Velan Inc. Reports Its Strong Third Quarter 2021/22 Financial Results, Highlighted by a Significant Increase in Sales and Improved Margins

MONTREAL, Jan. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velan Inc. (TSX: VLN) (the “Company”), a world-leading manufacturer of industrial valves, announced today its financial results for its third quarter ended November 30, 2021.

Highlights:

• Sales for the quarter amounted to $110.0 million, an increase of 38.4 million or 53.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. This quarter’s sales level represents the highest volume in the last seven quarters.
• Gross profit for the quarter of $35.9 million, or 32.6%, an increase of $13.8 million or 180 basis points from the same quarter of the previous year. The gross profit percentage of 30.5% for the first nine-month of the fiscal year is driven by an improved sales volume, a more profitable product mix, as well as the margin improvement activities undertaken over the past fiscal years within the scope of the V20 restructuring and transformation plan.
• Net income1 of $4.5 million and EBITDA2 of $13.3 million for the quarter. EBITDA2 is comparable to the same quarter last year which included a non-recurring gain of $9.6 million recognized on the disposal of one of the Company’s Montreal plants in the scope of the V20 transformation plan. The improved EBITDA2, when adjusted for the non-recurring gain, is explained primarily by an increased gross profit, driven by an improved sales volume and product mix, despite $2.7 million lower Canada Emergency Wage Subsidies («CEWS»).
• Strong order backlog2 of $543.0 million at the end of the quarter compared to $561.8 million at the end of the same quarter last year.
• Net new orders (“bookings”)2 of $88.4 million for the quarter, a decrease of $79.2 million or 47.3% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The decrease for the quarter is primarily attributable to a generally lower level of bookings3 in the current quarter, coupled with large oil and gas and nuclear orders recorded in the third quarter of the previous year. The book-to-bill ratio2 for the nine-month period stands at an even 1.00.
• The Company’s net cash amounted to $65.8 million at the end of the quarter, a decrease of $2.3 million or 3.4% compared to the previous quarter of the current fiscal year. The Company used the cash primarily generated by its operations during the quarter to pay down $11.9 million of its revolving credit facility in order to reduce its overall debt load.

Bruno Carbonaro, CEO and President of Velan Inc., said, “I am very pleased to announce our strong results this quarter. Our quarterly sales of $110.0 million yielded a gross margin of 32.6% and brought our year-to-date sales to $286.4 million, which represents our highest sales volume since fiscal year 2016. The sales volume was achieved thanks to the delivery of large orders dedicated to the petrochemical and oil and gas markets by our North American and Italian operations. Our backlog2 remains high at $543.0 million, and our book-to-bill ratio2 remains at an even 1.00 when we consider the nine-month period.

On the Covid-19 front, we took the necessary measures in all our subsidiaries. The fifth wave is challenging for us, especially in Europe and North America, and we are taking all the necessary precautions to ensure our employees’ safety and wellbeing.

We are now shifting our focus to our fourth quarter, where we will continue to build on the momentum from the last two quarters.”

Financial Highlights

Third Quarter Fiscal 2022 (unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in U.S. dollars and all comparisons are to the third quarter of fiscal 2021):

