Lassonde Industries Inc. announces its Q1-2026 results

ROUGEMONT, Quebec, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lassonde Industries Inc. (TSX: LAS.A) (“Lassonde” or the “Corporation”) today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2026.

Financial Highlights:

		First quarters ended
		March 28, 2026	March 29, 2025		Δ
(in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)		$	$		$
Sales		664.0	699.7		(35.6	)
Gross profit		188.3	183.2		5.1
Operating profit		52.0	42.7		9.3
Profit		36.8	23.8		13.0
Attributable to:	Corporation’s shareholders	36.7	24.5		12.2
Attributable to:	Non-controlling interests	0.0	(0.8	)	0.8
EPS (in $)		5.38	3.60		1.78
Weighted average number of shares outstanding (in thousands)		6,822	6,822		-
Adjusted EBITDA¹		79.9	71.5		8.4
Adjusted EPS¹(in $)		5.36	4.00		1.36

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 28, 2026 are available on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca and on the website of Lassonde Industries Inc.

“Lassonde reported significant profit growth in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting disciplined pricing actions and moderating input-cost pressures that improved our cost-to-price relationship,” said Vince Timpano, Chief Executive Officer of Lassonde Industries Inc. “Beverage volumes declined as macroeconomic uncertainty continued to weigh on consumer demand. Strategic portfolio adjustments and temporary supply constraints further affected volumes, compounded by more challenging year-over-year comparisons against an exceptionally strong prior-year period. Notwithstanding these factors, our national brands outperformed the broader North American market, demonstrating the resilience and relevance of our portfolio.”

“Looking ahead, we remain focused on disciplined execution, including the construction of our New Jersey facility, and on further enhancing our organizational capabilities to support improved competitiveness. Our strong balance sheet provides both resilience in a challenging operating environment and the financial flexibility to pursue strategic investments that we believe will support sustainable, long-term growth.” added Mr. Timpano.

First Quarter Highlights:

Sales of $664.0 million. Excluding an $18.0 million unfavourable foreign exchange impact, sales were down $17.6 million (2.5%) from the same quarter last year. This decrease is essentially due to lower sales volumes, mainly for private label products, partly offset by the favourable impact of selling price adjustments and by a favourable change in the Canadian private label sales mix.
Gross profit of $188.3 million (28.4% of sales). Excluding an $8.4 million unfavourable foreign exchange impact, gross profit was up $13.5 million from the same quarter last year. This net increase results mainly from the following items:
- Favourable impact of selling price adjustments;
- Favourable impact of a change in the sales mix, essentially in Canada; and
- Decrease in the cost of orange concentrates, partly offset by higher apple and pineapple concentrate costs;
  
  partly offset by:

- Lower sales volumes; and
- Increase in conversion costs, essentially in Canada.

Operating profit of $52.0 million Excluding a $5.4 million unfavourable foreign exchange impact, operating profit was up $14.7 million from the same quarter last year. This net increase results mainly from the following items:
- Higher gross profit; and
- $3.8 million decrease in finished goods warehousing costs, essentially in the United States;
  
  partly offset by:

- $2.6 million increase in certain administrative expenses.

Excluding items impacting comparability, adjusted EBITDA¹ was $79.9 million (12.0% of sales), up $8.4 million (or 11.7%) from the same quarter last year.
Profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders of $36.7 million (EPS of $5.38), up $12.2 million (or 49.8%) from the same quarter in 2025. Excluding items impacting comparability, adjusted EPS¹ was $5.36, up 34.0% from the same quarter last year.
As at March 28, 2026, the Corporation had total assets of $2,270.4 million versus $2,252.9 million as at December 31, 2025, a 0.8% increase arising mainly from a higher foreign exchange conversion rate as at March 28, 2026, an increase in property, plant and equipment and higher accounts receivable, partly offset by lower inventories and a decrease in intangible assets.
As at March 28, 2026, long-term debt, including the current portion, stood at $433.1 million. This represents an $11.5 million decrease from December 31, 2025, essentially attributable to an operating profit exceeding capital expenditures.
Operating activities generated $71.3 million in cash compared to $60.1 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 generated $99.2 million more cash than in the same quarter of 2025, to a favourable change in settlements of derivative instruments and to a higher operating profit.
Dividend of $1.25 per share, paid on March 13, 2026.

