Business
Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund Releases 2008 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results
Q4 Operating Income Up Significantly, Distributable Cash Highest in Five Quarters, Paving Way for...
About this update from Coloured Ties Capital Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nQ4 Operating Income Up Significantly, Distributable Cash Highest in Five\nQuarters, Paving Way for Strong Start to 2009; Fund Completes Debt\nAmendments\n\nTRADING SYMBOL: Toronto Stock Exchange - GRO.UN\n\nSun Gro Horticulture Income Fund will hold a conference call and webcast\nto discuss 2008 fourth quarter and year-end results on Tuesday, March 31,\n2009 at 7:30 am Pacific Time (10:30 am Eastern). The call can be accessed\nby dialing: 1-800-732-0232 or 416-644-3416 (Greater Toronto Area and\nInternational).\n\nA replay will be available through April 14, 2009 at: 1-877-289-8525 or\n416-640-1917. Passcode 21298631 followed by the number sign.\n\nTo access the live and archived webcast, please go to:\nhttp://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID(equal sign)141907 or to\nthe fund's website at: www.sungro.com.\n\n\nVANCOUVER, March 30 /CNW/ - Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund (the Fund)\ntoday reported financial results for the three and 12 months ended December\n31, 2008. During the three-month period, which represents the fourth quarter\nof the Fund's 2008 fiscal year, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sun Gro\nHorticulture Canada Ltd. (Sun Gro) recorded a $4.4 million increase in\noperating income, which swung from a loss of $0.9 million in 2007 to income of\n$3.6 million in 2008. Distibutable cash for the quarter was up by 163%\nyear-over-year.\n\n\nA much stronger US dollar played a positive role in the Fund's\nsignificantly improved financial performance, as did Sun Gro's continued focus\non aligning its production capacities with demand. The company achieved cost\nefficiencies by using new and relocated baling equipment, which enabled it to\nprocess and package the harvest much more quickly. Transportation costs\nbenefited from lower freight rates as a result of weakened demand for trucking\nservices and lower energy prices, as well as increased efficiency in truck\nloading and routing.\n\n\n"We have been working hard to boost our production efficiency and further\nenhance our manufacturing and logistical design processes, and we've made some\nvery positive inroads in terms of containing costs," said Mitch Weaver,\nPresident and CEO of Sun Gro and a Trustee of the Fund, "We are confident that\nthe initiatives we have been implementing over the last several years will\ncontinue to benefit our financial...