CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Diamond Group Limited ("Black Diamond", the "Company" or "we"), (TSX:BDI), a leading provider of space rental and workforce accommodation solutions, today announced its operating and financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 (the "Quarter") compared with the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 (the "Comparative Quarter"). All financial figures are expressed in Canadian dollars. Key Highlights from the Second Quarter of 2024 Consolidated rental revenue of $35.3 million was essentially flat as compared to the Comparative Quarter. Adjusted EBITDA1 of $27.9 million was up 24% from the Comparative Quarter, driven primarily by higher total revenues and gross profit.  Quarterly profit of $7.5 million was 63% higher than the Comparative Quarter. Diluted earnings per share ("EPS") of $0.12 was 50% higher than the Comparative Quarter.  Return on Assets1 of 19.9% was a 300 basis point improvement over the Comparative Quarter.  Consolidated contracted future rental revenue at the end of the Quarter grew 16% from $120.1 million at the end of the Comparative Quarter to $139.6 million.   Consolidated utilization was 75.5%, with Modular Space Solutions ("MSS") at 80.7% and Workforce Solutions ("WFS") at 62.4% compared to 79.3%, 83.4%, and 69.8% in the Comparative Quarter, respectively. These utilization levels remain healthy in the context of current and historical industry averages.  MSS rental revenue of $22.2 million, was a quarterly record and an increase of 6% from $21.0 million in the Comparative Quarter.  MSS average monthly rental rate per unit increased 9% from the Comparative Quarter (or 8% on a constant currency basis), while contracted future rental revenue increased 26% to $107.7 million at the end of the Quarter from $85.4 million at the end of the Comparative Quarter. Average rental duration of the MSS lease portfolio at the end of the Quarter also increased to 58.7 months from 51.1 months from the Comparative Quarter.  WFS total revenue of $44.0 million was essentially flat from the Comparative Quarter. WFS rental revenue was $13.1 million, a decrease of 7% compared to $14.1 million from the Comparative Quarter due to the completion of two large pipeline projects at the end of 2023, which was slightly offset by continued redeployments of equipment at meaningfully higher average rates during the Quarter. WFS Adjusted EBITDA of $17.3 million was up 49% from the Comparative Quarter.  LodgeLink net revenue was a record $2.9 million, an increase of 26% from $2.3 million in the Comparative Quarter on higher booking volumes as total room nights sold increased 28% from the Comparative Quarter, to a record rate of 129,737.  Total capital expenditures were $53.5 million for the Quarter, including the acquisition of a fleet of 329 space rental units for $20.5 million, and maintenance capital of $3.4 million. Total capital commitments at the end of the Quarter in the amount of $32.3 million is 36% greater than the Comparative Quarter, with the majority of growth capital being allocated to contracted project specific fleet units.  Long term debt and Net Debt1 at the end of the Quarter increased 26% and 23% since December 31, 2023, to $239.7 million and $225.9 million, respectively. The increase is primarily attributable to the $20.5 million MSS asset acquisition which closed on June 28, 2024. Net Debt to trailing twelve month ("TTM") Adjusted Leverage EBITDA1 of 2.1x is at the low-end of the Company's target range of 2.0x to 3.0x, while available liquidity was $101.0 million at the end of the Quarter.  Subsequent to the end of the Quarter, the Company declared a third quarter dividend of $0.03 payable on or about October 15, 2024 to shareholders of record on September 30, 2024. Outlook The Company's outlook for the remainder of 2024 remains positive, driven in-part by over $139.6 million of contracted future rental revenue, up 16% from the end of the Comparative Quarter. Capital commitments of $32.3 million at the end of the Quarter are 36% higher than at the end of the Comparative Quarter and the Company continues to see opportunities to compound and reinvest shareholder capital through organic fleet growth along with additional potential tuck-in acquisitions.  