Reitmans (Canada) Limited announces its results for the 13 and 39 weeks ended October 30, 2021

MONTREAL, Dec. 16, 2021 /CNW/ - The Company's results for the 13 weeks ended October 30, 2021 ("third quarter of 2022") and the results for the 39 weeks ended October 30, 2021 ("year to date fiscal 2022") and the respective comparative periods of the 13 weeks ended October 31, 2020 ("third quarter of 2021") and the 39 weeks ended October 31, 2020 ("year to date fiscal 2021") separately present continuing and discontinuing operations as described below under "Discontinued Operations".

13 weeks ended October 30, 2021

Sales for the third quarter of 2022 increased by $14.8 million, or 9.1%, to $178.2 million, primarily due to an increase in store traffic and number of transactions, as customers transitioned back to a "brick and mortar" shopping experience.

Gross profit for the third quarter of 2022 increased $19.8 million to $101.4 million as compared with $81.6 million for the third quarter of 2021. Gross profit as a percentage of sales for the third quarter of 2022 increased to 56.9% from 49.9% for the third quarter of 2021. The increase both in gross profit and as a percentage of sales is primarily attributable to lower markdowns and promotional activity in the third quarter of 2022 combined with a favourable foreign exchange impact on U.S. dollar denominated purchases included in cost of goods sold, partially offset by higher merchandise freight costs as the global shipping industry disruption required an increased usage of air freight shipments to meet customer demand.

Results from operating activities from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2022 were earnings of $21.6 million as compared with a loss of $13.5 million for the third quarter of 2021. The increase in earnings of $35.1 million is primarily attributable to the increase in gross profit of $19.8 million from higher sales and lower promotional activity and a decrease in overall operating costs of $15.3 million. The decrease in overall operating costs is primarily attributable to improved lease arrangements, fewer stores, lower depreciation and amortization of $2.1 million, lower impairment charges of $4.6 million, a decrease in restructuring costs of $1.9 million and a decrease in overall freight costs of $1.1 million as customers transitioned back to a in-store shopping experience, partially offset by a decrease of $ 5.1 million in financial support from both the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy ("CEWS") and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy ("CERS") programs, higher store personnel wages and higher digital media spend during the third quarter of 2022.

Net earnings from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2022 was $22.0 million ($0.45 basic and diluted earnings per share) as compared with a $14.9 million net loss ($0.31 basic and diluted loss per share) for the third quarter of 2021. The increase in net earnings from continuing operations of $36.9 million is primarily attributable to the increase in gross profit, a decrease in overall operating costs, an increase in tax recovery and a decrease in net finance costs.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2022 was $33.5 million as compared with $6.4 million for the third quarter of 2021. The increase of $27.1 million is  attributable to the increase of $19.8 million in gross profit, a decrease in operating costs (excluding restructuring costs recovery, depreciation, amortization and impairment of non-financial assets) of $6.7 million and an increase of $0.6 million in foreign exchange gain.

The Company, as part of its restructuring plan, closed the Thyme Maternity and Addition Elle banners during the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021 (see section entitled "Discontinued Operations"). Net earnings from discontinued operations for the third quarter of 2022 was $4.8 million as compared to net earnings from discontinued operations of $0.4 million for the third quarter of 2021. As the discontinued banners were no longer in operation during the third quarter of 2022, the net earnings of $4.8 million was due to an adjustment to the provision for disclaimed leases reflecting the most recent settlement discussions with certain landlords and the total liabilities subject to compromise under the Plan of Arrangement (see section entitled "COVID-19 and Other Key Company Updates").

39 weeks ended October 30, 2021

Sales for year to date fiscal 2022 increased by $83.0 million, or 21.4%, to $471.7 million, primarily due to the Company's store network operating capacity being closed for far fewer total number of days while under partial lockdowns during the year to date fiscal 2022 as compared to a phased store re-opening from full lockdowns during the year to date fiscal 2021, resulting in an increase in store traffic and number of transactions, with customers transitioning back to a "brick and mortar" shopping experience and an increase in the Company's e-commerce sales.

Gross profit for the year to date fiscal 2022 increased $75.6 million, or 41.7%, to $257.0 million as compared with $181.4 million for the year to date fiscal 2021. Gross profit as a percentage of sales for the year to date fiscal 2022 increased to 54.5% from 46.7% for the year to date fiscal 2021. The increase both in gross profit and as a percentage of sales is primarily attributable to lower markdowns and promotional activity in the year to date fiscal 2022 combined with a favourable foreign exchange impact on U.S. dollar denominated purchases included in cost of goods sold, partially offset by higher merchandise freight costs as the global shipping industry disruption required an increased usage of air freight shipments to meet customer demand.

