SRV.UN Sir Royalty Income Fund

BURLINGTON, ON, Aug. 8, 2024 /CNW/ - SIR Royalty Income Fund (TSX: SRV.UN) (the "Fund") today reported its financial results for the second quarter ("Q2 2024") and six months ("YTD 2024") ended June 30, 2024.

"The second quarter was another highly active period for SIR. We renovated a Jack Astor's restaurant in Halifax and opened three new restaurants, including a new Scaddabush in London, a new Duke's Refresher in Toronto, and Edna + Vita, our latest restaurant concept, also in Toronto. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we opened another new Scaddabush in Guelph. We also continue to advance the development of a new Jack Astor's in Oshawa and a new Scaddabush in Barrie," said Peter Fowler, CEO of SIR Corp. "We remain committed to investing in our existing restaurants and new restaurants to further strengthen the Royalty Pool and drive unitholder value."

Q2 2024 Summary

• Pooled Revenue totaled $67.5 million compared to $71.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 ("Q2 2023").
• Royalty income in the SIR Royalty Limited Partnership (the "Partnership") was $4.0 million, compared to $4.3 million in Q2 2023.
• Equity income from the Partnership, which represents the Fund's pro rata share of the residual distributions of the Partnership, was $2.8 million, compared to $3.0 million in Q2 2023.
• The Royalty Pooled Restaurants (the "Royalty Pool") had a same store sales ("SSS")⁽¹⁾ decline of 5.1%.
• Net earnings were $3.8 million, compared to $4.6 million in Q2 2023.
• Distributable cash⁽²⁾ totaled $2.6 million, or $0.31 (basic and diluted) per Fund Unit, and cash distributed to unitholders totaled $2.4 million, representing a payout ratio⁽²⁾ of 92.8%. The payout ratio⁽²⁾ since the Fund's inception in 2004, up to and including Q2 2024, is 99.9%, in line with the Fund's target payout ratio of 100% per annum.
• SIR Corp. ("SIR") completed renovations to one Jack Astor's® location (in Halifax, Nova Scotia).
• On April 17, 2024, SIR opened a new Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar® ("Scaddabush") location in London, Ontario. This new Scaddabush restaurant is expected to be added to the Royalty Pool effective January 1, 2025.
• On April 26, 2024, SIR opened a new Italian-themed, fine dining restaurant called Edna + Vita^TM at the site of the former Reds® Wine Tavern in downtown Toronto.
• On May 22, 2024, SIR opened a new Duke's Refresher® + Bar ("Duke's Refresher") at the intersection of Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue in Toronto.

Subsequent Event

• On August 7, 2024, SIR opened a new Scaddabush restaurant in Guelph, Ontario. This new Scaddabush restaurant is expected to be added to the Royalty Pool effective January 1, 2025.

Q2 2024 Financial Results Summary 

Pooled Revenue in Q2 2024 decreased 5.1% to $67.5 million, compared to $71.1 million in Q2 2023. The year-over-year decrease reflects declines in delivery sales and dine-in guest traffic, and the permanent closures of three Royalty Pooled Restaurants in late 2023. These factors were partially offset by system-wide price increases, the addition of one new Scaddabush location to the Royalty Pool at the start of 2024, and increased guest counts at the Signature restaurants.

Net earnings for Q2 2024 were $3.8 million, or $0.46 (basic) and $0.44 (diluted) per Fund Unit, compared to net earnings of $4.6 million, or $0.54 (basic) and $0.51 (diluted) per Fund Unit, for Q2 2023. The year-over-year decline in net earnings was primarily attributable to the reduction in Pooled Revenue noted above, and a smaller increase in the estimated fair value of the SIR Loan in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023. The estimated fair value of the SIR Loan increased by $2.0 million in Q2 2024, compared to an increase of $2.8 million in Q2 2023. Changes to the SIR Loan's valuation are related to IFRS 9, which requires the Fund to recognize the SIR Loan at fair value, with changes in the fair value being recorded in the statement of earnings.

