Calian Reports Results for the First Quarter


(All amounts in release are in Canadian dollars)

OTTAWA, Feb. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calian® Group Ltd. (TSX:CGY), a diverse products and services company providing innovative healthcare, communications, learning and cybersecurity solutions, today released its results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Q1-24 Highlights:

  • Revenue up 21% to $179 million
  • Gross margin at 32.5%, up from 30.6% last year
  • Adjusted EBITDA1 up 37% to $19.5 million
  • Operating free cash flow1 of $14.2 million
  • Net liquidity of $139 million
  • Repurchased 27,226 shares in consideration of $1.4 million
  • Guidance reiterated
  • Appointed President, IT & Cyber Solutions
  • Completed the acquisition of Decisive Group
    
Financial HighlightsThree months ended
(in millions of $, except per share & margins)December 31, 
 2023 2022 % 
Revenue179.1 147.5 21% 
Adjusted EBITDA119.5 14.3 37% 
Adjusted EBITDA1 %10.9% 9.7% 123bps 
Net Profit5.5 4.6 21% 
EPS Diluted$0.46 $0.39 18% 
Operating Free Cash Flow114.2 12.1 17% 
    

Access the full report on the Calian Financials web page.
Register for the conference call on Thursday, February 15, 2024, 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

“We had a strong start to the year with revenues up 21% driven by double-digit organic growth and the strong contribution from recent acquisitions,” said Kevin Ford, Calian Chief Executive Officer. “Steps to restore our efficiency are bearing fruit with gross margin at an all-time high and adjusted EBITDA1 margin bordering on 11%. These results demonstrate the strength of our business model, our diversification into new markets and offerings as well as the value creation generated from our M&A agenda. With our guidance reiterated we are on track to deliver another record year and one step closer to our objective of reaching one billion dollars by the end of FY26,” stated Mr. Ford.

First Quarter Results

Revenues increased 21%, from $148 million to $179 million, driven by growth across all four segments, including double-digit growth in Health, ITCS and Advanced Technologies. Acquisitive growth was 9% and was generated by the acquisitions of Hawaii Pacific Teleport (“HPT”) and Decisive. Organic growth was 12% and was driven by double digit growth in Health and Advanced Technologies.

Gross margin reached a record 32.5%, representing its 7th consecutive quarter above 30%. Adjusted EBITDA1 reached $19.5 million, up 37% over the same period last year, driven by strong overall revenue growth and margin expansion in Advanced Technologies and Health, as well as from the benefits generated from the restructuring plan implemented midway through the fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA1 margin reached 10.9%, up from 9.7% in the same period last year, as a result of a favorable revenue mix.

Net profit reached $5.5 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, up from $4.6 million, or $0.39 per diluted share for the same period last year.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

“In the first quarter we generated $14.2 million in operating free cash flow1, representing a 73% conversion rate from adjusted EBITDA1,” said Patrick Houston, Calian CFO. “We used our cash and drew on our credit line primarily to invest in our business with the acquisition of Decisive for $47 million and capital expenditures of $2 million. We also provided a return to shareholders in the form of dividends of $3 million and share buybacks of $1 million. We ended the quarter with $139 million in net liquidity, well-positioned to pursue our growth objectives,” concluded Mr. Houston.

Normal Course Issuer Bid

In the three-month period ended December 31, 2023, as part of its Normal Course Issuer Bid, the Company repurchased 27,226 shares for cancellation in consideration of $1.4 million. Since the launch of the Normal Course Issuer Bid on September 1, 2023, the Company repurchased 59,320 common shares for cancellation in consideration of $3.0 million.

Quarterly Dividend

Today, Calian declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share. The dividend is payable March 13, 2024, to shareholders of record as of February 28, 2024. Dividends paid by the Corporation are considered “eligible dividend” for tax purposes.

    
 Guidance Reiterated   
    
 Guidance for the year ended
September 30, 2024
    
(in thousands of Canadian $)Low High
Revenue730,000 790,000
Adjusted EBITDA183,000 89,000

This guidance does not include any acquisitions that may close within the fiscal year. The guidance reflects another record year for the Company and positions it well to achieve its long-term growth targets.

