TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 26, 2025--
Superior Plus Corp. (“ Superior ” or “ the company” ) (TSX: SPB) today released its fourth quarter and year end results for the period ended December 31, 2024. Unless otherwise expressed, all financial figures are expressed in U.S. dollars.
“2024 was a defining year for Superior Plus,” said Allan MacDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer. "With the launch of Superior Delivers —we set in motion a bold transformation of Superior Plus—making significant changes to our operations and strategy that will drive long-term growth. These changes are strengthening our propane business, positioning it to significantly grow profitability and capture greater market share in the years ahead. In our Compressed Natural Gas division, we adapted to the changing environment by sharpening our capital discipline, setting the stage for increased free cash flow."
"While 2024 brought challenges including unseasonably warm weather in propane and shifting market dynamics in compressed natural gas—our progress and commitment remained unwavering. The foundation we’ve built is strong, and I am fully confident that it will translate into the profitability and cash flow we know the business can deliver,” MacDonald continued.
Segmented Information
| | Three Months Ended | Years Ended |
| | December 31 | December 31 |
| (millions of dollars) | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 |
| U.S. Propane Adjusted EBITDA (1) | 85.2 | 84.1 | 218.5 | 223.3 |
| Canadian Propane Adjusted EBITDA (1) | 29.7 | 37.0 | 82.3 | 99.0 |
| Wholesale Propane Adjusted EBITDA (1) | 10.5 | 12.1 | 32.2 | 47.0 |
| Compressed Natural Gas (Certarus) Adjusted EBITDA (1)(2) | 39.2 | 34.7 | 148.2 | 70.5 |
| Adjusted EBITDA from operations (1) | 164.6 | 167.9 | 481.2 | 439.8 |
(1) Adjusted EBITDA from operations and Adjusted EBITDA are Non-GAAP Financial Measures. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Ratios” section below.
(2) Compressed Natural Gas (Certarus) Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2023 is from the date of acquisition on May 31, 2023.
| Financial Overview | | | | | | | | |
| | Three Months Ended | Years Ended |
| | December 31 | December 31 |
| (millions of dollars, except per share amounts) | | 2024 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2023 |
| Revenue | | 702.3 | | 725.3 | | 2,382.3 | | 2,482.5 |
| Gross Profit | | 374.9 | | 378.2 | | 1,284.4 | | 1,194.3 |
| Net earnings (loss) for the period | | 4.2 | | 57.8 | | (17.9) | | 57.6 |
| Net earnings (loss) for the period attributable to Superior per share, basic and diluted | $ | (0.00) | $ | 0.20 | $ | (0.15) | $ | 0.17 |
| Adjusted EBITDA from operations (1) | | 164.6 | | 167.9 | | 481.2 | | 439.8 |
| Adjusted EBITDA (1) | | 159.2 | | 162.3 | | 455.5 | | 414.7 |
| Adjusted EBITDA per share (1)(2) | $ | 0.58 | $ | 0.58 | $ | 1.64 | $ | 1.60 |
| Adjusted EBTDA per share (1)(2) | $ | 0.49 | $ | 0.49 | $ | 1.27 | $ | 1.25 |
| Net cash flows from operating activities | | 24.2 | | 28.2 | | 274.1 | | 405.9 |
| Net cash flows from operating activities per share, diluted (2) | $ | 0.09 | $ | 0.10 | $ | 0.99 | $ | 1.57 |
| Cash dividends declared on common shares | | 6.9 | | 32.9 | | 105.5 | | 98.6 |
| Cash dividends declared per share | C$ | 0.045 | C$ | 0.18 | C$ | 0.585 | C$ | 0.72 |
(1) Adjusted EBITDA from operations, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBTDA per share are Non-GAAP Financial Measures. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Ratios” section below.
