CAE today reported revenue of $825.6 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with $722.0 million in the first quarter last year. First quarter net income attributable to equity holders was $61.5 million ($0.23 per share) compared to $69.4 million ($0.26 per share) last year. Net income before specific items(3) in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 was $63.2 million ($0.24 per share).
First quarter segment operating income(4) was $110.9 million (13.4% of revenue) compared with $98.5 million (13.6% of revenue) in the first quarter of last year. Segment operating income before specific items(5) in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 was $113.3 million (13.7% of revenue). All financial information is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
“CAE had a good start to the fiscal year with 14 percent revenue growth, 15 percent higher operating income, and over $940 million of orders for a $9.4 billion backlog,” said Marc Parent, CAE’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Performance was led by Civil, which delivered 29 percent operating income growth and showed continued strong demand for CAE's innovative training solutions. The Bombardier Business Aircraft Training Business integration is progressing well, and we signed long-term training contracts with airline partners including LATAM, SAS and Air Europa. In Defence, we had strong top-line growth and lower operating income, which reflect quarterly variability and an income growth profile more heavily weighted to the second-half of the year. The Defence pipeline remained strong with over $4.2 billion of bids and proposals pending customer decisions. In Healthcare, revenue momentum from new products and an expanded salesforce continued into the first quarter. As we look to the remainder of the fiscal year, our outlook for CAE’s annual growth remains unchanged. In keeping with our capital allocation priorities, and underscoring our positive long-term view, I am pleased to announce that CAE’s Board of Directors has approved a one cent or 10% increase to CAE’s quarterly dividend, which becomes 11 cents per share, effective September 30, 2019. This represents CAE’s ninth consecutive dividend increase in as many years.”
Summary of consolidated results
| (amounts in millions, except operating margins and per share amounts) | Q1-2020 | Q1-2019 | Variance % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $ | 825.6 | $ | 722.0 | 14% |
| Segment operating income (SOI) | $ | 110.9 | $ | 98.5 | 13% |
| Operating margins | % | 13.4 | % | 13.6 | |
| SOI before specific items | $ | 113.3 | $ | 98.5 | 15% |
| Operating margins before specific items | % | 13.7 | % | 13.6 | |
| Net income | $ | 63.0 | $ | 71.6 | (12%) |
| Net income attributable to equity holders of the Company | $ | 61.5 | $ | 69.4 | (11%) |
| Earnings per share (EPS) | $ | 0.23 | $ | 0.26 | (12%) |
| Net income before specific items | $ | 63.2 | $ | 69.4 | (9%) |
| EPS before specific items | $ | 0.24 | $ | 0.26 | (8%) |
| Total backlog | $ | 9,362.2 | $ | 8,046.3 | 16% |
Civil Aviation Training Solutions (Civil)
First quarter Civil revenue was $477.6 million, up 11% compared to the same quarter last year. Segment operating income was $98.6 million (20.6% of revenue) compared to $78.3 million (18.2% of revenue) in the first quarter last year. First quarter segment operating income before specific items was $101.0 million (21.1% of revenue), up 29% compared to the first quarter last year. First quarter Civil training centre utilization(6) was 76%.
During the quarter, Civil signed training solutions contracts valued at $693.8 million, including multi-year pilot training agreements with airlines including LATAM, SAS and Air Europa; and a new 5-year pilot training contract with Philippines AirAsia, which incorporates the highly innovative and data-driven CAE RiseTM Training System. Civil sold nine full-flight simulators (FFSs) during the quarter, including three to Southwest Airlines for the Boeing 737MAX, one to Korean Air for the Airbus A330, and one to Hawaiian Airlines for the Boeing 787.
The Civil book-to-sales ratio was 1.45x for the quarter and 1.54x for the last 12 months. The Civil backlog at the end of the quarter was a $5.1 billion.
