Continued Success of New Centre Openings Contributes to 14% Increase in Revenue in Second Quarter 2016

TORONTO, Aug. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - BrightPath Early Learning Inc. ("BrightPath" or the "Company") (TSX-V: BPE), a leading Canadian provider of high-quality, comprehensive early childhood education and care, with 6,124 spaces of licensed capacity within 56 centres located in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, announced today its operational and financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016.  

Financial performance highlights for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 are as follows (all comparisons are against the prior year period):

• Revenue increased 14.0% to a record $15.9 million, with higher revenue reported in all three provincial markets served by the Company;
• A 6.9% increase in centre margin to a record level of $4.2 million;
• Adjusted EBITDA of $1.8 million, consistent with 2015;
• Funds from Operations ("FFO") of $1.3 million ($0.011 per share) compared to $1.4 million ($0.012 per share);
• Adjusted Funds from Operations ("AFFO") of $1.3 million ($0.011 per share) compared to $1.4 million ($0.011 per share);
• Available capital of $20.3 million at quarter end, and commitment from the Company's bank to increase its credit facility, subject to certain conditions, from $42 million to $62.5 million, to fund the Company's pipeline of growth initiatives, including the announced 580 licensed spaces under development, an increase of 9% of current capacity, and potential acquisition of a portfolio of early learning and child care centres in the Greater Toronto Area from the owners of Peekaboo Child Care Centre Inc. and subsidiary companies ("Peekaboo"), which would add 41% to the Company's current capacity; and
• Under the Company's normal course issuer bid ("NCIB"), the Company purchased 224,500 shares for cancellation. Cumulatively to date, the Company has purchased for cancellation 1,935,700 shares under its NCIB program at an average price of $0.32 per share, reflecting the view that the current price of the Company's shares does not adequately reflect its operational and financial strength.

Highlights for the six months ended June 30, 2016 include:

• Revenue of $30.7 million, an increase of 11.4%, with higher revenue reported across all provincial markets;
• A 5.4% increase in centre margin to a six month record level of $8.4 million;
• Adjusted EBITDA of $3.3 million compared to $3.6 million;
• FFO of $2.6 million ($0.021 per share) compared to $3.0 million ($0.025 per share); and
• AFFO of $2.5 million ($0.021 per share) compared to $2.9 million ($0.024 per share).

Additional operational and significant events to date in 2016 include:

• In June 2016, the Company completed the acquisition of The Lawrence Park School Ltd. (the "Lawrence Park School"), a long-standing and successful early learning centre located in the Lawrence Park suburb of Toronto with 95 licensed spaces; 
• In April 2016, the West Henday centre, BrightPath's first "purpose-built" state-of-the-art early learning centre in Edmonton, Alberta comprising 247 licensed spaces in a 20,000 square foot facility developed by BrightPath on a 0.8 acre land site within Melcor Developments' West Henday Promenade Shopping Centre, was successfully opened to strong demand and with strong occupancy;
• The Company's Cochrane, Creekside and West Henday centres, all newly developed and recently opened in Alberta, realized noteworthy average occupancies of 66.3% in the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 67.6% in the six months ended June 30, 2016, well in advance of the typical 24-month period for enrollment ramp up and centre stabilization. These centres achieved even higher commitment levels for future months and already collectively reflect 92% enrollment commitment for September 2016;
• In April 2016, the second expansion of the Company's Airdrie centre was opened, increasing this leased centre's licensed capacity from 117 to 135. Based on its success and to satisfy the demand in this under-served market, a third expansion to 147 licensed spaces is near completion;
• Construction of the Sage Hill centre in Riocan REIT's Sage Hill Crossing shopping centre began. When completed, the Sage Hill centre, anticipated to open in the first quarter of 2017, will comprise approximately 130 licensed spaces in a 10,000 square foot leasehold facility. The Sage Hill centre is within 1.5 kilometres of the Company's successful new Creekside centre and should benefit from and leverage the high demand in this area; and
• Construction of the Company's new state-of-the-art early learning centre located in First Capital's London Place West shopping centre in southwest Calgary is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2016. When completed, the Richmond Early Learning and Child Care Centre will comprise 247 licensed spaces in a 20,000 square foot facility developed and owned by BrightPath on a one acre parcel of land in an under-served suburban market.