Results from operating activities from continuing operations for the year to date fiscal 2022 were earnings of $47.0 million as compared with a loss of $96.2 million for the year to date fiscal 2021. The increase in earnings of $143.2 million is primarily attributable to the increase in gross profit of $75.6 million from higher sales and lower promotional activity and a decrease in overall operating costs of $67.6 million. The decrease in overall operating costs is primarily attributable to a decrease in restructuring costs of $37.8 million, fewer stores, improved lease arrangements, lower depreciation and amortization of $14.0 million, a decrease in impairment charges of $13.4 million and a decrease in overall freight costs of $2.5 million as customers transitioned back to a in-store shopping experience, partially offset by a decrease of $8.2 million in financial support from both the CEWS and CERS programs, higher store personnel wages as the Company's stores were closed for fewer days and higher digital media spend during the year to date fiscal 2022.

Net earnings from continuing operations for the year to date fiscal 2022 was $45.9 million ($0.94 basic and diluted earnings per share) as compared with a net loss of $89.1 million ($1.82 basic and diluted loss per share) for the year to date fiscal 2021. The increase in net earnings from continued operations of $135.0 million is primarily attributable to the increase in gross profit, a decrease in overall operating costs and an increase in tax recovery, partially offset by an increase in net finance costs.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ from continuing operations for the year to date fiscal 2022 was $71.4 million as compared to $3.8 million for the year to date fiscal 2021. The increase of $67.6 million is attributable to the increase of $75.6 million in gross profit, a decrease  in operating costs (excluding restructuring costs, depreciation, amortization and impairment of non-financial assets) of $2.4 million, partially offset by a decrease of $10.4 million in foreign exchange gain.

The Company, as part of its restructuring plan, closed the Thyme Maternity and Addition Elle banners during the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021. Net earnings from discontinued operations for the year to date fiscal 2022 was $15.0 million as compared to a net loss from discontinued operations of $72.2 million for the year to date fiscal 2021. As the discontinued banners were no longer in operation during the year to date fiscal 2022, the net earnings of $15.0 million was due to an adjustment to the provision for disclaimed leases reflecting the most recent settlement discussions with certain landlords and the total liabilities subject to compromise under the Plan of Arrangement.

COVID-19 and Other Key Company Updates

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on the Company's results. At the beginning of fiscal 2022, the Company had 240 out of its 415 stores (58%) closed as a consequence of governmental lockdown directives. This partial lockdown of the Company's retail store network continued into the first quarter of 2022. Even though restrictions were relaxed and some stores reopened, in April 2021 a "third wave" resulting in increased COVID-19 cases required some further governmental lockdowns. By the end of June 2021, all temporarily closed stores impacted by the "third wave" governmental lockdowns had reopened. During the third quarter of 2022, similar to the third quarter of 2021, there were no store closures in the Company's retail store network as a consequence of governmental lockdown directives. During the year to date fiscal 2021, all of the Company's stores were closed for 55 consecutive days from the start of the "first wave" of governmental lockdowns. During the second quarter of 2021, the Company had a phased reopening of its stores and by the end of June 2020, all of the Company's stores were open for business. During partial or full lockdowns, the Company continued to fulfill e-commerce orders though sales were not sufficient to offset the lost sales due to the closures. In June 2021, the Company implemented its buy online pick up in store ("BOPIS") initiative to enhance its customers' omnichannel experience and reduce freight costs on fulfilling e-commerce orders. Since BOPIS only started in June 2021, the impact on the Company's operating results for the third quarter of 2022 and year to date fiscal 2022 was minimal in relation to freight costs.

During the year to date fiscal 2022, the Company's measures to protect its financial situation continued to include furloughing retail sales associates during temporary store closures and obtaining financial assistance from the federal CEWS and CERS programs. Such measures and financial assistance mitigated the financial impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business.

The extent to which COVID-19 and its variants will continue to impact the Company's business, including its supply chain, consumer shopping behavior and consumer demand, including online shopping, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time. These future developments include the speed of COVID-19 vaccination rollouts in Canada, vaccination rates amongst the Canadian population and other measures taken by various government authorities to contain the virus and its variants spread for potential future waves as well as future customer shopping behavior including online sales. As the Company navigates through the challenges caused by COVID-19 and its variants, its focus will be to adapt to customers' changing product preferences, closely monitor its cash position and control its spending, while managing its inventory levels in line with the change in demand behavior since COVID-19 started. Current financial information may not necessarily be indicative of future operating results.