• Sales amounted to $110.0 million, an increase of $38.4 million or 53.7% for the quarter. Sales for the quarter were positively impacted by increased shipments by the Company’s North American and Italian operations of large orders primarily destined for the petrochemical and oil and gas markets respectively. Additionally, the Company’s MRO sales for the quarter improved compared to last year in reaction to the higher bookings of such orders recorded in the first half of the current fiscal year.
• Bookings2 amounted to $88.4 million, a decrease of $79.2 million or 47.3% for the quarter. This decrease is primarily attributable to a generally lower level of bookings, coupled with large oil and gas and nuclear orders recorded in the third quarter of the previous year by the Company’s Italian and French operations. The decrease for the quarter was partially offset by higher MRO orders recorded by the Company’s North American operations. The Company is encouraged by the recovery of its MRO order bookings, which were severely impacted by the global pandemic at the end of the prior fiscal year, and ultimately adversely affected the sales of the latter part of the previous fiscal year and the first half of the current fiscal year.
• Gross profit amounted to $35.9 million, an increase of $13.8 million or 62.8% for the quarter. The gross profit percentage for the quarter of 32.6% was an increase of 180 basis points compared to last year’s third quarter. The improvement in gross profit percentage for the quarter is primarily attributable to the higher sales volume, which helped to cover the Company’s fixed production overhead costs more efficiently. The Company’s improved margins are also stemming from the delivery of a product mix with a greater proportion of higher margin product sales as well as margin improvement activities implemented over the course of the past fiscal years within the scope of the V20 restructuring and transformation plan. The gross profit for the quarter also benefited from a positive reevaluation of the Company’s provision for performance guarantees caused by the successful negotiation of a customer claim during the quarter. Additionally, the Company’s gross profit benefited from favorable movements in unrealized foreign exchange translation primarily attributable to the fluctuation of the U.S. dollar against the euro and the Canadian dollar for the quarter when compared to the prior year. Finally, the increase in gross profit percentage was such that it could more than offset the impact of a lower amount of CEWS of $1.5 million for the quarter compared to last year. The subsidies are allocated between cost of sales and administration costs.
• Net income1 for the quarter amounted to $4.5 million or $0.21 per share compared to $9.5 million or $0.44 per share last year. EBITDA2 for the quarter amounted to $13.3 million or $0.62 per share compared to $13.8 million or $0.64 per share last year. The decrease in EBITDA1 for the quarter was primarily due to the absence of restructuring and transformation income in the current quarter which totalled $8.1 million last year and resulted mainly from a $9.6 million gain recognized on the disposal of one of the Company’s Montreal plants, an integral part of the North American manufacturing footprint optimization plan which was planned in the scope of V20. The decrease was also due to an increase in administration costs of $7.1 million or 37.1% for the quarter which is primarily attributable to a decrease of $1.2 million in CEWS received by the Company compared to last year, an increase in sales commissions due to the higher sales volume and a general increase in administration expenses that had been significantly lowered when the global pandemic broke out last year. The subsidies are allocated between cost of sales and administration costs. On the other hand, the decrease in EBITDA2 for the quarter was partially offset by an increase in gross profit, thanks to the reasons mentioned above. The movement in the Company’s net income1 for the quarter was primarily attributable to the same factors as explained above, coupled with an unfavorable movement in income taxes and net finance costs.

First nine months Fiscal 2022 (unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in U.S. dollars and all comparisons are to the first nine months of fiscal 2021):

• Sales amounted to $286.4 million, an increase of $69.8 million or 32.3% for the nine-month period. Sales for the nine-month period were positively impacted by increased shipments by the Company’s North American and Italian operations of large orders primarily destined for the petrochemical and oil and gas markets respectively. The Company’s MRO sales for the nine-month period were nonetheless negatively affected by the persistent unfavorable market conditions triggered by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) global pandemic which had significantly affected the Company’s distribution channels’ bookings in the previous fiscal year. The lower distribution channels’ bookings in the latter part of the prior year translated in lower shipments of such orders in the first half of the current year.
• Bookings2 amounted to $286.4 million, a decrease or $59.3 million of 17.2% for the nine-month period. The decrease is primarily attributable to a generally lower level of bookings in the current quarter coupled with large oil and gas and nuclear orders recorded in the third quarter of the previous year by the Company’s Italian and French operations. The decrease for the nine-month period was partially offset by higher MRO orders recorded by the Company’s North American operations.
• As a result of bookings2 being comparable to sales in the current nine-month period, the Company’s book-to-bill ratio2 was an even 1.00 for the period. Furthermore, the total backlog2 decreased by $19.5 million or 3.5% since the beginning of the fiscal year, amounting to $543.0 million as at November 30, 2021. The reduction of the backlog2 is primarily due to the weakening of the euro spot rate against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the fiscal year.
• Gross profit amounted to $87.2 million, an increase of $29.8 million or 51.8% for the nine-month period. The gross profit of 30.5% represented an increase of 400 basis points compared to the same period last year. The improvement in gross profit percentage is primarily attributable to the higher sales volume, which helped to cover the Company’s fixed production overhead costs more efficiently. The Company’s improved margins are also stemming from the delivery of a product mix with a greater proportion of higher margin product sales as well as margin improvement activities implemented over the course of the past fiscal years within the scope of the V20 restructuring and transformation plan. The gross profit for the nine-month period also benefited from a positive reevaluation of the Company’s provision for performance guarantees caused by the successful negotiation of a customer claim during the quarter. Additionally, the Company’s gross profit benefited from favorable movements in unrealized foreign exchange translation primarily attributable to the fluctuation of the U.S. dollar against the euro and the Canadian dollar for the nine-month period when compared to the prior year. Finally, the increase in gross profit percentage was such that it could more than offset the impact of a lower amount of CEWS of $4.6 million for the nine-month period compared to last year. The subsidies are allocated between cost of sales and administration costs.
• Net income1 for the nine-month period amounted to $4.4 million or $0.21 per share compared to $2.5 million or $0.12 per share in the prior period. EBITDA2 for the nine-month period amounted to $23.0 million or $1.07 per share compared to $13.9 million or $0.65 per share in the prior period. The improvement in EBITDA2 for the nine-month period is primarily attributable to an improved gross profit, largely due to an increased sales volume, while reflecting the notably improved product mix and margins resulting from the Company’s targeted efforts under V20, described earlier. The Company’s gross profit also benefited from favorable movements in unrealized foreign exchange translation for the nine-month period when compared to the prior year as well as a favorable reevaluation of the Company’s provision for performance guarantees. The improvement is also attributable to a reduction in other expenses of $3.1 million for the nine-month period primarily due to land clean-up costs of a former factory incurred in the second quarter of the prior year. On the other hand, these improvements were partially offset by the absence of restructuring and transformation income in the current nine-month period which totalled $5.2 million in the previous year. These improvements were also partially offset by an increase in administration costs of $18.3 million or 32.7% for the nine-month period, primarily attributable to a decrease of $3.8 million in CEWS received by the Company compared to last year, an increase in sales commissions due to the improved sales volume for the period, a general increase in administration expenses that had been significantly lowered when the global pandemic broke out last year as well as an increase of $1.2 million in the costs recognized in connection with the Company’s ongoing asbestos litigation. The favorable movements in the Company’s net income1 for the nine-month period was primarily attributable to the same factors as explained above coupled with an unfavorable movement in income taxes and net finance costs.
  

