Rogers Sugar Inc. (RSI.TO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, and welcome to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Rogers Sugar Inc. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. If you participate in today's meeting and disclose personal information, you will be deemed to consent to the recording, transfer and use of same. If you disclose personal information of another person in today's meeting, you will be deemed to represent and warrant to Computershare and the corporation that you first obtain all required consents for the disclosure, recording, transfer and use of such personal information from all appropriate persons before your disclosure. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Dallas Ross. Mr. Ross, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Dallas Ross, Chair of the Board. It's my pleasure to welcome you to the Annual Meeting of the Shareholders of Rogers Sugar Inc. As we have done over the last few years, we are holding our Annual Shareholders Meeting in a virtual format. Our main objective is to ensure that all shareholders have the same opportunity to participate in the meeting and vote regardless of their geographic location. The meeting will be conducted in 3 parts. First will be the formal business of the meeting, following which our President and CEO will deliver remarks. And after such remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. Before we begin with the formal portion of the meeting, I will provide some comments on voting and questions at today's meeting. As a reminder, only registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders can vote or ask questions. Voting can only be done through our virtual voting platform. If you are a registered shareholder or proxy holder and wish to vote, click the voting icon at the top of the webcast page. Voting can be completed at any time from now until the end of the formal business of the meeting. If you've already voted in advance of the meeting and do not wish to change your vote, you do not need to vote again during the meeting. For those who have not yet voted, we encourage you to vote now. Questions can also only be submitted through our voting platform. If you are a registered shareholder or proxy holder and wish to ask a question, click the question icon at the top of the voting platform page, type in your question in the text box at the bottom of the page and messaging screen and then click the send button. If your question relates to a specific motion, please start your question by identifying the motion so we can address your question at the appropriate time of the meeting. We will save all questions that do not identify which motion they relate to for the general question-and-answer session at the end of the meeting. We will receive the questions and read them out in order for everyone to be aware of the question being addressed. If we have a number of questions that are of the same or similar nature, we will consolidate them so as to avoid duplication. We'll endeavor to address all general questions. However, please note that due to time constraints, we may not be able to do so. If you have questions, we encourage you to submit them now. Questions can be submitted throughout the meeting. Finally, we would like to remind you that our answers to your questions and our CEO's remarks may contain forward-looking information. By its nature, this information contains forecast assumptions and expectations about future outcomes, which are subject to the risks and uncertainties discussed more fully in our public disclosure filings. I will now call the meeting to order. Pursuant to the corporation's bylaws, I will act as Chair of this meeting. Jean-Sebastien Couillard will act as Secretary and representatives of Computershare, our transfer agent, will act as scrutineers. To ensure that the meeting covers all the business for which it was convened within a reasonable period of time, we have prearranged with a number of persons attending this afternoon to move and second certain resolutions. This procedure is not an attempt to discourage participation, but a way to expedite proceedings. Notice of this meeting and related materials were provided to shareholders and to all Board members and the auditors in compliance with applicable securities and corporate requirements as well as posted on SEDAR. The Secretary will append the declaration to the minutes of this meeting. The scrutineers' report shows that a quorum is present. Notice having been provided in accordance with the corporation's bylaws and a quorum being present, I declare that this meeting is duly constituted for the transaction of business. First item of business is to receive the financial statements and the auditor's report for the financial year ended September 27, 2025. A copy of the 2025 annual report, which contains the audited consolidated financial statements and the auditor's report has been provided with the notice of this meeting and the 2025 circular as well as posted on SEDAR. As no vote is required to be conducted in respect to the financial statements, we will respond to any related questions during the question-and-answer session. Election of directors. The next item, there are 6 directors will be elected at this meeting, and the corporation has proposed 6 nominees. Each proposed nominee's biography is included in the notice of this meeting. Therefore, I will now entertain a motion nominating such individuals for election as directors of the corporation. Michael Heskin, thank you for moving that the following individuals be elected as members of the Board of Directors: Dallas Ross, Gary Collins, Daniel Lafrance, Eric Morisset, Shelley Potts and Stephanie Wilkes. Seconded by Rod Kirwan. Thank you. Are there any other shareholders wishing to make nominations for election as directors? Thank you. I declare the nominations closed. The Secretary, can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion were submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now, remembering that if you have already voted in advance and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. The next item of business is the election of 2 directors of Lantic, which the corporation is entitled to nominate as holder of all of the common shares of Lantic. The corporation has proposed 2 nominees. Each proposed nominee's biography is included in the notice of this meeting. Therefore, I will now entertain a motion nominating such individuals for appointment as the corporation's nominees to the Board of Lantic. Mr. Michael Heskin has moved that the following individuals be appointed as nominees to the Board of Directors of Lantic. Dallas Ross and Daniel Lafrance. Seconded by Rod Kirwan. Are there any other shareholders wishing to make nominations for appointment as corporation nominees to the Board of Lantic? Thank you. I declare the nominations closed. Can the secretary please advise if any questions specific to the motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion were submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now, remembering that if you've already voted in advance and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. May I now have a motion to appoint the auditors. Mr. Heskin has moved that KPMG LLP be appointed auditors for Rogers Sugar Inc. to hold office until the next annual meeting or until their successors are duly appointed and that the Board of Directors of Rogers Sugar Inc. be authorized to fix the auditor's remuneration. Been seconded by Dean Bergmame. Thank you. Can the secretary please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion were submitted.

