CaribPR Wire

CaribPR Wire, CALGARY, Alberta, March 04, 2021: Parkland Corporation (”Parkland”, “we”, the “Company”, or “our”) (TSX:PKI) announced today its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2020 and 2021 outlook. Highlights include:

• Continued track record of steady dividend growth; our annual dividend will increase two cents per share, marking our ninth consecutive annual dividend increase and demonstrating conviction in our 2021 outlook and beyond.
• Confidence in our resilience and flexibility supports 2021 Adjusted EBITDA (attributable to Parkland) guidance of $1,200 million +/- 5 percent.
• Record safety performance through 2020; our front-line teams embraced extensive health and safety protocols to provide the essential fuels and services our customers depend on.
• 2020 Adjusted distributable cash flow of $478 million fully funded growth capital expenditures, acquisitions and net dividend payments for the year and validated the strength of our diverse geographic and product platform.
• 2020 Adjusted EBITDA attributable to Parkland (”Adjusted EBITDA”) of $967 million, demonstrating the strength and resilience of our business model through a challenging year. Decisive interventions in March 2020 resulted in significant cost reductions and reduced capital expenditures in response to an uncertain business environment. Adjusted EBITDA was down from 2019 due to the economic impacts of COVID-19 and our 2020 Burnaby refinery turnaround. This was partially offset by strong marketing results driven by unit margins and costs controls.
• Q4 2020 Adjusted EBITDA of $247 million. Strong Canada and International marketing operations and refinery utilization of 90 percent was offset by lower refining margins in Supply and per unit fuel margins in the USA segment. This was lower than Q4 2019 primarily due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
• Q4 2020 Net earnings attributable to Parkland of $53 million, or $0.36 per share, basic, a decrease from Q4 2019 primarily resulting from lower Adjusted EBITDA referenced above and certain non-cash items related to interest rate and foreign exchange impacts.
• Q4 2020 Fuel and petroleum product volume of 5.4 billion litres, a decrease of 7 percent relative to the prior year quarter due to the impacts of COVID-19. The impact of lower volumes on Adjusted EBITDA was mitigated by strong per unit fuel margins in Canada and International and robust Company C-Store same-store sales growth (”SSSG”) in Canada of around 8 percent, our 20th consecutive quarter of growth.
• Q4 2020 Operating and Marketing, General and Administrative (”MG&A”) costs of $339 million, $68 million lower than Q4 2019, reflecting the variability in our cost structure and sustained benefit of proactive cost control measures.
• We maintained significant liquidity of $1.3 billion and Total Funded Debt to Credit Facility EBITDA ratio of 2.9 times as of December 31, 2020, similar to the 2.8 times as of December 31, 2019. We proactively updated our syndicated credit facilities and refinanced near-term senior note maturities in June 2020, securing additional financial flexibility and positioning us to take advantage of potential future growth opportunities.

“I would like to thank our front-line teams for their exemplary work through the ongoing challenges posed by COVID-19, safely and reliably meeting our customers needs with the utmost professionalism,” said Bob Espey, President and Chief Executive Officer. “In 2020, we demonstrated financial prudence, safely provided the essential fuels and services our customers and communities rely on, enhanced our customer offerings and proved the resilience of our business through an extremely difficult external environment.”

“We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us,” added Espey. “We remain focused on our stated strategy and meeting our long-term growth ambitions. In 2021, we will strengthen our customer offerings and continue our organic growth initiatives, advance our disciplined acquisition strategy and deepen our commitment to providing customers with low carbon fuel choices as part of our broader sustainability efforts.”

Our Sustainability Journey

As we advance our Sustainability journey, we intend to provide regular updates on our environmental, social and governance efforts as part of our normal disclosure process. A snapshot of our recent successes includes:

• Published our inaugural Sustainability Report in fall 2020, outlining our established environmental, social and governance practices and setting the stage for development of our enterprise-wide sustainability strategy.
• Underpinned by work completed during the Refinery turnaround in 2020, we co-processed approximately 44 million litres of Canadian-sourced canola and tallow bio-feedstocks in 2020, marking an almost 140 percent increase from 2019.
• In January 2021, our Burnaby refinery set a new monthly record by co-processing approximately 10 million litres of Canadian sourced canola and tallow bio-feedstocks, well on our way to our 2021 target of co-processing up to 100 million litres of bio-feedstocks. Through this initiative we can offer customers a variety of low carbon fuels, including an up to 15 percent renewable content diesel. The annual environmental benefit of producing our low carbon fuels in 2021 is expected to be the equivalent of taking over 80,000 passenger vehicles off the road.
• Our ability to significantly reduce the carbon intensity of refined product from Burnaby is a result of highly capital efficient initiatives. We have accomplished the current levels of bio-feedstock throughput using existing refinery infrastructure and approximately $30 million of combined capital expenditures and operating costs since 2017.
• Successfully produced low carbon aviation fuel (bio-jet) and are moving towards commercialization.
• From March 1, 2021, JOURNIE™ Rewards Members can select a new ‘carbon offset’ reward option as part of their fuel purchase reward ‘unlocks’. Parkland will calculate the number of Carbon Offset Credits activated by Members and contribute to a Canadian carbon offset project on their behalf. Introducing the choice of a carbon credit offset as an ‘unlock’ in the JOURNIE™ app aligns with our broader effort to support our customers in reducing their own emissions.
• Record full-year safety performance with total recordable injury frequency (”TRIF”) of 1.12.

