WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- People Corporation (the "Company") (TSX Venture: PEO) today announced financial results for the quarter ended February 29, 2020.

Laurie Goldberg, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, “People Corporation made solid strategic and financial progress in the second quarter of 2020. Steady execution of our strategy generated revenue growth of 45.5%, and growth in Adjusted EBITDA, of 52.3% compared to the same period last year. Delivering the Company’s unique value proposition for plan sponsors and their members, our team drove organic revenue growth of 15.6% in Q2.  We continue to see substantial opportunity to further leverage our national platform, capitalize on our growing scale and national distribution footprint, and to consistently evolve our product and service offering to drive a best-in-class experience for our clients, and returns for shareholders.”

Mr. Goldberg continued, “Our first priority during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety and wellbeing of our employees and clients. In early March, we took several steps, including transitioning the majority of our staff to remote working arrangements, to ensure their safety as well as uninterrupted service for our clients.  We have also created and are providing to our clients and employees tools and resources to help them with a variety of situations and challenges that have arisen related to the pandemic.”

The Company has not observed any financial impact on its business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, either for the fiscal quarter ended February 29, 2020, or for the month of March 2020.  However, given the measures taken by all the levels of government in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, and the related impact on business and the overall economy, the Company does expect to see an impact in the coming months.

“With an essential service offering designed to provide clients with deep and specialized advice combined with a platform that delivers customized solutions focused on cost containment, a strong weighting of clients in less cyclical sectors, as well as a robust organic growth engine, the Company is well-positioned to successfully navigate the current environment,” continued Mr. Goldberg.

Highlights of Financial Results for the Quarter Ended February 29, 2020

Financial Results from Operations

The Company's financial results for the three months ended February 29, 2020, fully reflect the effect of last year's acquisitions of Benefit Partners Inc. (“BPI”), Life Benefit Solutions Inc. (“Life”), and ACL Student Benefits Ltd. (“ACL”). In addition, the partial effect of the current fiscal year acquisitions of Collage Technologies Inc. ("Collage"), Apri Group of Companies ("Apri"), Robin Veilleux Assurances et Rentes Collectives Inc. (“RVARC”) and Integrated Benefit Consultants Ltd. (“IBC”) are reflected in the current period.

The Company realized revenue growth for the three months ended February 29, 2020, of $18.5 million (45.5%). The early receipt of certain revenues totaling $1.6 million (3.9%) were recognized in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, which are typically received and recorded in the third quarter. Organic growth of $6.3 million (15.6%) was recognized primarily from launching new services, gaining new clients, increasing product and service penetration with existing clients and natural inflationary factors. The Company recognized acquired growth of $10.5 million (26.0%) resulting from the acquired operations of Life, ACL, Collage, Apri, RVARC, and IBC. Included in the acquired growth was revenue from RVARC of $1,593, reflecting some seasonality of the revenue streams of this business which contributed to the higher revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended February 29, 2020, was $17.7 million, representing an increase of $8.5 million (92.2%), as compared to the same period in fiscal 2019. Excluding the favourable impact of $1.0 million from adopting IFRS 16, along, as noted above, with the early collection of certain revenues of $1.6 million and $1.1 million of seasonal revenue after REI from RVARC, Adjusted EBITDA for the three months was $14.0 million, representing an increase of $4.8 million (52.3%), as compared to the same period in fiscal 2019. Growth in Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was primarily driven by contribution from acquired operations and organic revenue growth in the second quarter. These increases are partially offset by higher variable compensation expenses tied directly to the higher revenue and an expanded staff complement to accommodate current growth in operations and the launch of our new disability management platform. In addition, the Company incurred higher administration fees related to new services. The Company continued its investment in sales and support staff and also had marginal growth within the Corporate support functions.

The Company reported Net Income for the three months ended February 29, 2020 of $0.5 million. Net income improved by $3.9 million as compared to the prior fiscal year due to increase in Adjusted EBITDA of $8.5 million, as described above partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization expense and increased acquisition, integration and reorganization costs.

Strategic and Operational Highlights

In the first two quarters of the fiscal year, the Company continued to make significant progress on executing its strategic plan, while at the same time making investments to position the Company for ongoing future growth.  Some notable milestones include:

Completed the following strategic acquisitions:

• RVARC, a leading provider of group benefits consulting services based in Quebec, significantly increasing the Company's presence in one of Canada's largest provinces;
• Collage, a leading cloud-based digital human resource employee benefits administration and payroll solution provider based in Ontario.  The acquisition provides an entry into adjacent markets, expands the Company’s administrative and technological capabilities and also expands the breadth and depth of the Company’s product and service offering and the plan member experience;
• IBC, a provider of group benefits consulting services for companies throughout Alberta, increasing  the Company's presence in Western Canada; and
• Apri, one of the largest independent group benefits Managing General Agents ("MGA") and group benefits consulting firms in Canada with an established presence in multiple provinces and a strong reputation for innovative, client-focused solutions.  Apri's JungoHR platform offers an HRIS focused on mid-sized and enterprise-level businesses, expanding the Company's existing human resource solutions. Paired with the Collage Benefits HQ platform, the Company is able to provide a comprehensive solution and value proposition to its third party advisor network as one of the largest group benefits MGAs in Canada.

