COVID-19: TC Transcontinental Update

MONTREAL, March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TC Transcontinental (TSX: TCL.A TCL.B) provides an update on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on its activities.

"Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, said François Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Transcontinental, our focus has been to contribute responsibly to the global effort to halt the pandemic, protect the health of our employees and their families, and ensure the safe continuity of our operations. We have deployed preventive measures across the company and I am thankful to our management and our employees for their dedication to health and safety, and for their work to support our clients’ businesses.”

In the Packaging sector, which represents about half of our revenues, the vast majority of our operations supports the vital food industry, a sector considered critical by governments. While some of our other verticals are experiencing a decrease in volumes due to government restrictions or the economic slowdown, our verticals related to food are running at high capacity.

In the Print sector, the measures announced by the Governments of Ontario and Québec to close all non-essential businesses and services as of midnight on March 24, for two weeks in Ontario and three weeks in Québec, are resulting in a significant temporary reduction in printing activities, and approximately 1,600 temporary layoffs. TC Transcontinental otherwise continues, as requested by governments, to serve its clients in businesses and services identified as essential.

Early on, we activated our crisis unit and actively deployed our company-wide crisis management and communication plan. Senior management reviews the situation daily, addresses the issues raised by our managers and employees, undertakes new preventive actions and updates our safety guidelines as needed. Safe and responsible behaviours such as minimizing movements, imposing quarantines, maintaining social distance, and maintaining a clean work environment have helped us to offer a safe and secure environment within our facilities.

"We know it is our duty to contribute to the collective effort. We support governments in their actions, as well as our clients who deliver essential services. We hope that the public health measures will be followed and have the desired effect, and that a return to normalcy will take place soon,” concluded François Olivier.

About TC Transcontinental

TC Transcontinental is a leader in flexible packaging in North America, and Canada’s largest printer. The Corporation is also positioned as the leading Canadian French-language educational publishing group. For over 40 years, TC Transcontinental's mission has been to create quality products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers.

Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are the strong values held by the Corporation and its employees. TC Transcontinental's commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business activities in a responsible manner.

Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A TCL.B), known as TC Transcontinental, has over 8,700 employees, the majority of which are based in Canada, the United States and Latin America. TC Transcontinental had revenues of more than C$3.0 billion for the fiscal year ended October 27, 2019. For more information, visit TC Transcontinental's website at www.tc.tc

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