Cascades Inc. (CAS) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Interpreted] Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and welcome to our Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. My name is Patrick Lemaire, Chairman of the Board of Cascades. Although our meeting takes place in virtual format, we've made every effort to ensure that you can participate fully in our annual meeting. I'll now invite you to vote on each of the items on the agenda. I also encourage you to ask questions, which will be answered at the end of the meeting during the question period. This meeting is being held in French. However, simultaneous translation into English is available as you may have noticed when you logged into the platform. Once again, thank you for joining us. I hereby declare the meeting open. I will act as Chairman of this virtual meeting. With me today are Hugues Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer; Allan Hogg, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; as well as Michael Guerra, Corporate Secretary, who acts as Secretary to the meeting. I am also pleased to note the presence in this room of the majority of our Board of Directors. Those who are unable to join us in person are taking part in the meeting virtually. I would now like to ask the Secretary to explain certain procedures related to the meeting.

Thank you, Patrick. Here are a few points to bear in mind to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly. Registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders who wish to communicate with members of the management team or who wish to ask a question can do so in one of these 3 ways; by writing, using the message box; by entering the telephone number in the message box; or by video conference by following the instructions on your screen. You can also ask your question when we invite you to do so. Only registered shareholders or their duly appointed proxy holders may attend, ask questions and vote at the meeting. All other proxy holders may attend the meeting as guests. Questions will be dealt with only during the question period at the end of the meeting. Questions or comments that contain inappropriate language or disrupt the flow of the meeting will not be answered. We will not be repeating questions we have already answered or which are redundant. At today's meeting, all matters will be voted on using a single electronic ballot. Registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders will be invited to vote on each item of business by following the instructions on your screen. It is important to mention that shareholders who have already exercised their right to vote in advance do not have to vote again and can simply ignore the online ballot.

Thank you, Michael. I will now ask the Secretary to file the notice of meeting as well as the management proxy circular, the voting proxy form as well as the certificate of transmittal of said documents, and then please keep them on file for this meeting.

The documents are filed.

Thank you, Michael. Representatives of Computershare Investor Services, the company's transfer agent and registrar, are acting as scrutineers for this meeting. They are counting today's proxy as well as those online. I am advised that the report is now ready. So I would like to invite Mr. Steve Gilbert to read this report.

Good morning, Mr. Chairman. As scrutineers from Computershare Investor Services, Inc. would like to confirm that there are at least 2 shareholders or proxy holders that are attending today's meeting as well as there are 74,000,498 shares that is 73.9% of the 101,000,700 shares and this is signed by myself, Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Charles [indiscernible], and this report will be ended at the end of the meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Gilbert. I hereby declare that this meeting is duly convened and validly constituted to deal with the items on the agenda. Once the rights have been exercised in respect to all items on the meeting agenda, the scrutineers will tabulate the votes for each item. The next item on the agenda is the receipt of the audited consolidated financial statements of the company for the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as the independent auditor's report. I would ask the secretary to file the company's audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, together with the independent auditor's report thereon and the affidavit of transmittal certifying that a copy of these documents was sent on April 11, 2025, to the shareholders who requested them.

I am filing the documents.

Thank you, Michael. The next item on the agenda is the election of the 11 candidates proposed by management and the Board for the positions of directors of the company. Before proceeding with this election, I would like to take this opportunity to, once again, thank Mario Plourde for all his years of loyal service as a Cascade Director. From student to President, Mario has been with Cascade for 40 years, including 11 years as President and CEO. As the architect of its modernization, Mario contributed greatly to building the company we know today. Under his presidency, Cascade carried out an essential strategic refocusing and modernize its asset base, management tools and business processes. Mario also brought several major projects to fruition, including Cascade's largest ever investment at Bear Island, Virginia. On behalf of the shareholders, Board of Directors, management and employees of Cascade, I would like to express our gratitude for his invaluable contribution to the company's success. Thanks, Mario. Can an authorized representative make a nomination for each of the 11 nominees?

My name is Michael Guerra, shareholder. Mr. Chairman, I nominate each of the following nominees for election as directors of the company: Mr. Alain Lemaire; Mrs. Sylvie Lemaire; Mrs. Sylvie Vachon; Mrs. Michelle Cormier; Mr. Patrick Lemaire; Mr. Hubert T. Lacroix; Mr. Nelson Gentiletti; Mrs. Melanie Dunn; Mrs. Elif Lévesque; Mr. Alex N. Blanco and Mr. Hugues Simon.

Thank you, Michael. Are there any other candidates to propose? Since there are no other candidates, can an authorized representative make a proposal for the election of each of these 11 nominees?

My name is Allan Hogg, shareholder. Mr. Chairman, I move that each of the 11 nominees be elected to the Board of Directors of the company until the next Annual General Meeting or until their successors are elected.

