CERF INCORPORATED Announces Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2013

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - April 9, 2014) - Mr. Wayne Wadley, President of CERF Incorporated (TSX VENTURE:CFL) (the "Company" or "CERF"), is pleased to announce preliminary selected unaudited financial and operating results for the Company for the year ended December 31, 2013. The financial information contained herein is based on management's estimates and has not been approved by the Company's Audit Committee or Board of Directors, nor has it been audited or reviewed by the Company's Auditors.

Full details of the Company's financial results, in the form of the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2013 and Management's Discussion and Analysis of the results are expected to be available on or about April 29, 2014 on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.cerfcorp.com.

Selected Highlights of the year ended 2013 include:

• Revenue increased 38% to $46,757,000 for the year ended December 31, 2013 versus the year ended December 31, 2012;
  
  
• Net income increased 1,094% to $3,129,000 or $0.23 per share, basic in 2013 versus $262,000 or $0.02 per share in 2012;
  
  
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 64% to $13,027,000 for the year ended December 31, 2013 versus $7,960,000 for 2012. Further, EBITDA per share, basic in 2013 was $0.96 versus $0.76 in 2012;
  
  
• The Company paid dividends of $0.24 per share to shareholders in 2013 while reducing the annualized payout ratio to 52% from an annualized payout ratio of 76% in 2012;
  
  
• Adjusted free cash flow generated during 2013 was $6,521,000 compared to adjusted free cash flow of $3,214,000 in 2012;
  
  
• Long term debt was reduced by $7,789,000; and
  
  
• Debt to equity was improved to a ratio of 0.95 to 1.00 from a 2012 debt to equity ratio of 2.05 to 1.00.
  
  

Summary of fourth Quarter and Year to Date Unaudited Consolidated Financial Results:

In C$,000's except percentages and per shares data	Q4 2013	Q4 2012	$ change	%	YTD 2013	YTD 2012	$ change	%
Revenue	12,522	11,252	1,270	11%	46,757	33,770	12,987	38%
Direct Expenses	9,260	8,346	914	11%	34,687	27,159	7,528	28%
Gross Margin %	26%	26%		0%	26%	20%		6%
Net Income	1,005	669	336	50%	3,129	262	2,867	1,094%
Net income per share, basic	0.06	0.06	-	0%	0.23	0.02	0.21	1050%
Adjusted EBITDA	3,629	3,372	257	8%	13,027	7,960	5,067	64%
Adjusted Free Cash Flow	2,006	1,937	69	4%	6,521	3,214	3,307	103%
Trailing 12 Month payout ratio					52%	76%		(24)%
Dividend per share	0.06	0.06	-	0%	0.24	0.24	-	0%

Mr. Wadley, President & CEO makes the following comments:

"In early March, Statistics Canada filed their employment data that showed that Alberta now accounts for 87% of all the jobs created in the country year over year. Alberta added 82,300 jobs in 2013 and the unemployment rate has declined from 4.6% in 2012 to 4.3% in 2013. Alberta's 2013 GDP was 3.3% with population growth of 3.5% and Alberta is expected to reach 4.3 million persons by 2016. This heightened level of economic activity in the Province throughout 2013 is reflected in our record 2013 year end results.

Looking ahead, the Alberta Government's 2014 Capital Plan in their recently announced budget predicted that their infrastructure spending is expected to be $19.2 billion over the next three years with $5.1 billion for municipal infrastructure, $5 billion for provincial highways, $2.6 billion for health care facilities and $2.5 billion for schools. According to the Statistics Canada January 2014 report, there are over $1 billion of residential and non-residential building permits issued in the Edmonton and Calgary metropolitan areas alone.

The high level of economic activity in Alberta and specifically in the Edmonton area market where CERF operates bodes well for the continued work load and the growth from our diverse customer base. Locally, there are eleven major strategic projects confirmed ranging from the new NHL arena project with an estimated $6 billion of redevelopment surrounding it, downtown arts area development, southeast and northwest light rail transit expansion, an energy and technology park in the south, and the former Municipal Airport redevelopment project to name a few. Our market research indicates that we need to aggressively bolster our construction rental fleet to meet the future demand of our customers. This is why we recently added an incremental $3.6 million (almost doubling) to our original growth capital budget for 2014. The bulk of this capital will be dedicated to expanding 4-Way's equipment fleet. Our total capital investment this year is expected to be $11.3 million, of which $4.0 million will be maintenance capital, with the remaining $7.3 million will be growth capital.

Increased economic activity in Alberta creates the potential for increased placement of special waste (impacted soils) and construction debris into our managed landfill facilities, thereby generating more revenue and profit for our waste and environmental division. We have added three facility management contract extensions in this division for various periods up to five years, with combined projected future revenue of approximately $23 million over the extension period.

The cold winter in Alberta and North America has had positive effects on CERF. Firstly, the local demand for our construction heater fleet has been exceptional. At times the heater fleet was fully utilized. Heat equipment accounts for over 20% of our rental fleet. Increased utilization translates into increased profitability. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly from a long term perspective, natural gas storage inventories have declined significantly. At the end of February 2014, United States natural gas storage levels were 40% below last year and 35% below the five year average. Alberta natural gas storage levels have also dropped dramatically and have caused the AECO spot price to jump well beyond $4.30/Gigajoule from the $3.00/Gigajoule range over that past couple of years. Permitting for the construction of liquefied natural gas ("LNG") plants on the west coast of Canada has reached 14.6 billion cubic feet/day ("bcf/d") of exports to primarily Southeast Asian markets. For perspective, Canada's total current production is 12.7 bcf/d. The National Energy Board on March 20, 2014 granted approval to export up to a further 1.55 bcf/d to the United States for LNG export. This diversification of markets bodes well for increasing demand for Canadian natural gas and a more sustainable pricing regime.

The WTI oil price continues to hover around the $US99/barrel range and importantly for Canadian producers; the differential of the Canadian dollar has fallen to about $0.90 US. Canadian oil and natural gas exports are priced in US dollars so there is currently a 10% premium paid on those commodities. With rising prices, increased demand and a favorable currency differential, oil and natural gas producers should have increased revenues and cash flows for development in 2014 and beyond. As a result, we should see increased drilling and completion activity which would positively impact CERF oilfield rentals."

CERF Incorporated trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CFL" and currently has 16,134,441 shares issued and outstanding.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward looking-information. Forward-looking statements or information may contain statements with the words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "budget", "project", "would have realized', "may have been" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or expectations. Although the Company believes that the expectations implied in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of assumptions about the future and uncertainties, such as the continued growth of Alberta economy resulting in additional revenues for the Company and that the increase in oil and natural gas prices will lead to increased drilling activity and that increased drilling activity will result in increased oilfield and construction rental revenue for CERF and that the increase in capital spending on CERF's rental fleets will result in increased rental revenues in the future. These uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. For this purpose, any statements herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions, industry conditions, weather conditions, commodity prices, currency fluctuations and competition from other equipment rental companies. The forward-looking statements or information contained herein are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new contrary information, future events or any other reason, unless it is required by any applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.