Mr. Pierre-Paul Lassonde reports

LASSONDE INDUSTRIES INC. ANNOUNCES ITS RESULTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND FISCAL 2014

Lassonde Industries Inc. posted sales of $1,181-million in 2014, a 13.5-per-cent increase year over year. Profit attributable to the company's shareholders for 2014 totalled $45.2-million, up $300,000 from 2013.

                                                                                                                   
                                      FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
                                    (in thousands of dollars)    

                                                    Fourth quarter ended                   Year ended
                                                                 Dec. 31,                     Dec. 31, 
                                                        2014        2013            2014         2013

Sales                                             $  349,413  $  283,512    $  1,181,026  $ 1,040,209
Operating profit                                      32,221      27,662          88,359       83,130   
Profit before income taxes                            24,880      23,090          66,868       62,190   
Profit attributable to the company's shareholders     16,307      16,548          45,242       44,935   
Basic and diluted earnings per share              $     2.33  $     2.37    $       6.47  $      6.43

(1) These are financial highlights only. Management's discussion and analysis, the audited
consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, will be
available on the SEDAR website and on the website of Lassonde Industries.

"Despite a period where the weakness of the Canadian dollar has affected our raw materials costs, our 2014 results have met our expectations. Thanks to a stronger presence in the United States, we were able to limit the unfavourable impact of exchange rates while benefiting from the solid performance of our U.S. operations. Furthermore, we are pleased with the progress that we have made on integrating Apple & Eve," said Pierre-Paul Lassonde, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Lassonde Industries.

Financial results for 2014

It should first be noted that on July 25, 2014, the company completed the acquisition of Apple & Eve LLC for a cash consideration of $147.6-million (U.S.), paid at the close of the transaction. In February, 2015, the company received $400,000 (U.S.) as a final adjustment to net working capital.

The company's sales amounted to $1,181-million in 2014, up $140.8-million (13.5 per cent) from $1,040,209,000 in 2013. Sales from Apple & Eve added $98.2-million to the company's sales. Excluding Apple & Eve's sales, the company's 2014 sales increased $42.6-million (4.1 per cent) year over year. This sales growth came mainly from a higher volume of private-label sales, owing partly to sales to a U.S. government agency, and from a favourable foreign exchange impact resulting from an increase in the conversion rate applied to the company's U.S.-dollar-denominated sales. The positive impact of these factors was partly offset by lower sales volumes of the company's national brands, and by an unfavourable price impact on national brands sales that was largely due to higher trade spending.

The company's operating profit for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, totalled $88.4-million, a $5.3-million year-over-year increase. Excluding the impact of the Apple & Eve acquisition, operating profit was up $7.3-million from 2013. This increase was mainly due to an improvement in the profitability of U.S. operations, partly offset by a deterioration in the profitability of Canadian operations, explained in part by higher trade spending and an increase in certain product costs. The net impact of the Apple & Eve acquisition was as follows: $4.2-million in transaction-related charges and $2.2-million in operating profit from Apple & Eve. The Apple & Eve operating profit includes a $1-million charge from an inventory step-up resulting directly from the acquisition and $700,000 in integration fees.

The company's financial expenses went from $22.2-million in 2013 to $23.3-million in 2014. This $1.1-million increase was largely due to a higher change in the fair value of participating loans, partly offset by a decrease in interest expense.

Other gains/losses went from a $1.3-million gain in 2013 to a $1.8-million gain in 2014. Substantially all of the gains came from foreign exchange gains.

Profit before income taxes totalled $66.9-million in 2014, up $4.7-million (7.5 per cent) from $62.2-million in 2013.

An income tax expense at an effective rate of 29.1 per cent (25.5 per cent in 2013) brought the 2014 profit to $47.4-million, up $1.1-million from $46.3-million in 2013. Profit attributable to the company's shareholders totalled $45.2-million, resulting in basic and diluted earnings per share of $6.47 for 2014. In 2013, profit attributable to the company's shareholders had stood at $44.9-million, resulting in basic and diluted earnings per share of $6.43.