Management Update

Recently, Patrick Thera, President Advanced Technologies, informed Calian that he will be retiring after a 38-year career with SED Systems and Calian. “Patrick played a pivotal role in shaping the success of the Advanced Technologies segment. I am immensely grateful for his dedication, sage counsel and commitment to the business. He will remain at the helm of the segment while we conduct a search for his successor and provide a smooth transition,” said Kevin Ford, Calian Chief Executive Officer.

1 This is a non-GAAP measure. Please refer to the section “Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to most comparable IFRS measures” at the end of the press release.

About Calian

We keep the world moving forward. Calian® helps people communicate, innovate, learn and lead safe and healthy lives. Every day, our employees live our values of customer commitment, integrity, innovation, respect and teamwork to engineer reliable solutions that solve complex problems. That’s Confidence. Engineered. A stable and growing 40-year company, we are headquartered in Ottawa with offices and projects spanning North American, European and international markets.

Visit calian.com to learn about innovative healthcare, communications, learning and cybersecurity solutions.

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Media inquiries:
pr@calian.com
613-599-8600 x 2298

Investor Relations inquiries:
ir@calian.com


DISCLAIMER

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as “intend”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, and including currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Company’s most recent annual report and other reports filed by Calian with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

Calian · Head Office · 770 Palladium Drive · Ottawa · Ontario · Canada · K2V 1C8
Tel: 613.599.8600 · Fax: 613-592-3664 · General info email: info@calian.com

 
CALIAN GROUP LTD.
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
 
As at December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023
(Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data)
       
  December 31,  September 30, 
  2023
 2023
ASSETS        
CURRENT ASSETS      
Cash and cash equivalents $52,267  $33,734
Accounts receivable  185,150   173,052
Work in process  17,478   16,580
Inventory  28,585   21,983
Prepaid expenses  22,128   19,040
Derivative assets  40   155
Total current assets  305,648   264,544
NON-CURRENT ASSETS        
Property, plant and equipment  38,320   37,223
Right of use assets  36,110   34,637
Prepaid expenses  9,690   10,386
Deferred tax asset  1,034   967
Investments  3,673   3,673
Acquired intangible assets  118,318   75,160
Goodwill  190,485   159,133
Total non-current assets  397,630   321,179
TOTAL ASSETS $703,278  $585,723
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
CURRENT LIABILITIES      
Debt facility $93,750  $37,750
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities  132,159   105,550
Provisions  2,593   2,848
Unearned contract revenue  41,587   32,423
Lease obligations  5,156   4,949
Contingent earn-out  26,697   11,263
Derivative liabilities  141   353
Total current liabilities  302,083   195,136
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES        
Lease obligations  33,571   32,057
Unearned contract revenue  14,850   15,592
Contingent earn-out  2,603   2,535
Deferred tax liabilities  20,597   12,031
Total non-current liabilities  71,621   62,215
TOTAL LIABILITIES  373,704   257,351
       
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
Issued capital  227,466   225,540
Contributed surplus  4,279   4,856
Retained earnings  98,234   96,859
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)  (405)  1,117
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY  329,574   328,372
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY $703,278  $585,723
Number of common shares issued and outstanding  11,834,924   11,812,650

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

 
CALIAN GROUP LTD.
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF NET PROFIT
For the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
(Canadian dollars in thousands, except per share data)
       
  Three months ended
  December 31, 
  2023    2022
Revenue $179,179 $147,543
Cost of revenues  120,961  102,324
Gross profit   58,218   45,219
       
Selling and marketing  12,351  11,143
General and administration  23,634  17,400
Research and development  2,719  2,421
Profit before under noted items   19,514   14,255
       
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment  2,308  2,297
Depreciation of right of use assets  1,463  1,007
Amortization of acquired intangible assets  5,235  3,361
Deemed compensation  604  97
Changes in fair value related to contingent earn-out  726  742
Profit before interest income and income tax expense   9,178   6,751
       
Interest expense  1,547  123
Income tax expense  2,106  2,052
NET PROFIT $ 5,525 $ 4,576
       
Net profit per share:      
Basic $0.47 $0.39
Diluted $0.46 $0.39

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

 
CALIAN GROUP LTD.
UNAUDITED INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
(Canadian dollars in thousands)
       
