TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/27/15 -- Park Lawn Corporation (TSX VENTURE: PLC) (the "Company" or "Park Lawn") today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31st, 2014. Financial highlights are below:
-- Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $23,720,728, an
increase of $6,412,410 or 37% from December 31, 2013.
-- Earnings from continuing operations for the twelve month period ended
December 31, 2014 was $3,003,511 compared to $2,603,621 for the same
twelve month period in 2013, an increase of 15%.
-- Adjusted cash flows from continuing operations for the twelve months
ended December 31, 2014 were $5,180,687 vs $4,773,718 in 2013, an
increase of 9%.
-- Net earnings from continuing operations for the twelve month period
ended December 31, 2014 totaled $2,304,094 compared to $2,454,737 in
2013. This decrease is largely due to increased income tax expense (a
non-cash expense in 2014) and acquisition-related expenses.
-- Fully diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2014 was $0.352 compared to
$0.458 for fiscal 2013. In 2014, the weighted average number of common
shares outstanding increased to 5,087,606 from 3,641,140 in 2013 as a
result of, among other things, the prospectus based financing during the
3rd quarter of 2014.
CEO Andrew Clark commented, "We are pleased with our results from 2014, which was a year of significant change and growth for Park Lawn. We closed our investments in Tubman Funeral Homes and Parkland Funeral Holdings, and commenced construction on the Mausoleum of Faith at Westminster Cemetery. In addition, we sold substantially all of the assets of the underperforming Harmonia business unit and completed a successful equity offering in the third quarter."
"The result of the above is that the key metrics by which we judge our business, namely income from continuing operations and adjusted cash flows from continuing operations, were comfortably ahead of prior year results at year end. We had anticipated that the financings in late 2013 and 2014 would be dilutive to our net earnings per share results, however these financings allowed us to restructure our balance sheet and enhance flexibility as we roll out our business plan. We expect that the net earnings per share will grow as the Mausoleum of Faith opens in phases over Q2 and Q3 of 2015," added Mr. Clark.
"During the fourth quarter, the sluggishness that we had seen in the Ottawa market began to ease and the restructuring efforts began to take hold in the Tubman business, resulting in the strongest quarter from that business unit since closing the transaction in February 2014. The closing of our investment in Parkland during the fourth quarter was immediately accretive, and the results from our core Toronto properties were ahead of expectations for Q4 2014," stated Mr. Clark.
About Park Lawn
Park Lawn Corporation provides goods and services associated with the disposition and memorialization of human remains. Products and services are sold on a pre-planned basis (pre-need) or at the time of a death (at-need). The Company owns and operates six cemeteries in the Greater Toronto Area and operates the crematorium at the Brampton Crematorium and Visitation Centre. The Company also operates Tubman/Cadieux Funeral Homes in the Ottawa region and Parkland Funeral Holdings in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Harmonia business of the Company currently operates under license in Quebec City, Laval, Saint-Apollinaire and Saint-Georges. Park Lawn's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "PLC". The Company is the only Canadian publicly listed cemetery, funeral and cremation business. Park Lawn makes monthly dividend payments to its shareholders. The monthly dividend has been paid each month since January, 2011 and is currently $0.038 per share ($0.46 per share on an annual basis).
Neither 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 release.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's business and growth plans. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. By their nature, forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, are subject to risk and are based on assumptions including those discussed herein. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements made herein because a number of factors could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to, the factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form. Forward-looking statements are provided as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise such forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances except as required under applicable securities laws.
Contacts:
Andrew Clark
Chief Executive Officer
Park Lawn Corporation
2323 Yonge Street, Suite 400
Toronto, Ontario M4P 2C9
Tel: (416) 231-1462
