#TSX
#Resource #Infrastructure Company, Enterprise Group, Inc. [TSX: $E] Shareholder
Letter
WESTERN CANADA RESOURCE GROWTH PROXY: A Canary in the Coal Mine?
ST.
ALBERT, ALBERTA, CANADA - February 8, 2017 (Investorideas.com Newswire)
Enterprise Group, Inc. ("Enterprise," or "the Company") [TSX: E], a consolidator of services to the energy sector focused primarily on
construction services and specialized equipment rental, today released an
in-depth corporate Letter to Shareholders from CEO Leonard D. Jaroszuk.
My
Fellow Shareholders and Investors;
My
purpose is not to regale shareholders with stories concluding that all the
rubble has been cleared away from the Alberta resource carnage that began in
June 2014. Nor will I bore you with a lot of historical statistics.
Enterprise
management has significant skin in the game. Prior to the 2014 resource
downturn, the group owned 3.7 million shares (6.7%-consolidation adjusted).
Acting on the confidence in the Company's long term prospects for growth,
management now owns 10.3 million shares (18.4%).
Throughout
the downturn, management significantly increased direct investment by 275%.
What I
will do is impart to you our resource sector intel that, from our unique
perspective as a premier supplier of resource infrastructure services, appears
to have turned and is steadily improving. Some salient points:
- With zero being the bottom of the resource sector decline, it
appears to be tracking at roughly a three out of ten;
- Incoming business inquiries have and continue to increase steadily
over the past several months;
- Billions of dollars in Western Pipeline, LNG projects—most
undertaken by previous and current clients–are beginning to crystalize.
- Resource development budgets are up for 2017; in some individual
cases more than double 2016
- Sector has seen several company closings and a significant rise in
M&A activity
- Canadian resource company 2016 O&G M&A activity highest
since 2007; $277.6 billion versus $314.7 billion
- Oil was at well over US$120 in 2007 and is about 40% of that price
now
A
major boost to the growth discussion is the new resource-friendly direction the
US administration appears to be signaling for the years ahead.
Navigating
an Ugly Market
Enterprise's management adjustments were simple; employ direct and
aggressive price discounts, improve service, and cut costs to pay for those
discounts. As well, we continued our pre-decline plan to sell our TC Backhoe
Di- vision in June, 2016 for terms totaling approximately C$20 million. The
sale allowed us to retire a significant portion of our then-$40 million in
debt. TC was an exceptional investment vehicle as it satisfied our mandate to
provide specialized or exclusive services to clients, from a global tier-one to
the smallest independent company.
The
acquisition of this great company in 2007 for $12 million was immediately
accretive. During our 9.5 years of ownership, TC generated roughly 13-fold
($154 million) the purchase price in revenues and extended our reputation as
the premier (and frankly the only) ‘One Stop Source' for virtually every
critical resource construction service.
The
most important current information for both companies and investors is to
understand how corporate managements dealt with the sector decline and what
plans are in place to not just participate as the sector hardens, but to be a
valued partner as clients need help and advice to navigate the new environment.
Enterprise
as the Canary in the (Resource) Coal Mine.
Due to
our unique position in the resource sector, Enterprise could analogously be
considered a ‘canary in the coal mine'. By gauging the activities of our
clientele, suppliers, and the sector in general, we could well be considered a
useful measure of its health and growth prospects.
As we
have just completed Q4 2016, we experienced a continued improvement in the
sector outlook. Interestingly, in Q3 2016, while revenues were down from $10.4
million same period in 2015 to $6.7, we posted a $0.01 cent profit versus a
$0.01 loss. The first nine months' revenues of 2016 totaled $21 million, down
from $32 million for the same period in 2015.
From
our Q3 discussion:
"...the
Company is committed to certain service standards for its existing clients
which management believes to be critical for fostering the Company's
longer-term growth. As the Company better understands the economic outlook for
2017 and the likely level of demand for its services, it will adjust its
internal infrastructure accordingly."
That,
along with our ongoing cost analyses, streamlining and the specialized nature
of our service offerings, I believe Enterprise will continue to grow and
weather this malaise stronger than before.