Summary of Civil Aviation Training Solutions results
| (amounts in millions, except operating margins, SEU and FFSs deployed) | Q1-2020 | Q1-2019 | Variance % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $ | 477.6 | $ | 430.9 | 11% |
| Segment operating income | $ | 98.6 | $ | 78.3 | 26% |
| Operating margins | % | 20.6 | % | 18.2 | |
| SOI before specific items | $ | 101.0 | $ | 78.3 | 29% |
| Operating margins before specific items | % | 21.1 | % | 18.2 | |
| Total backlog | $ | 5,090.3 | $ | 4,148.2 | 23% |
| Simulator equivalent unit (SEU)(7) | 242 | 213 | 14% | ||
| FFSs deployed | 294 | 260 | 13% |
Defence and Security (Defence)
First quarter Defence revenue was $320.5 million, up 19% compared to the same quarter last year and segment operating income was $15.1 million (4.7% of revenue), down 30% compared to the first quarter last year, reflecting quarterly variability and an income growth profile more heavily weighted to the second-half of the year.
During the quarter, Defence booked orders for $219.5 million, including contracts with Lockheed Martin for C-130J simulators for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps. Other notable orders include a contract with L3 MAS to continue providing in-service support for the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18 aircraft, and contracts to upgrade the German Eurofighter and Tornado aircraft simulators. New awards also included contracts for Naval training solutions for the Canadian Surface Combatant program and upgrades to the Swedish Navy’s Naval Warfare Training System.
The Defence book-to-sales ratio was 0.68x for the quarter and 0.83x for the last 12 months (excluding contract options). The Defence backlog, including options and CAE’s interest in joint ventures, at the end of the quarter was $4.3 billion. The Defence pipeline remains strong with over $4.2 billion of bids and proposals pending customer decisions.
Summary of Defence and Security results
| (amounts in millions, except operating margins) | Q1-2020 | Q1-2019 | Variance % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $ | 320.5 | $ | 268.3 | 19% |
| Segment operating income | $ | 15.1 | $ | 21.5 | (30%) |
| Operating margins | % | 4.7 | % | 8.0 | |
| Total backlog | $ | 4,271.9 | $ | 3,898.1 | 10% |
Healthcare
First quarter Healthcare revenue was $27.5 million compared to $22.8 million in the same quarter last year, and first quarter segment operating loss was $2.8 million, compared to a loss of $1.3 million in the first quarter last year.
Healthcare announced a new CAE Centre of Excellence for simulation-based education at ESPA-Montreal, the first healthcare education and industry partnership devised to impact patient care in Quebec, Canada. As well, during the quarter, Healthcare delivered a custom simulator to Baylis Medical to support its cardiovascular transseptal puncture systems for physicians. As well, it collaborated with the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing to develop courseware packages for student nurses that can be practiced with the CAE Juno manikin.
Summary of Healthcare results
| (amounts in millions, except operating margins) | Q1-2020 | Q1-2019 | Variance % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $ | 27.5 | $ | 22.8 | 21% |
| Segment operating loss | $ | (2.8) | $ | (1.3) | (115%) |
| Operating margins | % | — | % | — |
Additional financial highlights
Free cash flow(8) was negative $102.1 million for the quarter compared to negative $85.8 million in the first quarter last year. The decrease in free cash flow results mainly from a higher investment in non-cash working capital, partially offset by an increase in cash provided by operating activities and lower maintenance capital expenditures. CAE usually sees a higher level of investment in non-cash working capital accounts during the first half of the fiscal year and tends to see a portion of these investments reverse in the second half.
Income taxes this quarter were $13.0 million, representing an effective tax rate of 17%, compared to 13% for the first quarter last year. The tax rate was higher due to the impact of tax audits in Canada last year, partially offset by a change in the mix of income from various jurisdictions.
Net finance expense this quarter was $34.9 million, $18.9 million higher than the first quarter of fiscal 2019, mainly from higher interest on long-term debt due to the issuance of unsecured senior notes in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 to fund the acquisition of the Bombardier BAT business, and higher interest on lease liabilities as a result of the adoption of IFRS 16.
Growth and maintenance capital expenditures(9) totaled $89.0 million this quarter.
