Lassonde Industries Inc. announces its Q2-2024 results

OPEN TO: Investors, analysts, and all interested parties

DATE: Friday, August 9, 2024

TIME: 8:30 AM ET

CALL: 647-484-8814 (for international participants)

          1-844-763-8274 (for North American participants)

A live audio broadcast of the conference call will be available on the Corporation’s website, on the Investors page or here: https://www.gowebcasting.com/13372. A replay of the webcast will remain available at the same link until midnight, August 16, 2024.

Financial Measures Not in Accordance With IFRS

The financial measures or ratios, further described below, do not constitute standardized financial measures or ratios in accordance with the financial reporting framework used to prepare the Corporation’s financial statements. These non-IFRS measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Comparing them to similar financial measures or ratios presented by other issuers may not be possible.

Items impacting the comparability between periods

The following table contains a list, description, and quantification of items impacting the comparability of the financial performance between periods:

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA is a financial measure used by the Corporation and investors to assess the Corporation’s capacity to generate future cash flows from operating activities and pay financial expenses. Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure used by the Corporation to compare EBITDA between periods by excluding items impacting comparability. EBITDA consists of the sum of operating profit and of the “depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets” item and “(Gains) losses on capital assets” item, as shown in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adjusting the EBITDA with items considered by management as impacting the comparability between periods.

Adjusted Profit Attributable to the Corporation’s Shareholders and Adjusted EPS

Adjusted profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders and adjusted EPS are financial measures used by the Corporation to compare profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders and EPS between periods by excluding items impacting comparability. They are calculated by adjusting them with items considered by management as impacting the comparability between periods.

Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA

Net debt to adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure used by the Corporation to assess its ability to pay off existing debt and define available borrowing capacity. To calculate the net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio, net debt is divided by the sum of adjusted EBITDA from the last four quarters. Net debt represents long-term debt, including the current portion, less the “Cash and cash equivalents” item, as they are presented in the Corporation’s Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.

Days Operating Working Capital

Days operating working capital is a financial measure used by the Corporation to represent the number of days of sales tied up as operating working capital. To calculate this financial measure, operating working capital is divided by the last quarter’s sales, as they are presented in this press release, and multiplied by 91 days. Operating working capital consists of the sum of trade accounts receivable, discounts receivable and inventories, less trade payables and accrued expenses and trade spending, as they are presented in the accompanying notes to the Corporation’s interim consolidated financial statements.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains “forward-looking information” and the Corporation’s oral and written public communications that do not constitute historical fact may be deemed to be “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements on the Corporation’s objectives and goals and are based on current expectations, projections, beliefs, judgments, and assumptions based on information available at the time the applicable forward-looking statement was made and considering the Corporation’s experience combined with its perception of historical trends.

Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “believe”, “plan”, “intend”, “design”, “target”, “objective”, “strategy”, “likely”, “potential”, “outlook”, “aim”, “goal”, and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance in addition to the negative forms of these terms or any variations thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this document may constitute a forward-looking statement.

In this document, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those set forth in the above “Outlook” section, which also presents some (but not all) of the key assumptions used in determining the forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements in this document, such as statements concerning sales volume and sales growth rate, key commodity and input costs, expenses, including items impacting the comparability between the periods, effective tax rate, working capital, and capital expenditures may be considered financial outlooks for the purposes of applicable Canadian securities regulations. These financial outlooks are presented to evaluate potential future earnings and anticipated future uses of cash flows and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Various factors or assumptions are applied by the Corporation in elaborating the forward‑looking statements. These factors and assumptions are based on information currently available to the Corporation, including information obtained by the Corporation from third parties. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions considered by the Corporation to support these forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect in whole or in part.

The significant factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the conclusions, forecasts or projections reflected in the forward-looking statements contained herein include, among other things, risks associated with the following: deterioration of general macroeconomic conditions, including international conflicts, which can lead to negative impacts on the Corporation’s suppliers, customers, and operating costs; the availability of raw materials and packaging and related price variations (including the prices of orange juice and orange concentrates, key commodities for the Corporation, which have continued to trade above historical highs for the past several months and show no sign of favourable change); loss of key suppliers or supplier concentration; disruptions in or failures of the Corporation’s information technology systems, as well as the development and performance of technology; cyber threats and other information-technology-related risks leading to business disruptions, confidentiality, data integrity, and business email compromise-related fraud; the successful deployment of the Corporation’s multi-year strategy  (defined in Section 4 – “Multi-Year Strategy” of the Corporation’s MD&A for the second quarter ended June 29, 2024) and the Corporation’s ability to effectively integrate any acquisitions; the Corporation’s ability to maintain strong sourcing and manufacturing platforms and efficient distribution channels; fluctuations in the prices of inbound and outbound freight, the impact of oil prices (and derivatives thereof) on the Corporation’s direct and indirect costs along with the Corporation’s ability to transfer those increases through higher prices or other means, if any, to its customers in competitive market conditions and considering demand elasticity; climate change and disasters causing higher operating costs and capital expenditures and reduced production output, or impacting the availability, quality or price volatility of key commodities sourced by the Corporation; the scarcity of labour and the related impact on the hiring, training, developing, retaining and reliance of personnel together with their productivity, employment matters, compliance with employment laws across multiple jurisdictions, and the potential for work stoppages due to non-renewal of collective bargaining agreements or other reasons; the successful deployment of the Corporation’s health and safety programs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; serious injuries or fatalities, which could have a material impact on the Corporation’s business continuity and reputation and lead to compliance-related costs; disputes with significant suppliers; the increasing concentration of customers in the food industry, providing them with significant bargaining power particularly on the Corporation’s selling prices; the implementation, cost and impact of environmental sustainability initiatives as well as the cost of remediating environmental liabilities; changes made to laws and rules that affect the Corporation’s activities, particularly in matters of tax and customs duties, as well as the interpretation thereof, and new positions adopted by relevant authorities; the ability to adapt to changes and developments affecting the Corporation’s industry, including customer preferences, tastes, and buying patterns, market conditions and the activities of competitors and customers; failure to maintain the quality and safety of the Corporation’s products, which could result in product recalls and product liability claims for misbranded, adulterated, contaminated, or spoiled food products, along with reputational damage; risks related to fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates, liquidity and credit, stock price and pension obligations; the incurrence of restructuring, disposal, or other related charges together with the recognition of impairment charges on goodwill or long-lived assets; the sufficiency of insurance coverage; and the implications and outcome of potential legal actions, litigation or regulatory proceedings to which the Corporation may be a party. The Corporation cautions readers that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

The Corporation’s ability to achieve its sustainability targets and goals is further subject to, among other factors, its ability to access and implement all technology necessary to achieve them as well as the development, deployment, and performance of technology and environmental regulation. The Corporation’s ability to achieve its environmental, social and governance risk commitments is further subject to, among other factors, its ability to leverage its supplier relationships.

The assumptions, expectations, and estimates involved in preparing forward-looking statements and risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are discussed in the Corporation’s materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including information about risk factors that can be found in Section 19 – “Uncertainties and Principal Risk Factors” of the Corporation’s MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2023. Readers should review this section in detail.

All forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof. Unless required by law, the Corporation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. All forward-looking statements contained herein are wholly and expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.