TORONTO,- Retained executive search firm The Caldwell Partners International Inc. (TSX: CWL) today issued its financial results for the fiscal 2020 first quarter ended November 30, 2019. All references to quarters or years are for the fiscal periods unless otherwise noted and all currency amounts are in Canadian dollars.
Financial Highlights (in $000s except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended November 30 |
||
2019 |
2018 |
|
Professional fees |
$17,498 |
$15,169 |
License fees |
$59 |
$217 |
Direct expense reimbursements |
$519 |
$506 |
Revenues |
$18,076 |
$15,892 |
Cost of sales |
$13,467 |
$11,578 |
Reimbursed direct expenses |
$519 |
$506 |
Expenses |
$3,542 |
$3,379 |
Operating profit |
$548 |
$429 |
Interest expense on lease liability |
$66 |
$- |
Investment income |
$71 |
($41) |
Earnings before tax |
$553 |
$388 |
Net earnings after tax |
$462 |
$211 |
Net earnings per share |
$0.023 |
$0.010 |
1 |
Effective September 1, 2019 IFRS 16 was implemented resulting in a change to the way leases are treated and giving rise to interest expense on lease liability. During periods prior to fiscal 2020, all lease related expenses were recognized as occupancy costs and included in expenses in arriving at operating profit. |
“This was another excellent quarter and a strong start to our fiscal year,” said John Wallace, chief executive officer. “We said we were well-positioned heading into fiscal 2020, and we are pleased to be delivering on that promise with a 14% increase in revenue and a 119% increase in net earnings after tax to start our fiscal year. This improvement is due in part to a stronger US market year-over-year, and a rebound by our UK team as new business booking and business development activity has increased substantially.”
Wallace continued: “We are confident regarding the overall business climate as we head into the second quarter, and remain very positive about the coming year as a whole. We continue to recruit new partners and teams to strengthen and expand our industry and geographic coverage in order to better serve our clients.”
The Board of Directors today also declared the payment of a quarterly dividend of 2.25 cents per Common Share payable to holders of Common Shares of record on January 21, 2020 and to be paid on March 16, 2020.
Financial Highlights (all numbers expressed in $000s)
First Quarter
First Quarter
Average Number of Partners, Professional Fees per Partner, Number of Assignments, Number of Assignments per Partner, and Average Fee per Assignment do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to measures presented by other companies. These operating measures are used by the Company to analyze its results. Please refer to section “Non‐GAAP Financial Measures and Other Operating Measures” in the Company’s MD&A for a definition of these terms.
For a complete discussion of the quarterly financial results, please see the company’s Management Discussion and Analysis posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
About Caldwell
At Caldwell we believe Talent Transforms. As a leading provider of executive talent, we enable our clients to thrive and succeed by helping them identify, recruit and retain their best people. Our reputation–nearly 50 years in the making–has been built on transformative searches across functions and geographies at the very highest levels of management and operations. We leverage our skills and networks to also provide agile talent in the form of flexible and on-demand advisory solutions for companies looking for support in strategy and operations. With offices and partners across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, we take pride in delivering an unmatched level of service and expertise to our clients.
Caldwell’s Common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CWL). Please visit our website at www.caldwellpartners.com for further information.
Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements in this document are based on current expectations that are subject to the significant risks and uncertainties cited. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by use of statements that include phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “foresee,” “may,” “will,” “likely,” “estimates,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar words or phrases. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals also are forward-looking statements. The Company is subject to many factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward looking statement including, but not limited to, our ability to attract and retain key personnel; exposure to our Partners taking our clients with them to another firm; the performance of the Canadian, US and international economies; competition from other companies directly or indirectly engaged in executive search; liability risk in the services we perform; potential legal liability from clients, employees and candidates for employment; cybersecurity requirements, vulnerabilities, threats and attacks; damage to our brand reputation; our ability to align our cost structure to changes in our revenue; adverse tax law rulings; our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to support our growth and maintain our dividend; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; marketable securities valuation fluctuations; volatility of the market price and volume of our common shares; any potential impairment of our acquired goodwill and intangible assets; and the risk associated with license fee agreement renewals. For more information on the factors that could affect the outcome of forward-looking statements, refer to the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Information Form and other public filings (copies of which may be obtained at www.sedar.com). These factors should be considered carefully and the reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although any forward-looking statements are based on what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, we cannot assure readers that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and management’s assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Except as required by Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf; such statements speak only as of the date made. The forward-looking statements included herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary language.