MONTREAL, Feb. 14, 2024 /CNW/ - Yellow Pages Limited (TSX: Y) (the "Company"), a leading Canadian digital media and marketing company, released its operating and financial results today for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.

"We are pleased with our fourth quarter and full year results which reflect continued strong profitability and cash generation, despite headwinds in the global economy and, particularly, the Canadian small business sector hindering our progress on the revenue front," said David A. Eckert, President and CEO of Yellow Pages Limited.

Eckert commented on the key developments:

• Strong earnings. "Our Adjusted EBITDA² for the quarter and full year was 29.1% and 32.1% of revenue, respectively, despite our continued investments in revenue initiatives, including the further expansion of our sales force."
• Cash to Shareholders and Pension Plan. "During the fourth quarter, we completed the previously announced plan of arrangement, distributing $50.0 million to shareholders through a share buy back and advancing $12.0 million of voluntary contributions to our Defined Benefit Pension Plan's wind-up deficit. In addition, consistent with our deficit-reduction plan announced in May 2021, we made $1.5 million of voluntary incremental payments in the quarter and $6.0 million for the full year toward our Pension Plan's wind-up deficit, bringing the total voluntary contributions to our Defined Benefit Pension Plan's wind-up deficit in 2023 to $18.0 million." 
• Healthy cash balance. "Following the disbursements to shareholders and the Pension Plan, our steady cash generation has grown cash on hand to approximately $27.0 million at the end of January."
• Continued progress on revenue initiatives. "The headwinds in the global economy and, particularly, the Canadian small business sector contributed to a challenging quarter for revenue. However, we remain pleased with our progress on underlying metrics, including the size of our sales force, our rate of churn of customers, and our rate of gaining new accounts. In particular, our rate of gaining new accounts was 28.5% higher than in the previous year. We believe these fundamentals bode well for our medium- and long-term future."   
• Optimistic outlook for "revenue curve."  "After 2023's four quarters of declining rate of change of revenue vs. prior year, we expect in the first quarter of 2024 a resumption of our climb toward revenue stability."   
• Increase in quarterly cash dividend. "Our board has modified the dividend policy of paying a quarterly cash dividend to common shareholders by increasing the dividend from $0.20 per share to $0.25 per share."
• Quarterly dividend declared. "Our Board has declared a dividend of $0.25 per common share, to be paid on March 15, 2024 to shareholders of record as of February 27, 2024."

Financial Highlights

Fourth Quarter of 2023 Results

• Total revenues decreased 13.4% year-over-year and amounted to $55.9 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2023 compared to the decrease of 5.9% reported for the same period last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX¹ totalled $15.3 million and the EBITDA less CAPEX margin¹ was 27.4%.
• Net income amounted to $12.2 million, or to $0.71 per diluted share.

Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter of 2023

Total revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023 decreased by 13.4% to $55.9 million, as compared to $64.6 million for the same period last year. The decrease in revenues is mainly due to the decline of our higher margin digital media and print products and to a lesser extent to our lower margin digital services products, thereby creating pressure on our gross profit margins.

Total digital revenues decreased 12.1% year-over-year and amounted to $45.3 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $51.5 million for the same period last year. The revenue decline is mainly attributable to a decrease in digital customer count partially offset by a higher spend per customer.

Total print revenues decreased 18.7% year-over-year and amounted to $10.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $13.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. The revenue decline was mostly attributable to decreases in the number of print customers and to a lesser extent, the spend per customer.

The decline rate of revenues increased year-over-year. Total revenue decline of 13.4% this quarter compares to a decline of 5.9% reported for the same period last year. Digital revenue decline of 12.1% this quarter compares to a decline of 4.3% reported for the same period last year. Print revenue decline of 18.7% this quarter compares to a decline of 11.7% reported for the same period last year. The higher decline rates are attributable to a decrease in customer count in both digital and print, and to customer claim rates remaining stable in 2023, while 2022 benefited from a substantial improvement. These pressures, augmented by the economic headwinds, were partially offset by a higher spend per customer in digital, driven in part by increased pricing.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ decreased to $16.2 million or 29.1% of revenues in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023, relative to $21.0 million or 32.5% of revenues for the same period last year. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin for the three-month period ended December 31, 2023 is the result of revenue pressures, the ongoing investments in our tele-sales force capacity and higher bad debt expense, partially offset by the impact of the Company's share price on cash settled stock-based compensation expense,  price increases, the efficiencies from optimization in cost of sales and reductions in other operating costs including reductions in our workforce and associated employee expenses. Revenue pressures, coupled with increased headcount in our salesforce partially offset by continued optimization, will continue to cause some pressure on margins in upcoming quarters.

Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX decreased by $4.7 million to $15.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to $20.0 million during the same period last year. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX for the three-month period ended December 31, 2023 is mainly due to lower Adjusted EBITDA.

Net income for the three-month period ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $12.2 million as compared to net income of $29.4 million for the same period last year. The decrease is mainly attributable to higher recognition of previously unrecognized tax attributes and temporary differences in 2022. Income before taxes decreased from $16.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 to $12.4 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2023, explained principally by the decrease in Adjusted EBITDA.

Cash flows from operating activities increased by $7.3 million to $6.7 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2023. The increase is mainly due to a decrease in funding of post-employment benefits plans
$12.2 million resulting from the difference in funding pursuant to the 2023 Arrangement compared to the 2022 Arrangement and an increase of $0.7 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities, partially offset by lower Adjusted EBITDA of $4.7 million, higher income taxes paid of $0.6 million and higher restructuring and other charges paid of $0.3 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities is mainly due to the timing in the collection of trade receivables and the payment of trade receivables as well as the impact of the share price on the cash settled stock-based compensation.

Financial Results for the Year Ended December 31 of 2023

Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by 10.8% to $239.4 million, as compared to $268.3 million for the same period last year. The decrease in revenues is mainly due to the decline of our higher margin digital media and print products and to a lesser extent to our lower margin digital services products, thereby creating pressure on our gross profit margins.

Total digital revenues decreased 9.0% year-over-year and amounted to $190.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $209.1 million for the same period last year. The revenue decline for the period ended December 31, 2023, was mainly attributable to a decrease in digital customer count partially offset by an increase in average spend per customer.

Total print revenues decreased 17.0% year-over-year and amounted to $49.1 million for year ended December 31, 2023. The revenue decline is mainly attributable to the decrease in the number of print customers and to a lesser extent, a decrease in spend per customer.

The decline rate of revenues increased year-over-year. The higher decline rate is attributable, in part, to (a) the headwinds in the global economy, whereby, customer renewal rates have remained strong but stable while the improvements in average spend per customer has slowed as customers look to optimize their spend, (b) customer claim rates remaining stable in 2023, while 2022 benefited from a substantial improvement and (c) a cybersecurity incident which resulted in the Company's operations and IT systems being suspended for approximately three weeks during the second quarter of 2023.

For the year ended December 31, 2023 Adjusted EBITDA¹ decreased by $19.7 million or 20.7% to $76.9 million, compared to $96.6 million for the same period last year. The adjusted EBITDA margin¹ decreased during the year ended December 31, 2023 to 32.1%, compared to 36.0% for the same period last year. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin for the year ended December 31, 2023 is the result of revenue pressures and the ongoing investments in our tele-sales force capacity, partially offset by the efficiencies from optimization in cost of sales and reductions in other operating costs including reductions in our workforce and associated employee expenses, lower variable compensation expense and the impact of the Company's share price on cash settled stock-based compensation expense. Furthermore, the Company received a total of $1.1 million of emergency wage subsidies for the year ended December 31, 2022. Revenue pressures, coupled with increased headcount in our salesforce partially offset by continued optimization, will continue to cause pressure on margins in upcoming quarters.

For the year ended December 31, 2023 Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX¹ decreased by $18.7 million or 20.4% to $72.9 million, compared to $91.6 million for the same period last year. The adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX margin¹ decreased during the year ended December 31, 2023 to 30.4%, compared to 34.1% for the same period last year. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX and Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX margin for the year ended December 31, 2023 is driven by the decrease in Adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by the decrease in CAPEX spend. The decrease in CAPEX spend is partly due to the nature of Information Technology spend whereby more of the spend was classified as operating versus capital in nature. Furthermore, the CAPEX spend during the year ended December 31, 2022 was impacted by the integration of new products.

Net income decreased to $47.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to net income of $73.4 million for the same period last year. The decrease in net income for the year ended December 31, 2023 is mainly due to lower Adjusted EBITDA and higher income tax expense, partially offset by the decrease in depreciation and amortization, restructuring and other charges and financial charges. 

