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Article Excerpt
Original Source: FD (FAIR DISCLOSURE) WIRE
OPERATOR: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Amica Mature Lifestyles year-end results conference call. At this time all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation we will conduct a question-and-answer session. (OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS) As a reminder this call is being recorded, today, August 8, 2008.
I now would like to turn the meeting over to Ms. Alyssa Williams.
ALYSSA WILLIAMS, IR, AMICA MATURE LIFESTYLES, INC.: Good morning. Thank you for joining Amica fourth quarter and year-end conference call for fiscal 2008. If you would like a copy of the related news release you may find it on the investor relations section of our website at www.amica.ca. You may also access a replay of this conference call until August 11, 2008, details of which are also available on our website. Participating in today's call are Mr. Samir Manji, Chairman, President and CEO of Amica, who will be providing an overview of the Company progress over year, and Mr. Doug Allen, Chief Financial Officer, who will focus on the financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 and for the year ended May 31,2008. Mr. Colin Halliwell, Arnica's Chief Operating Officer, is also present and all three will be available to answer questions. We recommend that you hold your questions until Doug and Samir have completed their presentations.
Since by now you've had an opportunity to review the news release, we will not reiterate the numbers here other than notes that merit special attention. Before we begin I'd like to point out that certain statements during the course of the call may be forward looking. Please refer to the Safe Harbor statement in today's new release. Please also refer to the risks and uncertainties section of our fiscal 2007 annual report, which outlines certain factors that may cause actual results to differ.
I'll now turn the call over to Doug, who will provide some highlights of our financial performance.
DOUG ALLEN, CFO, AMICA MATURE LIFESTYLES, INC.: Thank you Alyssa. The major highlights of our fourth quarter results are, as compared to the comparative period: Cash flow from operations was $1.5 million as compared to $3.3 million in the same period in the prior year; EBITDA decreased by $1.5 million to $2.7 million; management operations decreased by $1.6 million, to a loss of $0.3 million; net earnings were $0.2 million compared to $1.4 million in the prior comparative period; ownership and corporate operations earnings increased by $0.1 million to $3.0 million; and same-community net operating income, which is defined as residential revenues less residential operating expenses, increased by $0.2 million to $3.7 million compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.
The major highlights for the year ended May 31, 2008, are as follows: Cash flow from operations decreased $0.4 million to $8.2 million; EBITDA decreases from $13.4 million to $13.0 million; management operations decreased to $1.2 million compared to $2.1 million in fiscal 2007; ownership and corporate ownership earnings increased $0.5 million to $11.8 million; and net earnings increased to $4.6 million for fiscal 2008 as compared to net earnings of $3.3 million in fiscal 2007.
There are a number of items to note for the fiscal year. During fiscal 2008 we achieved one new management contract, Amica at Richmond Hill, which has a term of 99 years. We opened one new Amica Wellness & Vitality community in fiscal 2008, Amica at Dundas, located in Dundas, Ontario. And the Company announced in its press release earlier today that it will not proceed with the development in Kingston, Ontario. As the development is being discontinued before commencement of construction, the Company has provided for the return of design and marketing fees totaling $615,600, which were recognized for this development over the last quarter of the 2007 fiscal year and the first three quarters of this fiscal year. A provision for this amount has been recorded during the fourth quarter and is reflected in interest and other income expense in a consolidated financial statement. Cash on hand at May 31, 2008 was $11.7 million.
At this point, I will pass it over to Samir for his comments.
SAMIR MANJI, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, AMICA MATURE LIFESTYLES, INC.: Thank you, Doug. Good morning, everyone, in the west and good afternoon to those of you in the east. As disclosed in our press release this morning, fiscal 2008 was undoubtedly a very challenging year on many fronts. Over the past few quarters we have shared with you how the credit crunch in the US, followed by the asset-backed commercial paper crisis in Canada has impacted Amica. On one hand we've seen a minor impact on Amica's ability to secure construction financing for new developments. On one hand, however, we have seen a more significant impact on the Company and it's project investors ability to achieve desired levels of take-out financial financing when communities achieve lease up or when communities seeking refinancing of existing long-term debt that have matured. We anticipate and have already seen this continue into the new fiscal year.
Meeting our growth objective was another challenge last year, with only one new long-term management contract achieved during fiscal 2008. Many factors contributed to this, including our decision to change the manner and timing in which we present opportunities to prospective project investors. As Doug mentioned, we will not proceed with our development in Kingston, Ontario. The decision to not proceed with the Kingston development brings the total number of Amica Wellness & Vitality residences to 24, eight of which are currently under development. All eight of these developments are located in Ontario, which represents our largest cluster of communities under development and in operation.
In fiscal 2009, we look forward to the opening of four new Amica communities: Amica at Westboro Park in Ottawa; Amica at London in London, Ontario; Amica at Thornhill in the GTA; and Amica...
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