- Revenue increased by 8.2% (9.8% in constant
currency(1)) compared to the same period of the prior
year to reach $634.5 million;
- Adjusted EBITDA(1) reached $307.0 million, an increase of 10.7% (12.2% in
constant currency);
- Free cash flow(1) reached $142.8 million, an increase of 14.2% (14.6% in
constant currency);
- Cogeco Communications announced the acceleration of
high-speed Internet network expansion in Québec in collaboration
with the provincial and federal governments;
- Cogeco Communications completed the acquisition of
DERYtelecom, the third largest cable provider in the province of
Québec; and
- A quarterly eligible dividend of $0.64 was declared.
MONTRÉAL, April 13, 2021 /CNW
Telbec/ - Today, Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA)
("Cogeco Communications" or the "Corporation") announced its
financial results for the second quarter ended February 28,
2021, in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards ("IFRS").
OPERATING RESULTS
For the second quarter of fiscal 2021:
- Revenue increased by 8.2% to reach $634.5 million. On a constant currency basis,
revenue increased by 9.8%, mainly explained as follows:
-
- Canadian broadband services revenue increased by 10.1% as a
result of the DERYtelecom acquisition completed on December 14, 2020, the cumulative effect of
sustained demand for residential high speed Internet since the
beginning of the pandemic, and rate increases implemented for
certain services, partly offset by a decline in video service
customers. Excluding the acquisition of DERYtelecom, revenue in
constant currency increased by 2.9%.
- American broadband services revenue increased by 9.5% in
constant currency resulting mainly from a higher Internet service
customer base, rate increases implemented for certain services and
the impact of the Thames Valley Communications acquisition
completed on March 10, 2020.
Excluding the acquisition of Thames Valley Communications, revenue
in constant currency increased by 8.0%
- Adjusted EBITDA increased by 10.7% to reach $307.0 million. On a constant currency basis,
adjusted EBITDA increased by 12.2%, mainly explained as
follows:
-
- Canadian broadband services adjusted EBITDA increased by 11.2%
in constant currency mainly resulting from revenue growth and the
impact of the DERYtelecom acquisition. Excluding the acquisition of
DERYtelecom, adjusted EBITDA in constant currency increased by
4.7%.
- American broadband services adjusted EBITDA increased by 12.4%
in constant currency mainly resulting from revenue growth and the
impact of the Thames Valley Communications acquisition. Excluding
the acquisition of Thames Valley Communications, adjusted EBITDA in
constant currency increased by 11.0%.
- Profit for the period amounted to $110.6
million, of which $102.9
million, or $2.16 per share,
was attributable to owners of the Corporation compared to
$114.0 million, $109.4 million, and $2.24 per share, respectively, in the comparable
period of fiscal 2020. The decrease resulted mainly from the
increase in financial expense, mostly due to a $22.9 million non-cash gain on debt modification
recognized during the second quarter of fiscal 2020, and higher
income taxes expense, partly offset by higher adjusted EBITDA;
- Free cash flow increased by 14.2% to reach $142.8 million. On a constant currency basis,
free cash flow increased by 14.6% as a result of higher adjusted
EBITDA, partly offset by the increase in current income taxes;
- Cash flows from operating activities reached $231.2 million, comparable to the same period of
the prior year;
- On December 14, 2020, Cogeco
Connexion completed the acquisition of DERYtelecom, the third
largest cable operator in the province of Québec, for a purchase
price of $403 million, subject to
customary post-closing adjustments; and
- At its April 13, 2021 meeting, the Board of Directors of
Cogeco Communications declared a quarterly eligible dividend of
$0.64 per share compared to
$0.58 per share in the comparable
quarter of fiscal 2020.
|
(1)
|
The indicated terms
do not have standardized definitions prescribed by IFRS and,
therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by
other companies. For more details, please consult the "Non-IFRS
financial measures" section of this press release, including
reconciliation to the most comparable IFRS financial
measures.
|
"For the second quarter of fiscal 2021, we are pleased with
Cogeco Communications' overall performance, which includes
continued growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA," declared Philippe
Jetté, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco
Communications Inc.
