(Unless stated otherwise, all third quarter 2017 comparisons are relative to the third quarter of 2016; all information is in U.S. dollars.)
TORONTO and TAMPA, FL, Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Cott Corporation (NYSE: COT; TSX:BCB) today announced its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017.
Upon announcing the sale of Cott's traditional North America, U.K., and Mexico businesses ("traditional business") (excluding the RCI International division and its associated concentrate facility as well as Aimia Foods division in the U.K.), generally accepted accounting principles required the reported results for all periods presented to exclude the operating results of our traditional business as it has been classified in our consolidated financial statements as discontinued operations.
THIRD QUARTER 2017 HIGHLIGHTS
Revenue from continuing operations increased 22% to $581 million compared to $477 million.
Gross profit from continuing operations increased 18% to $293 million compared to $248 million.
Operating income from continuing operations increased 100% to $27 million compared to $14 million.
For comparative purposes, total company revenue including discontinued operations was $995 million compared to $885 million while reported net income and net income per diluted share were $43 million and $0.30, respectively, compared to reported net loss and net loss per diluted share of $3 million and $0.02, respectively.
The sale of Cott's traditional business is on track to close near the end of 2017 with Refresco Group N.V. ("Refresco") shareholder approval and U.S. and Canada regulatory approval received. The request for U.K. regulatory approval is on schedule with a draft of the Merger Notice submitted to the U.K. Regulatory Authority in August, the subsequent customary period of pre-notification engagement with the UK Regulatory Authority completed, and the final Merger Notice submitted. We are now in the process of the Authority's 40 business day formal review period.
"I was pleased to see the solid top and bottom line performance across our key business platforms during the quarter. Comparable revenue growth of over 3% in our Route Based Services segment and 7% in our Coffee, Tea and Extract Solutions segment illustrates the shape and potential of new Cott," commented Jerry Fowden, Cott's Chief Executive Officer. "We believe our outlook for driving organic growth and capturing synergies, alongside executing our tuck-in acquisition strategy puts us on a clear path to generating $150 million of adjusted free cash flow by the end of 2019," continued Mr. Fowden.
