MONTRÉAL, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier Health of America Inc. (TSXV: PHA) (the “Corporation”), a leading Canadian Healthtech company, announces it has filed its Unaudited Quarterly Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for its first quarter ended December 31, 2022.

First Quarter 2023 Highlights

Summary

• The Corporation had revenues of $21.6M for the first quarter ($18.4M for the same period in 2021).
• The increase in revenue is attributable to the consolidation of Canadian Health Care Agency for the last 5 months of the fiscal year, which more than compensated for lower activity in Quebec.
• The gross margin for the quarter was 23.5% slightly below our long-term target of 25%, but in-line with expectations for the first quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $1.5M ($1.5M for the same period in 2021).
• Net (Loss) Income for the quarter was $(0.4)M ($0.3M for the same period in 2021).

“The first quarter remained challenging in Quebec, as our revenues were impacted by a series of measures imposed by the government, which limited our revenues and constrained our margins. The recently proposed Bill 10 will possibly have a similar effect, although it could also lead to a more balanced competitive landscape if the rules favor the well organized and stable agencies like us” Said Martin Legault, CEO of Premier Health. “Our expansion in Ontario had a great timing as it diversified our risks. Until we have more clarity on the market rules in Quebec, we will focus our growth on other Canadian provinces and increase our geographical footprint.”

Business Highlights

• The Corporation provided 226,000 hours of service during the quarter.
• Ministry of Health regular changes in operational directives in Quebec related to the state of health emergency continued to affect revenues in Q1-2023. These special measures were lifted on December 31, 2022.
• Acquisition of Ontario based CHCA in the third quarter of FY2022 continues to contribute positively to earnings.
• Successful launch of SAP ERP system across business units.
• Successful launch of new mobile application with additional timesheet management features.
• Continued development of our LiPHe platform to further improve automation of our business processes. Deployment slated to start in Q3 of 2023.

Province of Quebec

2022 was a challenging year for our activities in Quebec. Over the period the Ministry of Health imposed a series of temporary directives and chronic changes in modus operandi for the use of independent work force that had a destabilizing effect on our industry in general. This translated into available nurses that could not be placed in a healthcare system that desperately needed them and a decrease in billable hours for nurse agencies active in the province. We expected a gradual return to normality in 2023. However, the tabling of Bill 10 on February 15th could result in similar constraints. We believe that our services offer flexibility to both professionals and institutions, and as such, play a vital role in providing quality healthcare to the population. Independent labour accounts for less than 5% of the total hours worked in the public health care system and should be viewed as tool to ensure there is no rupture in the delivery of care. Bill 10 mainly states that the Ministry of Health can decide where, when and for how long institutions can use independent labour. Such decisions need to be enacted through the issuance of specific directives and as long as such directives are not issued, we do not expect a material impact on our business units in Quebec. We are supporting clear directives including clear engagement parameters and tender processes. We believe this could prove positive for the industry and possibly decrease the average cost paid by the Ministry of Health for this type of services. We are closely monitoring the situation and are actively involved in the overall reflection with the Quebec Ministry of Health on the future of our industry through our industry association.

Canadian Health Care Agency

The Ontario agency was acquired in April and contributed to the company’s results for the full first quarter of 2023. For the period CHCA contributed around 30% of the consolidated revenues. The integration of CHCA is going as planned with a solid and well-established management team. CHCA is an important service provider to the Federal Government and is also providing services to provincial entities namely in Manitoba and British Columbia.

About Premier Health

Premier Health is a leading Canadian Healthtech company that provides a comprehensive range of outsourced services solutions for healthcare needs to governments, corporations, and individuals. Premier Health uses its proprietary LiPHe platform to lead the healthcare services sector digital transformation to provide patients with faster, cheaper, and more accessible care services.

Non-GAAP Measures

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”), is calculated as the net profit (loss), before non-recurring items excluding acquisition and transaction costs, non-cash expenses (including loss from disposal of assets, impairments, amortization, and depreciation), interest expense, net of interest income and income tax expense. More detail can be found in PHA’s Management Discussion and Analysis.

For Further Information Please Contact:

Mr. Guy Daoust
Chief Financial Officer
Premier Health of America Inc.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 1 800 231 9916

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

This press release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. Statements about the date of trading of the Corporation’s common shares on the Exchange and final regulatory approvals, among others, are forward-looking information. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. The Corporation assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. These factors and others are more fully discussed in the filings of the Corporation with Canadian securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com.