Continued to invest in talent to support a growing client base and enhance our strategic capabilities:

• Re-organized senior leadership responsibilities to drive go to market effectiveness; and
• Hired talent with expertise in three distinct market segments:  group retirement, disability, and enterprise clients.

Continued to execute integration initiatives to leverage the benefits of the platform:

• Launched an MGA solution to provide back office support to our third party advisors; and
• Initiated the operational integration of our student benefits business to strengthen the Company’s position as a leader in this market.

Launched new solutions, including:

• A new disability management and administration system solution; and
• People Connect, a new online Mental Health solution for clients.

Completed a private placement common share offering issuing 3,500,000 shares for total net proceeds of approximately $23,600 on April 16, 2020. During fiscal year 2020, the Company has raised total net proceeds of $84,700 and issued 10,483,500 common shares through two private placement common share offerings.

Summary Financial Position

The Company is well-funded to execute on its long-term growth strategy, with a strong financial position and access to capital.  The Company had cash balances of $27.0 million as at February 29, 2020.  In addition to its cash resources, the Company maintains a credit facility with its senior lenders that totals $125.0 million of credit capacity, with an option, subject to the satisfaction of certain terms and conditions, to increase the credit facility by an additional $50.0 million, to a total of $175.0 million overall.  As of February 29, 2020, the Company had drawn $98.5 million against its credit facility. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company completed a bought deal equity financing for net proceeds of $23,712 and has drawn an additional $21,000 on its revolving credit facility, resulting in approximately $70,000 of available cash on hand.

The complete Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended February 29, 2020, along with additional information about the Company and all of its public filings are available at www.sedar.com.

Grant of Deferred Stock Units

The Company permits its directors to elect to take their director’s fees in the form of deferred stock units issued under the Company’s Security Based Compensation Plan, in lieu of cash payments.  This quarter, the Company has granted 2,542 deferred stock units to directors in this regard. 

Conference Call

People Corporation will host a conference call on Monday, April 27th, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its financial results and provide investors with key business highlights.  The call will be chaired by Laurie Goldberg, Executive Chairman & CEO and Dennis Stewner, CFO & COO.

Date: April 27th, 2020 | Time: 8:30am ET
Participant Dial-in: 416-764-8688 or 1-888-390-0546
Replay Dial-in: 416-764-8677 or 1-888-390-0541
(Available for 2 weeks – Expiring May 11th, 2020)
Conference ID: 10289136
Playback #: 289136
Listen to webcast: event.on24.com

About People Corporation

People Corporation (https://www.peoplecorporation.com) is a national provider of group benefits, group retirement and human resource services.  The Company has offices across Canada, each led by a team of experts and backed by the resources of a national company that is traded on the TSX-V.  The Company’s industry experts provide uniquely valuable insight while customizing an innovative suite of services to the specific needs of its clients.  Whatever your sector, whatever your scale, putting People Corporation’s expertise and proven track record to work will make a difference to your people and your bottom line.  Further information is available at www.peoplecorporation.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, such as statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts.  Use of words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “believe”, "intends", "likely", or other words of similar effect may indicate a “forward-looking” statement.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's publicly filed documents (available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com).  Those risks and uncertainties include the ability to maintain profitability and manage organic or acquisition growth, reliance on information systems and technology, reputation risk, dependence on key clients, reliance on key professionals and general economic conditions.  Many of these risks and uncertainties can affect the Company's actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement made by the Company or on its behalf.  Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.  All forward-looking statements in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements.  These statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company, its financial or operating results or its securities.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The Company reports non-IFRS financial measures, including Standardized EBITDA, REI, Adjusted EBITDA before REI, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Earnings as key measures used by management to evaluate performance of the business, to compensate employees and to facilitate a comparison of quarterly and annual results of ongoing operations.  Adjusted EBITDA is also a concept utilized in measuring compliance with debt covenants.  The Adjusted EBITDA measure is commonly reported and widely used by investors and lending institutions as an indicator of a company’s operating performance and ability to incur and service debt, and as a valuation metric.  While used to assist in evaluating the operating performance and debt servicing ability of the Company, readers are cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA as reported by the Company may not be comparable in all instances to Adjusted EBITDA as reported by other companies.  For a detailed explanation of how the Company’s non-IFRS measures are calculated, please refer to the Company’s MD&A filing for the three and six months ended February 29, 2020, which can be accessed via the SEDAR Web site (www.sedar.com).

Investor Relations Inquiries:

Jonathan Ross, CFA
Investor Relations - People Corporation
(416) 283-0178
jon.ross@loderockadvisors.com

Dennis Stewner, CPA, CA
CFO and COO - People Corporation
(204) 940-3988
dennis.stewner@peoplecorporation.com
www.peoplecorporation.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.