CaribPR Wire

CALGARY, AB, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Parkland Corporation (”Parkland”, “we”, the “Company”, or “our”) (TSX: PKI) today announced its financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. Highlights for the three months ended September 30, 2021 (”Q3 2021″) include¹:

• Record Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Parkland (”Adjusted EBITDA”) of $364 million, up 8 percent year-over-year, underpinned by record Adjusted EBITDA in our International and U.S. segments that reflect accretive acquisitions and realized synergies, record co-processing volumes at the Burnaby refinery, consistent execution, and ongoing post-COVID economic recovery.
• Net earnings attributable to Parkland of $115 million, or $0.76 per share, basic, an increase of approximately 50 percent relative to the prior year, and record Adjusted earnings attributable to Parkland (”Adjusted earnings”) of $107 million, or $0.70 per share, basic, up approximately 15 percent year-over-year.
• Trailing twelve-month distributable cash flow per share of $4.72, an increase of approximately 44 percent relative to prior year of $3.28.
• Co-processed a record 33 million litres (2,300 barrels per day) of bio-feedstock at the Burnaby Refinery, helping our customers decarbonize their operations and placing us on track to achieve our target of 100 million litres, which is equivalent to taking over 80,000 passenger vehicles off the road in 2021.

“I want to congratulate the entire Parkland team for delivering the strongest quarterly and year-to-date results in Parkland’s history,” said Bob Espey, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Underpinned by our quality brands and consistent ability to anticipate and meet the evolving needs of our customers, including meeting a growing need for low-carbon fuels, we delivered $1 billion of Adjusted EBITDA during the first nine months of the year, demonstrating the strength and growth trajectory of our company.”

“Each segment of our business performed strongly,” added Espey. “From record results in our USA and International segments, ongoing post-COVID economic recovery in Canada and record co-processing volumes in Burnaby, our teams have set us up for a strong finish to the year. We remain focused on maintaining our financial strength and have high confidence in achieving the upper end of our full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance and longer-term growth ambition.”

Q3 2021 Segment Highlights²

• Our Canadian segment delivered Adjusted EBITDA of $105 million, down 18 percent relative to Q3 2020. Lower unit fuel margins, reduced benefit from the COVID-related wage assistance program and a shift in product mix were partially offset by recovering volumes and growth in merchandise gross profit. Company C-store same-store sales growth (”SSSG”) was 1.7 percent excluding cigarettes, driven by growth in high margin categories including beverages, centre of store and food service. We continue to optimize results by leveraging our proprietary brands, including ON the RUN and 59th Street, at company owned retail sites and our JOURNIE^TM rewards program, which now has more than 2.5 million members.
• Our International segment delivered record Adjusted EBITDA of $83 million, up 8 percent relative to Q3 2020. Results were underpinned by a strong base business, the successful integration of the Isla Dominicana de Petroleo Corp. joint venture and other acquisitions, plus recovering onshore and aviation volumes driven by the slowly recovering tourism industry.
• Our USA segment delivered record Adjusted EBITDA of $44 million, up 110 percent relative to Q3 2020. Results were driven by the impact of acquisitions and synergies, new business wins including national accounts, and a robust summer driving season, which offset weakness of marine bunkering in our Florida market due to COVID.
• Our Supply segment delivered Adjusted EBITDA of $161 million, up 30 percent relative to Q3 2020. We continue to reliably and safely operate the Burnaby refinery delivering composite utilization of 101 percent (92 percent in Q3 2020) and co-processed a record 33 million litres of bio-feedstock, resulting in year-to-date compliance cost savings of more than $35 million³. Recovering fuel volumes underpinned strong margins in our integrated logistics business. Planned maintenance at the Burnaby refinery commenced in early October and the refinery was substantially operational by the end of October 2021.
• Corporate Adjusted EBITDA expense of $29 million, was consistent with pre-COVID Q3 2019 and up from $12 million in Q3 2020, reflecting reduced benefit from the COVID related wage assistance program and administrative costs to support the partial return to pre-COVID business activities and growth programs.