(2) The weighted average number of shares outstanding for the three months ended and year ended December 31, 2024 was 275.2 million and 277.7 million respectively (three months ended and year ended December 31, 2023 was 278.6 million and 259.0 million respectively). The weighted average number of shares assumes the exchange of the issued and outstanding preferred shares into common shares. There were no other dilutive instruments for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
2025 Expectations
- Superior is expecting Adjusted EBITDA (1) growth in 2025 of approximately 8% compared to 2024 Adjusted EBITDA (1) of $455.5 million. See below for key assumptions related to this expectation:
| | 2025 Expected Growth |
| North American Propane Adjusted EBITDA (1) (including $20 million from Superior Delivers) | 5% to 10% |
| U.S. Propane Distribution Adjusted EBITDA (1) | 1% to 5% |
| Canadian Propane Distribution Adjusted EBITDA (1) | -1% to -5% (1% to 5% constant currency basis) |
| Wholesale Propane Distribution Adjusted EBITDA (1) | 1% to 5% |
| Superior Delivers Adjusted EBITDA (1)(2) (not included in segments) | ~ $20 million |
| CNG Adjusted EBITDA (1) | 5% to 10% |
| Capital Expenditures Including Lease Additions (1) | ~ $150 million |
| Corporate Operating Costs (1) | ~ $25 million |
| Share Repurchases | ~C$135 million |
| Leverage Ratio (1) | ~ 0.5x reduction |
(1) Adjusted EBITDA, Capital Expenditures and Corporate Operating Costs are Non-GAAP Financial Measures. Leverage Ratio is a Non-GAAP ratio. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Ratios” section below.
(2) The $20 million 2025 expected contribution from Superior Delivers is broken down as follows: 1) 60% to 70% U.S. Propane Distribution, 25% to 30% Canadian Propane Distribution, 5% to 10% Wholesale Propane Distribution)
Additional key assumptions for the above forward-looking information can be found under the “Financial Outlook” section in Superior’s 2024 Fourth Quarter MD&A.
Propane and Superior Delivers Initiative Update
- The company continues to expect its Superior Delivers initiative will contribute at least $50 million of incremental Adjusted EBITDA by 2027.
- Superior Delivers is already driving financial performance with the following initiatives contributing in early 2025: improving low-margin customer contracts; reducing the number of inefficient customer tank fills; bulk plant and trucking fleet rationalization; and, further leveraging the Wholesale division by entering new markets.
- In total, these and other initiatives, are expected to contribute approximately $20 million to 2025 Adjusted EBITDA.
Compressed Natural Gas (Certarus) Update
- Achieved Adjusted EBITDA of $39.2 million in Q4 2024, a 13% increase compared to Q4 2023 Adjusted EBITDA of $34.7 million.
- Delivered volumes of 29,406,980 MMBTU in 2024, an increase of 21% compared to pro forma 24,283,131 MMBTU in the prior year and MMBTU per average MSU increased approximately 3% compared with the prior year (37,847 vs 36,848).
- Continued to increase industry leading fleet of mobile storage units (“MSUs”), adding 45 units during the quarter for a total of 842 as of December 31, 2024.
- Capital expenditure in the CNG division is expected to be approximately $50 million in 2025.
Quarterly Dividend and Common Share Repurchases
- During Q4 2024, Superior repurchased 10.4 million common shares, or approximately 4.2% of its outstanding public float, at an average cost of C$6.43 per share.
- Consistent with its previously communicated capital allocation strategy, Superior expects to continue to allocate the ~C$35 million quarterly savings from the previously-announced revised dividend to share repurchases until it has reached the limit of 10% of the public float under its outstanding NCIB, subject to the company’s discretion.
- Superior is declaring a quarterly common share dividend of C$0.045 per share, payable to shareholders of record as of March 31, 2025. The common share dividend will be payable on April 15, 2025.
Debt and Leverage Update
- The company continues to focus on managing both Net Debt and its Leverage Ratio. The company’s Leverage Ratio at December 31, 2024 was 4.1x, compared to 3.9x at December 31, 2023. The increase in the Leverage Ratio was due to lower Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA and increased credit facility borrowings related to share buy-backs, partially offset by the impact of a strong U.S. dollar on the translation of Canadian denominated debt. The company’s medium-term Leverage Ratio target of ~3.0x remains in place.
