Nova Leap Health Corp. Posts Q1 2023 Results

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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, May 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVA LEAP HEALTH CORP. (TSXV: NLH) (“Nova Leap” or “the Company”), a growing home health care organization, is pleased to announce the release of financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. All amounts are in United States dollars unless otherwise specified.

Nova Leap Q1 2023 Financial Results

Financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 include the following:

• Q1 2023 revenues of $6,396,076 decreased by 5.7% relative to Q4 2022 revenues of $6,780,083 and by 12.3% relative to Q1 2022 revenues of $7,296,609.
  
  
  
  
• Q1 2023 Adjusted EBITDA increased to $86,025 from $71,313 in Q4 2022 and was lower than Q1 2022 Adjusted EBITDA of $227,562 (see calculation of Adjusted EBITDA below). 
  
  
  
  
• Gross profit margin as a percentage of revenues remained strong at 35.2% in Q1 2023. Gross profit margin percentage was 35.6% in Q4 2022 and 34.8% in Q1 2022.
  
• Head office and operations management expense decreased by $101,942 in Q1 2023 as compared to Q1 2022 and $115,892 as compared to Q4 2022 due to the elimination of targeted support functions in Head office late in Q2 2022 and management’s efforts since Q3 2022 to streamline our US operations.
• The loss from operating activities in Q1 2023 decreased to $182,864 from $321,424 in Q4 2022 and $198,829 in Q1 2022.
• Q1 2023 net loss decreased to $296,876 from $970,395 in Q4 2022 and $389,674 in Q1 2022.
• The Company had available cash of $894,365 as of March 31, 2023 as well as full access to the unutilized revolving credit facility of $1,108,402 (CAD$1,500,000).   
  
  

President & CEO’s Comments

“The message to shareholders is that we continue to deliver prudent fiscal management which should provide us with flexibility to restart our acquisition strategy and improve results in future quarters,” said Chris Dobbin, President & CEO of Nova Leap. “This past quarter was focused on two initiatives — continuing our capital allocation strategy of paying down the Company’s debt while further restructuring the U.S. operations and working with U.S. leadership on the changes implemented during the latter part of 2022 and Q1 2023 — both of which I will speak to further.   

From a capital allocation perspective, we have been paying down a substantial portion of our debt and remain on track to have approximately $290,000 of bank debt at the end of the year. We believe this will provide the Company with much greater flexibility with future expansion opportunities. I have referenced this previously and our approach to debt repayment has been consistent.

Let me collectively address the revenue decline and restructuring of operations. With respect to the quarter over quarter revenue decline from Q4 2022 to Q1 2023, just under 40% of the decline relates to two less days in the quarter for which we had to perform services. Given that we charge on a per hour basis, that has a big impact. The remainder was a decrease in hours, most of which we anticipate to be temporary. Some of the decrease in hours was expected given the closure of one of our physical locations which was not producing the results intended and for which we had previously recognized a goodwill impairment. We have been prudently restructuring operations for the past three quarters throughout the organization and that restructuring continued well into Q1 2023. We have been very diligent with this approach so as to have minimum disruption to our staff and clients.

We began to see the positive results of the restructuring from the latter part of 2022 in Q1 2023 such that even with a drop in revenue, Adjusted EBITDA increased. The restructuring that occurred well into Q1 2023 will be more fully reflected in Q2 results. Notwithstanding all the changes that have been made, there are still many areas in the U.S. for which we can produce improved results. In fact, many of the changes that were made were done in order to increase organic revenue going forward. I believe we have the leadership team in place to achieve this and I believe that we will see further positive impacts of these changes in the quarters ahead.”

This news release should be read in conjunction with the Unaudited Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 including the notes to the financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis dated May 11, 2023, which have been filed on SEDAR.

About Nova Leap

Nova Leap is an acquisitive home health care services company operating in one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. & Canada. The Company performs a vital role within the continuum of care with an individual and family centered focus, particularly those requiring dementia care. Nova Leap achieved the #42 ranking on the 2021 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies, the #2 ranking on the 2020 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies and the #10 Ranking in the 2019 TSX Venture 50™ in the Clean Technology & Life Sciences sector. The Company is geographically diversified with operations in 10 different U.S. states within the New England, Southeastern, South Central and Midwest regions as well as in Nova Scotia, Canada.

NON-IFRS AND OTHER MEASURES:

This release contains references to certain measures that do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS as prescribed by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement IFRS measures by providing a further understanding of operations from management’s perspective. Accordingly, non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of financial information reported under IFRS. The Company presents non-IFRS financial measures, specifically Adjusted EBITDA (as such term is hereinafter defined), as well as supplementary financial measures such as annualized revenue. The Company believes these non-IFRS financial measures are frequently used by lenders, securities analysts, investors and other interested parties as a measure of financial performance, and it is therefore helpful to provide supplemental measures of operating performance and thus highlight trends that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures.

Adjusted Earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation (“Adjusted EBITDA”), is calculated as loss from operating activities plus amortization and depreciation and stock-based compensation expense. The most directly comparable IFRS measure is loss from operating activities.

Annualized revenue is calculated as actual revenue extrapolated from the beginning of the year or date of acquisition over 365 days.

The reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the loss from operating activities is as follows:

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION:

Certain information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements, such as statements regarding future expansions and cost savings, timing of receipt of ERC, and plans regarding future acquisitions and business growth, including anticipated annualized revenue or annualized recurring revenue run rate growth and anticipated consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margins. This information is based on current expectations and assumptions, including assumptions described elsewhere in this release and those concerning general economic and market conditions, availability of working capital necessary for conducting Nova Leap’s operations, availability of desirable acquisition targets and financing to fund such acquisitions, and Nova Leap’s ability to integrate its acquired businesses and maintain previously achieved service hour and revenue levels, that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. Risks that could cause results to differ from those stated in the forward-looking statements in this release include the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or any recurrence, including staff and supply shortages, regulatory changes affecting the home care industry or government programs utilized by the Company (such as ERC), other unexpected increases in operating costs and competition from other service providers. All forward-looking statements, including any financial outlook or future-oriented financial information, contained in this press release are made as of the date of this release and included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future, and these statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.