(TSX: NWC)
COVID- Response“North West is
an essential product and service provider to all of the communities
we serve, across northern Canada, Alaska, the Caribbean, and in the
Pacific islands,” commented President and CEO Edward Kennedy, “Our
lines of business serve a full range of everyday needs.
Today, each one is focused on safely sustaining our critical role
across COVID-19 severity scenarios. We are especially attentive to
the situations faced by our staff and customers and I deeply
appreciate their commitment and support, as we all pull
together. For our staff, we recognized immediate workloads
through a temporary $2/hour wage increase and we are recruiting
additional team members, to handle higher anticipated sales over
the next several months and to provide needed relief and
back-up. For our customers, we have worked hard to re-supply
the initial demand surge on core items and we have frozen prices
within our control. This week we will begin to reduce food
prices through a range of in-store programs, to help our customers
live as best as possible through COVID-19. We also continue
to adapt to make our work and shopping environments safe.
Throughout, we are in constant contact and collaboration with every
community. Our consistent message and action is that, more
than ever, we are here to serve you”.
North West’s businesses cover a range of everyday product and
service needs:
Retail Food and Essential
General Merchandise - sold through “Northern”,
“North Mart” and “Giant Tiger”, stores in Canada, “Alaska
Commercial Company” stores in Alaska and “Cost-U-Less” and “RiteWay
Food Market” in the Pacific and Caribbean. We also sell
online centrally through SPAN Alaska and now through each of our
store locations on a “click and pick-up/delivery” basis.
Health - We
operate in-store pharmacies within key northern hub communities in
Canada. These locations deliver extended treatment services, where
allowed, to help alleviate demands on other in-community health
providers, especially during COVID-19. Our “North West
Telepharmacy” service is the largest of its kind in Canada with a
staff of over 100 remote pharmacists providing extended online
coverage for the needs of smaller hospitals, health centres and
health call-in lines. Our “AMDOCs” northern community
physician service is extending its tele-medicine solutions that
will help expand the local health delivery capacity of rural
communities.
Transportation
- “North Star Air” (NSA) is the largest dedicated air cargo
provider in northern Canada. NSA has added leased aircraft capacity
to handle increased demand and will bring an additional owned
ATR-72 500 aircraft into service in May. NSA’s passenger
division continues to operate as an essential service, with
schedules and capacity flexed to accommodate the reduced travel
needs of northern Canadians. “NEAS” is our arctic cargo shipping
joint venture, which North West has been an owner of for over 20
years. NEAS continues to prepare for the upcoming sealift
season and the delivery of essential products into arctic regions
of Canada through this important, cost-effective mode.
Financial and Other Services -
NWC’s We Financial division is one of Canada’s largest issuers of
prepaid VISA cards and is working closely with governments in
Canada to enable more direct deposit of income transfers during the
COVID-19 response. We Financial credit services have waived
payments on accounts for 60 days. In Canada, NWC also
operates 64 community Canada Post outlets, located within our
Northern stores.
Business
Services - Each of North West’s store divisions
includes a wholesale “B to B” selling arm. These divisions are
adding resources to respond to the essential product, service or
transportation supply needs of governments and businesses disrupted
by COVID-19.
LiquidityNorth
West has approximately $190 million of available capacity on
existing loan facilities to support the needs of our
business. This capacity combined with an anticipated 38%
reduction in capital investments from $104 million in 2019 to $65
million in 2020 and previously announced $17 million in annualized
administrative cost savings, are expected to provide growth in
operating cash flow in 2020.
Posted Investor
UpdateMore information on North West’s COVID-19
response plan and the Giant Tiger transaction can be accessed in
the investor presentation section of the Company’s website at
www.northwest.ca.
Forward-Looking
StatementsCertain forward-looking statements are
made in this news release, within the meaning of applicable
securities laws, including but not limited to, statements
with respect to the Company’s anticipated future results, events
and plans, strategic initiatives and restructuring, future
liquidity, planned capital investments, the sale of certain of the
Company’s Giant Tiger stores to Giant Tiger Stores Limited (“GTSL
Transaction”) and the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 virus on
the Company’s operations and the Company’s related business
continuity plans. These statements reflect North West's
current expectations and are based on information currently
available to management. The words may, will, should, believe,
expect, plan, anticipate, intend, estimate, predict, potential,
continue, or the negative of these terms, identify forward-looking
matters. These statements speak only as of the date of this press
release. The actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements.
Reliance should not be placed on forward-looking
statements because they involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual
results, performance, capital expenditures or achievements of North
West to differ materially from anticipated future results,
performance, capital expenditures or achievement expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements, including the closing
of the GTSL Transaction which is subject to commercial risks and
closing conditions that are outside the control of the Company,
which may cause the GTSL Transaction to not close on the terms and
conditions negotiated or at all. These and other factors should be
considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. North West
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable
law.
Company
ProfileThe North West Company Inc., through its
subsidiaries, is a leading retailer of food and everyday products
and services to rural communities and urban neighbourhoods in
Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. North West
operates 249 stores under the trading names Northern, NorthMart,
Giant Tiger, Alaska Commercial Company, Cost-U-Less and RiteWay
Food Markets and has annualized sales of approximately CDN$2.0
billion.
The common shares of North West
trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol
NWC.
For more information
contact:
Edward Kennedy, President and Chief Executive
Officer, The North West Company Inc.Phone 204-934-1482; fax
204-934-1317; email ekennedy@northwest.ca
John King, Executive Vice-President and Chief
Financial Officer, The North West Company Inc.Phone 204-934-1397;
fax 204-934-1317; email jking@northwest.ca
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