MD&A and Financial Statements
Superior’s MD&A, the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes to the audited Consolidated Financial Statements as at and for the year ended December 31, 2024 provide a detailed explanation of Superior’s operating results. These documents are available online on Superior’s website at Superior Plus Financial Reports and on Superior’s profile at SEDAR+.
2024 Fourth Quarter Conference Call
A conference call and webcast to discuss the 2024 fourth quarter and full year financial results will be held at 8:30 AM EST on Thursday, February 27, 2025. To register as a participant, please use the following link: Register Here. The webcast will be available for replay on Superior's website at: https://www.superiorplus.com/ under the Events section.
About Superior Plus
Superior is a leading North American distributor of propane, compressed natural gas, renewable energy and related products and services, servicing approximately 770,000 customer locations in the U.S. and Canada. Through its primary businesses, propane distribution and CNG, RNG and hydrogen distribution, Superior safely delivers low carbon 1 fuels to residential, commercial, utility, agricultural and industrial customers not connected to a pipeline. By displacing more carbon intensive fuels, Superior is a leader in the energy transition and helping customers lower operating costs and improve environmental performance.
1 Superior defines ‘low carbon’ and ‘lower carbon’ fuels as those with a lower carbon intensity than fossil fuels that may be utilized in the same application (e.g. diesel, gasoline).
Forward-Looking Information
Forward-looking information in this document includes: Superior’s future financial position, expected 2025 Adjusted EBITDA growth, growth of free cash-flow, expected EBITDA impact of Superior Delivers, expected 2025 capital expenditures, expected 2025 Corporate Operating Costs, near term CNG business conditions and CNG demand, anticipated increases in shareholder value, improved efficiency of the Propane business, expected improvement to operating margins, increased financial flexibility resulting from capital allocation decisions, growth of propane customer base, improved propane asset efficiency, expected increased customer profitability, timing and results of Superior Delivers program, expected Leverage Ratio at 2025 and the company’s mid-term target leverage ratio.
Forward-looking information is provided to provide information about management’s expectations and plans for the future and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information herein is based on various assumptions, and expectations that Superior believes are reasonable in the circumstances. No assurance can be given that these assumptions and expectations will prove correct. Those assumptions and expectations are based on information currently available to Superior, including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and the historic performance of Superior’s businesses and businesses it has acquired. Superior cautions that the assumptions used to prepare such forward-looking information could prove to be incorrect or inaccurate.
In preparing the forward-looking information, Superior considered numerous economic and market assumptions regarding foreign exchange rates, competition, expected average weather and economic performance of each region where Superior and CNG operate, including key assumptions listed under the “Financial Outlook” sections in Superior’s 2024 Fourth Quarter MD&A.
The forward-looking information is also subject to the risks and uncertainties set forth below. By its very nature, forward-looking information involves numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, both general and specific. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, as many important factors are beyond our control, Superior’s actual performance and financial results may vary materially from those estimates and expectations contemplated, expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include the success and of, and timing to achieve, the initiatives being pursued pursuant to the Superior Delivers program, ongoing capital requirements of the businesses, weather differing materially from the five year average weather, market conditions, demand and competition for CNG in jurisdictions where CNG operates, economic activity in the oil and gas sector, commodity prices, risks relating to incorrect assessments of value when making acquisitions, failure to realize expected cost-savings and synergies from acquisitions, increases in debt service charges, , the loss of key personnel, fluctuations in foreign currency and exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, increasing rates of inflation, inadequate insurance coverage, liability for cash taxes, counterparty risk, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, reduced customer demand, operational risks involving our facilities and equipment, force majeure, labour relations matters, our ability to access external sources of debt and equity capital, and the risks identified in (i) our MD&A under the heading “Risk Factors” and (ii) Superior’s most recent Annual Information Form. The preceding list of assumptions, risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive.