Outlook

Lassonde expects that its performance in fiscal 2026 will continue to be influenced primarily by the financial health of consumers and the prevailing inflationary environment. These factors are now being assessed within a backdrop of heightened global uncertainty, including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its potential for broader geopolitical, energy, and supply‑chain disruptions, as well as persistent uncertainty surrounding trade policy. In particular, the approaching joint review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) in 2026, together with the ongoing use or threat of tariffs, duties, and other trade restrictions and countermeasures (collectively referred to as “Tariffs”), creates uncertainty regarding cost structures, sourcing, and cross‑border flows.

In light of this uncertainty and the rapidly evolving nature of these developments, this outlook has been prepared without reflecting any impacts arising from the current conflicts, Tariffs, or other trade measures as of the date of this press release. Management’s perspectives on these matters and their potential implications for Lassonde are discussed in Section 19 – “Uncertainties and Principal Risk Factors” of the Corporation’s MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2025. Accordingly, the Corporation has prepared its fiscal 2026 outlook based on the following assumptions:

Sales

Barring any significant external shocks and excluding foreign exchange impacts, the Corporation anticipates continued sales growth in 2026 and expects to reach its previously communicated ambition of $3 billion in sales in 2026.
This outlook reflects a balanced contribution from pricing actions and volume expansion across its product portfolio and distribution channels and is informed by ongoing monitoring of consumer demand trends and demand elasticity in a volatile geopolitical environment.
While evolving consumer behaviour and potential inflationary pressures on key inputs may influence purchasing patterns and cost dynamics, management will continue to prioritize disciplined pricing, portfolio optimization, and operational execution, with profitable growth and value creation taking precedence over absolute sales growth objectives.

Key commodity and input costs

Based on currently observed spot prices, the Corporation anticipates some abatement in the cost of orange concentrate in 2026. However, this benefit is expected to be partly or fully offset by inflationary pressures affecting a broad range of other commodities and packaging inputs, including apple and pineapple concentrates, sweeteners, PET resin, and cartons.
While management continues to pursue mitigation actions through sourcing, pricing, and operational initiatives, the Corporation anticipates an increase in transportation costs compared to 2025 since they remain subject to market and geopolitical conditions and may further affect the delivered costs of raw materials and packaging, as well as those of finished goods.

Effective tax rate

Based on prevailing tax legislations and their interpretation, the anticipated effective tax rate for 2026 is estimated to be approximately 23.5%.

Working capital

The Corporation’s Days Operating Working Capital¹ is now closer to its historical levels and only incremental improvements, if any, are expected for this ratio over the course of 2026. However, this outlook might be impacted by (i) opportunistic decisions to secure inventory cost ahead of potential additional price increases from suppliers, (ii) the objective of ensuring an adequate service level, or (iii) decisions to counter new potential supply chain disruptions.

Capital expenditures

The Corporation’s overall capital expenditures program for 2026 is estimated to reach up to 7.0% of its sales, including an amount of approximately US$96 million for its new plant in New Jersey, as it continues to deploy capital in support of its Strategy. This estimate depends on the rate of progress of certain large capital projects and on the evolution of the macroeconomic environment.
The new capital assets will be financed, to the extent possible, using the Corporation’s operating cash flows, although the Corporation may also turn to borrowing if interest rates and conditions prove advantageous.

The above forward-looking statements have been prepared using assumptions that reflect (i) the absence of any escalation in existing geopolitical tensions or trade-related measures, including Tariffs, and no adverse change in their current macroeconomic effects; (ii) a relatively stable exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar; and (iii) no further deterioration of recently observed consumer behaviours and market trends for the category of the Corporation’s products. Additional assumptions include (iv) the effectiveness of the Corporation’s selling price adjustment initiatives, with a limited impact on product demand; (v) no material disruption to the Corporation’s operations (including workforce availability) or to its supply chain; (vi) the continuity of competitive dynamics observed to date and the effectiveness of the Corporation’s strategy to position itself competitively in the markets in which it operates; (vii) limited additional cost increases from suppliers; and (viii) adequate availability of key raw materials and packaging inputs. The outlook further assumes the continuation of normalized throughput levels at key U.S. manufacturing facilities; expected lead times for new manufacturing equipment; and sufficient availability of contractors and consultants to support the execution of the Corporation’s capital expenditure program. In preparing its outlook, the Corporation made assumptions that do not consider extraordinary events or circumstances beyond its control. The Corporation believes the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. For additional information, refer to Section 2 – “Forward-Looking Statements” of the Corporation’s MD&A for the first quarter of 2026.