Net debt(10) at the end of the quarter was $2,312.7 million for a net debt-to-capital ratio(11) of 49.4%. This compares to net debt of $1,882.2 million and a net debt-to-capital ratio of 43.9% at the end of the preceding quarter. Excluding the impacts of the adoption of IFRS 16, net debt would have been $2,058.4 million this quarter for a net debt-to-capital ratio of 46.3%.
Return on capital employed (ROCE)(12) was 11.9% this quarter compared to 12.6% in the first quarter last year, before specific items. Excluding the impacts of the adoption of IFRS 16, ROCE before specific items would have been 12.0% this quarter.
CAE will pay a dividend of 11 cents per share effective September 30, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 13, 2019.
During the three months ended June 30, 2019, CAE repurchased and cancelled a total of 58,131 common shares under the Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB), at a weighted average price of $34.41 per common share, for a total consideration of $2.0 million.
Management outlook for fiscal year 2020 unchanged
CAE’s core markets benefit from secular growth and the Company expects to continue exceeding underlying market growth in fiscal year 2020. In Civil, the Company expects to continue building on its positive momentum in training, increasing market share and securing new customer partnerships with its innovative training solutions. Civil expects operating income to grow in the upper 20 percent range on continued strong demand for its training solutions, including maintaining a leading share of FFS sales, and the integration of the recently acquired Bombardier BAT business. In Defence, the Company expects mid to high single-digit percentage operating income growth as it delivers from backlog and continues to win opportunities from a large pipeline. CAE expects Healthcare to achieve double-digit growth under its new leadership, expanded salesforce, and the continued launch of innovative products. Funding growth opportunities remains CAE’s top capital allocation priority and continues to be driven by and supportive of growing customer training outsourcings in its large core markets. The Company prioritizes market-led capital investments that offer sustainable and profitable growth and accretive returns and support its strategy to be the recognized worldwide training partner of choice. CAE currently expects total annual capital expenditures to increase modestly, by approximately 10 to 15 percent, in fiscal 2020, primarily to keep pace with growing demand for training services from its existing customers and to secure new long-term customer contracts. Management’s expectations are based on the prevailing positive market conditions and customer receptivity to CAE’s training solutions as well as material assumptions contained in this press release, quarterly MD&A and in CAE’s fiscal year 2019 MD&A.
Corporate Social Responsibility
CAE creates significant value for customers, shareholders, and its employees. CAE products and services contribute to improvements in aviation safety, ensure defence forces are mission-ready, and help medical professionals save lives-a noble purpose that is a source of pride for CAE’s more than 10,000 employees worldwide. As the largest civil aviation training company in the world, and the only pure‑play aviation training company, it has an unwavering customer focus and commitment to innovation. CAE also plays an important role developing talent in its industry. “Women account for less than 5 percent of the global pilot pool and yet over 300,000 new pilots will be needed in civil aviation over the next decade,” said Marc Parent. “As the aviation training leader, we take it upon ourselves to ensure the industry accesses the full available talent pool. Among several exciting CAE initiatives, we launched the CAE Women in Flight scholarship to encourage more women to consider becoming pilots.” Bolstering talent is one of CAE’s top strategic priorities and the Company continually strives to be an employer of choice, ensuring that it engages and attracts the best people. Among several programs, CAE launched a Diversity and Inclusion initiative aimed firstly at gender balance. The objective is to ensure that women at CAE can realize their full potential as equal partners with men in the workforce and have every opportunity for advancement. CAE was selected for the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which highlights 230 firms globally that are considered trailblazers in their commitment to transparency in workplace gender reporting.
CAE’s full report can be accessed here: 2019 Annual Activity and Corporate Social Responsibility Report.
IFRS 16 - Leases
Effective April 1, 2019, CAE adopted IFRS 16 - Leases, which introduces a single lessee accounting model and eliminates the classification of leases as either operating or finance leases. The main impact of IFRS 16 to CAE is the recognition of a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for substantially all leases. This change results in a decrease of our operating lease expense and an increase of our finance and depreciation expenses. The financial results reported in the press release for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 do not reflect the accounting changes required by IFRS 16 as the Company adopted the standard using the modified retrospective application as of April 1, 2019. For more detailed information, including the expected impacts of the transition to IFRS 16, refer to Note 2 of the interim consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2019.
