Business
Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund Releases 2008 First Quarter Results
Financial Performance Continues to be Severely Impacted by Weakening US Dollar and Economy; Fund ...
About this update from Coloured Ties Capital Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nFinancial Performance Continues to be Severely Impacted by Weakening\n\n\nUS Dollar and Economy; Fund Implements Cost and Production Efficiencies\n\n\nTRADING SYMBOL: Toronto Stock Exchange - GRO.UN\n\n\nSun Gro Horticulture Income Fund will hold a conference call and webcast\n\n\nto discuss 2008 first quarter results on May 8, 2008 at 7:30 am Pacific\n\n\nTime (10:30 am Eastern). The call can be accessed by dialing:\n\n\n1-800-814-4853 or 416-644-3434.\n\n\nA replay will be available through May 22, 2008 at: 1-877-289-8525 or\n\n\n416-640-1917. Passcode 21270841 followed by the pound sign.\n\n\nTo access the live and archived webcast, please go to:\n\n\nhttp://www.vcall.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID(equal sign)126151 or to the fund's\n\n\nwebsite at: www.sungro.com.\n\n\nVANCOUVER, May 7 /CNW/ - Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund (the Fund)\ntoday reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2008,\nwhich represents the first quarter of its 2008 fiscal year. (Copies of\nmanagement's discussion and analysis, and the unaudited interim financial\nstatements will be available at www.sedar.com and www.sungro.com on or about\nMay 8, 2008.)\n\n\nDuring the quarter, the Fund's wholly-owned subsidiary, Sun Gro\nHorticulture Canada Ltd. (Sun Gro or the company), continued to benefit from\nits 2007 US acquisitions, with its new Florida operations driving a 7%\nincrease in overall sales volumes. However, as in the final quarter of 2007,\nthe Fund's distributable cash flow was severely eroded by the impact of a\nsignificantly stronger Canadian dollar on Sun Gro's primarily US-dollar\ndenominated sales, as well as by the effect of continued general economic\nweakness in the US. The average value of the Canadian dollar was 17% higher\nthan in the first quarter of 2007, effectively reducing Sun Gro's revenue by\n$9.4 million ($0.42 per unit). As a result of these factors, Sun Gro's sales\nrevenues, "same store" sales volumes (which exclude the new Florida\noperations) and gross margin were all down from the levels achieved in the\nfirst quarter of 2007.\n\n\nIn light of the year-over-year decline in Sun Gro's financial\nperformance, lower than anticipated sales from the Florida operations and\ngrowing concerns about Sun Gro's ability to raise prices in the short-term due\nto current economic conditions in the US, the F...