“Fueled by a net cash position, Velan’s strong balance sheet will allow the Company to fund its current operations and pursue re-investment to expand its global reach. Over the longer term, we remain committed to building shareholder value through sales and cash flow growth,” added Rishi Sharma, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Velan.

As at February 29, 2024, the backlog stood at $491.5 million, up $27.2 million, or 5.9%, from $464.3 million a year earlier reflecting strong fourth quarter bookings. As at February 29, 2024, 73.4% of the backlog, representing orders of $360.7 million, is deliverable in the next 12 months, versus 66.3% of last year’s backlog. Currency movements had a positive effect of $5.6 million on the backlog during the year.

Bookings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 amounted to $132.8 million, up 52.5% over bookings of $87.1 million a year earlier. The increase is mainly attributable to strong oil and gas bookings recorded by the Company’s Italian operations and to higher orders recorded by North American operations, partially offset by the timing of orders for the French subsidiary following strong bookings in the prior year. Currency movements had a positive effect of $3.8 million on bookings during the quarter.

As a result of bookings outpacing sales, the Company’s book-to-bill ratio was 1.13 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to 0.76 in the corresponding period of fiscal 2023.

Fiscal 2024 bookings reached $374.5 million, an increase of $21.3 million or 6.0% compared to the previous year. As a result of bookings outpacing sales for the fiscal year, the Company’s book-to-bill ratio was 1.08 in fiscal 2024, compared with 0.95 in fiscal 2023.

FISCAL 2024 FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Sales reached $117.9 million, up $2.8 million or 2.4% from last year. The variation is mostly attributable to stronger shipments from the Company’s International operations. These factors were partially offset by lower shipments from North American operations and shipping delays due to the situation in the Red Sea. Currency movements had a $1.7 million positive effect on sales for the quarter.

Gross profit was $38.4 million, versus $39.9 million a year ago. The variation reflects a less favorable product mix this year compared to last due to the execution of certain low margin projects. Last year’s gross profit also benefitted from a favorable revaluation of the inventory provision based on new estimates relating to changes in market demand. As a percentage of sales, gross profit was 32.6%, versus 34.7% last year.

Administration costs reached $33.1 million, compared to $80.8 million last year. This year’s administration costs include a $10.0 million asbestos provision adjustment and restructuring charges of $1.3 million mostly consisting of severances. Last year’s costs included a $56.0 million charge to increase the Company’s asbestos provision. Excluding these items, administration costs totaled $21.7 million, or 18.4% of sales, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, versus $24.9 million, or 21.6% of sales, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. The decrease is mostly due to lower expenses for the North American operations and cost reduction initiatives throughout the Company’s operations.

EBITDA¹ reached $8.5 million compared to negative $39.5 million last year. Excluding asbestos and restructuring costs, adjusted EBITDA was $19.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to $16.5 million a year earlier. This increase reflects lower administration costs and a $1.7 million net reduction in other expenses, mainly related to a provision related to a commodity tax audit last year. These factors were partially offset by a lower gross profit.

Net loss was $2.1 million, or $0.10 per share, versus a net loss of $47.2 million, or $2.18 per share last year. Excluding the after-tax effect of asbestos and restructuring costs, adjusted net income was $8.9 million, or $0.41 per share, compared to $8.8 million, or $0.41 per share, last year. The variation is attributable to higher adjusted EBITDA partially offset by higher net finance costs and income tax expense.

YEAR-END RESULTS

For the fiscal year ended February 29, 2024, sales amounted to $346.8 million, down from $370.4 million last year. Gross profit was $93.2 million, or 26.9% of sales, compared to $112.5 million, or 30.4% of sales, last year. EBITDA stood at $5.3 million, versus negative $34.9 million a year ago, while adjusted EBITDA reached $17.8 million compared to $21.1 million last year. Net loss was $19.7 million, or $0.91 per share, compared to a net loss of $55.5 million, or $2.57 per share, a year ago, while adjusted net loss was $7.9 million, or $0.37 per share, compared to adjusted net income of $0.5 million, or $0.02 per share in the prior year.