"BrightPath has achieved impressive year over year growth. Looking back, during the past twelve months, we have successfully opened new centres and expansions achieving committed enrollment levels that surpassed even our own expectations, especially in Alberta. Stabilized centre occupancies in Alberta have shown improvements on a sequential basis since the fourth quarter of 2015. Furthermore, we crystalized the value created in one of our earlier new developments, the McKenzie Towne centre, through a sale leaseback transaction and in doing so, surfaced $7 million of capital. This was done while continuing to optimize enrollment levels, even in the difficult Alberta economy, and managing costs. Looking forward, while the Alberta economy continues to influence our operations, we have mitigated this through operational initiatives, and, as our new centres which provide a superior product in under-served markets ramp up during the remainder of the year, we should see their contribution improve," stated Mary Ann Curran, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "The Company is also pleased to validate its strategy of pursuing growth in the Ontario market with the acquisition of the Lawrence Park School at the end of the second quarter of 2016 and the negotiation of the proposed strategic acquisition of Peekaboo."

Financial Review

($000's except where otherwise noted and per share amounts)

For the quarter ended June 30, 2016, the Company reported record revenue of $15,859 (June 30, 2015 - $13,912) and record centre margin of $4,249 (June 30, 2015 - $3,976). Revenue increased 14.0% due to tuition from new locations in Cochrane, Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, and moderate year over year increases in fees, partially offset by a decline in total Stabilized centres' average occupancy from 86.6% to 85.1% due to lower enrollment levels in some centres in Alberta. Centre margin as a percentage of revenue decreased to 26.8% compared to 28.6% a year earlier. This decline was primarily caused by the limited ability to realize labour savings on lower enrollment levels as mentioned, due to regulated staff ratios, as well as the labour and operating expense impact of new centres which tend to operate less efficiently until enrollments build and operations stabilize.

For the six month period ended June 30, 2016, revenue was $30,689 (June 30, 2015 - $27,559) and centre margin was $8,351 (June 30, 2015 - $7,925). Centre margin as a percentage of revenue decreased to 27.2% compared to 28.8% in 2015. The reasons for the 11.4% increase in revenue and erosion of centre margin as a percentage of revenue are substantially the same as those discussed above for the three month period.

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2016 was $1,757 compared to $1,781 in 2015. Enrollment pressures on revenue in Stabilized Alberta centres were offset by improvements in other operating metrics at these centres, improvements in the Ontario and British Columbia portfolios and better than expected initial enrollments in newly opened locations. Noteworthy is the impact of the McKenzie Towne centre sale and leaseback completed in August 2015 which also gives effect to lower Adjusted EBITDA.

Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $3,332 compared to $3,600 in 2015. Adjusted EBITDA decreased $0.3 million primarily due to investment in the Company's customer relationship management ("CRM") system and website in the first quarter of 2016.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2016 was $264 compared to a net profit of $144 in the second quarter of 2015. Net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $446 compared to a net profit of $440 for the same period in 2015. Both periods in 2016 were impacted by a greater level of acquisition and development activity, incurred for future growth and profitability, compared to 2015. Basic and diluted net profit (loss) per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 was $(0.002) and $(0.004), respectively (June 30, 2015 - $0.001 and $0.004).

Occupancy for Alberta Stabilized centres in the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016 averaged 85.7% (June 30, 2015 - 90.6%) and 85.5% (June 30, 2015 - 91.0%), respectively. Stabilized centre occupancies continued to exhibit a slight improvement on a sequential basis compared to the first quarter of 2016 level of 85.3%. Despite the economic challenges in Alberta, strong market demand for child development and care in newly opened centres continues. The Company's Cochrane, Creekside and West Henday centres realized noteworthy average occupancies of 66.3% in the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 67.6% in the six months ended June 30, 2016, well in advance of the typical 24-month period for enrollment ramp up and centre stabilization. These centres achieved even higher commitment levels for future months and already collectively reflect 92% enrollment commitment for September 2016.

In Ontario, with a more stable market landscape and more insight into the new demand patterns for early childhood development and care, management continues to focus on building enrollment levels and pursuing opportunities for growth in this market. For the second quarter of 2016, Ontario portfolio occupancies averaged 82.6% compared to 78.1% in 2015. For the six months ended June 30, 2016, average occupancy in Ontario centres was 79.6% compared to 76.5% for the same period in 2015.

Occupancy in Stabilized centres in British Columbia increased to 87.7% for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 from 85.3% in 2015. For the six months ended June 30, 2016, Stabilized centre occupancy increased to 86.5% from 84.6% for the same period in 2015. The Surrey facility, which opened in September 2014 and will be considered stabilized in September 2016, achieved improved average occupancy of 81.2% and 78.9% during the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 compared to 43.5% and 40.9% during the same periods in 2015, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDA, AFFO and FFO

FFO for the second quarter of 2016 was $1,345 compared to $1,436 in the second quarter of 2015, primarily reflecting slightly lower Adjusted EBITDA. FFO per share for the second quarter of 2016 was $0.011 compared to $0.012 in 2015. FFO for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $2,575 ($0.021 per share) compared to $2,987 ($0.025 per share) for the six months ended June 30, 2015.

AFFO for the second quarter of 2016 was $1,276 ($0.011 per share) compared to $1,373 ($0.011 per share) a year earlier. AFFO for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $2,531 compared to $2,889 for the same period in 2015. The three and six month periods decreased primarily as a result of lower FFO. AFFO per share for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $0.021 compared to $0.024 for the six months ended June 30, 2015.

Centre Portfolio Overview

The Company's centre locations, number of licensed spaces and average occupancies are provided in the table that follows. Centres typically experience lower levels of attendance June through August due to seasonal factors. As well, new centres typically exhibit lower occupancy levels during ramp up of enrollments, thereby adversely impacting total portfolio occupancies prior to achieving stabilization.

Deferred Share Units ("DSUs")

For the three months ended June 30, 2016, pursuant to the Board of Directors DSU plan, five members of the board of directors of BrightPath elected to receive board fees in the form of DSUs in lieu of cash remuneration, representing $0.07 million fair value in respect of 247,390 DSUs. The DSUs were issued on July 8, 2016.

Synopsis and Outlook

While the Company's operations in Alberta have been influenced by the economic weakness in the provincial economy, Stabilized centre occupancies exhibited slight improvements on a sequential basis from 84.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 85.3% in the first quarter of 2016 to 85.7% in the second quarter of 2016. Room consolidations and reconfigurations, along with other operational improvements including moderate tuition increases, mitigated the impact of enrollment losses. For the third quarter of 2016, the Company anticipates continued pressure on enrollments at its Stabilized centres in Alberta and is addressing this challenge with its robust CRM system and processes. These, together with BrightPath's redesigned and enhanced website recently launched, are increasing traffic to our website and families to our centres.

On a further positive note, the Cochrane centre, opened in September 2015 with 120 licensed spaces, the Creekside centre in Calgary, opened in November 2015 with 247 licensed spaces, and the West Henday centre in Edmonton, opened in April 2016 with 247 licensed spaces, have already collectively achieved committed enrollments of 92% for September 2016. These noteworthy initial enrollment levels, notwithstanding the challenges in the Alberta economy, were accomplished well in advance of industry metrics which typically anticipate a two-year period for enrollment ramp up and centre stabilization. This is strong validation of both the quality of the Company's product and its ability to effectively identify under-served markets within major metropolitan areas.

In British Columbia, the Company continues to focus on building enrollments further and managing labour and operating costs to continuously improve earnings and cash flow. The Company is looking for opportunities to grow and develop larger facilities offering an appropriate scale of operations in the suburban markets surrounding Vancouver.

The Company's Ontario portfolio shows substantial improvement in average occupancies and performance as compared to prior year periods. Management continues to focus on pursuing opportunities for growth in this market.

In June 2016, BrightPath completed the acquisition of the Lawrence Park School. The long-standing and successful school, located in the established central Toronto neighbourhood of Lawrence Park, was established in 1982, currently has 95 licensed spaces and initiates BrightPath's growth in Ontario.

Further potentially augmenting the Company's accretive growth in the Ontario market, in June 2016, BrightPath entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a portfolio of early learning and child care centres in the Greater Toronto Area from the owners of Peekaboo. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will pay approximately $22 million for almost 2,500 licensed spaces in 20 early learning and child care centres located in the Regions of Peel and Halton.

This transaction has the potential to be transformative for BrightPath in several ways. First, on the expected closing of this transaction in the third quarter of 2016, the Company's current licensed capacity will increase by 41%. Second, the Company's portfolio will become more diversified with the number of licensed spaces in Alberta decreasing from 63% of current capacity to 45%, and Ontario increasing from 25% of current capacity to 46%. This transaction is timely given the recent strength in the Ontario economy and a more steady state for child care given the implementation of full day kindergarten was completed in 2014. Third, BrightPath should become more profitable because of the attractive terms of the purchase, the substantial synergies to be derived from integrating Peekaboo with BrightPath and the fact that the transaction is financeable without any dilution to the Company's existing shareholders. The acquisition will be financed through the Company's credit facility. The Company's bank has committed to increasing the Company's credit facility, subject to certain conditions, from $42 million to $62.5 million on the strength of underlying cash flows and the value of the Company's real estate. BrightPath continues to work towards completion of the transaction with initial conditions under the agreement satisfied and certain matters subject to approval of regional child care authorities. While there is no assurance the transaction will be completed, it is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016 but remains subject to customary closing conditions and those regarding child care governance.