Developing our Business: A Track-Record of Disciplined and Accretive Acquisitions

From late last year, we have announced or closed 13 accretive acquisitions for an investment of approximately $850 million, including purchase price adjustments. The Total Funded Debt to Credit Facility EBITDA ratio of 3.2 times as of September 30, 2021 reflects the closing of three previously announced acquisitions. There are no credit facility or bond maturities until 2026 and the company has significant financial liquidity. Highlights from the third quarter include:

• Announced the acquisition of Montreal-based Pétroles Crevier Inc. Expected to close in Q1 2022, this acquisition will extend our existing retail network in Quebec and expand our presence in key markets.
• Signed and closed agreements to acquire Colorado-based Master Petroleum, North Dakota-based Red Carpet Carwash and Florida-based Bradenton Fuel Oil, all of which strategically build upon our existing capabilities in those regions.

Our Sustainability Journey

As we advance our sustainability journey, we are committed to providing regular updates on our environmental, social and governance efforts as part of our normal disclosure process. Q3 2021 highlights include:

• As part of our commitment to help our customers decarbonize their operations and essential mobility needs, we delivered another co-processing record at the Burnaby refinery. The refinery co-processed approximately 33 million litres of Canadian bio-feedstock during the third quarter of 2021, for a total of 82 million litres during the first nine months of 2021. We are on track to achieve our target of 100 million litres, which will have the equivalent effect of taking over 80,000 passenger vehicles off the road in 2021.
• Consistent with our commitment to Board renewal, we appointed two new Board members, Angela John and Richard Hookway. Together they bring extensive global experience in supply, low carbon technologies and in creating value across the entire downstream value chain. We expect Parkland, and our shareholders, will benefit greatly from their contributions.
• In July 2021, we launched a Diversity and Inclusion Leadership program to a selection of our Vice Presidents, Directors and Managers across all regions completing over 500 hours of training. We also hosted Pride Month events, Hispanic Heritage month events and held other events hosted by our Women’s network.
• Throughout September, employees in all our operating geographies came together to recognize Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This included a virtual event hosted by senior leaders and attended by approximately 800 employees that featured a former-elected chief, and residential school survivor and author. The event was designed to educate our employees on the history of Canadian Indigenous people.

Parkland’s second Sustainability report will be issued in the fourth quarter and will provide enhanced disclosure, including greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Changes to Dividend Reinvestment Plan

On November 2, 2021, the Company announced a reduction of the Enhanced Dividend Reinvestment Plan (”Enhanced DRIP”) from a 5 percent per share discount to a 2 percent per share discount, effective immediately.

Consolidated Financial Overview

Registration Available for 2021 Investor Day on November 16, 2021

Parkland will host its 2021 Investor Day presentation on November 16, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. MST (9:00 a.m. EST). The event will be held at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Ontario and simultaneously webcast with video for those unable to attend in person. The event will include presentations from Parkland’s leadership team on our long-term growth and energy transition strategy, capital allocation and financial outlook.

To ensure a safe and engaging in-person event, we will be following Ontario’s COVID protocols. Analysts and investors who wish to attend the event, either in person or remotely, are invited to register using the following link: https://parkland.fluid.events/ParklandInvestorDay

Q3 2021 Conference Call and Webcast Details

Parkland will host a webcast and conference call on Wednesday, November 3, at 6:30am MDT (8:30am EDT) to discuss the results. To listen to the live webcast and watch the presentation, please use the following link:

https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1502999&tp_key=0713d330d0

Analysts and institutional investors interested in participating in the question-and-answer session of the conference call may do so by calling 1-888-390-0546 (toll-free) (Conference ID: 88891002). International participants can call 1-587-880-2171 (toll) (Conference ID: 88891002).

Please connect and log in approximately 10 minutes before the beginning of the call. The webcast will be available for replay two hours after the conference call ends at the link above. It will remain available for one year and will also be posted to www.parkland.ca.

