Tree Island Steel Announces Full Year 2015 Results

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 18, 2016) -

Q4 2015 Financial Highlights¹

• Volumes up by 22.2% to 38,981 tons

• Revenue increases by 28.4% to $54.3 million

• Gross Profit increases by 42.2% to $5.9 million

• EBITDA² increases by 51.0% to $1.8 million

FY 2015 Financial Highlights:

• Volumes up by 15.9% to 162,243 tons

• Revenue increases by 25.7% to $231.3 million

• Gross Profit increases by 66.2% to $32.1 million

• EBITDA increases by 128.1% to $18.2 million

Tree Island Steel Ltd. ("Tree Island" or the "Company") (TSL.TO) announced today its financial results for the three and twelve‐month periods ended December 31, 2015.

For the three‐month period ended December 31, 2015, revenues increased by 28.4% to $54.3 million versus $42.3 million for the year earlier. Volumes also increased by 22.2% to 38,981 tons from 31,910. Gross profit for the three months increased to $5.9 million, while EBITDA grew from $1.2 million last year to $1.8 million, representing a year‐over‐year increase of 51.0%. At the same time, pricing discipline and our continuing efforts to manage our costs improved our gross profit margin from 9.9% in 2014 to 10.9% in 2015.

For the full year ended December 31, 2015, revenues amounted to $231.3 million on 162,243 tons, compared to $183.9 million on 139,935 tons for 2014. Gross profit for the full year totalled $32.1 million, compared to $19.3 million last year, while EBITDA also increased by 128.1% to $18.2 million from $8.0 million last year.

"We achieved meaningful progress again in 2015 and this is reflected in our solid financial and operational performance for the year," said Dale R. Maclean, President and CEO. "We continue to focus on maintaining our position as the best‐in‐class service and product quality provider across all of our end‐markets. The addition of our new production facility in Calgary during the fourth quarter of 2015 increases our production capacity and expands the scope of the products we offer in welded wire re‐enforcement through increased capacity on standard construction mesh products and the addition of engineered structural mesh products ("ESM"). The ESM capabilities expands Tree Island's foothold in the infrastructure and large commercial construction markets. With the strong foundation that we have built in 2015, we are well positioned to carry our growth and overall success into 2016."

¹ Please refer to our 2015 MD&A for further information.

² References made above to "EBITDA" are to operating profit plus depreciation and foreign exchange gains and losses. References to "Adjusted Net Income" are to net income per IFRS adjusted for certain non‐cash items including non‐cash financing expenses, changes in fair value of convertible instruments, and deferred income tax. EBITDA is a measure used by many investors to compare issuers on the basis of ability to generate cash flows from operations. Adjusted Net Income is a measure for investors to understand the impact of significant non‐cash items that affect our results from operations. Neither EBITDA nor Adjusted Net Income are earnings measures recognized by IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. We believe that EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income are important supplemental measure in evaluating the Company's performance. You are cautioned that EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income should not be construed as alternatives to net income or loss, determined in accordance with IFRS, or as indicators of performance. Our method of calculating EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income may differ from methods used by other issuers and, accordingly, our EBITDA or Adjusted Net Income may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are pleased with Tree Island's strong performance in 2015," commented Amar S. Doman, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "We are confident that the Company is poised for continued success, further enhancing shareholder value."