Why
Enterprise? Because Infrastructure Always Leads the Recovery.
As a company consolidator, we are not slowing down. We frequently see
and are proposed deals as others scramble to either return to profitability or
just survive.
Enterprise
in in excellent position to vet and realistically pick and choose those assets
and/or companies of interest that will add the most value and consistent
shareholder value.
We are
aggressively looking for businesses that fit our mix and will be immediately
accretive. There is a myriad of great fits out there, both incremental and some
companies much larger than Enterprise.
During
the decline, Enterprise has carefully lowered prices (2-3 times) and worked
closely with clients to accomplish their goals. While we are seeing decent
price stability, the sector is still too brittle for any excessive price
increases. Enterprise felt it was more important to accommodate lower budgets
etc. where possible for both revenue reasons and to deepen relationships with
existing clients and add new ones.
Already,
we are finding that as the sector improves we are stretched. We are working
directly to make the right hires to deal with our expanding business.
So
Far, So Good.
We are
involved or plan to be with the major western projects, be it pipelines,
including Kinder Morgan, BC Hydro, Alta Gas, Fortis or any of several other
major resource projects.
While
we see consistent growth from here, there is the possibility of the sector
gapping higher depending on oil's price direction. We have seen discussion of
further production cuts to help pricing. Certainly, the current base of $50 oil
and $3 gas will help the intermediate to long-term buoyancy of the sector and
revenue growth.
Don't
Believe the Consensus.
Consensus
rarely makes investors any money.
Just
as we didn't see the highly touted $200-barrel oil spike a few years ago,
espousing a further price collapse now is likely at just as long odds.
The
U.S. Energy Information Administration's January Short-Term Energy Outlook
(STEO) forecasts bench- mark North Sea Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude oil prices to average $53 per barrel (b) and
$52/b,
respectively, in 2017, close to their levels during the last three weeks of
2016. These prices are expected to rise to $56/b and $55/b, respectively, in
2018.
In
January of 2014, Enterprise was trading north of $3 a share. Currently and
perhaps ironically, while the sec- tor continues to wring its hands, good
stories such as ours tend to get overlooked.
I
further believe that Enterprise is the strongest swimmer in a very small
competitive pool and the only infra- structure company that is strong enough to
scale up as warranted.
As I
write, I firmly believe that Enterprise is a stronger company than in 2014 and
has exceptional growth plans.
Just
as virtually no one saw the declines that decimated the industry, cautious
optimism is currently the most prudent strategy both for companies and
investors.
To our
experienced management team, the current markets are strongly like those seen
in 2004-5. From $50 in 2005, oil peaked at north of $120 in late 2008. After
the 2008 economic decline, oil dropped to $40 and increased again to $120 by
2011. You know the rest.
We
feel the price and sector growth are underway and should become increasingly
compelling for those who tend to move ahead of the herd.
At
Enterprise, we appreciate your continued support and know that we are working
every day to deliver share- holder value, no matter the market condition.
Sincerely,
Leonard
D. Jaroszuk
President and CEO
Enterprise Group, Inc.
President and CEO
Enterprise Group, Inc.
About
Enterprise Group, Inc. Enterprise
Group, Inc. is a consolidator of construction services companies operating in
the energy, utility and transportation infrastructure industries. The Company's
focus is primarily construction services and specialized equipment rental. The
Company's strategy is to acquire complementary service companies in Western
Canada, consolidating capital, management, and human resources to support
continued growth.
More
information is available at the Company's website www.enterprisegrp.ca. Corporate
filings can be found on www.sedar.com
For
questions or additional information, please contact:
780-418-4400
Forward
Looking Information Certain statements
contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information. These
statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance. The use
of any of the words "could", "expect", "believe",
"will", "projected", "estimated" and similar
expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts
are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the
Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such
future events. Actual future results may differ materially. The Company's
Annual Information Form and other documents filed with securities regulatory
authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website www.sedar.com) describe the
risks, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual
results and which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company disclaims
any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
information, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be expressly required by applicable securities laws.
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