K-Bro Announces Record Annual Results and Declares March Dividend

(TSX: KBL)

2011 Annual Financial Results

• Revenue for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2011 was $29.2 million and $116.9 million, respectively, increases of 9.1% and 12.3% over the comparable 2010 periods.
  
  
• EBITDA for the fourth quarter increased by $0.5 million to $4.6 million from 2010; for the 2011 year, EBITDA increased by $3.1 million to $19.9 million compared to the 2010 fiscal year.
  
  
• EBITDA margin increased in the fourth quarter to 15.6% from 15.0% in the comparative period of 2010 due primarily to the previous fourth quarter including increased corporate costs relating to the conversion from an income trust to a corporation and the transition to international financial reporting standards.  For the year, the EBITDA margin increased to 17.1% in 2011 from 16.2% in 2010, again primarily as a result of cost control measures, forward contracts on utilities and decreased proportional corporate costs.
  
  
• K-Bro declared dividends of $1.10 per unit and distributable cash was $2.40 per unit.  This amounted to annual dividends of $7.7 million compared to distributable cash of $16.8 million for an overall payout ratio of 45.9%.
  
  
• Net earnings after taxes increased by $1.0 million to $7.9 million from fiscal 2010. The increase is the result of increased EBITDA, offset by income tax payable due to the conversion to a fully taxable Corporation.

Highlights and Significant Items for Fiscal 2011

• Acquired plant and operations of Les Buandries Dextraze servicing the luxury Montréal areas in order to geographically expand and add capacity for our national hotelier clientele.
  
  
• Selected as the preferred proponent by Alberta Health Services ("AHS") and entered into negotiations for a new contract to service AHS' laundry and linen requirements in Edmonton and surrounding areas.
  
  
• Completed the conversion from an income trust to a corporation on January 1, 2011 and continued to pay dividends at the same rate as previous trust distributions.

EDMONTON, March 13, 2012 /CNW/ - K-Bro Linen Inc. ("K-Bro" or the "Corporation") today announced revenue of $116.9 million and EBITDA of $19.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.  Net earnings after tax were $7.9 million, diluted earnings of $1.14 per unit, and distributable cash was $2.40 per diluted unit for the year.

(thousands, except per share amounts				For the three months ended December 31,
and percentages)				2011				2010			$ Change			% Change
Revenue			$	29,158			$	26,719			2,439			9.1%
Operating expenses				24,602				22,708			1,894			8.3%
EBITDA^(1)				4,556				4,011			545			13.6%
EBITDA^(1) as a % of revenue				15.6%				15.0%			-			0.6%
Earnings before income taxes				2,331				1,571			760			48.4%
Income tax expense				688				11			677			6154.5%
Net earnings				1,643				1,560			83			5.3%
Basic earnings per Share			$	0.24			$	0.23			0.01			4.3%
Diluted earnings per Share			$	0.24			$	0.22			0.02			9.1%
Total assets				91,425				90,679			746			0.8%
Long-term debt, end of year				6,095				10,763			(4,668)			-43.4%
Cash provided by operating activities				3,929				3,720			209			5.6%
Net change in non-cash working capital items				(80)				(110)			30			-27.3%
Maintenance capital expenditures				179				35			144			408.2%
Distributable cash flow^(1)				3,830				3,795			35			0.9%
Dividends declared				1,927				1,927			-			0.0%
Payout ratio^(1)				50.2%				50.7%			-			-0.5%
^(1)Refer to the Terminology section for further details
(thousands, except per share amounts				For the year ended December 31,
and percentages)				2011				2010			$ Change			% Change
Revenue			$	116,859			$	104,051			12,808			12.3%
Operating expenses				96,913				87,174			9,739			11.2%
EBITDA^(1)				19,946				16,877			3,069			18.2%
EBITDA^(1) as a % of revenue				17.1%				16.2%			-			0.8%
Earnings before income taxes				10,888				7,116			3,772			53.0%
Income tax expense				2,960				163			2,797			1714.6%
Net earnings				7,928				6,953			975			14.0%
Basic earnings per Share			$	1.15			$	1.01			0.14			13.9%
Diluted earnings per Share			$	1.14			$	0.99			0.15			15.1%
Total assets				91,425				90,679			746			0.8%
Long-term debt, end of year				6,095				10,763			(4,668)			-43.4%
Cash provided by operating activities				18,860				16,723			2,137			12.8%
Net change in non-cash working capital items				1,242				549			693			126.2%
Maintenance capital expenditures				835				1,193			(358)			-30.0%
Distributable cash flow^(1)				16,783				14,981			1,802			12.0%
Dividends declared				7,706				7,706			-			0.0%
Payout ratio^(1)				45.9%				51.4%			-			-5.6%
^(1)Refer to the Terminology section for further details

