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Q1 2009 AMICA MATURE LIFESTYLES INC Earnings Conference Call - Final.

Article Excerpt
OPERATOR: Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Amica Mature Lifestyles first quarter 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, October 9, 2008. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Ms. Alyssa Williams. Please go ahead

ALYSSA WILLIAMS, INVESTOR COMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR, AMICA MATURE LIFESTYLES, INC.: Good morning and thank you for joining Amica's first quarter results conference call for fiscal 2009. If you would like a copy of the related news release or financial statements you may find them on the investor relations section of our website at www.amica.ca. You may also access a replay of this conference call until October 15, 2008, details of which are also available on our website. Featured on today's call are Mr. Samir Manji, Chairman, President and CEO, who will be providing an overview on the Company's progress over the quarter, and Mr. Doug Allen, Chief Financial Officer, who will focus on the financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Mr. Colin Halliwell, the Company's COO, is also on the line and all three will be available to answer questions. We recommend that you hold your questions until Doug and Samir have completed their presentation. Since by now you've had an opportunity to review the earnings announcement we will not reiterate the numbers here other than those that merit special attention.

Before we begin I would like to remind everyone that statements made during our prepared remarks or in the Q&A portion of the conference call with reference to managements' expectations or our predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. All statements made today which are not statements of historical facts are considered to be forward-looking statements. Please refer to the Safe Harbor statements in the earnings announcement put forth earlier today. Please also refer to the risks and uncertainties section of our 2008 annual report, which outlines certain factors that may cause actual results to differ.

I'll now turn the call easier to Doug who will provide some highlights of our financial performance.

DOUG ALLEN, CFO, AMICA MATURE LIFESTYLES, INC.: Thank you, Alyssa. Good morning everyone. All of the amounts that I am about to discuss are for the first quarter ended August 31, 2008, as compared to the first quarter ended August 31, 2007 and are in Canadian dollars. EBITDA decreased C1.0 million to C2.5 million. MARPAS increased 2.1% on a same-community basis. Cash flow from operations decreased C0.3 million to C1.8 million. Net earnings decreased C0.6 million to C0.5 million. Per share net earnings decreased C0.03 per share from C0.06 per share to C0.03 per share and diluted cash flow per share decreased C0.02 per share from C0.12 per share to C0.10 per share.

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. We will share with you today our financial and operating results for the first quarter of fiscal 2009. I'd like to begin today where we left off just a few months ago when we shared with you our fourth quarter and year-end results for fiscal 2008. We all know that we are living in very challenging times today. During our year-end results conference call in August I mentioned that we will leave no stone unturned as far as evaluating every facet of our business. This statement has been and will continue to be front and center in terms of all decision making. Maximizing financial results, managing our cash resources and working to advance the Amica brand remain our top priorities.

The Amica brand continues to gain prominent in the communities and surrounding areas it serves and we are proud to say that Amica today is recognized by many as the premier brand in the luxury independent-living sector of seniors housing in Canada. As mentioned in our press release our marketing and advertising campaigns have been ramping up over the past month for one of our busiest marketing periods of the year from September to November. As a result, we remain optimistic that we will see an increase in occupancy at our communities and operation and an increase in our preleasing results for communities that will be opening soon.

We ended the first quarter with overall occupancy in our mature residences at 94.5%. MARPAS for the quarter, or monthly average revenue per available suite, increased 2.1% on a same-community basis compared to an increase of 3.9% for the same quarter ended August 31, 2007. Strong occupancy results, rent increases and ancillary revenue remain key contributors to our overall MARPAS growth. One milestone this fiscal year was the opening of Amica at Westboro Park in Ottawa on September 16. 41% of the independent living suites are reserved to date at this community. The opening of Amica at Westboro Park brings our total number of communities in operation to 17, with seven communities at various stages of development. We are now looking forward to the opening of our next Wellness & Vitality residence, Amica at Thornhill which is expected to open next month. Looking ahead, Amica at London is expected to open in March 2009 and Amica at Whitby is expected to open in late spring 2009.

Our board announced earlier...

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