prospective investors and others should carefully consider the factors identified above and other risks, uncertainties and potential changes that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are described herein. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Lonestar's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks identified in Lonestar's annual information form and management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2015 (the "MD&A"), which are available for viewing on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. In addition, the forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date of this News Release. Lonestar does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or to revise any forward-looking statements except as expressly required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements contained herein. 

Notes:

1. Gross margin is calculated as gross profit as a percentage of revenues
2. This News Release contains the term Normalized EBITDAC as presented and does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by international financial reporting standards ("IFRS") and therefore it may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other entities. Management uses normalized EBITDAC to analyze the operating performance of the business. Normalized EBITDAC as presented is not intended to represent cash provided by operating activities, net earnings or other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with IFRS. It is defined as Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and stock based compensation excluding foreign exchange gains or losses which are primarily related to the US dollar activities of the Company and can vary significantly depending on exchange rate fluctuations, which are beyond the control of the Company.
3. Normalized EBITDAC is calculated as Normalized EBITDAC divided by the weighted average shares outstanding for the period.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.