Thank you. We'll now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now, remembering if you've already voted and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. The next item of business is the adoption, if thought advisable, of the nonbinding advisory say-on-pay resolution on the Board's approach to executive compensation decisions as disclosed in the corporation's 2025 circular. As mentioned in the 2025 circular, the say-on-pay is meant to facilitate accountability for compensation decisions by giving shareholders a formal platform to share their views through an annual nonbinding advisory vote. I will now entertain a motion for the adoption of such resolution. Mr. Heskin has moved the following resolution be adopted. Be it resolved on an advisory basis and not to diminish the role and responsibilities of the Board that the shareholders accept the approach to executive compensation disclosed in the corporation circular delivered in advance of the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Being seconded by Mr. Bergmame. Thank you, Dean. Can the Secretary please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion were submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now, again, remembering that if you voted in advance, do not wish to change your vote, no action required. I would now ask our CEO, Mike Walton, to provide an overview of our corporation's business since the beginning of the last fiscal year.

Thank you, Dallas. Now that the formal part of our meeting has concluded, I'll take you through a short presentation outlining our business and our vision, our accomplishments in 2025 and our outlook and priorities for 2026. First, let me remind you of the standard cautions around forward-looking statements. Please take a moment to read this advisory before we move on. Now I'll begin with a brief overview of our business. We are the only 100% Canadian owned and operated sweetener company in Canada. We are listed on the TSX and trade as Rogers Sugar. We are also the largest publicly traded sugar company in Canada. We operate at Lantic. We sell sugar across Canada and in key American markets under both the Rogers and Lantic brands. We are also proud owners of the largest maple syrup bottling business in the world, which was rebranded in 2025 as Lantic Maple. Our objective is to generate consistent, profitable and sustainable growth by optimizing our businesses to take advantage of favorable demand trends in sugar and to drive stronger margins and performance in maple. Here is where we work. This slide shows the sites where we make, package and ship our sweeteners, including the only sugar beet facility in Canada at our Taber, Alberta location. Having sugar refineries across Canada means we are close to our customers and can get the sugar to them when they need it. Our vision is to create value for everyone connected to Rogers Sugar. We're focused on making this a great company to work for, invest in and partner with. We do this by making top-quality sweeteners and by prioritizing service to customers, a topic we will discuss further in this presentation. Let's take a closer look at our business and what makes us an attractive investment. Our team manages Rogers Sugar with a long-term outlook, aiming for consistent, profitable, sustainable growth. As of 2025, this approach has delivered 4 consecutive years of record financial performance. As the largest publicly traded sweetener company in Canada, we offer exposure to 2 robust market segments, the strong North American sugar market, where Canada is a key supplier and the growing worldwide demand for maple products. Our company has been around for nearly 140 years. Sugar is the foundation of our business, accounting for roughly 80% of our revenue. Sugar is a core ingredient in many foods that people enjoy every day. While demand for sugar may fluctuate over the short term with the impact of inflation and the overall health of the economy, the underlying demand is sustainable over the long term. There is no real substitute for sugar. It's a natural product and does more than add sweetness. It contributes to the texture, appearance and flavor of food. Our customers trust us to deliver sugar with the quality and quantity they need when they need it. We are also the world's leading distributor of maple syrup, another natural sweetener that is growing in popularity. We are proud to meet that demand and share this essentially Canadian product with families all over the world. The Rogers Refined framework guides us how we optimize and grow both segments, leveraging favorable demand trends and operational discipline to deliver solid returns to shareholders, including a steady quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share. Let me remind you of our Rogers Refined framework. We introduced Rogers Refined in 2024. It is our road map for how we operate to build Rogers into a better company and a better investment. The pillars of Rogers Refined are: modernizing and optimizing and growing in sugar, driving profitability in Maple, maintaining a strong balance sheet and advancing our ESG program. We made significant progress in each of these areas in 2025. 