During the Quarter, MSS generated a record $22.2 million in rental revenue, up 6% from the Comparative Quarter, largely driven by increased average rental rates and ongoing organic fleet investment, slightly offset by a moderate decline in utilization. Current utilization remains at healthy levels for the MSS platform and above long-term industry trends. Sales revenue declined 8% from the Comparative Quarter, but increased 103%, or $6.7 million from the first quarter of 2024 as projects that had been delayed were completed in the Quarter. Non-rental revenue in the Quarter was up 31% from the Comparative Quarter, as installation activity increased, pointing to an active market within the rental fleet. MSS contracted future rental revenue continues to grow and ended the Quarter at $107.7 million, up 26% or $22.3 million from the Comparative Quarter, with an average rental duration of 59 months. Demand remains robust in key infrastructure and education verticals which continued to support ongoing deployment of organic fleet growth in the Quarter. On June 28, 2024, Black Diamond closed a $20.5 million MSS asset purchase in British Columbia. Given healthy demand in the region stemming from both construction and infrastructure end-markets, management expects the 329 space rentals assets to fit seamlessly into the fleet and enhance our ability to service active clients across British Columbia and the Prairies, which is expected to drive further growth in high margin rental revenue.  WFS had a strong quarter despite a modest 7% reduction in rental revenue from the Comparative Quarter to $13.1 million, as a result of the completion of two large pipeline projects at the end of 2023. The business unit has continued to backfill these rental revenues through improved utilization in other parts of the business unit, as well as through generally higher average rental rates as evidenced by the 49% increase in Adjusted EBITDA1 from the Comparative Quarter to $17.3 million in the Quarter. Management continues to see a robust opportunity set in both North America and Australia and believes core WFS rental revenue will improve from current levels in the remaining half of 2024.  LodgeLink continues to scale with Gross Bookings1 up 25%, to $24.4 million and net revenue increasing 26% from the Comparative Quarter to a record $2.9 million. Total room nights sold in the Quarter rose 28% from the Comparative Quarter to a record 129,737. Net Revenue Margins1 for the Quarter were up 10 basis points versus the Comparative Quarter, reaching 11.9%, driven by higher margin ancillary revenue. The Company continues to believe that LodgeLink is well-positioned for continued growth within a large, addressable North American workforce travel market with an expanding base of corporate customers. The LodgeLink supply network also continues to scale with over 1.6 million rooms of capacity in over 17,000 North American properties. During the Quarter, LodgeLink announced an expansion into the Australian workforce travel market, aligned with the platform's long-term strategy of exponentially scaling to become the pre-eminent ecosystem for workforce travel.  Black Diamond remains focused on driving profitable growth while compounding the Company's high-margin, recurring rental revenue streams in both North America and Australia. The Company is well positioned to fund continued organic and inorganic growth with liquidity of $101.0 million, and Net Debt to TTM Adjusted Leverage EBITDA1 of 2.1x, which is at the low end of the Company's targeted range of 2.0x to 3.0x. The outlook for the balance of 2024 remains positive, supported by growing contracted rental revenues, a growing fleet of long-lived assets, a robust sales pipeline, and the continued scaling of LodgeLink. 1 Adjusted EBITDA, Net Debt and Gross Bookings are non-GAAP financial measures. Return on Assets, Net Revenue Margin and Net Debt to TTM Adjusted Leverage EBITDA are non-GAAP ratios. Refer to the Non-GAAP Measures section of this news release for more information on each non-GAAP financial measure and ratio.           Second Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights         Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, ($ millions, except as noted) 2024   2023   Change 2024   2023   Change Financial Highlights $ $ % $ $ % Total revenue 95.5   91.1   5 % 169.1   172.6   (2 )% Gross profit 46.0   39.4   17 % 81.8   76.7   7 % Administrative expenses 19.9   16.8   18 % 36.8   32.8   12 % Adjusted EBITDA(1) 27.9   22.5   24 % 47.3   43.9   8 % Adjusted EBIT(1) 16.8   11.9   41 % 25.5   23.5   9 % Funds from Operations(1) 29.9   26.0   15 % 49.3   47.4   4 % Per share ($) 0.49   0.43   14 % 0.81   0.79   3 % Profit before income taxes 10.0   6.9   45 % 12.3   13.4   (8 )% Profit 7.5   4.6   63 % 9.0   9.0   — % Earnings per share - Basic ($) 0.12   0.08   50 % 0.15   0.15   — % Earnings per share - Diluted ($) 0.12   0.08   50 % 0.14   0.15   (7 )% Capital expenditures 53.5   19.3   177 % 70.8   35.1   102 % Property & equipment 563.1   500.0   13 % 563.1   500.0   13 % Total assets 721.5   653.6   10 % 721.5   653.6   10 % Long-term debt 239.7   219.2   9 % 239.7   219.2   9 % Cash and cash equivalents 14.1   15.4   (8 )% 14.1   15.4   (8 )% Return on Assets (%)(1) 19.9 % 16.9 % 300 bps 17.1 % 16.6 % 50 bps Free Cashflow(1) 18.3   17.0   8 % 27.7   30.1   (8 )% (1) Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBIT, Funds from Operations and Free Cashflow are non-GAAP financial measures. Return on Assets is a non-GAAP ratio. Refer