04:37:45 EDT Fri 19 Apr 2024
Enter Symbol
or Name
USA
CA



Automodular Corp
Symbol AM
Shares Issued 19,378,904
Close 2015-03-05 C$ 2.36
Market Cap C$ 45,734,213
Recent Sedar Documents

Automodular earns $14.8-million in 2014

2015-03-05 13:51 ET - News Release

Mr. Christopher Nutt reports

AUTOMODULAR CORPORATION: 2014 RESULTS AND CEO REPORT

Automodular Corp. had fourth quarter net earnings of $6.3-million, or 32 cents per share, compared with net earnings of $3.5-million, or 18 cents per share, in the same period of 2013. Earnings for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, totalled $14.8-million, or 76 cents per share, compared with 2013 net earnings of $10.4-million, or 52 cents per share.

Automodular shipped its final modules to Ford's Oakville assembly plant on Dec. 23, 2014. Over the 19-month period between Ford's announcement that it was insourcing its business to the production of the company's final module, Automodular had approximately 40 per cent of the work force leave the company for other jobs. Despite these difficult circumstances, Automodular continued to operate on a business-as-usual basis. The company put in place incentive and retention programs for its employees to encourage steady attendance and focus on continuing to provide a defect-free module to its customer on time, every time. As a result of the hard work and determination of the entire work force, the company generated outstanding financial results for its shareholders while maintaining excellent health and safety and quality records.

Automodular's focus in the first quarter of 2015 has been on preparing its Oakville facilities to be turned back to the respective landlords. At the beginning of January, Automodular's staff complement was approximately 30 people, with the majority focused on the facility work in Oakville. The facilities were turned over at the end of February. At the time of this release, the company has fewer than 15 employees, and, by the end of March, it expects its staff complement to be reduced to fewer than 10 people.

Automodular continues its efforts on the diversification front. The company continues to reach out to its contacts and work with its Canadian-based investment banker to assist it in identifying opportunities to leverage the company's core skills. The process has been a challenging one. Automodular has seen some opportunities that appear to be a good fit, but pricing has been an issue. When pricing multiples are higher, it becomes difficult to rationalize an appropriate return to the company's shareholders going forward. Automodular has proceeded to the due diligence stage with respect to certain opportunities, but, in the end, issues have arisen that caused the company to conclude that a transaction was not in the best interests of the company's shareholders. Automodular will not enter into a transaction for the sake of merely continuing the company.

Automodular's board of directors and its executive management team remain focused on finding the right opportunity to leverage the company's skill sets and further enhance shareholder value. The company still believes that Automodular's lean manufacturing and project management skills are very valuable. At the present time, Automodular is undertaking an in-depth review of an Ontario-based private manufacturing company. There can be no assurance that this or any other transaction will be consummated. If the company is not successful in finding the right fit in a timely fashion, it will consider all options available to it, including potentially winding down the company. Automodular will communicate with its stakeholders when it has something material to share.

With respect to organic opportunities, Automodular has no automotive quotes currently outstanding. Discussions have been held with two significant wind manufacturers regarding opportunities in Quebec and Ontario. Unfortunately, the sourcing and sales lead times in the renewable industry can be extremely long. As previously noted, Automodular does not believe that the opportunities in the wind sector are substantial enough to rationalize a public company structure in and of themselves.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, the board of directors elected not to pay out a regular quarterly dividend. The decision was made in order to preserve capital for opportunities that were under consideration at that time. For the same reason, the company will not be paying out a regular quarterly dividend in the first quarter of 2015.

Automodular's audited consolidated financial statements, management discussion and analysis, and annual information form for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, will be filed on SEDAR on or about March 11, 2015, and the complete annual report, together with the management information circular and notice of meeting, will be mailed to shareholders on or about April 15, 2015.

U.S. shareholder information update

Based on the results of its analysis, Automodular has concluded, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, that it meets the definition of a passive foreign investment corporation (PFIC) as defined in the Internal Revenue Code. The U.S. tax laws regarding PFICs are extremely complex, and shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers concerning the overall tax consequences of their respective investments in, and ownership of, shares of Automodular under U.S. federal, state, local and foreign law. It is Automodular's intention to prepare and make available to U.S. shareholders a PFIC annual information statement in order to allow U.S. shareholders to make certain tax elections. The company expects that the information will be available on or about March 31, 2015, and that the information will be filed on SEDAR and posted on its website.

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