"In our Canadian broadband segment, we have seen growth in our
customer base, with many opting for a mix of services or upgrading
their existing services, highlighting the importance of our fixed
broadband product at this time," said Mr. Jetté. "Our team at
Cogeco Connexion has also been hard at work with the integration of
DERYtelecom and the announcement to extend high-speed Internet
access in 13 regions across Québec in partnership with the
Government of Canada and the
Government of Québec. The government funding support is excellent
news, as we continue supporting our communities and contributing to
the economic vitality of regional areas."
"At Atlantic Broadband, customer growth has been strong,
underscoring our Broadband First strategy, offering best-in-class
managed WiFi and transparent everyday pricing," added Mr.
Jetté.
"We also received important recognition during this last quarter
for our continued efforts around corporate social responsibility,
and environmental, social and corporate governance, having been
named among Corporate Knights' Global 100 Most Sustainable
Corporations for a second year in a row, as well as having our
ambitious new emission reduction targets gain approval from the
Science Based Targets Initiative," concluded Mr. Jetté.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact our day-to-day
operations. Our priority remained on ensuring the well-being of our
employees, customers and business partners. During the first half
of fiscal 2021, we continued to experience some of the trends from
past quarters. Those primarily relate to sustained demand for our
residential high speed Internet product, due to customers spending
more time at home for work, online education and entertainment
purposes, and a reduction of certain expenses due to a more stable
customer base (fewer connections and disconnections) and not being
able to use all usual sales channels. In these unusual
circumstances, we have also decided to delay certain sales and
marketing expenses to the second half of the year in both
countries. We expect that the current "work-from-home" trend will
continue after the COVID-19 pandemic, where more workers will work
from home than pre-pandemic on a partial or full-time basis.
Although we are pleased with the financial results to date under
the circumstances, we remain cautious in our management of this
situation as uncertainties remain on the potential human, operating
and financial impact of the pandemic. The Corporation's results
discussed herein may not be indicative of future operational trends
and financial performance.
ABOUT COGECO COMMUNICATIONS
Cogeco Communications Inc. is a communications corporation. It
is the 8th largest cable operator in North America, operating in Canada under the Cogeco Connexion name in
Québec and Ontario, and along the
East Coast of the United States
under the Atlantic Broadband brand (in 11 states from Maine to Florida). The Corporation provides residential
and business customers with Internet, video and telephony services
through its two-way broadband fibre networks. Cogeco Communications
Inc.'s subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock
Exchange (TSX: CCA).
Conference
Call:
|
Wednesday, April 14,
2021 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time)
|
|
|
|
A live audio webcast
will be available on Cogeco Communications' website at
https://corpo.cogeco.com/cca/en/investors/investor-relations/. The
webcast will be available on Cogeco Communications' website for a
three-month period. Members of the financial community will be able
to access the conference call and ask questions. Media
representatives may attend as listeners only.
|
|
|
|
Please use the
following dial-in number to have access to the conference call 5 to
10 minutes before the start of the conference:
|
|
|
|
Canada/United States
Access Number: 1-877-291-4570
|
|
|
|
International Access
Number: 1-647-788-4919
|
|
|
|
In order to join this
conference, participants are required to provide the operator with
the name of the company hosting the call, that is, Cogeco Inc. or
Cogeco Communications Inc.
|
For information:
Investors
Patrice Ouimet
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Cogeco Communications Inc.
Tel.: 514-764-4700
patrice.ouimet@cogeco.com
Media
Marie-Hélène Labrie
Senior Vice President and Chief Public Affairs
Communications and Strategy Officer
Cogeco Communications Inc.
