BFI Canada Income Fund (TSX:BFC.UN) today announced its financial results for the quarter and period ending September 30, 2002.
Operating results for the quarter and period ending September 30, 2002 were strong across all business segments, and generally consistent with the forecast set out in the Fund's prospectus.
'The Fund's solid performance over the last quarter reflects our continued focus on core operations,'said Keith Carrigan, President and Chief Executive Officer. 'We are achieving our operational objectives and meeting our forecast distributions. Management is increasingly focused on strategic initiatives to expand operations and enhance unitholder value.'
The Fund's prospectus included forecasts for the four- and eight-month periods ending April 30, 2002 and December 31, 2002, respectively. For comparative purposes only, the table below compares the Fund's actual results for the quarter ended September 30, 2002 to three eights of the eight month forecast ('quarter forecast') and for the period ended September 30, 2002 to a 159 day equivalent of the eight month forecast ('period forecast'). Since the forecast was not prepared as a linear 12-month compilation, the following comparisons should be considered only as reflective of general business trends, excluding seasonality.
Net income (loss) per trust unit, basic &diluted $ 0.06 $ (0.02) $ 0.20 $ (0.02) Number of units outstanding 26,500,000 26,500,000 26,500,000 26,500,000
Maintenance capital
expenditures $ 3.3 $ 3.5 $ 4.7 $ 4.9
Growth capital
expenditures 1.3 1.4 2.3 2.4
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Total capital
expenditures $ 4.6 $ 4.9 $ 7.0 $ 7.3
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Free cash flow
available for
distribution $ 8.9 $ 7.4 $ 15.7 $ 14.1
Free cash flow
available for
distribution
per trust unit $ 0.34 $ 0.28 $ 0.59 $ 0.53
Aggregate distributions declared $ 8.0 $ 13.7 Aggregate distributions declared per trust unit $ 0.30 $ 0.52
Revenues of $39.8 million for the quarter and $68.8 million for the period were 6.4 per cent and 6.2 per cent higher, respectively, than forecast, and largely attributable to higher landfill and industrial collection revenues and higher realized commodity prices.
Operating expenses totalling $20.3 million for the quarter and $36.0 million for the period were higher than forecast due to higher volumes of collected and disposed of solid waste.
Maintenance and growth capital expenditures (representing the replacement of capital to maintain current business operations and new capital for future business, respectively) are consistent with the comparative forecasts.
Income before amortization, interest and income taxes ('EBITDA') was $13.6 million for the quarter and $22.8 million for the period, consistent with forecasted EBITDA margins.
The Fund paid cash distributions to unitholders of $0.41667 for the period, and declared a distribution of $0.10 per unit to unitholders of record on September 30, 2002, paid October 15, 2002.
Operational review
The Lachenaie landfill expansion permit approval process remains on track with management's expectations, as disclosed in the Fund's final prospectus. Management has completed all regulatory requirements to date and remains confident that final approval will be obtained prior to the expiry of the Company's current permit. Approval is primarily contingent upon:
- Having the local zoning by-law, which has already been approved locally, approved by the provincial authority as part of its omnibus approval of the local zoning by-law approvals for the region; and,
- Final expansion approval under the Environment Quality Act (Quebec).
Previously, management expected the provincial zoning by-law approval process to be completed by June 15, 2002. The Fund completed its required actions in connection with this process and received local zoning approval in 2001.
In June, the revised zoning plan for the City of Terrebonne, where the Lachenaie landfill is situated, was re-filed with the provincial authority by the municipality. This filing starts a time-limited approval process by the provincial authority and requires it to approve all zoning changes in the City of Terrebonne before the end of November 2002. Management expects to receive official notice of the provincial approval for local zoning from the City of Terrebonne before the end of November 2002.
With respect to expansion permit approval under the Environment Quality Act (Quebec), processing of the environmental impact assessment for the site, which was filed with the Quebec Ministry of the Environment on April 2, 2002, continues without interruption.
Outlook
Looking ahead, management's principal objective is to increase distributable cash by continuing to enhance the Fund's service offerings, improving efficiencies and growing through strategic acquisitions. In that regard, management continuously reviews and evaluates potential strategic acquisitions; especially those that can increase free cash flow and, accordingly, distributions.
Future strategic initiatives may be financed with borrowings, the additional issuance of units, from working capital or from cash flow generated from operations.
Management is confident that it can maintain the current distribution level. Future increases will be considered by the Trustees as appropriate.
Forward-looking statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements relating to the Company's operations or to the environment in which it operates, which are based on the Company's operations, estimates, forecasts and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, and/or are beyond the Company's control. A number of important factors could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. These factors include those set forth in other public filings. Consequently, readers should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. In addition, these forward-looking statements relate to the date on which they are made. BFI Canada Income Fund disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Management will hold a conference call on Friday, November 8, 2002
at 9:00 am (ET). To access the call, participants should dial
1-888-881-4892, at approximately 8:50 am. The conference call will also
be Webcast live at www.bficanada.com and www.newswire.ca/webcast and
subsequently archived on the BFI Canada site.
A rebroadcast of the call will be available until midnight on November
15, 2002. To access the rebroadcast, dial (416) 640-1917 and quote the
reservation number 219183.
