ROUGEMONT, QC, May 9, 2024 /CNW/ - Lassonde Industries Inc. (TSX: LAS.A) ("Lassonde" or the "Corporation") today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. Financial Highlights: First quarters ended March 30, 2024 April 1, 2023 ∆ (in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated) $ $ $ Sales 569.8 547.3 22.5 Gross profit 149.6 136.6 13.0 Operating profit 34.6 26.2 8.3 Profit 23.7 17.6 6.0 Attributable to: Corporation's shareholders 23.8 17.1 6.7 Non-controlling interests (0.1) 0.5 (0.7) EPS (in $) 3.49 2.51 0.98 Weighted average number of shares outstanding (in thousands) 6,822 6,822 - Adjusted EBITDA1 52.4 43.1 9.3 Adjusted EPS1 (in $) 3.68 2.48 1.20 Note: These are financial highlights only. Management's Discussion and Analysis, the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the quarter ended March 30, 2024 are available on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca and on the website of Lassonde Industries Inc. "Lassonde's first-quarter results reflect ongoing momentum in sales and profit growth, supporting our positive outlook for 2024," said Nathalie Lassonde, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Lassonde Industries Inc. "Driven by our resourceful and talented teams, extensive product portfolio, solid customer relationships, as well as our brands' well-established reputations, we continue to make steady progress in executing our business strategy." "Solid pricing execution and rigorous cost management enabled Lassonde to deliver robust 32% growth in operating profit for the first quarter," added Vince Timpano, President and Chief Operating Officer, Lassonde Industries Inc. "Our initiatives remain on track for the fiscal year. Notably, we are progressing well on our build back plan in the U.S., with incremental volume expected to materialize in the second half of the year. Also, our North Carolina single-serve line, which will be commissioned later into 2024, is expected to play a key role in capturing growth opportunities in new markets across both our branded and private label businesses. Finally, we remain focused on fortifying our leading position in Canada and accelerating the growth of our specialty food business."  First Quarter Highlights: Sales of $569.8 million. Excluding a $0.8 million unfavourable foreign exchange impact and $8.2 million in sales from Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. ("Diamond"), an entity of which Lassonde acquired control on November 14, 2023, the Corporation's sales were up $15.1 million (2.8%) year over year, mainly due to the favourable impact of selling price adjustments in Canada partly offset by a decrease in Canadian sales volume. Gross profit of $149.6 million (26.2% of sales). Excluding a $3.3 million unfavourable foreign exchange impact and $3.1 million in gross profit from Diamond, gross profit was up $13.2 million from the same quarter last year. This net increase results mainly from the following items: A favourable impact of selling price adjustments to offset the cost increases of certain inputs, essentially orange concentrates; and A favourable impact of a change in the sales mix. Operating profit of $34.6 million, up $8.3 million from the same quarter last year. This net increase results mainly from a higher gross profit partly offset by $4.0 million in additional selling and administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2024 coming from Diamond. Excluding items impacting comparability, adjusted EBITDA1 was $52.4 million (9.2% of sales), up $9.3 million from the same quarter last year. Profit attributable to the Corporation's shareholders of $23.8 million, resulting in EPS of $3.49, up $6.7 million and $0.98, respectively, from the same quarter in 2023. Excluding items impacting comparability, adjusted EPS1 was $3.68 compared to $2.48 in the same quarter last year. As at March 30, 2024, the Corporation had total assets of $1,721.2 million versus $1,665.7 million as at December 31, 2023, a 3.3% increase arising mainly from a higher foreign exchange conversion rate as at March 30, 2024, from an increase in property, plant and equipment and from higher inventories.  As at March 30, 2024, long-term debt, including the current portion, stood at $219.8 million, representing a net debt to adjusted EBITDA1 ratio of 1.01:1. This is up $9.3 million from December 31, 2023. Operating activities generated $11.3 million in cash compared to $4.9 million used in the same quarter last year. This increase in cash inflows was essentially due to a change in non-cash operating working capital items, which used $9.8 million less cash than in the same quarter of 2023, to a higher operating profit and to a $4.7 million favourable change in settlements of derivative instruments, partly offset by a $6.2 million increase in net income tax paid. Dividend of $1.00 per share, paid on March 15, 2024. Outlook Lassonde continues to expect the largest factors impacting its performance in fiscal 2024 will be the financial health of consumers and the inflationary environment. As a result, the Corporation is currently retaining the following assumptions for its fiscal year 2024: Sales growth rate  For 2024, barring any significant external shocks and excluding foreign exchange impacts, Lassonde expects: a sales growth rate in the mid-single-digit range, mainly driven by the run rate effect of its selling price adjustments together with the volume growth expected in the second half of the year; and a slight decrease in sales volume in the first half of the year with sequential improvement in the second half resulting from the combined impact of the following items: (i) the pace of the demand build back strategy in the United States ("U.S.") for the Corporation's products; (ii) additional volumes available following the deployment of its single-serve line in North Carolina; and (iii) the overall stabilization of demand. The Corporation is closely monitoring the evolution of consumer food habits and demand elasticity in a context of ongoing inflation. Key commodity and input costs Lassonde's input costs have increased significantly since 2021. The prices for orange juice and orange concentrates remain an area of focus. Given that a large portion of the raw material purchases made by Lassonde's Canadian operations are in U.S. dollars, a strengthening of this currency against the Canadian dollar results in a higher cost for products sold in the Canadian market. Furthermore, the Corporation is expecting an unfavourable foreign exchange impact for 2024 when considering its hedged positions. Expenses, including items impacting the comparability between the periods The Corporation's performance-related compensation expenses are expected to return in 2024 to levels below those observed in 2023. During 2024, Lassonde plans to continue deploying its Strategy, optimizing its business and upgrading its key systems and technology infrastructures to improve its efficiency. Planned spending in support of these elements is expected to reach up to $5.0 million in 2024. Effective tax rate Effective tax rate of about 26.5% for 2024, excluding the impact on the tax rate of Diamond's results. Working capital The Corporation's Days Operating Working Capital1 remains close to its historical levels and only incremental improvements are expected for this ratio over the course of 2024. However, this outlook might be ...