Tel.: 514-764-4700
marie-helene.labrie@cogeco.com
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
Three months
ended
|
Six months
ended
|
|
February 28,
2021
|
February 29,
2020
|
Change
|
Change in
constant
currency (1)(2)
|
Foreign
exchange
impact (1)
|
February 28,
2021
|
February 29,
2020
|
Change
|
Change in
constant
currency (1)(2)
|
Foreign
exchange
impact (1)
|
(In thousands of
Canadian
dollars, except percentages
and per share data)
|
$
|
$
|
%
|
%
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
%
|
%
|
$
|
Operations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
634,548
|
586,467
|
8.2
|
9.8
|
(9,597)
|
1,253,461
|
1,173,294
|
6.8
|
7.8
|
(10,768)
|
Adjusted EBITDA
(2)
|
306,994
|
277,372
|
10.7
|
12.2
|
(4,192)
|
618,087
|
559,477
|
10.5
|
11.3
|
(4,702)
|
Adjusted EBITDA
margin (2)
|
48.4
%
|
47.3 %
|
|
|
|
49.3
%
|
47.7 %
|
|
|
|
Integration,
restructuring and acquisition costs (3)
|
2,330
|
5,458
|
(57.3)
|
|
|
3,545
|
5,519
|
(35.8)
|
|
|
Profit for the
period
|
110,559
|
114,011
|
(3.0)
|
|
|
225,455
|
203,719
|
10.7
|
|
|
Profit for the period
attributable to owners of the Corporation
|
102,936
|
109,391
|
(5.9)
|
|
|
209,615
|
193,569
|
8.3
|
|
|
Cash
flow
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from
operating activities
|
231,166
|
231,653
|
(0.2)
|
|
|
472,891
|
380,845
|
24.2
|
|
|
Acquisition of
property, plant and equipment (4)
|
115,214
|
110,840
|
3.9
|
6.4
|
(2,703)
|
231,436
|
232,142
|
(0.3)
|
1.0
|
(3,094)
|
Free cash flow
(2)
|
142,768
|
125,062
|
14.2
|
14.6
|
(533)
|
283,384
|
227,906
|
24.3
|
24.6
|
(684)
|
Capital intensity
(2)
|
18.2
%
|
18.9 %
|
|
|
|
18.5
%
|
19.8 %
|
|
|
|
Financial
condition (5)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
—
|
366,497
|
|
|
|
266,173
|
366,497
|
(27.4)
|
|
|
Total
assets
|
105
|
6,804,197
|
|
|
|
7,020,926
|
6,804,197
|
3.2
|
|
|
Indebtedness
(6)
|
3,148,868
|
3,179,926
|
|
|
|
3,267,308
|
3,179,926
|
2.7
|
|
|
Equity attributable
to owners of the Corporation
|
—
|
2,268,246
|
|
|
|
2,371,200
|
2,268,246
|
4.5
|
|
|
Per share data
(7)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per
share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
2.16
|
2.24
|
(3.6)
|
|
|
4.39
|
3.95
|
11.1
|
|
|
Diluted
|
2.14
|
2.22
|
(3.6)
|
|
|
4.36
|
3.91
|
11.5
|
|
|
Dividends
|
0.64
|
0.58
|
10.3
|
|
|
1.28
|
1.16
|
10.3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1)
|
Key performance
indicators presented on a constant currency basis are obtained by
translating financial results from the current periods denominated
in US dollars at the foreign exchange rates of the comparable
periods of the prior year. For the three and six-month periods
ended February 29, 2020, the average foreign exchange rates used
for translation were 1.3182 USD/CDN and 1.3203 USD/CDN,
respectively.
|
(2)
|
The indicated terms
do not have standardized definitions prescribed by IFRS and,
therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by
other companies. For more details, please consult the "Non-IFRS
financial measures" section, including reconciliation to the most
comparable IFRS financial measures.
|
(3)
|
For the three and
six-month periods ended February 28, 2021, integration,
restructuring and acquisition costs resulted mostly from the
acquisition and integration of DERYtelecom, which was completed on
December 14, 2020. For the three and six-month periods ended
February 29, 2020, integration, restructuring and acquisition
costs resulted primarily from organizational changes initiated
across the Corporation resulting in cost optimization, as well as
the acquisition and integration of Thames Valley Communications,
which was completed on March 10, 2020.
|
(4)
|
For the three and
six-month periods ended February 28, 2021, acquisition of
property, plant and equipment in constant currency amounted to
$117.9 million and $234.5 million, respectively.
|
(5)
|
At February 28,
2021 and August 31, 2020.
|
(6)
|
Indebtedness is
defined as the total of bank indebtedness and principal on
long-term debt.
|
(7)
|
Per multiple and
subordinate voting share.
|
SOURCE Cogeco Communications Inc.