Uni-Select Inc. reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017.
“We are pleased with our ongoing initiatives, in particular, our ability to acquire and successfully integrate select companies into our network, benefiting our sales and EBITDA growth. Our Canadian business experienced solid organic sales growth during the quarter in the corporate stores as well as with our independent customers, excluding one independent member loss. Total sales of FinishMaster US were impacted, as expected, by the product line changeover,” said Henry Buckley, president and CEO of Uni-Select. “Our free cash flows for the quarter increased, and we continue to be focused on optimizing our business. We are highly committed to delivering balanced profitable growth for the long-term, by building a solid foundation, implementing organic sales growth initiatives and through the expansion of both networks.”
Consolidated sales for the three-month period were $297.2 million, a 12.6 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year, driven by the sales generated mainly from recent U.S. business acquisitions, resulting in additional sales of $44.5 million or 16.8 percent. The organic sales were affected, as expected, by the product line changeover in the FinishMaster US segment while the Canadian Automotive Group was affected by a loss of an independent member. Without these impacts, the organic growth would have been positive.
The corporation generated an EBITDA of $23.2 million for the three-month period of 2017, compared to $21.7 million in 2016, an increase of 6.8 percent. The EBITDA margin decrease of 0.4 percent is attributable to higher stock-based compensation due to a share price appreciation, lower absorption of fixed costs in relation to the organic growth and a different revenue mix. These factors were offset by optimized buying conditions, accretive business acquisitions, and lower information technology expenses.
Net earnings of $11 million decreased by 4.2 percent compared to the same quarter last year, and were impacted by additional amortization and finance costs related to recent business acquisitions.