2021 Outlook

While we remain vigilant regarding the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, our performance through 2020 demonstrated the strength and resilience of our business model. Our track record gives us confidence in our ability to manage and thrive through periods of uncertainty and volatility. As a result, we are providing 2021 guidance metrics that account for near-term COVID-19 uncertainty but assume an economic recovery in the second half of the year. Highlights of our 2021 outlook include:

• Adjusted EBITDA (attributable to Parkland) of $1,200 million +/- 5 percent.
• Growth capital expenditures (attributable to Parkland) of $175 – $275 million. We will continue to exercise strict financial discipline when evaluating our organic growth initiatives and depending on market conditions, have significant flexibility in the level and timing of investment. Our growth capital expenditures include new-to-industry retail sites, On-the-run conversions and site upgrades, supply infrastructure, enhancing our digital capabilities, commercial bulk fuel and propane expansion and low-carbon initiatives at the Burnaby refinery.
• Maintenance capital expenditures (attributable to Parkland) of $225 – $275 million, which includes approximately $40 million of catch-up work deferred from 2020. Maintenance capital includes retail and commercial site and system upgrades, fleet maintenance, infrastructure improvements and work to maintain operational excellence at the Burnaby refinery.
• Burnaby refinery utilization of approximately 85 percent, reflecting the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 in the near-term and minor downtime in the second half of the year for a required catalyst change at the diesel and naphtha hydrotreating units.
• Maintain $50 – $70 million of annualized cost savings resulting from 2020 initiatives (combined Operating and marketing, general and administrative, or “MG&A”, costs).
• Full capture of our $42 million annual synergy target from the Sol acquisition is anticipated by the end of 2021, on-track with our original guidance upon announcement of the transaction.

Advancing our Disciplined Acquisition Strategy

• We continue to show momentum in our U.S. consolidation strategy. We announced five U.S. acquisitions and closed four during 2020. Late in the fourth quarter of 2020, we successfully completed the acquisition of: (i) all the assets of Sevier Valley Oil Company, Inc. and its related entities (collectively, “SVO”); and (ii) certain assets of Carter Oil Company, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “Carter”). The previously announced acquisition of assets of Story Distributing Company and its affiliates (collectively, “Story”) was completed in early February 2021. The five acquisitions added nearly 30 company retail sites and over 140 dealer retail sites to our Rockies and Northern Regional Operations Centers (”ROCs”) along with robust commercial, supply and distribution capabilities.
• Subsequent to 2020, we signed an agreement to acquire Conrad & Bischoff Inc. and its related companies (collectively, “C&B”). This acquisition will establish our fourth U.S. ROC, strengthen our supply advantage and add a high-quality retail network to our portfolio. The acquisition includes 19 high-quality company owned retail sites with proprietary branded backcourts and 39 retail dealer sites. In addition, terminal operations with combined tank storage of 30 million litres and capacity for 88 rail cars adds significant supply optionality in PADD IV. The transaction is expected to close in early Q2 2021.
• The SVO, Carter, Story and C&B acquisitions are expected to increase our run-rate USA segment Adjusted EBITDA by approximately 70 percent from 2020.
• Subsequent to 2020, we acquired two Midwest LPG terminals to expand our integrated logistics business and enhance our overall LPG supply optionality. The transaction closed in January 2021.
• Subsequent to 2020, we signed an agreement to acquire a residential and commercial LPG distributor in St. Maarten which further supports our LPG growth strategy in the International segment. The transaction is expected to close in late Q1 2021.

Q4 2020 Segment Highlights

• In Canada, fuel margins, convenience store sales and lower costs drove Adjusted EBITDA of $112 million, up $24 million relative to Q4 2019. We delivered our 20^th consecutive quarter of Company C-Store SSSG, surpassed 1.5 million JOURNIE™ Rewards members and captured retail market share.
• In International, enhanced logistics, storage optimization and cost control initiatives helped offset the impact of reduced tourist activity and generated Adjusted EBITDA of $72 million, approximately flat relative to Q4 2019. COVID-19 lockdown measures impacted volumes, however, we continue to benefit from geographic and product diversification within the region and growth in our LPG business. Natural resource economies performed well, with Guyana commercial operations growing approximately 15 percent in 2020.
• In USA, Adjusted EBITDA of $11 million was down $4 million relative to Q4 2019. The contribution from first half 2020 acquisitions was more than offset by COVID-19 impacts, with the Northern ROC seeing heavily restricted mobility in addition to reduced oil and gas activity. Furthermore, incremental repair and maintenance costs and lower marine fuel and lubricant margins contributed to the decline.
• In Supply, Adjusted EBITDA of $78 million was down $75 million relative to Q4 2019, primarily driven by lower crack spreads. Q4 2020 benefited from a 90 percent refinery utilization rate, low operating costs and solid performance from our integrated logistics business. This was offset by approximately $35 million relating to prior period adjustments, realized risk management losses on intermediation and a third-party power outage at the Burnaby refinery.
• Corporate Adjusted EBITDA expense of $26 million.