2025 was another great year for us. Although the path to achievement was not smooth, we navigated global trade changes, commodity price volatility and regulatory uncertainty. We met those challenges by staying focused on what matters most, delivering for our customers and creating value for our shareholders while maintaining a safe work environment for our employees. Through disciplined execution, we managed to steer through these challenges with minimal disruption. Financial highlights for the year include revenue of $1.3 billion, up by 12% from 2023, adjusted EBITDA of $150 million, a 6% increase. adjusted net earnings up 9% to $73 million. Free cash flow higher by 42% to $104 million. Beyond the strong financials, we made significant progress in the construction phase of our LEAP project, our Eastern expansion initiative. We secured the financing needed to maintain a strong balance sheet while considering the needs of our day-to-day operations, the LEAP project and the maturity of some of our financing instruments. In terms of sustainability, we advanced our ESG initiatives, including an updated materiality assessment to ensure that we are focusing our resources on initiatives that matter to our stakeholders. This includes responsible sourcing, supplier risk assessment and community engagement. Following our year-end, we published our first integrated annual and ESG report, and I encourage all of you to review it. Our ability to deliver such strong financial results in the face of the global market challenges seen in 2025 speaks to the strength of our business fundamentals, the effectiveness of our strategy and the commitment of our people. As of February 3, our company is in a strong position with a market capitalization of almost $800 million and a dividend yield of about 6%. Looking at our business segments, both our sugar and maple businesses delivered strong results in fiscal '25. Demand remains solid in our markets, and our teams adapted quickly to shifts in customer demand and seize available growth opportunities. While revenue is an important performance indicator, what we manage for is profitability, and I'm pleased with the contributions of both segments and our record $150 million in adjusted EBITDA. Sugar volumes rose nearly 4% over last year, though they were slightly below our expectations at the start of the year, we benefited from labor continuity at our Vancouver refinery, while our export volumes were affected by uncertainty around trade policy. The market is still feeling the effects of inflation that we began to see in 2024 with food manufacturers adjusting to higher ingredient costs leading to some softness in demand. Even so, the need for refined sugar remains steady, and we continue to focus on operational agility to support our customers through changing conditions. Our focus is on steady, profitable, sustainable growth, not just volume. Over the last 5 years, our Sugar segment has delivered compound annual growth of 12%. That revenue growth has translated into improved margins and earnings. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 4% last year to $129 million, and our operating margin reached $224 per metric ton, consistent with our strong performance in 2024. We're proud of our continued progress in the Sugar segment, serving customers where and when they need us. We're well positioned for the next phase of growth. Let me update you on our progress with our LEAP project in 2025. One of the year's major milestones has been advancing our LEAP project, a cornerstone of our long-term growth strategy and key to meeting increasing demand for refined sugar across Canada. Construction in Montreal is moving forward with new contractors on site working on building upgrades and installing state-of-the-art refining equipment. Managing such a large construction effort while keeping production close to full capacity takes detailed coordination and strong focus on safety for our employees, contractors and the facility. Safety remains our top priority and the discipline applying on LEAP will help strengthen safe, reliable operations throughout Rogers Sugar. Our projected