TransForce Announces Solid 2015 First Quarter Results

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - April 22, 2015) - TransForce Inc. (TSX:TFI)(OTCQX:TFIFF), a North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

"Despite negative impacts from lower oil prices and harsh winter conditions that affected the East Coast, TransForce generated strong first-quarter results which reflect last year's significant acquisitions, operating improvements and a favourable effect from currency variations due to our business mix. Our constant focus on high-return activities yielded profitability improvement in the Package and Courier and Truckload segments, as well as in the Less-Than-Truckload segment after factoring out gains on sale of assets. As we remain very proactive in adapting supply to demand and exiting low-return markets, we closed additional facilities in our U.S. rig moving operations in response to lower activity. All in all, given industry seasonality, we are pleased with a solid free cash flow generation that allowed us to reduce our debt by more than $35 million during the quarter," said Alain Bédard, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of TransForce.

Financial highlights		Quarters ended March 31,
(in millions of dollars, except per share data)		2015	2014
Total revenue		1,031.8	770.5
Revenue before fuel surcharge		926.2	679.8
Income from operating activities (EBIT1)		45.0	33.2
Free cash flow2		40.5	26.7
Adjusted net income3		29.3	24.0
	Per share - diluted ($)	0.28	0.24
Net income		14.0	5.9
	Per share - diluted ($)	0.13	0.06
Weighted average shares outstanding ('000s)		102,376	98,096
1 Earnings before finance income and costs and income taxes.
2 Net cash from operating activities, less additions to property and equipment, plus proceeds from sale of property and equipment and assets held for sale.
3 Excluding amortization of intangible assets related to acquisitions, changes in the fair value of derivatives, net foreign exchange gain or loss, and items not in the Company's normal business, net of tax.

FIRST-QUARTER RESULTS

Total revenue reached $1.03 billion, up $261.3 million, or 34%. Net of fuel surcharge, revenue increased 36% to $926.2 million. This increase reflects acquisitions completed in the previous twelve months, as well as the effect of local currency appreciation in US-dollar denominated revenue.

EBIT¹ amounted to $45.0 million, or 4.9% of revenue before fuel surcharge, up 35% from $33.2 million, or 4.9% of revenue, a year earlier. The increase reflects a $14.3 million contribution from acquisitions and a $2.8 million improvement from existing operations stemming from efficiency gains, partially offset by a reduction of $5.4 million in the value of gains on sale of assets. Excluding such gains, EBIT rose in every segment with the exception of Waste Management, where it remained relatively stable, and in other segments due to lower U.S. rig moving activity.

Adjusted net income, which excludes amortization of intangible assets related to acquisitions, the changes in the fair value of derivatives, net foreign exchange gain or loss, and items not in the Company's normal business, net of tax, reached $29.3 million, or $0.28 per share, fully diluted, up from $24.0 million last year, or $0.24 per share, fully diluted. Net income amounted to $14.0 million, or $0.13 per share, fully diluted, versus $5.9 million, or $0.06 per share, fully diluted, a year ago.

Reflecting a higher cash flow from operating activities, TransForce generated a solid free cash flow of $40.5 million, or $0.40 per share, in the first quarter of 2015, up 51% from $26.7 million, or $0.27 per share a year ago. This free cash flow was mainly used to reduce long-term debt by a net amount of $35.3 million during the period.

SEGMENTED RESULTS
(in millions of dollars)		Quarters ended March 31,
		2015			2014
		$			$
Revenue before fuel surcharge
	Package and Courier	286.6			276.6
	Less-Than-Truckload (LTL)	183.3			149.3
	Truckload (TL)	363.8			165.4
	Waste Management	42.7			34.8
	Other segments	66.6			70.2
	Eliminations	(16.7	)		(16.5	)
Total		926.2			679.8

		$		% of Rev.*		$		% of Rev.*
Income from operating activities (EBIT)
	Package and Courier	14.7		5.1		13.0		4.7
	Less-Than-Truckload	3.0		1.7		4.4		3.0
	Truckload	27.2		7.5		11.0		6.6
	Waste Management	6.7		15.8		6.9		19.9
	Other segments	(2.3	)	(3.5	)	3.0		4.3
	Corporate	(4.3	)			(5.1	)
Total		45.0		4.9		33.2		4.9
Note: due to rounding, totals may differ slightly from the sum of individual segmented revenue or EBIT.
* Revenue before fuel surcharge

OUTLOOK

"The U.S. economy remains robust, while a weaker Canadian currency should create momentum in the Central Canada manufacturing sector to offset weakness in Western Canada resulting from lower oil prices. Given this business environment, we continue to expect 2015 total revenue to approach $4.5 billion and basic EPS to be in the range of $1.85 - $2.00. TransForce's principal operating goal is to further strengthen its leading competitive position by providing innovative, efficient and value-added solutions to its growing North American customer base. Decentralization is the cornerstone of our philosophy. By providing our highly-talented workforce with superior business decision tools and giving them the responsibility and authority to take appropriate actions in their respective business units, TransForce will continue to generate superior returns to the benefit of its shareholders," concluded Mr. Bédard.

CONFERENCE CALL

TransForce will hold a conference call for analysts and portfolio managers on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to discuss these results. Business media are also invited to listen to the call. Interested parties can join the call by dialling 1-877-223-4471. A recording of the call will be available until midnight, April 30, 2015, by dialling 1-800-585-8367 or 416-621-4642 and entering passcode 10902648.

ABOUT TRANSFORCE

TransForce Inc. is a North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry operating across Canada and the United States through its subsidiaries. TransForce creates value for shareholders by identifying strategic acquisitions and managing a growing network of wholly-owned operating subsidiaries. Under the TransForce umbrella, companies benefit from corporate financial and operational resources to build their businesses and increase their efficiency. TransForce companies service the following segments:

• Package and Courier;
• Less-Than-Truckload;
• Truckload;
• Waste Management;
• Logistics and Other Services.

TransForce Inc. is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:TFI) and the OTCQX marketplace in the U.S. (OTCQX:TFIFF). For more information, visit http://www.transforcecompany.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Except for historical information provided herein, this press release may contain information and statements of a forward-looking nature concerning the future performance of TransForce. These statements are based on suppositions and uncertainties as well as on management's best possible evaluation of future events. Such factors may include, without excluding other considerations, fluctuations in quarterly results, evolution in customer demand for TransForce's products and services, the impact of price pressures exerted by competitors, and general market trends or economic changes. As a result, readers are advised that actual results may differ from expected results.

NON-IFRS MEASURES

EBIT, adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow are financial measures not prescribed by IFRS and are not likely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Management considers these to be useful information to assist investors in evaluating the Company's profitability, liquidity and ability to generate funds to finance its operations. These measures do not have any standardize meaning under IFRS and could be calculated differently by other companies. These measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Note to readers: Consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis are available on TransForce's website at www.transforcecompany.com.