FINANCIAL POSITION

As at February 29, 2024, Velan’s financial position remained solid. The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $36.4 million, as well as short-term investments of $5.3 million, while long-term debt, including the current portion, amounted to $28.8 million.

OUTLOOK

Velan aims to build on the momentum gained in the second half of fiscal 2024, concluding the year on a solid note with a growing order backlog and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.08. As at February 29, 2024, orders totaling $360.7 million, representing 73.4% of a total backlog of $491.5 million, are expected to be delivered in the next 12 months. Given these orders, the Company expects to deliver annual sales in fiscal 2025 above the level achieved in fiscal 2024.

CONFERENCE CALL NOTICE

Financial analysts, shareholders, and other interested individuals are invited to attend the fourth quarter conference call to be held on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. (EDT). The toll-free call-in number is 1-800-836-8184 or by RapidConnect URL: https://emportal.ink/4aUSejk. The material that will be referenced during the conference call will be made available shortly before the event on the company’s website under the Investor Relations section (https://www.velan.com/en/company/investor_relations). A recording of this conference call will be available for seven days at 1-289-819-1450 or 1-888-660-6345, access code 24455.

ABOUT VELAN

Founded in Montreal in 1950, Velan Inc. (www.velan.com) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial valves, with sales of US$346.8 million in its last reported fiscal year. The Company employs approximately 1,641 people and has manufacturing plants in 9 countries. Velan Inc. is a public company with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VLN.

SAFE HARBOUR STATEMENT

This news release may include forward-looking statements, which generally contain words like “should”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “continue” or “estimate” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar expressions, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are disclosed in the Company’s filings with the appropriate securities commissions. While these statements are based on management’s assumptions regarding historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that it believes are reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may differ materially from those expressed herein. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by the applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

NON-IFRS AND SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL MEASURES

In this press release, the Company has presented measures of performance or financial condition which are not defined under IFRS (“non-IFRS measures”) and are, therefore, unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These measures are used by management in assessing the operating results and financial condition of the Company and are reconciled with the performance measures defined under IFRS. The Company has also presented supplementary financial measures which are defined at the end of this report. Reconciliation and definition can be found below.

Adjusted net income, Adjusted net income per share, Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") and Adjusted EBITDA

The term “Adjusted net income (loss)” is defined as net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares plus adjustment, net of income taxes, for costs related to the proposed transaction, restructuring, and asbestos provision. The terms “Adjusted net income (loss) per share” is obtained by dividing Adjusted net income (loss) by the total amount of subordinate and multiple voting shares. The forward-looking statements contained in this MD&A are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The term “EBITDA” is defined as adjusted net income plus depreciation of property, plant & equipment, plus amortization of intangible assets, plus net finance costs, plus income tax provision. The term “Adjusted EBITDA” is defined as EBITDA plus adjustment for costs related to the proposed transaction, restructuring, and asbestos provision. The forward-looking statements contained in this MD&A are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Definitions of supplementary financial measures

The term “Net new orders” or “bookings” is defined as firm orders, net of cancellations, recorded by the Company during a period. Bookings are impacted by the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates for a given period. The measure provides an indication of the Company’s sales operation performance for a given period as well as well as an expectation of future sales and cash flows to be achieved on these orders.

The term “backlog” is defined as the buildup of all outstanding bookings to be delivered by the Company. The Company’s backlog is impacted by the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates for a given period. The measure provides an indication of the future operational challenges of the Company as well as an expectation of future sales and cash flows to be achieved on these orders.

The term “book-to-bill” is obtained by dividing bookings by sales. The measure provides an indication of the Company’s performance and outlook for a given period.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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1} Non-IFRS and supplementary financial measures. Refer to the Non-IFRS and supplementary financial measures section for definitions and reconciliations.
² Net income or loss refer to net income or loss attributable to Subordinate and Multiple Voting Shares.