August 6th 2014
Not for distribution to U.S. News wire services or dissemination in the U.S.
Vancouver – July 28, 2014 – The Keg Royalties Income Fund (KEG.UN:TSX, the “Fund”) is pleased to announce its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014.
The gross sales reported by the 103 Keg restaurants in the Royalty Pool were $125,394,000 for the quarter, an increase of $10,968,000 or 9.6% from the comparable quarter of the prior year. Year to date gross sales increased by $21,399,000 or 9.0% to $260,154,000. The increase in Royalty Pool sales during the quarter and year to date, reflect the sales of the new Keg restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2014, and same store sales increases of 5.8% for the quarter and 5.0% year to date.
The Keg’s same store sales (sales of restaurants that operated during the entire period of both the current and prior years) increased by 4.9% in Canada and by 7.5% in the United States for the 13-week period ended June 29, 2014. For the 26-week period ended June 29, 2014, same store sales increased by 4.1% in Canada and by 4.9% in the United States. After translating the sales of the U.S. restaurants into their Canadian dollar equivalent, consolidated same store sales increased by 5.8% for the 13-week period and by 5.0% for the 26-week period. The average exchange rate moved from 1.027 to 1.092 in the comparable 13-week period, and from 1.017 to 1.095 in the comparable 26-week period, significantly increasing the Canadian dollar equivalent of the U.S. restaurant sales.
Royalty income increased by $345,000 or 7.4% from $4,693,000 in the three months ended June 30, 2013 to $5,038,000 in the three months ended June 30, 2014. For the six months ended June 30, 2014 royalty income increased by $670,000 or 6.9% from $9,759,000 to $10,429,000.
Distributable cash before SIFT tax increased by $247,000 from $3,439,000 (30.3 cents/Fund unit) to $3,686,000 (32.5 cents/Fund unit) for the quarter and by $252,000 from $7,533,000 (66.3 cents/Fund unit) to $7,785,000 (68.6 cents/Fund unit) for the six-month period. Distributable cash available to pay distributions to public unitholders increased by $211,000 from $2,543,000 (22.4 cents/Fund unit) to $2,754,000 (24.3 cents/Fund unit) for the quarter and by $125,000 from $5,723,000 (50.4 cents/Fund unit) to $5,848,000 (51.5 cents/Fund unit) year to date.
The Fund remains financially well-positioned with cash on hand of $1,334,000 and a positive working capital balance of $2,425,000 as at June 30, 2014. The Fund’s payout ratio was 98.9% for the second quarter of 2014 and was 93.2% year to date.
“We are very pleased with the same store sales growth generated during the quarter and year to date,” said David Aisenstat, President and CEO of Keg Restaurants Ltd. “Same store sales growth is the largest driver of increases to royalty income and ultimately to increases in cash available for distribution to the Fund’s unitholders”.
($000’s except per unit amounts) | Apr. 1 to Jun. 30, 2014 | Apr. 1 to Jun. 30, 2013 | Jan. 1 to Jun. 30, 2014 | Jan. 1 to Jun. 30, 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Restaurants in the Royalty Pool | 103 | 102 | 103 | 102 |
Gross sales reported by restaurants in the Royalty Pool | $ 125,344 | $ 114,426 | $ 260,154 | $ 238,755 |
Royalty income (1) | $ 5,038 | $ 4,693 | $ 10,429 | $ 9,759 |
Interest income (2) | $ 1,067 | $ 1,067 | $ 2,122 | $ 2,123 |
Total income | $ 6,105/td> | $ 5,760 | $ 12,551 | $ 11,882 |
Administrative expenses (3) | (101) | (91) | (193) | (190) |
Interest and financing expenses (4) | (154) | (174) | (307) | (347) |
Operating income | $ 5,850 | $ 5,495 | $ 12,051 | $ 11,345 |
Distributions to KRL (5) | (2,137) | (1,980) | (4,353) | (4,038) |
Profit (loss) before fair value adjustment and taxes | $ 3,713 | $ 3,515 | $ 7,698 | $ 7,307 |
Fair value adjustment (6) | (33) | 3,107 | 233 | 769 |
Taxes (7) | (932) | (950) | (1,985) | (1,923) |
Profit (loss) | $ 2,748 | $ 5,672 | $ 5,946 | $ 6,153 |
Distributable cash before SIFT tax (8) | $ 3,686 | $ 3,439 | $ 7,785 | $ 7,533 |
Distributable cash (9) | $ 2,754 | $ 2,543 | $ 5,848 | $ 5,723 |
Distributions paid to Fund unitholders | $ 2,725 | $ 2,725 | $ 5,450 | $ 5,450 |
Payout Ratio (10) | 98.9% | 107.2% | 93.2% | 95.2% |
Per Fund unit information (11) | ||||
Profit (loss) before fair value adjustment and taxes | $ .327 | $ .310 | $ .678 | $ .644 |
Profit (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) | $ .242 | $ .500 | $ .524 | $ .542 |
Distributable cash before SIFT tax (8) | $ .325 | $ .303 | $ .686 | $ .663 |
Distributable cash (9) | $ .243 | $ .224 | $ .515 | $ .504 |
Distributions paid to Fund unitholders | $ .240 | $ .240 | $ .480 | $ .480 |
Notes:
The Fund (TSX – KEG.UN) is a limited purpose, open-ended trust established under the laws of the Province of Ontario that, through The Keg Rights Limited Partnership, owns certain trademarks and other related intellectual property used by Keg Restaurants Ltd. (“KRL”). In exchange for use of those trademarks, KRL pays the Fund a royalty of 4% of gross sales of Keg restaurants included in the royalty pool.
Vancouver-based KRL is the leading operator and franchisor of the steakhouse restaurants in Canada and has a substantial presence in select regional markets in the United States. KRL continues to operate The Keg restaurant system and expand that system through the addition of both corporate and franchised Keg steakhouses. KRL has been named one of the “50 Best Employers in Canada” for the past twelve years by Aon Hewitt. For more information on our brand, visit www.kegsteakhouse.com.
This press release may contain certain "forward looking" statements reflecting The Keg Royalties Income Fund's current expectations in the casual dining segment of the restaurant food industry. Investors are cautioned that all forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Keg’s ability to continue to realize historical same store sales growth, changes in market and existing competition, new competitive developments, and potential downturns in economic conditions generally. Additional information on these and other potential factors that could affect the Fund's financial results are detailed in documents filed from time to time with the provincial securities commissions in Canada.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, which may be made only by means of the prospectus, nor shall there be any sale of the Fund units in any state, province or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state, province or jurisdiction. The Keg Royalties Income Fund units have not been, and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an application for exemption from the registration requirement under U.S. securities laws.
The Trustees of the Fund have approved the contents of this press release.
For further information:
Ryan Bullock, Director of Marketing
Tel: (416) 646-4960