  Three months ended
  December 31, 
     2023     2022 
CASH FLOWS GENERATED FROM (USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES        
Net profit $5,525  $4,576 
Items not affecting cash:      
Interest expense  1,098   12 
Changes in fair value related to contingent earn-out  726   742 
Lease obligations interest expense  449   111 
Income tax expense  2,106   2,052 
Employee share purchase plan expense  162   163 
Share based compensation expense  1,013   407 
Depreciation and amortization  9,006   6,665 
Deemed compensation  604   97 
   20,689   14,825 
Change in non-cash working capital      
Accounts receivable  (11,189)  34,714 
Work in process  (898)  6,825 
Prepaid expenses and other  (74)  3,664 
Inventory  (2,590)  (7,965)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities  15,516   (27,268)
Unearned contract revenue  206   2,429 
   21,660   27,224 
Interest paid  (1,547)  (123)
Income tax paid  (2,575)  (1,778)
   17,538   25,323 
CASH FLOWS GENERATED FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES        
Issuance of common shares net of costs  694   910 
Dividends  (3,314)  (3,262)
Draw on debt facility  56,000   - 
Payment of lease obligations  (1,171)  (1,009)
Repurchase of common shares  (1,357)  - 
   50,852   (3,361)
CASH FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES        
Investments  -   (2,689)
Business acquisitions  (47,457)  (2,925)
Property, plant and equipment  (2,400)  (800)
   (49,857)  (6,414)
       
NET CASH INFLOW $18,533  $15,548 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD  33,734   42,646 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $52,267  $58,194 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO MOST COMPARABLE IFRS MEASURES

The following non-GAAP measures are mainly derived from the consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS; therefore, others using these terms may calculate them differently. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP performance measures does not imply that these are necessarily nonrecurring. From time to time, we may exclude additional items if we believe doing so would result in a more transparent and comparable disclosure. Other entities may define these measures differently than we do. In those cases, it may be difficult to use similarly named non-GAAP measures of other entities to compare performance of those entities to the Company’s performance.

Management believes that providing certain non-GAAP performance measures, in addition to IFRS measures, provides users of the Company’s financial reports with enhanced understanding of the Company’s results and related trends and increases transparency and clarity into the core results of the business. Adjusted EBITDA excludes items that do not reflect, in our opinion, the Company’s core performance and helps users of our MD&A to better analyze our results, enabling comparability of our results from one period to another.

 
Adjusted EBITDA
      
  Three months ended
  December 31,  December 31, 
   2023  2022
Net profit $5,525 $4,576
Depreciation of equipment and application software  2,308  2,297
Depreciation of right of use asset  1,463  1,007
Amortization of acquired intangible assets  5,235  3,361
Interest expense  1,547  123
Changes in fair value related to contingent earn-out  726  742
Deemed Compensation  604  97
Income tax  2,106  2,052
Adjusted EBITDA $19,514 $14,255


 Operating Free Cash Flow      
  Three months ended
  December 31,  December 31, 
   2023   2022 
       
Cash flows generated from operating activities $17,538  $25,323 
Property, plant and equipment  (2,400)  (800)
Free cash flow $ 15,138  $ 24,523 
       
Free cash flow $15,138  $24,523 
Adjustments:      
Change in non-cash working capital  (971)  (12,399)
Operating free cash flow $ 14,167  $ 12,124 
Operating free cash flow per share   1.20    1.04 
Operating free cash flow conversion  73%   85% 


Operating free cash flow measures the company’s cash profitability after required capital spending when excluding working capital changes. The Company’s ability to convert adjusted EBITDA to operating free cash flow is critical for the long term success of its strategic growth. These measurements better align the reporting of our results and improve comparability against our peers. We believe that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-GAAP measures in the evaluation of issuers. Management also uses non-GAAP measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, prepare annual operating budgets and assess our ability to meet our capital expenditure and working capital requirements. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for or be considered in isolation from measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Investors are encouraged to review our financial statements and disclosures in their entirety and are cautioned not to put undue reliance on non-GAAP measures and view them in conjunction with the most comparable IFRS financial measures.