Consolidated Financial Overview

⁽¹⁾ Measure of segment profit and Non-GAAP financial measures. See Section 14 of the MD&A.
⁽²⁾ For comparative purposes, information for the year ended December 31, 2019 was restated due to a change in segment presentation. Canada Retail and Canada Commercial, formerly presented separately as individual segments, and the Canadian distribution business, formerly presented in Supply, are now included in Canada, reflecting a change in organizational structure in 2020.
⁽³⁾ Calculated using the weighted average number of common shares.
⁽⁴⁾ 2020 and 2019 results reflect the adoption of IFRS 16 as of January 1, 2019. 2018 comparative figures reflect the accounting standards in effect for that year and are not restated to reflect the impact of IFRS 16, as is allowed under the modified retrospective approach for IFRS 16 adoption.
⁽⁵⁾ Amounts presented on a trailing-twelve-month (”TTM”) basis.
⁽⁶⁾ Beginning in Q1 2020, Credit Facility EBITDA includes Adjusted EBITDA attributable to NCI and excludes IFRS 16 impact attributable to NCI, and Total Funded Debt includes long term-debt attributable to NCI, letters of credit attributable to NCI and cash and cash equivalents attributable to NCI. The amounts presented for 2019 and 2018 have not been restated.

Ninth Consecutive Annual Dividend Increase

Parkland’s annualized common share dividend will increase $0.0204 per share, our ninth consecutive annual increase, from $1.2144 to $1.2348, effective with the monthly dividend payable on April 15, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 22, 2021.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Parkland will host a webcast and conference call on Friday, March 5, at 6:30am MST (8:30am EST) 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=1432661&tp_key=f1590068d5

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: 87395118). International participants can call 1-587-880-2171 (toll) (Conference ID: 87395118).

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 Q4 2020 MD&A and Q4 2020 Financial Statements provide a detailed explanation of Parkland’s operating results for the year ended December 31, 2020. 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 Q4 2020 French MD&A and Q4 2020 French Financial Statements will be posted to www.parkland.ca and SEDAR as soon as they become available.

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, estimated 2021 capital expenditures, expected timing of closing and benefits to be derived from announced acquisitions, potential future acquisition opportunities, expected increase to USA segment’s run-rate Adjusted EBITDA from the SVO, Carter, Story and C&B acquisitions, potential projects to extend Parkland’s supply advantage, the ongoing roll out of the JOURNIE™ Rewards loyalty program, expected Burnaby refinery utilization rates, 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 and uncertainties including, but not limited to, general economic, market and business conditions, including the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; Parkland’s ability to execute its business strategies; 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 30, 2020, and “Forward-Looking Information” and “Risk Factors” included in 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”). Distributable cash flow, distributable cash flow per share, adjusted distributable cash flow, adjusted distributable cash flow per share, total funded debt to credit facility EBITDA ratio, dividend payout ratio, adjusted dividend payout ratio and growth and maintenance capital expenditures attributable to Parkland are not measures recognized under IFRS and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. 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 Q4 2020 MD&A for a discussion of non-GAAP measures and their reconciliations to the nearest applicable IFRS measure.

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted gross profit are measures of segment profit. See Section 16 of the Q4 2020 MD&A and Note 24 of the Q4 2020 FS for a reconciliation of these measures of segment profit. Investors are encouraged to evaluate each measure and the reasons Parkland considers it appropriate for supplemental analysis.

In addition to non-GAAP financial measures, Parkland uses a number of operational KPIs, such as SSSG and 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 Q4 2020 MD&A for further details.

Expected increase in run-rate USA segment Adjusted EBITDA including SVO, Carter, Story and C&B reflects the reported 2020 Adjusted EBITDA in the USA segment plus the annual run rate Adjusted EBITDA contribution expected from the acquired assets based on trailing-twelve-month performance at the time of acquisition. Due to closing date impacts of the acquisitions, this does not represent guidance for USA segment 2021 Adjusted EBITDA. Further, expected annual run rate Adjusted EBITDA contribution is calculated based on historical performance of the acquired businesses; future performance of such business may differ from historical results.

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.

Effective January 1, 2019, Parkland adopted the new accounting standard, IFRS 16 – Leases (”IFRS 16″). The adoption of IFRS 16 has a significant effect on Parkland’s reported results. Due to Parkland’s selected transition method, it has not restated its prior year comparatives. Certain financial statement measures are presented excluding the impact of IFRS 16 (”Pre-IFRS 16 measures”).

About Parkland Corporation

Parkland is an independent supplier and marketer of fuel and petroleum products and a leading convenience store operator. 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.