Detailed information
Readers are strongly advised to view a more detailed discussion of our results by segment in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and CAE’s consolidated financial statements which are posted on our website at www.cae.com/investors.
CAE’s consolidated financial statements and MD&A for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 have been filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and are available on our website (www.cae.com). They have also been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on their website (www.sec.gov). Holders of CAE’s securities may also request a printed copy of the Company's consolidated financial statements and MD&A free of charge by contacting Investor Relations ([email protected]).
Conference call Q1 FY2020
Marc Parent, CAE President and CEO; Sonya Branco, Vice President, Finance, and CFO; and Andrew Arnovitz, Vice President, Strategy and Investor Relations will conduct an earnings conference call today at 1:30 p.m. ET. The call is intended for analysts, institutional investors and the media. Participants can listen to the conference by dialling + 1 877 586 3392 or +1 416 981 9024. The conference call will also be audio webcast live for the public at www.cae.com.
CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 220,000 civil and defence crewmembers, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide.
Caution concerning limitations of summary earnings press release
This summary earnings press release contains limited information meant to assist the reader in assessing CAE’s performance but it is not a suitable source of information for readers who are unfamiliar with CAE and is not in any way a substitute for the Company’s financial statements, notes to the financial statements, and MD&A reports.
Caution concerning forward-looking statements
Certain statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements include, without limitation, statements relating to our fiscal 2020 financial guidance (including revenues, capital investment and margins) and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results or strategies and normally contain words like "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "continue", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "strategy", "future" and similar expressions. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties associated with our business which may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking statements. While these statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions regarding historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as there is a risk that they may not be accurate. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release describe our expectations as of August 14, 2019 and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as required by law, we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking information and statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Except as otherwise indicated by CAE, forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any special items or of any dispositions, monetizations, mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or other transactions that may occur after August 14, 2019. The financial impact of these transactions and special items can be complex and depends on the facts particular to each of them. We therefore cannot describe the expected impact in a meaningful way or in the same way we present known risks affecting our business. Forward-looking statements are presented in this press release for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain key elements of our expected fiscal 2020 financial results and in obtaining a better understanding of our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The value of capital investments expected to be made by CAE in fiscal 2020 assumes that capital investments will be made in accordance with our current annual plan. However, there can be no assurance that such investment levels will be maintained with the result that the value of actual capital investments made by CAE during such period could materially differ from current expectations.
Material assumptions
A number of economic, market, operational and financial assumptions were made by CAE in preparing its forward-looking statements for fiscal 2020 and beyond contained in this news release, including, but not limited to certain economic and market assumptions including: modest economic growth and stable interest rates in fiscal 2020; a sustained level of competition in civil, defence and healthcare markets; no material financial, operational or competitive consequences of changes in regulations affecting our business; and a continued positive defence market.
Assumptions concerning our businesses
A number of assumptions concerning CAE’s business were also made in the preparation of its forward-looking statements for fiscal 2020 and beyond contained in this news release, including, but not limited to factors including: maintenance of CAE’s leading market share in civil simulator sales, pricing, product deliveries to customers and CAE’s ability to increase market share in training.
The foregoing assumptions, although considered reasonable by CAE on August 14, 2019, may prove to be inaccurate. Accordingly, our actual results could differ materially from our expectations as set forth in this news release.
Material risks
Important risk factors that could cause our assumptions and estimates to be inaccurate and actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by our forward-looking statements, including our fiscal 2020 financial guidance and management outlook, are set out in CAE’s MD&A for the year ended March 31, 2019 filed by CAE with the Canadian Securities Administrators (available at www.sedar.com) and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at www.sec.gov). The fiscal year 2019 MD&A is also available at www.cae.com. The realization of our forward-looking statements, including our ability to meet our fiscal 2020 financial outlook, essentially depends on our business performance which, in turn, is subject to many risks. Accordingly, readers are cautioned that any of the disclosed risks could have a material adverse effect on our forward-looking statements. We caution that the disclosed list of risk factors is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect our results.