Same Store Sales ("SSS")⁽¹⁾

Jack Astor's SSS⁽¹⁾ performance for Q2 2024 includes all 37 locations. Jack Astor's accounted for approximately 70.8% of Pooled Revenue in Q2 2024 and had a SSS⁽¹⁾ decline of 7.0%. The decline primarily reflected lower delivery sales and dine-in guest traffic, partially offset by price increases. SIR management believes the decline in delivery sales and dine-in guest visits in the quarter was primarily due to macroeconomic factors, including inflation and increased interest rates, and their impact on discretionary consumer spending.

Scaddabush SSS⁽¹⁾ performance for Q2 2024 includes eight locations. Scaddabush had a SSS⁽¹⁾ decline of 2.0% in Q2 2024, reflecting reduced dine-in guest traffic and delivery sales, partially offset by price increases.

The Signature Restaurants SSS⁽¹⁾ performance for Q2 2024 includes two restaurants (Reds® Square One and the Loose Moose Tap & Grill®). The Signature Restaurants generated same store sales growth ("SSSG")⁽¹⁾ of 12.7% in Q2 2024, primarily attributable to increased dine-in guest traffic and price increases.

Distributable Cash⁽²⁾

The following table reconciles the relationship between cash provided by operating activities and distributable cash⁽²⁾:

Distributable cash⁽²⁾ for Q2 2024 totaled $2.6 million, or $0.31 per Fund Unit (basic and diluted), and distributions to Unitholders totaled $2.4 million, representing a payout ratio⁽²⁾ of 92.8%. The Fund's payout ratio⁽²⁾ since the Fund's inception in 2004, up to and including Q2 2024, is 99.9%, in line with the Fund's target payout ratio⁽²⁾ of 100% per annum.  

Outlook

SIR continues to monitor consumer spending behavior in light of current evolving macroeconomic factors, including inflation and higher interest rates, and their potential impact on the Canadian economy and consumer confidence. Ongoing business impacts due to changes in the minimum wage, rising commodity costs and supply shortages have all been influential in the bar and restaurant industry's changes in pricing overall.

SIR continues to innovate and provide immersive new product and service offerings to increase dine-in guest visits and to capitalize on the rapid growth of take-out and delivery services in commercial foodservice. The availability of funding via SIR's Credit Agreement with its Lender provides financial certainty, enabling SIR to invest in restaurant renovations, new restaurants and other initiatives to drive growth.

During 2023 and YTD 2024, SIR completed renovations to 13 restaurants (12 Jack Astor's locations and Reds Square One) to drive enhanced performance. SIR is pleased with the success of these renovations.

The recently opened Scaddabush locations in London and Guelph, Ontario and the Don Mills neighbourhood of Toronto are expected to be added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2025.

SIR has commitments to lease a property in Barrie, Ontario upon which it plans to develop a new Scaddabush location. SIR also has a commitment to lease an additional property in Oshawa, Ontario, upon which it plans to develop a new Jack Astor's. There can be no assurance at this time that these planned new restaurants will be opened or will become part of the Royalty Pool.

In consideration of the ongoing conditions mentioned above and the timing of new restaurant construction and renovations, the related restaurant opening schedules will be reviewed regularly by SIR and adjusted as necessary.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

 (1) Same store sales ("SSS") and same store sales growth ("SSSG") are non-GAAP financial measures and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). However, the Fund believes that SSS and SSSG are useful measures and provide investors with an indication of the change in year-over-year sales. The Fund's method of calculating SSS and SSSG may differ from those of other issuers and, accordingly, SSS and SSSG may not be comparable to measures used by other issuers. SSS includes revenue from all SIR Restaurants included in Pooled Revenue except for those locations that were not open for the entire comparable periods in 2024 and 2023. SSSG is the percentage increase in SSS over the prior year comparable period.