Dividend

At the end of fiscal 2020, the Board of Directors deemed appropriate to suspend the quarterly dividend.

Conference call

Financial analysts, shareholders, and other interested individuals are invited to attend the third quarter conference call to be held on Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT). The toll free call-in number is 1-800-954-0653, access code 22014449. Live content to support the discussion will be presented to participants at the following link for the duration of the call: https://cc.callinfo.com/r/1f7s6438qq8sv&eom. A recording of this conference call will be available for seven days at 1-416-626-4100 or 1-800-558-5253, access code 22014449.

About Velan

Founded in Montreal in 1950, Velan Inc. (www.velan.com) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial valves, with sales of US$302.1 million in its last reported fiscal year. The Company employs close to 1,700 people and has manufacturing plants in 9 countries. Velan Inc. is a public company with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VLN.

Safe harbour statement

This news release may include forward-looking statements, which generally contain words like “should”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “continue” or “estimate” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar expressions, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are disclosed in the Company’s filings with the appropriate securities commissions. While these statements are based on management’s assumptions regarding historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that it believes are reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may differ materially from those expressed herein. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by the applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Non-IFRS and supplementary financial measures

In this press release, the Company has presented measures of performance or financial condition which are not defined under IFRS (“non-IFRS measures”) and are, therefore, unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These measures are used by management in assessing the operating results and financial condition of the Company and are reconciled with the performance measures defined under IFRS. Company has also presented supplementary financial measures which are defined at the end of this report. Reconciliation and definition can be found on the next page.

Earnings (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA")

The term “EBITDA” is defined as net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares plus depreciation of property, plant & equipment, plus amortization of intangible assets, plus net finance costs plus income tax provision. The terms “EBITDA per share” is obtained by dividing EBITDA by the total amount of subordinate and multiple voting shares. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Definitions of supplementary financial measures

The term “Net new orders” or “bookings” is defined as firm orders, net of cancellations, recorded by the Company during a period. Bookings are impacted by the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates for a given period. The measure provides an indication of the Company’s sales operation performance for a given period as well as well as an expectation of future sales and cash flows to be achieved on these orders.

The term “backlog” is defined as the buildup of all outstanding bookings to be delivered by the Company. The Company’s backlog is impacted by the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates for a given period. The measure provides an indication of the future operational challenges of the Company as well as an expectation of future sales and cash flows to be achieved on these orders.

The term “book-to-bill ratio” is obtained by dividing bookings by sales. The measure provides an indication of the Company’s performance and outlook for a given period.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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1Net earnings or loss refer to net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares
2Non-IFRS and supplementary financial measures – see explanation above.

For further information please contact:
Bruno Carbonaro, Chief Executive Officer and President
Tel: (438) 817-7593
or
Benoit Alain, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (438) 817-9957