HispanicBusiness

MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwire) -- 03/12/13 -- Supremex Inc., Canada's largest provider of stock and custom-manufactured envelopes (TSX: SXP), today announced its results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012.

For the fourth quarter of 2012, Supremex generated revenue of $33.7 million compared with $36.7 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2011, representing a decrease of $3.0 million or 8.1%. The decrease in revenue is mainly attributable to the number of units sold in Canada. Revenue from sales in Canada decreased by $3.0 million or 8.8%, from $33.9 million to $30.9 million while revenue from sales in the United States remained stable.

The decrease in sales revenue in Canada was driven by a 9.5% decrease in the number of units sold partially offset by a 0.8% increase in the average selling price. The decrease in the number of units sold was spread in most of the accounts with bigger decline seen in the forms resellers and large corporations markets.

EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $7.2 million compared with $7.4 million for the same period in 2011, representing a decrease of $0.2 million or 2.7%. EBITDA margin was 21.4% compared with 21.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011. The margin improvement is mainly attributable to the various cost reduction measures put in place including the conversion, for future service, of its defined benefit pension plans into defined contribution plans since July 1, 2012 partially offset by the impact of reduced volume.

Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $3.2 million or $0.11 per share compared with $3.0 million or $0.10 per share for the same period in 2011, representing an increase of $0.2 million mainly due to reduced financing charges offset by lower EBITDA.

Cash flows generated by the operating activities were $8.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with $9.5 million for the same period in 2011.

In 2012, Supremex generated revenue of $131.9 million compared with $143.9 million in 2011, representing a decrease of $12.0 million or 8.4%. The EBITDA for 2012 was $25.1 million compared with $28.4 million in 2011, a decrease of $3.3 million or 11.8%. Net loss for 2012 was $18.7 million compared with the net earnings of $8.3 million in 2011, a decrease of $27 million mainly due to the goodwill impairment charge of $28.9 million recorded in the third quarter of 2012.

"In spite of a declining market, I am relatively pleased with our results for the last quarter. Our revenues were down by 8.1%, but we have been able to mitigate the impact of such reduction in volume with cost containment measures as well as a shift in our product mix. This has translated in EBITDA of $7.2 million, slightly lower than 2011" said Gilles Cyr, President and Chief Executive Officer of Supremex.

"The fundamental of the industry is changing and we are changing with it. We are now producing more and more envelopes which are for applications that are different than traditional envelopes. Being packaging envelopes that protect their content or protective envelopes that protect people against identify theft. Supremex is well positioned to benefit from the potential growth of these products. Not only have we invested over the years in the equipment needed to produce these goods but we have also developed the skills that put us in a unique position to benefit from these growing markets" said Mr. Cyr.