(Unless stated otherwise, all fourth quarter 2017 comparisons are relative to the fourth quarter of 2016 and all fiscal year 2017 comparisons are relative to fiscal year 2016; all information is in U.S. dollars.)
TORONTO and TAMPA, FL, March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Cott Corporation announced its results for the fiscal year and fourth quarter ended December 30, 2017.
- Revenue from continuing operations increased 40% to $2,270 million in fiscal year 2017 compared to $1,623 million.
- Gross profit from continuing operations increased 33% to $1,128 million in fiscal year 2017 compared to $850 million.
- Operating income from continuing operations increased to $49 million in fiscal year 2017 from $10 million.
- Cott completed the sale of its traditional beverage manufacturing business to Refresco Group N.V. ("Refresco") on January 30, 2018 for $1.25 billion.
- Cott announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which it will acquire Crystal Rock Holdings, Inc. The transaction, which values Crystal Rock at approximately $35 million, was unanimously approved by both the Cott and Crystal Rock Boards of Directors. Crystal Rock is a 100 year old direct-to-consumer home and office water, coffee, filtration and office supply service delivery business serving customers throughout New Yorkand New England. The transaction is expected to close in March 2018, subject to the conditions to the tender offer and other customary closing conditions.
"With the sale of our traditional business, we are now a growth oriented services company with a large proportion of recurring revenue and multiple scalable platforms. With a stronger balance sheet we are well positioned to undertake further synergistic acquisitions within the fragmented sectors we operate in," commented Jerry Fowden, Cott's Chief Executive Officer.