Summary of Results
($'000 unless otherwise stated)
			Three Months Ended						Twelve Months Ended
			December 31,						December 31,
			2015			2014			2015			2014
Sales volume ‐ Tons3			38,981			31,910			162,243			139,935
Revenue			54,274			42,265			231,266			183,944
	Cost of sales		(47,480	)		(37,367	)		(196,028	)		(161,798	)
	Depreciation		(862	)		(726	)		(3,115	)		(2,822	)
Gross profit			5,932			4,172			32,123			19,324
	Selling, general and administrative expenses		(5,107	)		(3,613	)		(18,030	)		(14,415	)
Operating income			825			559			14,093			4,909
	Foreign exchange gain (loss)		127			(84	)		1,041			269
	Gain (loss) on sale of property, plant and equipment		(4	)		(4	)		(10	)		(14	)
	Other expenses		(316	)		‐			(316	)		‐
	Changes in financial liabilities recognized at fair value		323			183			136			71
	Financing expenses		(793	)		(843	)		(3,183	)		(3,826	)
Income before income taxes			162			(189	)		11,761			1,409
	Income tax (expense) recovery		5,360			245			4,386			(431	)
Net income			5,522			56			16,147			978
Operating Income			825			559			14,093			4,909
	Add back depreciation		862			726			3,115			2,822
	Foreign exchange gain (loss)		127			(84	)		1,041			269
EBITDA4			1,814			1,201			18,249			8,000
Net Income			5,522			56			16,147			978
	Non‐cash financing expenses		302			270			1,185			1,057
	Changes in FV of financial instruments		(323	)		(183	)		(136	)		(71	)
	Deferred tax		(4,339	)		(49	)		(4,334	)		501
Adjusted net income4			1,162			94			12,862			2,465
Net income per share ‐ basic ($/share)			0.18			0.00			0.52			0.03
Net income per share ‐ diluted ($/share)			0.18			0.00			0.52			0.03
Gross profit per ton ($/ton)			152			131			198			138
EBITDA per ton ($/ton)			47			38			112			57
			December 31,			December 31,
Financial Position as at:			2015			2014
Total Assets			131,589			112,106
Total non‐current financial liabilities			22,152			13,073

3 Sales volumes excludes tons which were processed as part of tolling arrangements

4 See definition of EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income in Section 2 NON‐IFRS MEASURES of the 2015 MD&A.

About Tree Island Steel

Tree Island Steel, headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, since 1964, through its five operating facilities in Canada and the United States, produces wire products for a diverse range of industrial, residential construction, commercial construction, agricultural, and specialty applications. Its products include galvanized wire, bright wire; a broad array of fasteners, including packaged, collated and bulk nails; stucco reinforcing products; concrete reinforcing mesh; fencing and other fabricated wire products. The Company markets these products under the Tree Island, Halsteel, K‐Lath, Industrial Alloys, TI Wire, and Tough Strand brand names. The Company also owns and operates a China‐based company that assists the international sourcing of products to Tree Island and its customers.

Forward‐Looking Statements

This press release includes forward‐looking information with respect to Tree Island including its business, operations and strategies, its dividend policy and the declaration and payment of dividends thereunder as well as financial performance and conditions. The use of forward‐looking words such as, "may," "will," "expect" or similar variations generally identify such statements. Any statements that are contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward‐looking statements. Although management believes that expectations reflected in forward‐looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties including risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Tree Island's most recent annual information form and management discussion and analysis.

The forward looking statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and are based upon certain assumptions that management believes to be reasonable based on the information currently available to management. By their very nature, forward looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and a number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward looking statements. In evaluating these statements, prospective investors should specifically consider various factors including the risks outlined in the Company's most recent annual information form and management discussion and analysis which may cause actual results to differ materially from any forward looking statement. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general economic, market and business conditions, the cyclical nature of our business and demand for our products, financial condition of our customers, competition, volume and price pressure from import competition, deterioration in the Company's liquidity, disruption in the supply of raw materials, volatility in the costs of raw materials, dependence on the construction industry, transportation costs, foreign exchange fluctuations, leverage and restrictive covenants, labour relations, trade actions, dependence on key personnel and skilled workers, reliance on key customers, intellectual property risks, energy costs, un‐insured loss, credit risk, operating risk, management of growth, changes in tax, environmental and other legislation, and other risks and uncertainties set forth in our publicly filed materials.

This press release has been reviewed by the Company's Board of Directors and its Audit Committee, and contains information that is current as of the date of this press release, unless otherwise noted. Events occurring after that date could render the information contained herein inaccurate or misleading in a material respect. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward‐looking information and management of the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward‐looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable securities laws.