Dividend

In accordance with the Corporation’s dividend policy, the Board of Directors declared today a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, payable on June 15, 2026 to all registered holders of Class A and Class B shares on May 20, 2026. This dividend is an eligible dividend for Canadian tax purposes.

Conference Call to Discuss First Quarter 2026 Financial Results

OPEN TO:	Investors, analysts, and all interested parties

DATE:	Friday, May 8, 2026

TIME:	8:30 AM ET

CALL:	416-945-7677 (for overseas participants)
	1-888-699-1199 (for other North American participants)

A live audio broadcast of the conference call will be available on the Corporation’s website, on the Investors page or here: https://www.gowebcasting.com/14686. The replay of the webcast will remain available at the same link until midnight, May 15, 2026.

Financial Measures Not in Accordance With IFRS

The financial measures or ratios, further described below, do not constitute standardized financial measures or ratios in accordance with the financial reporting framework used to prepare the Corporation's financial statements. These non-IFRS measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Comparing them to similar financial measures or ratios presented by other issuers may not be possible.

Items impacting the comparability between periods

The following table contains a list, description, and quantification of items impacting the comparability of the financial performance between periods:

		First quarters ended
		March 28, 2026		March 29, 2025
(in millions of dollars)		$		$
Costs related to the Strategy		-		0.6
Implementation costs of new key systems		0.2		0.4
Business optimization		-		0.5
Sum of items impacting comparability on EBITDA:		0.2		1.5
Accelerated depreciation expense related to business optimization		2.6		2.5
Sum of items impacting comparability on operating profit:		2.8		4.0
Items impacting comparability on “Other (gains) losses”:
Gains related to the preliminary settlement of insurance claims		(4.1	)	-
Loss resulting from the fair value of contingent considerations payable related to the Summer Garden acquisition		1.0		-
Tax impact of previous items		0.1		(1.0	)
Impact on profit		(0.2	)	3.0
Attributable to:	Corporation’s shareholders	(0.2	)	2.8
Attributable to:	Non-controlling interests	-		0.2

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA is a financial measure used by the Corporation and investors to assess the Corporation’s capacity to generate future cash flows from operating activities and pay financial expenses. Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure used by the Corporation to compare EBITDA between periods by excluding items impacting comparability. EBITDA consists of the sum of operating profit and of the “depreciation of right-of-use assets and property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets” item and the “(Gains) losses on capital assets” item, as shown in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adjusting the EBITDA with items considered by management as impacting the comparability between periods. The most directly comparable IFRS measure is operating profit.

	First quarters ended
	March 28, 2026		March 29, 2025
(in millions of dollars)	$		$
Operating profit	52.0		42.7
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets	27.7		27.3
(Gains) losses on capital assets	(0.0	)	(0.0	)
EBITDA	79.7		70.0
Sum of items impacting comparability	0.2		1.5
Adjusted EBITDA	79.9		71.5

Adjusted Profit Attributable to the Corporation’s Shareholders and Adjusted EPS

Adjusted profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders is a financial measure and adjusted EPS (composed notably of Adjusted profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders) is a financial ratio that are used by the Corporation to compare profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders and EPS between periods by excluding items impacting comparability. They are calculated by adjusting them with items considered by management as impacting the comparability between periods. The most directly comparable IFRS measures are the profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders and EPS.

	First quarters ended
	March 28, 2026		March 29, 2025
(in millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated)	$		$
Profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders	36.7		24.5
Sum of items impacting comparability	(0.2	)	2.8
Adjusted profit attributable to the Corporation’s shareholders	36.5		27.3
Weighted average number of shares outstanding (in thousands)	6,822		6,822
Adjusted EPS (in $)	5.36		4.00

Net Debt and Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA

Net debt is a financial measure and Net debt to adjusted EBITDA is a financial ratio that are used by the Corporation to assess its ability to pay off existing debt and define available borrowing capacity. To calculate the net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio, net debt is divided by the sum of adjusted EBITDA from the last four quarters. Net debt represents the sum of lease liabilities, including the current portion, and of long-term debt, including the current portion, less the “Cash and cash equivalents” item, as they are presented in the Corporation’s Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. The most directly comparable IFRS measures are long-term debt, including the current portion, and operating profit.