In the fourth quarter of 2011, revenue was $29.2 million which was 9.1% higher than the $26.7 million generated in the comparable period in 2010. This year-over-year increase was due to a combination of the acquisition of the new plant in Montréal and the additional volume from the signings of the new healthcare contracts in Vancouver which commenced processing in late Q4, 2010.  EBITDA increased from $4.0 million in Q4, 2010 to $4.6 million in Q4, 2011, from the addition of a new plant and organic growth from our existing businesses.

Indirect and administrative expenses amounted to $1.4 million in the quarter, compared to $1.8 million in the comparable period of 2010. In Q4, 2010, the board of trustees, along with Unitholders, approved the conversion to a corporation from an income trust structure. Indirect and administrative costs increased as a result of professional fees associated with the conversion. Additionally, costs increased due to personnel and professional fees associated with K-Bro's conversion from GAAP to International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS").

DIVIDEND

K-Bro also announces a dividend of $0.09167CAD per Common share of the Corporation for the period from March 1 to 31, 2012, to be paid on April 13, 2012 to holders of record of common shares on March 31, 2012.

The Corporation's policy is for shareholders of record on the last business day of a calendar month to receive dividends during the fifteen days following the end of such month.  K-Bro designates this dividend as an eligible dividend pursuant to subsection 89(14) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and similar provincial and territorial legislation.

OUTLOOK

"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to report on yet another year of tremendous results for K-Bro. The benefits of being a national leader in the linen industry were evident again in 2011, as we successfully capitalized on strong fundamentals to deliver value for all of our stakeholders.  In fact, this year we achieved the highest net earnings from continuing operations in our company's history, reaching $7.9 million in 2011 surpassing the previous record set in fiscal 2010," said Linda McCurdy, President & Chief Executive Officer.  "Fiscal 2011 was truly an outstanding year for K-Bro on several fronts. In addition to our record financial results, we also stayed true to our goal of growing the business by seeking out accretive acquisitions and expanding our core businesses. Our acquisition in Montréal and our disciplined commitment to value-added growth has been a major driving force behind the strong performance. I am proud of the strong financial results, our talented people and other achievements K-Bro attained during the past year."

CORPORATE PROFILE

K-Bro is the largest owner and operator of laundry and linen processing facilities in Canada. K-Bro provides a comprehensive range of general linen and operating room linen processing, management and distribution services to healthcare institutions, hotels and other commercial accounts.  K-Bro currently operates eight processing facilities under three distinctive brands, including K-Bro Linen Systems Inc., Buanderie HMR and Les Buanderies Dextraze, in seven Canadian cities: Québec City, Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria.

Additional information regarding the Corporation including required securities filings are available on our website at www.k-brolinen.com and on the Canadian Securities Administrators' website at www.sedar.com; the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR").

K-Bro est le plus important propriétaire et exploitant de buanderies au Canada. K-Bro fournit une gamme étendue de services de buanderie aux établissements de soins de santé, hôtels et autres clients commerciaux. K-Bro exploite actuellement huit usines sous trois marques distinctives, incluant K-Bro Linen Systems Inc., Buanderie HMR et Les Buanderies Dextraze, dans sept villes canadiennes: Québec, Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver et Victoria.

Vous pouvez obtenir des renseignements supplémentaires sur la Société, y compris les documents déposés auprès des autorités de réglementation, sur notre site Web, au www.k-brolinen.com et sur le site Web des autorités canadiennes en valeurs mobilières au www.sedar.com, le site Web du Système électronique de données, d'analyse et de recherche (« SEDAR »).

TERMINOLOGY

Throughout this news release, and other documents referred to, and in order to provide a better understanding of the financial results, K-Bro uses the terms "EBITDA", "distributable cash" and "payout ratio". These terms do not have any standardized meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as set out in the CICA Handbook. Therefore, EBITDA, distributable cash and payout ratio may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.  Specifically, the terms "EBITDA", "distributable cash", and "payout ratio" have been defined as:

EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. EBITDA is not a recognized measure for financial statement presentation under IFRS. EBITDA is not intended to represent cash flow from operations, as defined by IFRS, and it should not be considered as an alternative to net earnings, cash flow from operations, or any other measure of performance prescribed by IFRS. The Corporation's EBITDA may also not be comparable to EBITDA used by other corporations, which may be calculated differently. The Corporation considers EBITDA to be a meaningful measure to assess its operating performance in addition to standardized IFRS measures. It is included because the Corporation believes it can be useful in measuring its ability to service debt, fund capital expenditures, and expand its business.

						Three Months Ended December 31,										Year Ended December 31,
(thousands)							2011					2010				2011				2010
Net earnings					$		1,643			$		1,560			$	7,928			$	6,953
Add:
Income tax expense							688					11				2,960				163
Interest expense and financial charges, net							93					153				412				643
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment							1,409					1,619				5,938				6,391
Amortization of intangible assets							673					642				2,628				2,540
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment							50					26				80				187
EBITDA					$		4,556			$		4,011			$	19,946			$	16,877

Distributable cash flow is defined by management as cash provided by operating activities, plus or minus the net change in non-cash working capital items, less maintenance capital expenditures and less cash taxes. Management believes this measure reflects the cash generated from the ongoing operation of the business. Distributable cash is an additional GAAP measure generally used by dividend paying corporations as an indicator of financial performance and it should not be seen as a measurement of liquidity or a substitute for comparable metrics prepared in accordance with IFRS.

				Three Months Ended December 31,							Year Ended December 31,
(thousands)				2011			2010				2011				2010
Cash provided by operating activities			$	3,929		$	3,720			$	18,860			$	16,723
Deduct (add):
Net changes in non-cash working capital items				(80)			(110)				1,242				549
Maintenance capital expenditures				179			35				835				1,193
Distributable cash flow			$	3,830		$	3,795			$	16,783			$	14,981
Dividends declared				1,927			1,927				7,706				7,706
Payout ratio				50.2%			50.7%				45.9%				51.4%

Due to the impact of the weighted average number of shares outstanding and financial rounding throughout the interim periods the aggregate quarterly distributable cash per share may not equal the annual total for the corresponding year. The aggregate total of the quarterly distributable cash per share, compared with the amounts for the full year are as follows:

					2011							2010
					Quarterly				Annual			Quarterly				Annual
		Distributable cash per share, diluted			2.41				2.40			2.15				2.14

Payout ratio is defined by management as the actual cash divided by distributable cash. This is a key measure used by investors to value K-Bro, assess its performance and provide an indication of the sustainability of dividends. The payout ratio depends on the distributable cash and the Corporation's dividend policy.

												Three Months Ended December 31,					Year Ended December 31,
(thousands)												2011		2010			2011				2010
											Cash dividends	1,927		1,927			7,706				7,706
											Distributable cash	3,830		3,795			16,783				14,981
											Payout ratio	50.2%		50.7%			45.9%				51.4%

Figures expressed in percentages are calculated from amounts rounded in thousands of dollars.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking information that represents internal expectations, estimates or beliefs concerning, among other things, future activities or future operating results and various components thereof. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events are intended to identify forward-looking information.  Statements regarding such forward-looking information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management.

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on management's estimates and assumptions that are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, which could cause K-Bro's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this news release.  These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (i) risks associated with acquisitions, including the possibility of undisclosed material liabilities; (ii) K-Bro's competitive environment; (iii) utility and labour costs; (iv) K-Bro's dependence on long-term contracts with the associated renewal risk, (v) increased capital expenditure requirements; (vi) reliance on key personnel; and (vii) the availability of future financing. Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking information include: (i) volumes and pricing assumptions; (ii) utility costs; (iii) expected impact of labour cost initiatives; and (iv) the level of capital expenditures. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.  Certain statements regarding forward-looking information included in this news release may be considered "financial outlook" for purposes of applicable securities laws, and such financial outlook may not be appropriate for purposes other than this news release.

All forward-looking information in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements.  Forward-looking information in this news release is presented only as of the date made. Except as required by law, the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

For further information:

Linda McCurdy
President & Chief Executive Officer

Chris Burrows
Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer

K-Bro Linen Inc.  (TSX: KBL)
Phone: [phone] 
Email: [e-mail]
Web: www.k-brolinen.com