As noted on earlier occasions, BrightPath's management and board of directors believe that the price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange does not reflect the Company's current value, operational performance, financial results, strategic achievements, or growth prospects. The Company further notes that its owned real estate portfolio, with a gross book value of $47 million, relative to its market capitalization implies minimal valuation to its business and hence a significant discount to net asset value. It is the Company's express intention to close the gap between net asset value and market capitalization by continuing to execute its strategic and operational business initiatives successfully and pursuing further initiatives to surface shareholder value.

NON- IFRS PERFORMANCE MEASURES

The Company uses "centre margin" as an indicator of centre performance. Centre margin does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore, may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures by other entities. Centre margin is determined by deducting centre expenses from revenue. Centre expenses include labour and direct costs and exclude operating lease expense for leasehold properties and mortgage interest, if any, on those properties owned by the Company.

The Company also uses Adjusted EBITDA, FFO and AFFO as indicators of financial performance.

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by deducting the following from centre margin: operating lease expense, general and administrative expenses, and taxes other than income taxes. FFO is calculated by adjusting net profit (loss) to add back acquisition costs expensed as incurred, depreciation and certain other non-cash items. AFFO is calculated by adjusting FFO to add back share-based compensation and deduct maintenance capital expenditures. Maintenance capital expenditures consist of capital expenditures that are capitalized for accounting purposes but are considered to be recurring costs such as facilities and leasehold maintenance and the replacement of learning materials, toys, furniture, appliances and other equipment. Maintenance capital expenditures do not occur evenly over the course of the year with these activities typically occurring with greater intensity during the seasonally slower summer months.

Adjusted EBITDA, FFO and AFFO do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. The Company's method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA, FFO and AFFO may be different from other entities and, accordingly, may not be comparable to such other entities. Adjusted EBITDA, FFO and AFFO: (i) do not represent cash flow from operating activities as defined by IFRS; (ii) are not indicative of cash available to fund all liquidity requirements, including capital for growth; and (iii) are not to be considered as alternatives to IFRS-based net profit (loss) for the purpose of evaluating operating performance.

Centre operating results are also analyzed based on Stabilized and Non-stabilized centres which may not be comparable with that used by other entities. Acquired and newly-developed centres are deemed to be stabilized after 24 months, or sooner if pro forma occupancy levels are achieved.

Net profit (loss) is impacted by, among other items, accounting standards that require centre acquisition and transaction costs to be expensed as incurred. As the Company executes its consolidation and development strategy in the Canadian market, it will routinely incur such expenses which will negatively impact the Company's reported net profit (loss), but not Adjusted EBITDA, FFO and AFFO.

QUARTERLY CONFERENCE CALL

BrightPath's quarterly results conference call is scheduled for Monday, August 15, 2016 at 10:00 am EST. The call details are as follows:

To access the conference call by telephone, dial (647) 427-7450 or (888) 231-8191. Please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at:
http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1234523&s=1&k=9AE866F06F035BD011AE97BD07DBABAB

Please connect at least 10 minutes prior to the web conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast. The webcast will be archived at the above website for 90 days.

The conference call will be archived for replay until Monday, August 29, 2016 at midnight. To access the archived conference call, dial (416) 849-0833 or (855) 859-2056 and enter the reservation number 57716511 followed by the number sign.

ABOUT BRIGHTPATH EARLY LEARNING INC.

BrightPath Early Learning Inc. is a Canadian leader in child care and early education with 56 locations in major markets across the country comprising 6,124 licensed spaces. Meeting the highest standards in curriculum, nutrition, technology and recreational programming, BrightPath is committed to providing families with the very best child development and care Canada has to offer.

For more information, visit www.BrightPathKids.com/corporate (TSX‐V: BPE).

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained herein constitute forward-looking statements regarding the future growth, results of operations, performance and opportunities of the Company. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of, but not limited to, the following words: "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecast", "pro forma", "anticipate" or "does not anticipate", "believe", "intend", "inferred", "potential" and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future results or events based on information currently available and what the Company believes to be reasonable assumptions. All forward-looking statements are qualified by these cautionary statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, the Company's ability to meet and maintain forecasted occupancy levels, general government policies, continued availability of government child care subsidies to parents, unexpected costs or liabilities related to acquisitions, construction, environmental matters, legal matters, changes in interest rates, credit spreads and the availability of financing. In addition, please refer to the Risks and Uncertainties section of the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis. As such, the Company gives no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.

Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any such statement, reflect new information or reflect the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except as required by securities laws.

Readers should also note that the Peekaboo acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions and those regarding child care governance and there is no assurance that the transaction will be completed.

BrightPath Early Learning Inc.
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SOURCE BrightPath Early Learning Inc.