Non-GAAP and other financial measures
This press release includes non-GAAP and other financial measures. Non-GAAP measures are useful supplemental information but may not have a standardized meaning according to GAAP. These measures should not be confused with, or used as an alternative for, performance measures calculated according to GAAP. They should also not be used to compare with similar measures from other companies. Management believes that providing certain non-GAAP measures provides users with a better understanding of our results and trends and provides additional information on our financial and operating performance.
(1) Earnings per share (EPS) before specific items is a non-GAAP measure calculated by excluding restructuring costs, integration costs, acquisition costs and other gains and losses arising from significant strategic transactions as well as significant one-time tax items from the diluted earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to equity holders of the Company. The effect per share is obtained by dividing these restructuring costs, integration costs, acquisition costs and other gains, net of tax, as well as one-time tax items by the average number of diluted shares. We track it because we believe it provides a better indication of our operating performance on a per share basis and makes it easier to compare across reporting periods.
(2) Order Intake and Backlog
Order intake is a non-GAAP measure that represents the expected value of orders we have received:
The book-to-sales ratio is the total orders divided by total revenue in a given period.
Total backlog is a non-GAAP measure that represents expected future revenues and includes obligated backlog, joint venture backlog and unfunded backlog and options:
(3) Net income before specific items is a non-GAAP measure we use as an alternate view of our operating results. We calculate it by taking our net income attributable to equity holders of the Company from continuing operations and excluding restructuring costs, integration costs, acquisition costs and other gains and losses arising from significant strategic transactions as well as significant one-time tax items. We track it because we believe it provides a better indication of our operating performance and makes it easier to compare across reporting periods.
(4) Segment operating income (SOI) is a non-GAAP measure and is the sum of our key indicators of each segment’s financial performance. Segment operating income gives us an indication of the profitability of each segment because it does not include the impact of any items not specifically related to the segment’s performance. We calculate total segment operating income by taking the operating profit and excluding restructuring costs of major programs that do not arise from significant strategic transactions.
(5) Segment operating income before specific items further excludes restructuring costs, integration costs, acquisition costs and other gains and losses arising from significant strategic transactions. We track it because we believe it provides a better indication of our operating performance and makes it easier to compare across reporting periods.
(6) Utilization rate is one of the operating measures we use to assess the performance of our Civil simulator training network. While utilization rate does not perfectly correlate to revenue recognized, we track it, together with other measures, because we believe it is an indicator of our operating performance. We calculate it by taking the number of training hours sold on our simulators during the period divided by the practical training capacity available for the same period.
(7) Simulator equivalent unit (SEU) is an operating measure we use to show the total average number of FFSs available to generate earnings during the period.
(8) Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure that shows us how much cash we have available to invest in growth opportunities, repay debt and meet ongoing financial obligations. We use it as an indicator of our financial strength and liquidity. We calculate it by taking the net cash generated by our continuing operating activities, subtracting maintenance capital expenditures, investment in other assets not related to growth and dividends paid and adding proceeds from the disposal of property, plant and equipment, dividends received from equity accounted investees and proceeds, net of payments, from equity accounted investees.
(9) Maintenance capital expenditure is a non-GAAP measure we use to calculate the investment needed to sustain the current level of economic activity. Growth capital expenditure is a non-GAAP measure we use to calculate the investment needed to increase the current level of economic activity.
(10) Net debt is a non-GAAP measure we use to monitor how much debt we have after taking into account cash and cash equivalents. We use it as an indicator of our overall financial position, and calculate it by taking our total long-term debt, including the current portion of long-term debt, and subtracting cash and cash equivalents.
(11) Net debt-to-capital is calculated as net debt divided by the sum of total equity plus net debt.
(12) Return on capital employed (ROCE) is a non-GAAP measure we use to evaluate the profitability of our invested capital. We calculate this ratio over a rolling four-quarter period by taking net income attributable to equity holders of the Company excluding net finance expense, after tax, divided by the average capital employed.
For non-GAAP and other financial measures monitored by CAE, please refer to CAE’s MD&A filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators available on our website (www.cae.com) and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Financial statements