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BFI Canada is a full-service waste management company providing non- hazardous solid waste collection and landfill disposal services for commercial, industrial and residential customers in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Based on revenues, BFI Canada is the second largest non-hazardous solid waste management company in Canada. The Company owns and operates three landfills, carries on collection operations in 18 markets, and operates three transfer collection stations, seven material recovery collection facilities and one landfill gas to energy facility. BFI Canada's business does not include any management, collection or disposal of hazardous or liquid waste. The Fund's Units are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol BFC.UN. For more information on the Fund, visit our website at www.bficanada.com.
BFI CANADA INCOME FUND Consolidated Balance Sheet September 30, 2002 (unaudited) (in thousands of dollars) -------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASSETS
CURRENT
Cash and cash equivalents $ 4,966
Accounts receivable 23,718
Other receivables 247
Prepaid expenses 3,222
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32,153
OTHER RECEIVABLES 799
INTANGIBLES (Note 4) 80,940
GOODWILL 49,171
DEFERRED COSTS 1,871
DEFERRED FINANCING COSTS 2,279
CAPITAL ASSETS (Note 5) 91,133
LANDFILL ASSETS (Note 6) 122,694
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$ 381,040
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LIABILITIES
CURRENT
Accounts payable $ 10,424
Accrued charges 6,122
Distribution payable 2,650
Income taxes payable 421
Deferred revenue 5,162
Current portion of long-term debt (Note 7) 247
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25,026
LONG-TERM DEBT (Note 7) 73,049
LANDFILL CLOSURE AND POST-CLOSURE COSTS (Note 8) 7,715
FUTURE INCOME TAX LIABILITIES (Note 9) 28,567
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134,357
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UNITHOLDERS'EQUITY
TRUST UNITS (Note 10) 246,683
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$ 381,040
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BFI CANADA INCOME FUND
Consolidated Statements of Operations
For the period from April 25, 2002 to September 30, 2002
(unaudited)
(in thousands of dollars, except income per unit amounts)
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Three From April
months ended 25, 2002 to
September 30, September 30,
2002 2002
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REVENUES $ 39,847 $ 68,818
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OPERATING EXPENSES 20,286 36,045
SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION EXPENSES 5,954 10,013 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME BEFORE THE FOLLOWING 13,607 22,760
AMORTIZATION 11,288 18,742
INTEREST 1,165 1,992 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 1,154 2,026
INCOME TAX EXPENSE (RECOVERY) (Note 9)
Current 261 388
Future (696) (3,740)
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(435) (3,352)
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NET INCOME $ 1,589 $ 5,378
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Net income per trust unit, basic and diluted $ 0.06 $ 0.20 Number of units outstanding (thousands) 26,500 26,500
BFI CANADA INCOME FUND
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
For the period from April 25, 2002 to September 30, 2002
(unaudited)
(in thousands of dollars)
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NET INFLOW (OUTFLOW) OF CASH RELATED TO THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES
Three From April
months ended 25, 2002 to
September 30, September 30,
2002 2002
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OPERATING
Net income for the period $ 1,589 $ 5,378
Items not affecting cash
Amortization of intangibles 3,130 5,222
Amortization of deferred financing costs 220 367
Amortization of capital assets 4,890 8,105
Amortization of landfill assets 3,048 5,048
Provision for landfill closure and
post-closure costs 718 1,231
Future income taxes (696) (3,740)
Landfill closure and post-closure expenditures (786) (1,456)
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12,113 20,155
Changes in non-cash working capital items 340 1,280
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Cash generated from operating activities 12,453 21,435
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INVESTING
Acquisitions - (158,660)
Purchase of capital assets (4,349) (5,179)
Landfill assets (232) (1,842)
Deferred costs (297) (435)
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Cash utilized in investing activities (4,878) (166,116)
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FINANCING
Proceeds from revolving loan 1,250 1,250
Issue of trust units - 176,609
Trust units purchased for cancellation - (17,170)
Distributions paid to unitholders (7,950) (11,042)
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Cash (utilized in) generated from
financing activities (6,700) 149,647
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NET CASH INFLOW 875 4,966
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD 4,091 -
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CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $ 4,966 $ 4,966
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SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Cash and cash equivalents are
comprised of:
Cash $ 2,257
Cash equivalents 2,709
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$ 4,966
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Cash paid during the period for: Income taxes $ - $ - Interest $ 1,174 $ 2,298
BFI CANADA INCOME FUND
Consolidated Statement of Unitholders'Equity
For the period from April 25, 2002 to September 30, 2002
(unaudited)
(in thousands of dollars)
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BALANCE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ -
Issue of trust units 272,167
Cancelled (17,507)
Contributed surplus 337
Net income 5,378
Distributions (13,692)
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BALANCE, END OF PERIOD $ 246,683
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%SEDAR: 00017538E
VIEW ADDITIONAL COMPANY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION: http://www.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/inquiry.cgi?OKEY=57624
For further information: Further information: BFI Canada provides a full
Management Discussion and Analysis document on its website: www.bficanada.com;
BFI Canada Income Fund, Joseph D. Quarin, Chief Financial Officer,
Tel: (416) 401-7722, Email: joe.quarin(at)bficanada.com
News release via Canada NewsWire, Toronto 416-863-9350
Copyright (C) 2002 CNW, All rights reserved