Furthermore, the Company has an authorized line of credit of $26.0 million, renewable annually and bearing interest at the bank's prime rate, and could probably obtain access to other outside financing if necessary
Summary balance sheet
As at February 28 and 29 2009 2008
(in thousands of $)
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Current assets 169,437 167,561
Long-term assets 103,172 92,036
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Total 272,609 259,597
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Current liabilities 34,432 41,724
Long-term liabilities 5,630 4,976
Shareholders' equity 232,547 212,897
Total 272,609 259,597
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Total assets amounted to $272.6 million as at February 28, 2009, up by 5.0% over February 29, 2008. Current assets increased by $1.9 million, reflecting the reduction of $2.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and of $2.7 million in accounts receivable, whereas income taxes were up by $2.3 million and inventories were up by $4.8 million due to acquisitions and the inventories required to meet the needs arising from the business agreements with major Canadian renovation chains.
As at February 28 and 29 2009 2008
(in thousands of $)
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Bank indebtedness - -
Current portion of long-term debt 283 5,553
Long-term debt 382 847
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Total 665 6,400
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less cash and cash equivalents 3,186 5,670
Total debt net of cash (surplus) (2,521) 730
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Richelieu has reduced its total interest-bearing debt by $5.7 million or 89.6% over the past 12 months, to $0.7 million as at February 28, 2009. Deducting cash and cash equivalents, the Company had a cash surplus of $2.5 million at the end of the first quarter.
Shareholders' equity totalled $232.5 million as at February 28, 2009, up from $212.9 million a year earlier, a growth of 9.2% mainly reflecting the increase of $7.6 million in retained earnings which amounted to $207.1 million as at February 28, 2009, and of approximately $1.1 million in contributed surplus, plus accumulated comprehensive income of $5.0 million. The book value per share was $10.58 as at February 28, 2009, compared with $9.23 a year earlier.
OUTLOOK
"Considering the difficult economic climate, we have adopted preventive and proactive measures, including rigorous control of our gross margins, a cost-reduction program and a freeze on officers' and managers' salaries. Our teams are making the most of their dynamism and expertise to provide customers with further added value, new solutions and enhanced marketing programs. We are confident we will achieve positive results in upcoming periods and a satisfactory performance for the year," added Richard Lord.
The expectation set forth above consists of forward-looking information based on the assumption that economic conditions and exchange rate will not deteriorate significantly, operating expenses will not increase considerably, deliveries will be sufficient to fulfill Richelieu's requirements, the availability of credit will remain stable all year and no unusual events will entail additional capital expenditures. This expectation also remains subject to the risks identified under "Risk Management" on page 29 of the Company's 2008 Annual Report, available on www.sedar.com.
Profile as at February 28, 2009
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Richelieu is a leading North American distributor, importer and manufacturer of specialty hardware and complementary products. Its products are targeted to an extensive customer base of kitchen and bathroom cabinet, furniture, and window and door manufacturers plus the residential and commercial woodworking industry, as well as a large customer base of hardware retailers, including renovation superstores. Richelieu offers customers a broad mix of high-end products sourced from manufacturers around the world. Its product selection consists of close to 58,000 different items targeted to a base of over 40,000 customers who are served by 49 centres in North America - 31 distribution centres across Canada, 16 in the United States and two manufacturing plants in Canada, specifically Cedan Industries Inc. which specializes in the manufacture of a wide variety of veneer sheets and edgebanding products, and Menuiserie des Pins Ltee which manufactures components for the window and door industry and a broad selection of decorative mouldings.
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The management's report for the quarter ended February 28, 2009, along
with the unaudited consolidated financial statements and accompanying
notes, are filed as of today on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
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Notes to readers - Richelieu uses earnings before income taxes, interest, amortization and non-controlling interest ("EBITDA") because this measure enables management to assess the Company's operational performance. This measure is a widely accepted financial indicator of a company's ability to service and incur debt. However, EBITDA should not be considered by an investor as an alternative to operating income or net earnings, an indicator of operating performance or cash flows, or as a measure of liquidity. Because EBITDA is not a standardized measurement as prescribed by GAAP, it may not be comparable to the EBITDA of other companies. Certain statements set forth in this press release, such as statements about the growth outlook, constitute forward-looking statements. In some cases, these statements are identified by the use of terms such as "may", "could", "might", "intend", "should", "expect", "project", "plan", "believe", "estimate" or the negative form of these expressions or other comparable variants. These statements are based on the information available at the time they are written, on assumptions made by management and on the expectations of management, acting in good faith, regarding future events, including those relating to economic conditions, fluctuations in exchange rates and operating expenses, and the absence of unusual events entailing supplementary expenditures. Although management considers these assumptions and expectations reasonable based on the information available at the time they are written, they could proved inaccurate. Forward-looking statements are also subject, by their very nature, to known and unknown risks and uncertainties such as those related to the industry, acquisitions, labour relations, credit, key officers, supply, product liability, and other factors set forth in the Management's Report included in the Company's 2008 Annual Report as well as its Annual Information Form, which are available on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) website at www.sedar.com. Richelieu's actual results could differ materially from those indicated or underlying these forward-looking statements. The reader is therefore recommended not to unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of special items, any business combination or any other transaction that may be announced or occur subsequent to the date hereof. Richelieu undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward- looking statements to account for new events or new circumstances, except where provided for by applicable legislation.
CONFERENCE CALL ON MARCH 26, 2009 AT 3:00 P.M. (EASTERN TIME)
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Financial analysts and investors interested in participating in the conference call on Richelieu's results to be held at 3:00 p.m. on March 26, 2009 can dial 1-800-595-8550 a few minutes before the start of the call. For those unable to participate, a taped rebroadcast will be available as of 5:00 p.m. on March 26, 2009 until midnight on April 2, 2009, by dialing 1-877-289-8525, access code: 21301293(number sign). Members of the media are invited to listen in.