Thank you, Allan. Is this proposal seconded?

My name is Michael Guerra. I'm a shareholder, and I support this proposal.

Thank you, Michael. The proposal has been moved and seconded. We remind you that for all proposals, voting rights are exercised by means of a single electronic ballot. Click on the for or abstain button next to the name of each director candidate. The next item on the agenda is the appointment of the independent auditor for the 2025 fiscal year. The Board of Directors on the advice of the Audit and Finance Committee recommends that PricewaterhouseCoopers, chartered professional accountants be appointed as the company's independent auditor and that the directors be authorized to fix its compensation. I see that Michael Guerra would like to make a proposal to this effect.

Mr. Chairman, I move that PricewaterhouseCoopers, chartered professional accountants be appointed as independent auditors of the company for the ensuing year and that the Board of Directors be authorized to fix their compensation.

Thank you, Michael. Would anyone like to second the motion?

My name is Allan Hogg, shareholder. Mr. Chairman, I support this proposal.

Thank you, Allan. The motion has been made and seconded. Click on the for or abstain button next to the resolution to the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company's independent auditor. The next item on the agenda is the approval of the advisory resolution accepting the company's approach to executive compensation, all as described in the proxy circular. I see that Michael Guerra would like to submit a proposal to this effect.

Mr. Chairman, I move the adoption of the advisory resolution accepting the company's approach to executive compensation.

Thank you, Michael. Would Allan Hogg like to second the motion?

Mr. Chairman, I support this proposal.

Thank you, Allan. This proposal has been duly made and seconded. Click on the for or against button next to the advisory resolution accepting the company's approach to executive compensation. The next item on the agenda are the proposals submitted by MEDAC and described under Appendix A of the proxy circular. After discussion with the company, MEDAC has agreed to withdraw 1 of its 3 proposals. I will therefore -- it will therefore be presented, but no vote will be taken on it, whereas a vote will be taken on the other 2. I would now like to ask the MEDAC representative to present the 2 proposals. Mr. Willie Gagnon, the floor is yours.

Hello, Mr. Chairman. My name is Willie Gagnon. I represent MEDAC, the group that has been a shareholder of the company. We represent shareholders, and we usually send you proposals. Can you hear me?

Yes, we do.

As you've just mentioned on Page [57 -- 58, 59, ] you can read the 3 proposals submitted by MEDAC. 2 will be submitted to a vote today. I will mention the second proposal. So it says that we should -- the Board should provide additional information regarding the executive compensation. So we can see in your reply that a great number of shareholders last year were against that, but it is due to the guidelines that has to do with the recourse that can be taken. And this was issued by one shareholder that holds over 10%. So we have been in touch with that shareholder, will be discussed. So we would like that information to be disclosed, that is the executive compensation. So we are pleased to know that in reply to this proposal, we -- there was a positive outcome. So this is why we have withdrawn this proposal. We will -- if we need -- we can withdraw if we don't need to request it. And on Page 57, we submitted this proposal last year, 35% approved of it. They wanted to request that we return to in-person meetings. You are in a room altogether. But why was -- why weren't the shareholders invited to be -- invited in this room, but there is an improvement when it comes to virtual and remote meetings. This is fine. But why shouldn't you also invite shareholders to attend in person. For instance, Power, Metro, Quebecor have modified the way they hold their annual shareholder meetings. And there's another company that has decided to invite people to also attend live meetings like this because when you're in person, of course, you can see who's around you, you can talk to the other shareholders. So -- and on Page 59, disclosure of languages mastered by employees. We have been repeating that what we want to know are, what languages must speak the employees who work for the company. And then you -- there's a mention of some confidential information, but we are sure that the company knows what languages are mastered by every employee that is hired by the company. So this is the information we wanted to know in view of the new regulations, amongst other places in Quebec, if an employee must master language other than French, it must be included in the files. And according to a recent survey, it stated that the majority of the population, up to 70% of citizens would like to have such information disclosed. So we expected that just like Quebecor, Transat and Air Canada did that the company could disclose the information they have, but it was impossible to obtain that information from your company. So this is why, once again, we submit this. So however for the two -- and we have those two proposals that will be submitted to the vote, and thank you for allowing me to speak. Of course, I would have preferred to be able to be attending the meeting in person. So thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. As you know, the Board of Directors has stated its position on the proposals in the solicitation circular and recommends voting against both proposals. If you haven't already done so, we invite you to vote on all the items listed on the agenda. I remind you that shareholders who have already exercised their right to vote in advance do not have to vote again and can simply ignore the online ballot. Once the electronic ballot is complete, the voting page will disappear and your votes will be automatically recorded. Registered shareholders and proxy holders still have 1 minute to complete the electronic ballots. Once the voting is over, I'll ask the scrutineers to compile a report of the voting results on all the items on the agenda. We will be back shortly for the unveiling. Thank you for your patience. I would now like to invite Mr. Steve Gilbert of Computershare to read the scrutineers' report on the preliminary results of the vote.