On May 19, 2020, the Company obtained an initial order (the "Order") from the Superior Court of Québec (the "Court") to seek protection from creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (the "CCAA") and Ernst & Young Inc. was appointed as the Monitor. Since its initial filing on May 19, 2020, the Company obtained five extensions of the Order, with the most recent extension obtained until January 28, 2022. The CCAA process allowed the Company to implement an operational and commercial restructuring plan which included the closure of the Thyme Maternity and Addition Elle banners (see section entitled "Discontinued Operations"). In August 2020, the Company had secured interim financing ("DIP Loan") up to a maximum amount of $60.0 million, including facilities available for securing letters of credit of up to $5.0 million, with a Canadian financial institution. On May 25, 2021, the Company obtained the Court's approval to reduce the DIP Loan facility from $60.0 million to $30.0 million. As of October 30, 2021, the Company had not drawn funds from the DIP Loan facility. With the uncertainties surrounding the impact of COVID-19 and its variants going forward, the Company cannot guarantee that the DIP Loan will not be utilized in the future. The Company continues to make progress in the CCAA process with the assistance of the Monitor. On November 23, 2021, the Company entered into a binding commitment letter with respect to a senior secured asset-based revolving facility of up to $115.0 million with a Canadian financial institution. The committed facility shall be used to finance any amounts payable by the Company under the Plan of Arrangement, to replace the DIP Loan facility and to finance the ongoing operations of the Company. On November 26, 2021, the Company obtained authorization from the Court to file its Plan of Arrangement and to call a creditors' meeting to be held on December 21, 2021. The Plan provides that the Company will distribute an aggregate amount of approximately $95.0 million to its creditors in full and final settlement of all claims affected by the Plan. All documents relating to the CCAA process, including the Plan of Arrangement, are available at www.ey.com/ca/Reitmans. The Company expects to continue to make announcements as further material progress is made.

These factors and conditions, combined with the unpredictability of the outcome of the matters arising from the CCAA proceedings, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore, realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business.

The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes the Company will continue its operations for the foreseeable future and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. In assessing whether the going concern assumption is appropriate and whether there are material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern, management must take into account all available information about the future, including estimated future cash flows, for a period of at least twelve months following the end of the reporting period. The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements as at October 30, 2021 do not include any adjustments to the carrying amounts and classification of assets, liabilities and reported expenses that may otherwise be required if the going concern basis was not appropriate. Such adjustments could be material. It is not possible to reliably estimate the length and severity of COVID-19 and its variants and the impact on the financial results and financial condition of the Company in future periods. The Company will take into consideration the most recent developments and impacts of the pandemic, including updated assessments of future cash flows and any additional impacts resulting from COVID-19 will be reflected in the financial results of the current fiscal year, if applicable.

Discontinued Operations

As part of its restructuring plan, the Company closed the Thyme Maternity and Addition Elle banners during the year ended January 30, 2021 and, as a result, these results and cash flows have been classified as discontinued operations. IFRS 5, Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations, requires that the comparative statements of earnings (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) be presented as if the operations were discontinued from the start of the comparative year. As a result, discontinued operations are excluded from the net earnings (loss) from continuing operations and are presented as earnings (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax, as a separate line item in the consolidated statements of earnings (loss).

About Reitmans (Canada) Limited

The Company is a leading women's specialty apparel retailer with retail outlets throughout Canada. As at October 30, 2021, the Company operated 413 stores consisting of 242 Reitmans, 93 Penningtons and 78 RW&CO.  As noted above, all Addition Elle and Thyme Maternity stores have been closed in connection with the restructuring plan.

¹Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has identified several key operating performance measures and non-GAAP financial measures which management believes are useful in assessing the performance of the Company; however, readers are cautioned that some of these measures may not have standardized meanings under IFRS and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar terms used by other companies.

In addition to discussing earnings in accordance with IFRS, this press announcement provides adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA") as a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net earnings (loss) before income tax expense/recovery, interest income, interest expense, depreciation, amortization, impairment of non-financial assets and restructuring costs. With the classification of the Addition Elle and Thyme Maternity businesses as discontinued operations, Adjusted EBITDA has also been modified to exclude discontinued operations.

The following table reconciles the most comparable GAAP measure, net earnings or loss from continuing operations, to Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations.  Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA is an important indicator of the Company's ability to generate liquidity through operating cash flow to fund working capital needs and fund capital expenditures and uses the metric for this purpose. The exclusion of interest income and expense eliminate the impact on earnings derived from non-operational activities. The exclusion of depreciation, amortization and impairment charges eliminates the non-cash impact, and the exclusion of restructuring costs and discontinued operations presents the results of the on-going business. The intent of Adjusted EBITDA is to provide additional useful information to investors and analysts. The measure does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. Although depreciation, amortization and impairment charges are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, as such, Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for these replacements. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered either as discretionary cash available to invest in the growth of the business or as a measure of cash that will be available to meet the Company's obligations. Other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently. From time to time, the Company may exclude additional items if it believes doing so would result in a more effective analysis of underlying operating performance. The exclusion of certain items does not imply that they are non-recurring. Adjusted EBITDA should not be used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS or as an alternative to net earnings, net cash provided by operating, investing or financing activities or any other financial statement data presented as indicators of financial performance or liquidity, each as presented in accordance with IFRS. Although Adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by securities analysts, lenders and others in their evaluation of companies, it has limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's results as reported under IFRS.

The Company uses a key performance indicator ("KPI"), comparable sales, to assess store performance and sales growth.  The Company engages in an omnichannel approach in connecting with its customers by appealing to their shopping habits through either online or store channels.  This approach allows customers to shop online for home delivery or to pick up in store, purchase in any of our store locations or ship to home from another store when the products are unavailable in a particular store.  Due to customer cross-channel behavior, the Company reports a single comparable sales metric, inclusive of store and e-commerce channels. Comparable sales are defined as sales generated by stores that have been continuously open during both of the periods being compared and include e-commerce sales. The comparable sales metric compares the same calendar days for each period. Although this KPI is expressed as a ratio, it is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Management uses comparable sales in evaluating the performance of stores and online sales and considers it useful in helping to determine what portion of new sales has come from sales growth and what portion can be attributed to the opening of new stores. Comparable sales is a measure widely used amongst retailers and is considered useful information for both investors and analysts. Comparable sales should not be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

As highlighted in the section entitled "COVID-19 and Other Key Company Updates", at various times throughout the year to date fiscal 2022, the Company was required to temporary close some of its retail stores as a consequence of governmental lockdown directives. Due to the unprecedented nature of COVID-19 and its significant impact on consumers and our ability to service our customers, management believes that comparable sales are not currently representative of the underlying trends of our business and consequently would not provide a meaningful metric in comparisons of year-over-year sales results. Accordingly, this press announcement does not include a discussion of the Company's comparable sales in respect of the third quarter of and year to date fiscal 2022. Management will continue to monitor and evaluate the effects of COVID-19 and will resume the evaluation of comparable sales when year-over-year results are more representative.

The following table reconciles net earnings (loss) from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations:

Forward-Looking Statements

All of the statements contained herein, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, are forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including statements regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, financial position and operations, and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from the Company's expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and that the objectives, plans, strategic priorities and business outlook may not be achieved.  Consequently, the Company cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, or if any of them do, what benefits the Company will derive from them. Forward-looking statements are provided in this press announcement for the purpose of giving information about management's current expectations and plans as of the date of this press announcement, and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's operating environment. However, readers are cautioned that it may not be appropriate to use such forward-looking statements for any other purpose. Forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current estimates, beliefs and assumptions, which are based on management's perception of historical trends, current conditions and currently expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes, are appropriate in the circumstances.

This press announcement contains forward-looking statements about the Company's objectives, plans, goals, expectations, aspirations, strategies, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, performance, prospects, opportunities and legal and regulatory matters. Specific forward-looking statements in this press announcement include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's belief in its strategies and its brands and their capacity to generate long-term profitable growth, future liquidity, planned capital expenditures, amount of pension plan contributions, status and impact of systems implementation, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and cost reduction and productivity improvement initiatives as well as the impact of such initiatives.  These specific forward-looking statements are contained throughout the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") including those listed in the "Operating Risk Management" and "Financial Risk Management" sections of the MD&A. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "foresee", "could", "estimate", "goal", "intend", "plan", "seek", "strive", "will", "may" and "should" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company and its management.

Numerous risks and uncertainties could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the "Forward-Looking Statements" section of the Company's MD&A for the third quarter of 2022.

This is not an exhaustive list of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that the Company presently believes are not material could also cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in its forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The reader should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included herein. These statements speak only as of the date made and the Company is under no obligation and disavows any intention to update or revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstances or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable securities law.

The Company's complete financial statements including notes and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the third quarter of 2022 are available online at www.sedar.com.

Montreal, December 16, 2021

Stephen F. Reitman
President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone:                  (514) 384-1140
Corporate Website:     www.reitmanscanadalimited.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE Reitmans (Canada) Limited