Pethealth Inc. Announces Record Annual Revenue of $42,206,000; Annual Profit of $1,504,000 and Its Full Results for the Year and Three Months Ended December 31, 2013

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 7, 2014) - Pethealth Inc. (TSX:PTZ) ("Pethealth" or "the Company") today announced its financial results for the year and three months ended December 31, 2013.

	For the year ended						For the three months ended
($'000 except for per share figures)	Dec 31 2013		Dec 31 2012		Change %		Dec 31 2013		Dec 31 2012		Change %
Revenue	42,206		37,427		13	%	11,064		9,413		18	%
EBITDA(1)	5,357		5,212		3	%	1,290		982		31	%
Profit before taxes	1,909		2,402		(21	%)	366		202		81	%
Basic effective tax rate	21	%	(73	%)	-		(19	%)	(185	%)	-
Profit after taxes	1,504		4,150		(64	%)	434		575		(25	%)
Basic earnings per share	0.03		0.11		-		0.01		0.02		-
Fully diluted earnings per share	0.02		0.09		-		0.01		0.02		-

(1)	EBITDA, a non IFRS accounting measure, is profit before amortisation and depreciation, interest and income taxes.

"In Q4 we delivered a solid top line and improved cash flow from operations giving us record revenues for the full year and a significant increase in free cash flow year on year," said Mark Warren President and CEO. "During Q4 we also again used a balanced approach in returning cash to shareholders through the continued repurchase of our common stock and the acquisition of VetMedsDirect, a leading online provider of pet specialty retail and pet pharmacy in the UK, an acquisition which will provide financial benefits for the Company in 2014 and beyond."

2013 results:

Consolidated revenue increased by 13% to a record $42.2-million as both the insurance and non-insurance segments recorded double digit revenue growth.

Insurance segment revenues increased 12% to $25.5-million. The increase was the combination of organic growth, where US and UK core commission revenue grew 6% and 11% respectively, and growth by acquisition as the Company, on May 1, 2013, acquired certain assets of Nestle Purina Claims Processing, Inc ("PurinaCare"). The PurinaCare acquisition included the right to administer and renew 12,196 PurinaCare policies from close. As a result of the acquisition, an incremental $1.09-million in commission and fee revenue was generated during 2013.

Non-insurance revenues increased 13% to $16.7-million which included a 7% increase from the sale of microchip technology, a 42% increase from cross sales of products and services to the 24PetWatch database in North America and an aggregate 59% increase from business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales through the PetangoStore.com, Petango retail store and VetMedsDirect.co.uk.

Consolidated EBITDA increased by 3% to $5.4-million. Net income before taxes decreased 21% to $1.9-million and net income after taxes fell 64% to $1.5-million as a result of a net tax recovery during 2012 of $1.7-million vs. a tax expense of $405,000 recorded in the current year which also decreased net income after taxes.

Fourth Quarter results:

Consolidated revenue increased by 18% to $11.1-million for Q4, which was the aggregate of a 19% growth in insurance revenues and a 16% increase in non-insurance revenues.

Consolidated EBITDA increased by 31% to $1.3-million while consolidated profit after taxes decreased 25% to $434,000. The decrease in net income after taxes was also the result of a net tax recovery of $374,000 during 2012 vs. a net tax recovery of $68,000 recorded in the current year.

Normal Course Issuer Bid:

On September 20, 2013, the Company's Board of Directors announced its intention to continue its Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB") to repurchase up to an additional 1,544,497 of its common shares. Under the renewed NCIB, repurchases commenced on September 24, 2013 and will terminate no later than September 23, 2014. As of the date of this MD&A, the Company has repurchased 1,002,324 common shares at an average price of approximately $1.88 under its current NCIB representing 3.2% of the outstanding common shares at September 24, 2013.

As of the date of this MD&A, the Company has repurchased, since September 24, 2012, the commencement of its first NCIB, 2,638,038 common shares at an average price of approximately $1.41 per common share, for an aggregate of $3,713,553 in cash representing 8.1% of the outstanding common shares at September 23, 2012.

Conference call

The Company is hosting an investor conference call on Friday, March 7, 2014, at 2:30PM (EST) which can be accessed at 1-877-223-4471 or on-line at www.pethealthinc.com. For those unable to participate, a replay of the call will be available shortly after the call concludes on the Company's website at www.pethealthinc.com.

About Pethealth

For detailed financial statements for the year and quarter ended December 31, 2013, including Management's Discussion and Analysis, please refer to the Company's website or SEDAR at www.sedar.com shortly after March 7, 2014.

Pethealth is North America's second largest provider of medical insurance for dogs and cats to pet owners, operating in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In addition, the Company is the leading provider of management software to North American animal welfare organisations through its SaaS-based application and is the leading provider of pet related database management services to the North American companion animal industry. Pethealth offers a unique range of products and services for veterinarians, shelters and pet owners through a number of wholly owned subsidiaries using a range of brand names including PetCare, 24PetWatch, Pet Protect, Petpals Direct, ShelterCare, PetPoint, Petango.com and ThePetangoStore.com.

Pethealth is based in Oakville, Ontario. To find out more about Pethealth, visit the web site at www.pethealthinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains information that is forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.

Forward-looking information by its nature necessarily involves risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the difficulty of predicting the current regulatory and supervisory environment, the timing and conditions to obtaining any regulatory approval, reliance on insurance underwriters for pet insurance policies, market acceptance and demand for existing and new products and services, including PetPoint and EVE Software and the 24PetWatch microchip program, the Company's ability to maintain and service new and existing customers, the protection of intellectual property associated with its products and services, the impact of competition generally and new competitive products, currency and foreign exchange fluctuations, risks associated with the Company's customer care solutions facility, and related risks and uncertainties. Additional risks and uncertainties affecting the Company can be found in the Company's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. If any of these risks or uncertainties were to materialize or if the factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking information were to prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those that are expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, other than those required by security laws, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.