When relying on our forward-looking information to make decisions with respect to Superior, investors and others should carefully consider the preceding factors, other uncertainties and potential events. Any forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this document and, except as required by law, Superior does not undertake to update or revise such information to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Ratios
Throughout this news release, Superior has identified specific terms, including ratios, that it uses that are not standardized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards (“Non-GAAP Financial Measures”) and, therefore may not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. Information to reconcile these Non-GAAP Financial Measures to the most directly comparable financial measures in Superior’s annual financial statements is provided below. Certain additional disclosures for these Non-GAAP Financial Measures, including an explanation of the composition of these financial measures, how they provide helpful information to an investor, and any additional purposes management uses for them, are incorporated by reference from the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations” section in Superior’s 2024 Fourth Quarter MD&A dated February 26, 2025, available on www.sedarplus.com.
Adjusted EBITDA is consistent with the Segment profit (loss) disclosed in Note 26 Reportable Segment Information of the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. Adjusted EBITDA from operations is the sum of U.S. Propane, Canadian Propane, Wholesale Propane and CNG Segment profit (loss). Adjusted EBITDA per share is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by the weighted average shares assuming the exchange of the issued and outstanding preferred shares into common shares.
Superior changed the definition of Adjusted EBITDA from its historical definition to exclude the realized gains (losses) on foreign currency forward contracts and include unrealized gains (losses) related to equity derivatives. The foreign currency forward contracts were used to provide a hedge on the translation of U.S. denominated Adjusted EBITDA to Canadian dollars. As a result of the change in presentation currency, management is no longer hedging U.S. denominated Adjusted EBITDA and is excluding these realized gains (losses) from Adjusted EBITDA as there is no longer an offsetting gain (loss) on the translation of U.S. denominated Adjusted EBITDA. Management is currently not entering into similar instruments related to the translation of Canadian denominated Adjusted EBITDA. This change has been made retrospectively. In addition to the change in presentation currency, effective January 1, 2024, Superior implemented hedge accounting for Superior’s long-term incentive plan and related equity derivatives, and now includes these unrealized gains/losses as part of Adjusted EBITDA. The intention of this change in accounting policy is to reduce some of the volatility related to changes in Superior’s share price on the long-term incentive costs.
Adjusted EBTDA is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA less cash interest expense. Cash interest expense is the sum of interest on borrowings and interest on lease liability which are found in Note 19 Supplemental Disclosure of Consolidated Statements of Net Earnings (Loss) in the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. Cash interest expense for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023 was $24.9 million, $101.8 million, $27.0 million and $90.8 million, respectively. Adjusted EBTDA per share is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBTDA by the weighted average shares assuming the exchange of the issued and outstanding preferred shares into common shares.
Corporate Operating Costs are defined as Corporate Segment profit (loss) disclosed as Note 26 Reportable Segment Information of the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Capital Expenditures are inclusive of purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets and lease additions.
Leverage Ratio is determined by dividing Superior’s Net Debt by its Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA, both of these components are Non-GAAP Financial Measures. Proforma Adjusted EBITDA is Adjusted EBITDA calculated on a 12-month basis giving effect to acquisitions adjusted to the first day of the calculation period. Proforma Adjusted EBITDA was calculated by taking the sum of the year ended December 31, 2024 Adjusted EBITDA ($455.5 million). Net Debt is calculated as the sum of borrowings before deferred financing fees ($1,717.1 million) and lease liabilities ($165.3 million) reduced by cash and cash equivalents ($17.1 million) as at December 31, 2024.
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CONTACT: Superior Plus Corp.
Website:www.superiorplus.com
E-mail:investor-relations@superiorplus.com
Toll-Free: 1-866-490-PLUS (7587)Chris Lichtenheldt, Vice President, Investor Relations
Tel: (905) 285-4988Carolyn Skinner, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
Tel: (416) 428-9186
KEYWORD: NORTH AMERICA CANADA