cost for LEAP remains between $280 million and $300 million. We are confident this expansion will create lasting value for food manufacturers in Central Canada and beyond. Central Canada is where most of the demand growth is happening. So expanding capacity here lets us meet local needs and reduce the cost to bring sugar from our Western facilities. As mentioned earlier, we are in the strongest financial position we've ever been in. That financial health supports our plans for growth and modernization through LEAP and future projects. Our Maple segment maintained its positive momentum, posting a 14% increase in sales volume as we reach more customers, both established and new. Consumers around the world are increasingly appreciating the unique qualities of pure maple syrup. Strong crop quality and availability were key to expanding our market reach and delivering reliable results. Looking ahead, we will keep supporting producers and ensuring stable supply as global interest in maple syrup continues to rise. We're improving profitability in Maple through investments in process upgrades and automation. In 2025, we maintained an adjusted gross margin above 10% for the second year in a row, aligned with our expectations and reported record adjusted EBITDA of $21 million. Strong results from both sugar and maple contribute to our fourth consecutive year of record consolidated adjusted EBITDA. This also led to higher free cash flow, more than $100 million for the year. This strong cash flow affords us the flexibility to move ahead with LEAP while supporting regular dividends and a strong balance sheet, key elements of our Rogers refined framework. Looking ahead to 2026, we continue to face a dynamic and uncertain market environment. However, I am confident in our ability to adapt by staying alert to changing conditions and responding quickly. A key aspect of our approach is managing sales strategically to achieve the best possible economic results. We're disciplined in how we allocate volume, targeting the most promising opportunities and prioritizing sustainable profitability or simply increasing revenue. While tariffs and trade policies have had limited impact so far, we're ready to respond if this situation evolves. Our plan remains clear: maintain a strong customer relationship, keep costs under control and invest for the long term to ensure we stay resilient and competitive. Following a strong year in 2025, we expect consistent performance in 2026. We'll remain engaged with stakeholders as trade discussions develop. Sugar profitability is expected to remain stable with continued strong performance in maple. We are on track to achieve the next significant milestones in the LEAP project. The Rogers Refined framework continues to guide our growth strategy. Our strong balance sheet is supported by solid financial outcomes, a robust financing plan for LEAP and healthy free cash flow. We will meet these objectives by focusing on the following priorities: advance our safety program to provide a safe, healthy working environment for our employees, focus on excellence in serving our customers, move forward on our LEAP project to build our production and logistics capabilities for the longer term, build on momentum from demand growth in our Maple segment and advance our ESG initiatives. We are in a great business with solid underlying demand, a distinguished operating history, and we are in the best financial shape ever. Thank you again for joining us today, and I look forward to speaking with you at our next AGM. Now our team and I are happy to take your questions.

No questions. I think from the Secretary has indicated there are no questions. So thank you for your report, Mike, very thorough report. There being no further matters to vote upon, we will proceed with announcing the results of the meeting. Mr. Secretary, do you have the preliminary results of the voting?

Yes, Mr. Chair. I have received confirmation from the scrutineer that each of the motions passed, including the election of each of the nominees for director.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I declare each of the resolutions considered at today's meeting as carried. The exact number of votes cast in respect of each matter will be filed on SEDAR and press released in due course. Are there any questions? Please send any questions now. We'll take a 1-minute break to receive questions. It doesn't appear any questions have come in, Mr. Secretary?

No, Mr. Chair.

Okay. Thank you. As that concludes the formal business agenda of the meeting, I declare the meeting now terminated. Thank you.

This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.