to the Non-GAAP Measures section of this news release for more information on each non-GAAP financial measure and ratio. Additional Information A copy of the Company's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 and related management's discussion and analysis have been filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca) and www.blackdiamondgroup.com. About Black Diamond Group Black Diamond is a specialty rentals and industrial services company with two operating business units - MSS and WFS. We operate in Canada, the United States, and Australia. MSS through its principal brands, BOXX Modular, CLM, MPA Systems, and Schiavi, owns a large rental fleet of modular buildings of various types and sizes. Its network of local branches rent, sell, service, and provide ancillary products and services to a diverse customer base in the construction, industrial, education, financial, and government sectors. WFS owns a large rental fleet of modular accommodation assets of various types. Its regional operating terminals rent, sell, service, and provide ancillary products and services including turnkey operated camps to a wide array of customers in the resource, infrastructure, construction, disaster recovery, and education sectors. In addition, WFS includes LodgeLink which operates a digital marketplace for business-to-business crew accommodation, travel, and logistics services across North America. The LodgeLink proprietary digital platform enables customers to efficiently find, book, and manage their crew travel and accommodation needs through a rapidly growing network of hotel, remote lodge, and travel partners. LodgeLink exists to solve the unique challenges associated with crew travel and applies technology to eliminate inefficiencies at every step of the crew travel process from booking, to management, to payments, to cost reporting. Learn more at www.blackdiamondgroup.com. For investor inquiries please contact Jason Zhang at 403-206-4739 Conference Call Black Diamond will hold a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. MT (11:00 a.m. ET) on Friday, August 2, 2024. CEO Trevor Haynes and CFO Toby LaBrie will discuss Black Diamond's financial results for the Quarter and then take questions from investors and analysts. To access the conference call by telephone dial toll free 1-844-763-8274. International callers should use 1-647-484-8814. Please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call.  To access the call via webcast, please log into the webcast link 10 minutes before the start time at: https://www.gowebcasting.com/13402 Following the conference call, a replay will be available on the Investor Centre section of the Company's website at www.blackdiamondgroup.com, under Presentations & Events. Reader Advisory Forward-Looking StatementsCertain information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the Company's outlook for the remainder of 2024, opportunities to compound and reinvest shareholder capital, expectations for the effect of the June 28, 2024 MSS asset purchase, expectations for and opportunities in different geographic areas, opportunities for organic investment, potential for tuck-in acquisitions, the sales and opportunity pipeline, timing and payment of a third quarter dividend, management's assessment of Black Diamond's future operations and what may have an impact on them, opportunities and effect of deploying investment capital, financial performance, business prospects and opportunities, changing operating environment including changing activity levels, effects on demand and performance based on the changing operating environment, expectations for demand and growth in the Company's operating and customer segments, future deployment of assets, amount of revenue anticipated to be derived from current contracts, ongoing contractual terms and debt obligations, liquidity, working capital and other requirements, sources and use of funds, economic life of the Company's assets, expected length of existing contracts and future growth and profitability of the Company. With respect to the forward-looking statements in this news release, Black Diamond has made assumptions regarding, among other things: future commodity prices, the future rate environment, that Black Diamond will continue to raise sufficient capital to fund its business plans in a manner consistent with past operations, timing and cost estimates of the Enterprise Resource Planning ("ERP") system, that counterparties to contracts will perform the contracts as written and that there will be no unforeseen material delays in contracted projects. Although Black Diamond believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, and the assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are made, are reasonable, there can be no assurances that such expectations or assumptions will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause ...