Cascades Reports Results for the First Quarter of 2025

KINGSEY FALLS, QC, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Cascades Inc. (TSX: CAS) reports its unaudited financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025.

Q1 2025 Highlights

• Sales of $1,154 million (compared with $1,211 million in Q4 2024 and $1,109 million in Q1 2024);
• Operating income of $50 million (compared with $16 million in Q4 2024 and $9 million in Q1 2024);
• Net earnings per common share of $0.07 (compared with a net loss per common share of ($0.13) in Q4 2024 and a net loss per common share of ($0.20) in Q1 2024);
• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA (A)¹) of $125 million (compared with $146 million in Q4 2024 and $103 million in Q1 2024);
• Adjusted net earnings per common share¹ of $0.13 (compared with adjusted net earnings per common share¹ of $0.25 in Q4 2024 and adjusted net loss per common share¹$0.00 in Q1 2024);
• Net debt¹ of $2,216 million as of March 31, 2025 (compared with $2,096 million as of December 31, 2024). Net debt to EBITDA (A) ratio¹ of 4.2x, unchanged from December 31, 2024;
• Total capital expenditures, net of disposals, totaled $36 million in Q1 2025, compared to $29 million in Q4 2024 and $41 million in Q1 2024. The Corporation's 2025 forecasted capital expenditures before disposals will be approximately $175 million.

Hugues Simon, President and CEO, commented: "Our first quarter performance was driven by lower volumes across our businesses as uncertainty regarding tariffs led to a deterioration in consumer and business sentiment beginning in mid-February, resulting in lower sales and profitability levels sequentially. Results were similarly impacted by usual higher seasonal energy costs, increased operational costs due to lower production, and higher transportation costs. Offsetting these factors were favourable average selling prices and raw material costs across our businesses. Broadly, the depreciation of the Canadian dollar benefited quarterly results."

Discussing near-term outlook, Mr. Simon commented, "We are expecting stronger second quarter results. The sequential improvement in packaging will reflect benefits from the implementation of previously announced price increases. We expect improved tissue performance to be driven by volume growth, with positive retail tissue trends and a pick up in Away-from-Home, along with pricing initiatives, the benefits of which are expected to mitigate higher raw material costs. Broadly, continued uncertainty in the macro-economic environment may impact future demand levels across North America and our outlook."

Financial Summary

Selected consolidated information

Segmented sales

Segmented operating income (loss)

Segmented EBITDA (A)¹

Analysis of results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 (compared to the same period last year)

The Corporation's first quarter sales of $1,154 million increased by $45 million compared with the same period last year. This increase was driven by consolidated net benefits of $47 million from higher selling prices and $45 million from a more favourable foreign exchange. These were partially offset by $48 million from lower volumes.

The first quarter EBITDA (A)¹ totaled $125 million, an increase of $22 million, or 21%, from the $103 million generated in the same period last year. This increase was driven by net benefits of $47 million from higher selling prices, mainly in the packaging products segment and a more favourable exchange rate. These were partially offset by net impacts of $10 million from higher production and energy costs and $15 million from lower volumes.

The main specific items, before income taxes, that impacted our first quarter of 2025 operating income and/or net earnings were:

• $1 million of impairment charge on some equipment related to a closed facility in Canada (operating income and net earnings);
• $4 million of costs related to a legal settlement with a supplier involved in the construction of Bear Island (operating income and net earnings);
• $5 million of restructuring costs related to a plant closure in the United States and corporate organizational changes (operating income and net earnings);
• $4 million unrealized gain on financial instruments (operating income and net earnings);

For the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, the Corporation posted net earnings of $7 million, or $0.07 per common share, compared to a net loss of $(20) million, or ($0.20) per common share, in the same period of 2024. On an adjusted basis¹, the Corporation posted net earnings of $13 million in the first quarter of 2025, or $0.13 per common share, compared to a net loss of less than a million dollars, or $0.00 per common share, in the same period of 2024.

Dividend on common shares and normal course issuer bid

The Board of Directors of Cascades declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per common share to be paid on June 5, 2025 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 22, 2025. This dividend is an "eligible dividend" as per the Income Tax Act (R.C.S. (1985), Canada). During the first quarter of 2025, Cascades purchased no common shares for cancellation.

2025 First Quarter Results Conference Call Details

Management will discuss the 2025 first quarter financial results during a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. ET. The call can be accessed by dialing 1-800-990-4777 (international 1-289-819-1299). The conference call, including the investor presentation, will be broadcast live on the Cascades website (www.cascades.com) under the "Investors" section. A replay of the call will be available on the Cascades website and may also be accessed by phone until June 8, 2025 by dialing 1-888-660-6345 (international 1-289-819-1450), access code 38876 #.

Founded in 1964, Cascades offers sustainable, innovative and value-added packaging, hygiene and recovery solutions. The company employs approximately 9,600 women and men across a network of 68 operating facilities, including 18 Recovery and Recycling facilities which are part of Corporate Activities and joint ventures managed by the Corporation, in North America. Driven by its participative management, half a century of experience in recycling, and continuous research and development efforts, Cascades continues to provide innovative products that customers have come to rely on, while contributing to the well-being of people, communities and the entire planet. Cascades' shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CAS. Certain statements in this release, including statements regarding future results and performance, are forward-looking statements based on current expectations. The accuracy of such statements is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, but not limited to, the effect of general economic conditions, decreases in demand for the Corporation's products, increases in raw material costs, fluctuations in selling prices and adverse changes in general market and industry conditions and other factors.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (LOSS)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

SEGMENTED INFORMATION

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Corporation announced organizational changes designed to support its strategic growth. These changes involve the combination of the Containerboard and Specialty Products activities into a single operational unit. Since January 2025, the Corporation's operations are managed in two segments: Packaging Products and Tissue Papers. The comparative figures have been restated to conform with the current year's presentation. The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Corporation's accounting policies described in the most recent Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The Corporation's operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker (CODM). The Chief Executive Officer has authority for resource allocation and management of the Corporation's performance and is therefore the CODM. The CODM assesses the performance of each reportable segment based on sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude specific items (EBITDA (A)). The CODM considers EBITDA (A) to be the best performance measure of the Corporation's activities.

Sales for each segment are prepared on the same basis as those of the Corporation. Inter-segment operations are recorded on the same basis as sales to third parties, which are at fair market value.

EBITDA (A) does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS Accounting Standards; accordingly, it may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. Investors should not view EBITDA (A) as an alternative measure to, for example, net earnings, or as a measure of operating results, which are IFRS Accounting Standards measures.

Sales by business segment are shown in the following table:

EBITDA (A) by business segment is reconciled to IFRS Accounting Standards measure, namely operating income (loss), and is shown in the following table:

Payments for property, plant and equipment by business segment are shown in the following table:

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ON NON-IFRS ACCOUNTING STANDARDS MEASURES AND OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES

SPECIFIC ITEMS

The Corporation incurs some specific items that adversely or positively affect its operating results. We believe it is useful for readers to be aware of these items as they provide additional information to measure performance, compare the Corporation's results between periods, and assess operating results and liquidity, notwithstanding these specific items. Management believes these specific items are not necessarily reflective of the Corporation's underlying business operations in measuring and comparing its performance and analyzing future trends. Our definition of specific items may differ from that of other corporations and some of these items may arise in the future and may reduce the Corporation's available cash.

They include, but are not limited to, charges for (reversals of) impairment of assets, restructuring gains or costs, loss on refinancing and repurchase of long-term debt, some deferred tax asset provisions or reversals, premiums paid on repurchase of long-term debt, gains or losses on the acquisition or sale of a business unit, gains or losses on the share of results of associates and joint ventures, unrealized gains or losses on derivative financial instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting, unrealized gains or losses on interest rate hedge instruments and option fair value revaluation, foreign exchange gains or losses on long-term debt and financial instruments, fair value revaluation gains or losses on investments, specific items of discontinued operations and other significant items of an unusual, non-cash or non-recurring nature.

RECONCILIATION AND USES OF NON-IFRS ACCOUNTING STANDARDS MEASURES AND OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES

To provide more information for evaluating the Corporation's performance, the financial information included in this analysis contains certain data that are not performance measures under IFRS Accounting Standards ("non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures"), which are also calculated on an adjusted basis to exclude specific items. We believe that providing certain key performance and capital measures, as well as non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures, is useful to both Management and investors, as they provide additional information to measure the performance and financial position of the Corporation. This also increases the transparency and clarity of the financial information. The following non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures and other financial measures are used in our financial disclosures:

Non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures

• Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or EBITDA (A): represents the operating income (as published in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss) of the Consolidated Financial Statements) before depreciation and amortization excluding specific items. Measure used to assess recurring operating performance and the contribution of each segment on a comparable basis.
• Adjusted net earnings: Measure used to assess the Corporation's consolidated financial performance on a comparable basis.
• Adjusted cash flow: Measure used to assess the Corporation's capacity to generate cash flows to meet financial obligations and/or discretionary items such as share repurchases, dividend increases and strategic investments.
• Free cash flow: Measure used to calculate the excess cash the Corporation generates by subtracting capital expenditures (excluding strategic projects) from the EBITDA (A).
• Working capital: Measure used to assess the short-term liquidity of the Corporation.

Other financial measures

• Total debt: Measure used to calculate all the Corporation's debt, including long-term debt and bank loans. Often put in relation to equity to calculate the debt-to-equity ratio.
• Net debt: Measure used to calculate the Corporation's total debt less cash and cash equivalents. Often put in relation to EBITDA (A) to calculate net debt to EBITDA (A) ratio.

Non-IFRS Accounting Standards ratios

• Net debt to EBITDA (A) ratio: Ratio used to assess the Corporation's ability to pay its debt and evaluate financial leverage.
• EBITDA (A) margin: Ratio used to assess operating performance and the contribution of each segment on a comparable basis calculated as a percentage of sales.
• Adjusted net earnings per common share: Ratio used to assess the Corporation's consolidated financial performance on a comparable basis.
• Ratio of net debt / (total equity and net debt): Ratio used to evaluate the Corporation's financial leverage and the risk to Shareholders.
• Working capital as a percentage of sales: Ratio used to assess the Corporation's operating liquidity performance.
• Adjusted cash flow per common share: Ratio used to assess the Corporation's financial flexibility.
• Free cash flow ratio: Ratio used to measure the liquidity and efficiency of how much more cash the Corporation generates than it uses to run the business by subtracting capital expenditures (excluding strategic projects) from the EBITDA (A) calculated as a percentage of sales.

Non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures and other financial measures are mainly derived from the consolidated financial statements, but do not have meanings prescribed by IFRS Accounting Standards. These measures have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered on their own or as a substitute for an analysis of our results as reported under IFRS Accounting Standards. In addition, our definitions of non-IFRS Accounting Standards measures and other financial measures may differ from those of other corporations. Any such modification or reformulation may be significant.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Corporation announced organizational changes designed to support its strategic growth. These changes involve the combination of the Containerboard and Specialty Products activities into a single operational unit. Since January 2025, the Corporation's operations are managed in two segments: Packaging Products and Tissue Papers. The comparative figures have been restated to conform with the current year's presentation.

The CODM assesses the performance of each reportable segment based on sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude specific items (EBITDA (A)¹). The CODM considers EBITDA (A)¹ to be the best performance measure of the Corporation's activities.

EBITDA (A)¹ by business segment is reconciled to IFRS Accounting Standards measure, namely operating income (loss), and is shown in the following table:

The following table reconciles net earnings (loss) and net earnings (loss) per common share, as reported, with adjusted net earnings (loss)¹ and adjusted net earnings (loss) per common share¹:

The following table reconciles cash flow from operating activities with EBITDA (A)¹:

The following table reconciles cash flow from operating activities with cash flow from operating activities (excluding changes in non-cash working capital components) and adjusted cash flow from operating activities¹. It also reconciles adjusted cash flow from operating activities¹ to adjusted cash flow generated (used)¹, which is also calculated on a per common share basis:

The following table reconciles total debt¹ and net debt¹ with the ratio of net debt to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA (A))¹:

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SOURCE Cascades Inc.