Q3 numbers were released today. Sales and Earnings down from last year.
Some excerpts from the news release:
Sales 34,947
Gross margin 8,575
As a percentage of sales 24.5%
Basic and diluted net income per unit 0.181
The outlook for Coast's business continues to be cautious. On the retail side, consumers are increasingly careful about major purchases and the retail pricing environment is expected to remain extremely competitive, putting downward pressure on sales and margins. In the contract segment, while the number of building permits issued and new housing starts have improved year-over-year, construction activity has not increased as quickly as expected.
"Given that we expect economic growth in Canada to remain sluggish through the balance of 2010 and well into 2011, we do not anticipate a marked improvement in our sales revenues over the short-term," said Lawson. "However, we do expect that we will continue to benefit from our balanced business model, as well as the essential nature of the products we sell. We also remain confident in our ability to grow our business when market conditions improve and to continue to deliver solid returns for our investors."
As previously announced, the Fund's conversion to a publicly traded corporation is expected to be completed on or about January 1, 2011. Common shares of the new public entity, Coast Wholesale Appliances Inc. (Coast Inc.), will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CWA". The Fund expects to continue to pay unitholders a monthly cash distribution of $0.0416 per unit up to the November 2010 distribution, which will be payable on December 15, 2010. Beginning in 2011, it anticipates that the new entity will pay a monthly dividend approximately equal to 50% of net income, which management expects will initially translate to $0.035 ($0.42 per annum) per share of Coast Inc. |