Thank you, Mr. Lemaire. With regard to the election of directors, I can confirm that the 11 candidates have been duly elected directors of the company. I am also able to announce that the resolution concerning the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company's independent auditor as well as the advisory resolution accepting Cascade's approach to executive compensation have -- both of them have been adopted. And finally, I wish to inform you that the 2 proposals submitted by MEDAC were rejected. So this concludes this report. This preliminary report.

Thank you, Mr. Gilbert. I can confirm that the final voting results will be available tomorrow on SEDAR. I'd now like to invite Hugues Simon, President and CEO, to take the floor.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. On behalf of the entire management team and our Board of Directors, I would like to thank you for your continued support throughout the year. I would also like to thank the Cascaders for their warm welcome since I've arrived last June and for their hard work, openness in order to improve the company's profitability. The world is changing fast and business cycles are getting shorter all the time. Their agility, flexibility and willingness to embrace these changes will ensure our success. The end of 2024 will certainly have borne witness to these rapid, unpredictable and unprecedented changes. In the face of this turbulence, we have worked to master what we control and have made a number of organizational adjustments. Sales in 2024 amounted to CAD 4.7 billion, representing an increase of 1% over the 2023 levels. These results reflect higher volumes in our packaging business, a more favorable exchange rate and a higher selling price in our Specialty Products sector. These positive effects were reduced by the impact of lower selling prices in the containerboard packaging sector as well as slightly lower volumes and selling prices in the tissue paper sector. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or adjusted EBITDA amounted CAD 201 million in 2024, down 10% over the previous year. In margin terms, this represents 10.7% of sales in 2024 compared to 12% in 2023. As we indicated in our annual communications, this decline is attributable to higher raw material costs and lower selling prices in our sector of containerboard for the first half of the year. These effects more than offset reduction in operating costs and the benefits of the combination of higher sales and volumes. We've invested in our operations throughout the year in 2024. Capital investment levels were at CAD 148 million and were 57% lower than the previous year, during which time investments of our Bear Island plant were nearing completion. Our 2024 investments were focused on improving the operational efficiency of our production assets. Despite higher levels of operating cash flow generated in 2024 and lower capital investment, the company's net debt levels increased by CAD 214 million year-on-year. The impact of a less favorable exchange rate accounted for $149 million or 70% of this increase. Our higher level of debt and lower level of overall profitability have led to an increase in our debt ratio from 3.4x at the end of 2023 to 4.2x at the end of 2024. Now here's a look at each of our business sectors for 2024. Our containerboard packaging sector generated sales of CAD 2.4 million, an increase of 4%. And this was attributable to higher volumes with product shipment up 3% over the previous year, a more favorable exchange rate and an increase of 1% in the average selling price. Conversely, higher raw material prices and higher operating costs led to a decrease of 22% of the EBITDA compared to 2023. The production levels at Bear Island plant improved in 2024. And as we pointed out in our year-end results, they were below our target. We are currently devoting significant additional resources in order to close this gap. Sales in our Specialized Products rose by 5% and the EBITDA year-over-year by 16% to reach $106 million, representing a margin of 15.8%. These results were underpinned by higher selling prices, lower labor cost, energy and transportation costs and favorable year-on-year exchange rate. In closing, our Tissue segment's results continue to improve in 2024. Despite a 4% decrease in sales resulting from the production plant closures in 2023 and a reduction in the average selling price, the EBITDA rose by 5% and the margins increased 12%. We're satisfied with the current operating platform and the improved profitability of this sector, and we will continue to implement various initiatives in order to ensure that they continue to bear fruit. I will now hand over the floor to Allan, who will present some highlights from our first quarter 2025.