The company's cash flows from operating activities totalled $79.1-million during 2014 versus $94.8-million last year. Financing activities generated $72-million in 2014 compared with $81.9-million last year. During 2014, cash flows generated for the Apple & Eve acquisition totalled $140.7-million, leaving a difference of $13.2-million on a comparable basis. Investing activities used $180.7-million during 2014 compared with $22.5-million last year. Excluding the $156.9-million in cash flow related to the Apple & Eve acquisition, investing activities used $1.3-million more in cash flow when compared with 2013. At year-end 2014, the company reported $300,000 in cash and cash equivalents, and a $17.4-million bank overdraft, compared with $13.5-million in cash and cash equivalents, and an $800,000 bank overdraft at the end of last year.

Fourth quarter financial results

The 2014 fourth quarter sales totalled $349.4-million, up $65.9-million (23.2 per cent) from sales of $283.5-million in the fourth quarter of 2013. This sales growth came mainly from $59.3-million in sales from Apple & Eve. Excluding the impact of the Apple & Eve acquisition, the company's sales were up $6.6-million (2.3 per cent) compared with the same quarter of 2013. This sales growth came mainly from a higher volume of private-label sales and from a favourable foreign exchange impact resulting from an increase in the conversion rate applied to the company's U.S.-dollar-denominated sales. The positive impact of these factors was partly offset by lower sales volumes of the company's national brands, and by an unfavourable price impact on national brands sales that was largely due to higher trade spending.

The company's operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2014 totalled $32.2-million, up $4.5-million from $27.7-million in the same quarter last year. It should be noted that this quarter's operating profit includes $2.8-million in operating profit from Apple & Eve. Excluding the impact of the Apple & Eve acquisition, operating profit was up $1.7-million from last year's fourth quarter. This increase was mainly due to an improvement in the profitability of U.S. operations, partly offset by a deterioration in the profitability of Canadian operations, explained in part by higher trade spending and an increase in certain product costs.

The company's financial expenses went from $5.5-million in the fourth quarter of 2013 to $8-million this quarter, an increase that was mostly attributable to a higher change in the fair value of participating loans, and to a higher interest expense resulting from the financing of the Apple & Eve acquisition.

Other gains/losses went from a $900,000 gain in the fourth quarter of 2013 to a $600,000 gain in 2014. Substantially all of the gains came from foreign exchange gains on Canadian entity balances denominated in U.S. dollars.

Profit before income taxes stood at $24.9-million in the fourth quarter of 2014, up $1.8-million from $23.1-million in the fourth quarter of 2013.

An income tax expense at an effective rate of 31.6 per cent (26.4 per cent in 2013) brought the 2014 fourth quarter profit to $17-million, essentially unchanged from the $17-million in profit generated during the same quarter of last year.

Profit attributable to the company's shareholders totalled $16.3-million, resulting in basic and diluted earnings per share of $2.33 in the fourth quarter of 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2013, profit attributable to the company's shareholders had totalled $16.5-million, resulting in basic and diluted earnings per share of $2.37.

Outlook

A lack of sustained growth in the fruit juice and drink market continues to affect the sales volumes of North American producers in the sector. In the Canadian market, the company is seeing some weakness in demand that has created a highly competitive environment, consequently having an influence on both the prices and sales volumes of the company's national brands. Moreover, the company's management is not seeing any signs that competitive activity will diminish over the coming year. However, the company believes that it will be able to limit the impact of the increased competition through new national brand product launches and new private-label contracts.

Fiscal 2015 will include an entire year of Apple & Eve's financial results. To better measure the impact of the acquisition, it is important to note that the closing date of the Apple & Eve acquisition was July 25, 2014, and that Apple & Eve had recorded, for the 12-month period ended May 31, 2014, sales of approximately $180-million (U.S.) and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of approximately $15-million (U.S.).

Barring any major external shocks (and excluding sales from Apple & Eve to maintain a comparable basis), the company remains optimistic about its ability to slightly increase its consolidated sales in 2015 compared with those of 2014. At the same time, the company plans to focus on its existing business activities in 2015.

We seek Safe Harbor.