(2) Distributable cash and payout ratio are non-GAAP financial measures and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. However, the Fund believes that distributable cash and the payout ratio are useful measures as they provide investors with an indication of cash available for distribution. The Fund's method of calculating distributable cash and the payout ratio may differ from that of other issuers and, accordingly, distributable cash and the payout ratio may not be comparable to measures used by other issuers. Investors are cautioned that distributable cash and the payout ratio should not be construed as an alternative to the statement of cash flows as a measure of liquidity and cash flows of the Fund. The payout ratio is calculated as cash distributed for the period as a percentage of the distributable cash for the period. Distributable cash represents the amount of money which the Fund expects to have available for distribution to Unitholders of the Fund, and is calculated as cash provided by operating activities of the Fund, adjusted for the net change in non-cash working capital items including a reserve for income taxes payable and the net change in the distribution receivable from the SIR Royalty Limited Partnership. For a detailed explanation of how the Fund's distributable cash is calculated, please refer to the Fund's Q2 2024 MD&A, which can be accessed via the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca).

Q2 2024 Filings

The Fund's unaudited interim consolidated Financial Statements and Management Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A"), and the Partnership's Financial Statements, for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2024 are available via the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca and SIR's website at www.sircorp.com.

About SIR Corp.

SIR Corp. ("SIR") is a privately held Canadian corporation that owns a portfolio of 55 restaurants in Canada. SIR's Concept brands include Jack Astor's Bar and Grill® with 37 locations, and Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar® with 13 locations. SIR also operates one-of-a-kind "Signature" brands including The Loose Moose® and Reds® Square One. All trademarks related to the Concept and Signature brands noted above are used by SIR under a License and Royalty Agreement with SIR Royalty Limited Partnership. SIR also owns three additional restaurants, including two Duke's Refresher® + Bar locations and Edna + Vita^TM, which are currently not part of the Royalty Pool. For more information on SIR or the SIR Royalty Income Fund, please visit www.sircorp.com.

About SIR Royalty Income Fund

The Fund is a trust governed by the laws of the province of Ontario that receives distribution income from its investment in the SIR Royalty Limited Partnership and interest income from the SIR Loan. The Fund intends to pay distributions to unitholders on a monthly basis.

Caution concerning forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained in this report, or incorporated herein by reference, including the information set forth as to the future financial or operating performance of the Fund or SIR, that are not current or historical factual statements may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Statements concerning the objectives, goals, strategies, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and the business, operations, financial performance and condition of the Fund, the SIR Holdings Trust (the "Trust"), the Partnership, SIR, the SIR Restaurants or industry results, are forward-looking statements. The words "may", "will", "should", "would", 'could", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate" and other similar terminology and the negative of such expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Fund, the Trust, the Partnership, SIR, the SIR Restaurants or industry results, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These statements reflect Management's current expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this document. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. Risks related to forward-looking statements include, among other things, challenges presented by a number of factors, including; market conditions at the time of this filing; competition; changes in demographic trends; weather; changing consumer preferences and discretionary spending patterns; changes in consumer confidence; changes in national and local business and economic conditions; pandemics or other material outbreaks of disease or safety issues affecting humans or animals or food products; the ability to maintain staffing levels; the impact of inflation, including on input prices and wages; the impact of the war in the Ukraine; changes in tariffs and international trade; changes in foreign exchange and interest rates; changes in availability of credit; legal proceedings and challenges to intellectual property rights; dependence of the Fund on the financial condition of SIR; legislation and governmental regulation, including the cost and/or availability of labour as it relates to changes in minimum wage rates or other changes to labour legislation and forced closures of or other limits placed on restaurants and bars; laws affecting the sale and use of alcohol (including availability and enforcement); changes in cannabis laws; changes in environmental laws; privacy matters; accounting policies and practices; changes in tax laws; and the results of operations and financial condition of SIR. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Many of these issues can affect the Fund's or SIR's actual results and could cause their actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Fund or SIR. There can be no assurance that SIR will remain compliant in the future with all of its financial covenants under the Credit Agreement and imposed by the lender. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not place undue reliance on them. The Fund and SIR expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly disclose or release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on Management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions, and the Fund and SIR do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change, except as expressly required by applicable securities laws.

All of the forward-looking statements made herein are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Fund or SIR.

For more information concerning the Fund's risks and uncertainties, please refer to the March 14, 2024 Annual Information Form, for the period ended December 31, 2023, and the Fund's Q2 2024 MD&A, which are available under the Fund's profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE SIR Royalty Income Fund