Thank you, Hugues. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. As Hugues has presented the highlights of our 2024 operating and financial results, I will focus my remarks on the results of the first quarter of 2025, which were released earlier this morning. Sales of the first quarter reached $1.15 billion. This result is slightly lower than the $1.2 billion in sales for the fourth quarter in 2024 and represents a marginal improvement over the $1.1 billion in sales for the same period last year. Year-over-year, sales levels reflected higher average selling prices in the Packaging segment and a more favorable exchange rate across our businesses, and this was partially offset by lower volumes. Compared to the previous quarter, sales levels benefited from higher prices and a favorable exchange rate offset by lower volumes in the Packaging and Tissue Paper sectors as a result of macroeconomic uncertainty and negative consumer and business confidence. Now if we take a quick look at raw material prices, they show that average prices for old cardboard decreased by 6% compared to the fourth quarter, while prices for white recycled fiber increased marginally by 5%. Commercial pulp prices remained relatively stable with softwood prices of -- which is up 4% and hardwood prices down 2% compared to the fourth quarter levels. Year-over-year, prices of old cardboard declined by 23%, while prices of white recycled fiber declined by 12%. Pulp prices increased compared to the same period last year with increases of 22% and 4% for softwood and hardwood, respectively. Now let's turn to our consolidated operating income and adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter. The company generated operating income of CAD 50 million during the quarter, significantly higher than the operating income of CAD 9 million recorded in the same period last year. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA increased 21% or CAD 22 million year-over-year, driven by higher average selling prices in our packaging business and a slightly more favorable exchange rate and lower transportation costs. These gains were offset by the effect of lower volumes, higher production and energy costs and slightly higher raw material costs in the Tissue business. Let's now turn to the net debt trends in the first quarter. Operating cash flow was not sufficient to offset the capital investments and seasonal working capital requirements. As a result, net debt increased by $120 million or 6% compared to December 31, which kept our debt ratio stable at 4.2x annual adjusted EBITDA. Since my overview of our first quarter 2025 results was brief, I invite you to refer to our quarterly investor presentation, press release and management's discussion and analysis for more information. In addition, a replay of our quarterly conference call held earlier this morning is available on our website. I would like to thank you for your attention. I will give the floor to Hugues, who will briefly present our strategic focus areas for 2025 and '26. Hugues.

Thank you, Allan. 2024 will have been a year that testifies to the speed of change in economic cycles. The first half of the year was characterized by margin compression in the packaging sector. Between July and November, we saw a steady increase in profitability, thanks to the implementation of a number of initiatives as shown by our results. And finally, in the fourth quarter, the threat of tariffs created some concern, which was amplified in 2025. Our results reflect these realities. Rate uncertainty had a direct impact on consumer spending and demand levels. Of course, we remain true to our core values. This is the best way to control our future. So we have to focus on what we control. We position to be the most resilient as possible with these economic perturbation. So we will continue to remain focused on operation and on the needs of the customers. We need to focus on the privileged partnerships that we have. We are already on the road to excellence. The work is well underway. We continue to identify and implement the areas for improvement and create value. Our focus is on prioritizing and also be rigorous on execution of our action. The customer is and must remain at the heart of all of our decisions. The success of our actions obviously depend on the commitment and creativity of our Cascaders, and we will continue, more than ever, to put their health and safety first. We will also continue our efforts to reduce debt. To achieve this, we will limit our capital expenditure to less than $175 million by 2025. We also intend to monetize around $80 million in unused nonstrategic assets over the next 24 months. The priorities we are focusing on for the next 2 years will build on recent investments and profitability initiatives, we have identified. These measures will help strengthen our business platforms and position Cascade to create value for our shareholders. Sustainability and the importance of an efficient circular economy is at the heart of our strategy, and we remain true to our core values and continue to guide our customers in their choices as we have done over the past 60 years. In fact, in 2024, Cascade continued to distinguish itself in its achievements, and we continue to be recognized. Once again, this year, we were included in the prestigious Global 100 ranking of the world's most suitable companies, sustainable companies. And we are also named one of the Canada's top 100 employees for the fifth consecutive year. A number of our products also received awards this year for their innovation or contribution to sustainable development, and we are proud of these achievements and are determined to continue our work in this direction. So in conclusion, let me remind you that our aim is to become even more agile and flexible in a world where the speed of change is constantly increasing. By improving our productivity, remaining our customers' partner of choice and reducing our debt, this will enable us to position ourselves to give ourselves options to take advantage of opportunities and ensure our growth. Thank you for your support and for your confidence.

Thank you, Hugues, and thank you, Allan. We're now at the question-and-answer period. We will take questions from any registered shareholder or duly appointed proxy holder.

[Operator Instructions] Mr. Chairman, we do not have any questions at this time. I confirm that we have not received any questions.

Since we have not received any questions, we will now close the question-and-answer period of the meeting. And before closing the meeting, I would like to pay tribute to a great Cascader who recently passed away. On April 30, we were saddened to learn of the death of [indiscernible] at the age of 82. Mr. [indiscernible] began his career at Cascades in 1976 during the Cabano construction plant where he was the first manager. His career at Cascades and then saw him found the research and development center. He participated in the start-up of several mills and held the positions of VP and Chief Operating Officer of the Containerboard Group and President and Chief Executive Officer of [indiscernible]. Mr. [indiscernible] served as a Director on the Board from 1982 to 2013. On behalf of Cascades, I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to the [indiscernible] family. Having dealt with all the items on the agenda, I declare the meeting closed. Journalists wishing to conduct one-on-one interviews are invited to contact Hugo D'Amours, VP, Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, and you see the coordinates on the screen. I would like to thank you for your attention and take care. Thank you.