Cash flows from operating activities decreased by $2.7 million to $46.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $49.5 million last year. The decrease is mainly due to lower Adjusted EBITDA of $19.7 million, a decrease of $2.1 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities partially offset by a decrease in funding of post-employment benefit plans of $12.0 million resulting from the difference in funding pursuant to the 2023 Arrangement compared to the 2022 Arrangement, the decrease in stock-based compensation cash settlements of $1.3 million, lower income taxes paid of $4.8 million, and lower restructuring and other charges paid of $1.6 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities is mainly due to the timing in the collection of trade receivables and the payment of trade receivables as well as the impact of the share price on the cash settled stock-based compensation expense. The first quarter of 2022 benefited from the cancellation of the forward contracts resulting in a decrease in other receivables of $3.1 million.

As at December 31, 2023, the Company had $23.2 million of cash.

Conference Call & Webcast

Yellow Pages Limited will hold an analyst and media call and simultaneous webcast at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) on February 14, 2024 to discuss fourth quarter 2023 results. The call may be accessed by dialing 416-695-6725 within the Toronto area, or 1-866-696-5910 outside of Toronto, Passcode 6613383#. Please be prepared to join the conference at least 5 minutes prior to the conference start time.

The call will be simultaneously webcast on the Company's website at: https://corporate.yp.ca/en/investors/financial-reports.

The conference call will be archived in the Investors section of the site at: https://corporate.yp.ca/en/investors/financial-events-presentations.

About Yellow Pages Limited

Yellow Pages Limited (TSX: Y) is a Canadian digital media and marketing company that creates opportunities for buyers and sellers to interact and transact in the local economy. Yellow Pages holds some of Canada's leading local online properties including YP.ca, Canada411 and 411.ca. The Company also holds the YP, Canada411 and 411 mobile applications and Yellow Pages print directories. For more information visit www.corporate.yp.ca.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the objectives, strategies, financial conditions and results of operations and businesses of YP (including, without limitation, payment of a cash dividend per share per quarter to its common shareholders and completion of the plan of arrangement). These statements are forward-looking as they are based on our current expectations, as at February 13, 2024, about our business and the markets we operate in, and on various estimates and assumptions. Our actual results could materially differ from our expectations if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. As a result, there is no assurance that any forward-looking statements will materialize. Risks that could cause our results to differ materially from our current expectations are discussed in section 5 of our February 13, 2024 Management's Discussion and Analysis. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law, even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin

In order to provide a better understanding of the results, the Company uses the terms Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin. Adjusted EBITDA is equal to Income from operations before depreciation and amortization and restructuring and other charges (defined herein as Adjusted EBITDA), as shown in Yellow Pages Limited's consolidated statements of income. Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as the percentage of Adjusted EBITDA to revenues. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are not performance measures defined under IFRS and are not considered an alternative to income from operations or net income in the context of measuring Yellow Pages performance. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS and are therefore not likely to be comparable to similar measures used by other publicly traded companies. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin should not be used as exclusive measures of cash flow since they do not account for the impact of working capital changes, income taxes, interest payments, pension funding, capital expenditures, debt principal reductions and other sources and uses of cash, which are disclosed on page 19 of our February 13, 2024 MD&A. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin to evaluate the performance of its business as it reflects its ongoing profitability. Management believes that certain investors and analysts use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin to measure a company's ability to service debt and to meet other payment obligations or as common measurement to value companies in the media and marketing solutions industry as well as to evaluate the performance of a business.

Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX and Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX margin

The Company also uses Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX, which is defined as Adjusted EBITDA, as defined above, less CAPEX which we define as additions to intangible assets and additions to property and equipment as reported in the Investing Activities section of the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows. Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX margin is defined as the percentage of Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX to revenues. Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX and Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX margin are non-GAAP financial measures and do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. Therefore, are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other publicly traded companies. We use Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX and Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX margin to evaluate the performance of our business as it reflects cash generated from business activities. We believe that certain investors and analysts use Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX and Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX margin to evaluate the performance of businesses in our industry.

The most comparable IFRS financial measure to Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX is Income from operations before depreciation and amortization and restructuring and other charges (defined above as Adjusted EBITDA) as shown in Yellow Pages Limited's consolidated statements of income. Refer to pages 8 and 14 of the February 13, 2024 MD&A for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA less CAPEX. 

SOURCE Yellow Pages Limited

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