MD&A and Consolidated Financial Statements

The Q3 2021 MD&A and Q3 2021 Financial Statements provide a detailed explanation of Parkland’s operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. An English version of these documents will be available online at www.parkland.ca and SEDAR after the results are released by newswire under Parkland’s profile at www.sedar.com. The Q3 2021 French MD&A and Q3 2021 French Financial Statements will be posted to www.parkland.ca and SEDAR as soon as they become available.

About Parkland Corporation

Parkland is a leading convenience store operator and an independent supplier and marketer of fuel and petroleum products. Parkland services customers across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean region and the Americas through three channels: Retail, Commercial and Wholesale. Parkland optimizes its fuel supply across these three channels by operating and leveraging a growing portfolio of supply relationships and storage infrastructure. Parkland provides trusted and locally relevant fuel brands and convenience store offerings in the communities it serves.

Parkland creates value for shareholders by focusing on its proven strategy of growing organically, realizing a supply advantage and acquiring prudently and integrating successfully. At the core of our strategy are our people, as well as our values of safety, integrity, community and respect, which are embraced across our organization.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information and statements (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). When used in this news release the words “expect”, “will”, “could”, “would”, “believe”, “continue”, “pursue” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to, among other things, business objectives and strategies, Parkland’s expectation of achieving the upper end of its 2021 Adjusted EBITDA guidance and achieving its 2021 co-processing target and long-term growth ambitions, expected benefits and synergies to be derived from acquisitions, expected closing dates of announced transactions, expecting timing of Parkland publishing its second sustainability report, and Parkland’s ability to advance its growth agenda.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Parkland does not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by securities law. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of numerous risks, assumptions and uncertainties including, but not limited to, general economic, market and business conditions, including the duration and impact of the COVID pandemic; Parkland’s ability to execute its business strategies, including without limitation, Parkland’s ability to consistently identify accretive acquisition targets and successfully integrate them, successfully implement organic growth initiatives and to finance such acquisitions and initiatives on reasonable terms; Parkland’s ability to grow its supply advantage by leveraging its scale and infrastructure; industry capacity; competitive action by other companies; refining and marketing margins; the ability of suppliers to meet commitments; actions by governmental authorities and other regulators including but not limited to increases in taxes or restricted access to markets; changes and developments in environmental and other regulations; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Parkland. See also the risks and uncertainties described in “Forward-Looking Information” and “Risk Factors” included in Parkland’s Annual Information Form dated March 5, 2021, and “Forward-Looking Information” and “Risk Factors” included in the Q3 2021 MD&A dated November 2, 2021 and the Q4 2020 MD&A dated March 4, 2021, each filed on SEDAR and available on the Parkland website at www.parkland.ca. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release refers to certain non-GAAP financial measures that are not determined in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (”IFRS”). Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted gross margin are measures of segment profit and non-GAAP financial measures. Total funded debt to credit facility EBITDA ratio, Adjusted earnings, distributable cash flow, and distributable cash flow per share attributable to Parkland are non-GAAP financial measures. These measures do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar financial measures used by other issuers. Management considers these to be important supplemental measures of Parkland’s performance and believes these measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. See Section 14 of the Q3 2021 MD&A for a discussion of non-GAAP measures, the reasons Parkland considers it appropriate for supplemental analysis and their reconciliations to the nearest applicable IFRS measure.

In addition to non-GAAP financial measures, Parkland uses a number of operational KPIs, such as Company C-Store SSSG, refinery utilization and composite refinery utilization, to measure the success of our strategic objectives and to set variable compensation targets for employees. These KPIs are not accounting measures, do not have comparable IFRS measures, and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers, as other issuers may calculate these metrics differently. See Section 14 of the Q3 2021 MD&A for further details.

Investors are cautioned that these measures should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings determined in accordance with IFRS as an indication of Parkland’s performance.