A.L. Van Houtte - Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders.MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 1997--A.L. Van Houtte Van Houtte Inc. (TSX: VH) is a company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that processes, distributes and sells coffee and related products. France-born Albert-Louis Van Houtte (1877–1944)[1] emigrated to Canada in 1912. (ME, TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). VH.) reports 32 percent increase in its fully diluted earnings per share diluted earnings per share An earnings measure calculated by dividing net income less preferred stock dividends for a period by the average number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted into shares of for the first quarter and positions itself to accelerate its expansion in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . During the Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders held this morning in Montreal, management of A.L. VAN HOUTTE LTEE LTEE Limitee (French: Limited Company) disclosed its financial results for the 16 weeks ended July 19, 1997. The Company posted net earnings of $3,145,000, up 34.3 percent over $2,342,000 for the same quarter in 1996. Fully diluted earnings per share amounted to $0.33, compared with $0.25 last year, an increase of 32 percent. Operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. grew by 19.9 percent to $10.7 million. Lastly, the Company recorded cash flow of $7.6 million or $0.80 per share (fully diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. ), up 15.9 percent over the same period in 1996. This strong growth stemmed mainly from the single-cup coffee service sector, where the Company had 17,500 units in North America at the end of the quarter, up 16 percent over the same date one year ago. Paul-Andre Guillotte, President and Chief Executive Officer, indicated that the coffee service sector has been the driving force of A.L. Van Houtte's strong growth in recent years, generating more than 70 percent of its operating income today. This is why, in addition to the marketing of gourmet coffees, the Company's expansion strategy is also based on the development of its single-cup coffee service network across North America. It is from this standpoint that A.L. Van Houtte recently concluded an agreement to acquire the 49 percent equity interest held by minority shareholders in VKI VKI Variable Keyframe Interval (DivX encoding algorithm) VKI Virtual Keyframe Interval Holdings Inc., thereby become the sole owner of subsidiaries VKI Technologies Inc. and Filterfresh Corporation. This acquisition, which takes effect September 15, 1997, will enable the Company to accelerate its expansion in the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. single-cup segment. Also to support its growth strategy, the Company has implemented a vigourous capital expenditure program, in which it plans to invest over $20 million this year, as well as a dynamic business acquisition program. An amount of $9.1 million was invested in the Company's expansion during the first quarter. Shareholders approve two resolutions respecting stock split and amendment of privilege to exchange subordinate shares for multiple voting Noun 1. multiple voting - the act of voting in more than one place by the same person at the same election (illegal in U.S.) balloting, vote, voting, ballot - a choice that is made by counting the number of people in favor of each alternative; "there were only 17 shares. This morning, shareholders approved the two-for-one split of all subordinate voting shares Voting Shares Shares that give the stockholder the right to vote on matters of corporate policy making as well as who will compose the members of the board of directors. Notes: Different classes of shares, such as preferred stock, sometimes don't allow for voting rights. and multiple voting shares. They also approved a resolution to amend the Company's by-laws relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the subordinate share exchange privilege Exchange Privilege The opportunity given to a mutual-fund shareholder to exchange a fund for another within the same fund family at no additional cost. Notes: This privilege allows investors to switch funds when market conditions change. . Pursuant to approval of this resolution, Christian Pouliot and Michel Ouellet Michel Ouellet (born March 5, 1982 in Rimouski, Quebec) is a professional ice hockey right winger of the NHL who plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also owns his own real estate company in Quebec. are now included in the group of majority shareholders, whose percentage of voting rights Voting rights The right to vote on matters that are put to a vote of security holders. For example the right to vote for directors. voting rights The type of voting and the amount of control held by the owners of a class of stock. thereby rises from 68.4 percent to 74.2 percent. Moreover, in order to give effect to the exchange privilege, the threshold of voting rights to be held by the majority shareholders group has been reduced from 60 percent to 50 percent. Finally, a third amendment stipulates that the privilege to exchange subordinate shares for multiple voting shares will become effective if Messrs. Guillotte, Pouliot and Ouellet together hold fewer than 1,000,000 shares (before stock split), all classes of shares combined. Paul-Andre Guillotte pointed out that Christian Pouliot and Michel Ouellet, respectively President and Vice-President of Cafe Selena as well as its founders, have played a crucial role in the outstanding development of A.L. Van Houtte's coffee service operations and that their inclusion in the group of majority shareholders recognizes their front-line importance for its future growth. He added that the approved amendments to the Company's by-laws give it greater flexibility to pursue its expansion. Mr. Guillotte added: "A.L. Van Houtte has undergone a rapid yet profitable expansion in recent years. We have high growth objectives for the coming years, through internal development and acquisitions alike, which could necessitate ne·ces·si·tate tr.v. ne·ces·si·tat·ed, ne·ces·si·tat·ing, ne·ces·si·tates 1. To make necessary or unavoidable. 2. To require or compel. increasing the Company's capitalization. These changes give us the flexibility needed to harness the strong potential we see in the Company's future." Declaration of a dividend of $0.10 per share A.L. Van Houtte's Board of Directors today declared an annual dividend of $0.10 per share (after stock split). This dividend will be paid on October 28, 1997, to all holders of subordinate shares and multiple voting shares of record of the Company as at October 17, 1997. -0-
A.L. VAN HOUTTE LTEE
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EARNINGS
(In thousands of dollars, except for earnings per share
data/unaudited)
For the 16-week period
ended
July 19 July 20
1997 1996
_______ _______
REVENUES $56,974 $49,957
Cost of goods sold
and operating expenses 46,294 41,053
_______ _______
10,680 8,904
Depreciation and amortization 4,428 4,100
_______ _______
6,252 4,804
Financial expenses 441 630
_______ _______
Income before the
undernoted items 5,811 4,174
Income taxes 2,298 1,716
Equity in net earnings of companies
subject to significant
influence 21 22
Non-controlling interest 389 139
_______ _______
NET INCOME 3,145 2,341
EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.35 $0.25
_______ _______
Cash flow per share $0.91 $0.78
_______ _______
Diluted earnings per share $0.33 $0.25
Diluted cash flow per share $0.80 $0.69
Average number of equity
shares outstanding 8,372 8,262
For reference only:
Cafe-Bistro network
revenues $11,509 $11,596
_______ _______
Filterfresh network
revenues US$14,943 US$14,327
_______ _______
Note 1: For purposes of the calculation of earnings per share according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Chapter 3860 of the C.I.C.A. Handbook, net earnings have been reduced by an amount of $251,000 ($247,00 in 1996), representing the interest paid, net of taxes, on the principal portion of the debentures. CONTACT: A.L. Van Houtte Ltd. Paul-Andre Guillotte, 514/ 593-7711 514/ 593-8755 (FAX) or A.L. Van Houtte Ltd. Gerard Geoffrion, 514/ 593-7711 514/ 593-8755 (FAX) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion