BOUCHERVILLE, Quebec – Uni-Select Inc. has announced solid EBITDA, EBITDA margin and net earnings growth for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2014.
Overall sales grew by 0.4 percent or 1.3 percent organically for the quarter. EBITDA grew by 37.6 percent, while net earnings increased by 11.4 percent in the fourth quarter as a result of savings derived from the corporation’s Action Plan. Notwithstanding expenses related to network optimization, adjusted EBITDA grew by 13.9 percent this quarter, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 6.5 percent.
Sales for fiscal 2014 declined 0.2 percent, EBITDA grew 84.4 percent compared to 2013 and net earnings more than doubled from the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA gained 10.1 percent, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 6.2 percent for 2014, up from 5.7 percent last year.
“I am pleased by our fourth quarter results and by the systematic profitability increase recorded quarter after quarter since the implementation of the Action Plan 19 months ago. This performance is a clear illustration of the quality work accomplished by our team and of the soundness of our strategy,” said Richard Roy, president and CEO of Uni-Select.
“We enter fiscal 2015 with the firm commitment to reinforce our recognition as the partner of choice for our customers and intend to do so by taking advantage of our improved financial fundamentals, a broadened product assortment, a better-performing inventory and an overall lighter cost structure. Our recent transaction announcement reflects our strong commitment to our automotive parts and paint distribution activities in Canada and our automotive paint distribution activities in the U.S. through FinishMaster. This will allow us to further accelerate growth both organically and through acquisitions as both markets present various opportunities for future development,” added Roy.
Uni-Select recorded sales of $427 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and organic sales growth of 1.3 percent over the solid 5.5 percent comparable organic growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013. Sales derived from recent acquisitions were offset by the negative impact of the declining Canadian dollar and sales lost from store closures under the corporation’s Action Plan. Sales of the US operations reached $311 million, up 2.2 percent over last year or 0.4 percent on an organic basis. Canadian operations reported $116 million in sales in the same period, down 4.1 percent over 2013 mainly due to the impact of a lower Canadian dollar, partially compensated by 3.6 percent in organic growth.
Uni-Select recorded an overall 0.2 percent decline in sales for the12 months of 2014 to $1,784 million. The declining Canadian dollar, combined with sales lost from planned store closures under the Action Plan, impacted revenues by $71 million and more than offset the combined favorable impact of the 1.9 percent organic growth and additional revenue derived from recent acquisitions.
Sales of the U.S. operations reached $1,305 million, up 0.8 percent compared to last year, with 1.1 percent in organic growth. Canadian operations recorded $480 million in sales in the same period, down 2.9 percent over 2013 but up 4.0 percent organically.
On Feb. 9, 2015, Uni-Select entered into an agreement for the sale of substantially all of the assets of Uni-Select USA Inc. and Beck/Arnley Worldparts Inc. for cash proceeds of approximately $340 million. In the first quarter of 2015, the corporation expects to incur an estimated after-tax loss ranging from $80 million to $100 million in connection with the sale of the net assets of the business activities and other related charges of which approximately $20 million in cash outlays are expected to be required. The loss will reflect transaction-related costs, termination of service contracts, restructuring charges, write-down of intangibles (mostly IT systems) and write-down of a portion of the goodwill. This transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2015 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including obtaining regulatory approvals.