	As at March 28, 2026		As at Dec. 31, 2025
(in millions of dollars, except the net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio)	$		$
Current portion of lease liabilities	5.0		5.1
Current portion of long-term debt	15.1		16.9
Lease liabilities	46.7		47.6
Long-term debt	418.0		427.7
Less: Cash and cash equivalents	(10.6	)	(8.0	)
Net debt	474.2		489.3
Sum of adjusted EBITDA from the last four quarters	352.5		344.1
Net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio	1.35:1		1.42:1

Days Operating Working Capital

Operating working capital is a financial measure and days operating working capital is a financial ratio that are used by the Corporation to monitor the efficiency of its working capital management and the amount of capital invested in day-to-day operations. Operating working capital consists of current assets, less the “Cash and cash equivalents” item, income tax recoverable, derivative instruments (current) and other current assets, as they are presented in the Corporation’s Consolidated Statement of Financial Position and less other receivables, trade payables and accrued expenses and trade spending, as they are presented in the accompanying notes to the Corporation’s interim consolidated financial statements. To calculate days operating working capital, operating working capital is divided by the last quarter’s sales, as they are presented in this press release, and multiplied by 91 days. The most directly comparable IFRS measures are current assets and current liabilities.

About Lassonde

Headquartered in Canada and with operations across North America, Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leader in the food and beverage industry in North America. The Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of national brand and private label products. The Corporation’s products include fruit juices and drinks, pasta sauces, cranberry sauces, condiments, soups, broths, fruit-based snacks as well as alcoholic beverages such as ciders and wines. Altogether, Lassonde distributes over 3,500 unique products in approximately 200 formats across shelf-stable, chilled, and frozen categories.

The Corporation’s go-to-market strategy consists of (i) sales to food retailers and wholesalers such as supermarket chains, independent grocers, superstores, warehouse clubs, convenience stores, and major pharmacy chains and (ii) food service sales to restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, and wholesalers serving these institutions.

Lassonde operates 19 plants located in Canada and the United States through the expertise of over 2,900 full-time equivalent employees. To learn more, visit www.lassonde.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains “forward-looking information” and the Corporation’s oral and written public communications that do not constitute historical fact may be deemed to be “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements on the Corporation’s objectives and goals and are based on current expectations, projections, beliefs, judgments, and assumptions based on information available at the time the applicable forward-looking statement was made and considering the Corporation’s experience combined with its perception of historical trends.

Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “believe”, “plan”, “intend”, “design”, “target”, “objective”, “strategy”, “likely”, “potential”, “outlook”, “aim”, “goal”, and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance in addition to the negative forms of these terms or any variations thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this document may constitute a forward-looking statement.

In this document, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those set forth in the above “Outlook” section, which also presents some (but not all) of the key assumptions used in determining the forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements in this document, such as statements concerning sales, key commodity and input costs, effective tax rate, working capital and capital expenditures may be considered financial outlooks for the purposes of applicable Canadian securities regulations. These financial outlooks are presented to evaluate potential future earnings and anticipated future uses of cash flows and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Various factors or assumptions are applied by the Corporation in elaborating the forward-looking statements. These factors and assumptions are based on information currently available to the Corporation, including information obtained by the Corporation from third parties. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions considered by the Corporation to support these forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect in whole or in part.

The significant factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the conclusions, forecasts or projections reflected in the forward-looking statements contained herein include, among other things and without limitations, risks associated with the following: deterioration of general macroeconomic or socioeconomic conditions, including ongoing conflicts, trade and industrial policy frictions among major global economies and the increased use of economic sanctions (including tariffs, duties and other trade restrictions), which can lead to negative impacts on the Corporation’s suppliers, customers and operating costs; the availability of raw materials and packaging and related price variations, more specifically for the Corporation’s key commodities together with the effectiveness of its related hedging strategies; the ability to adapt to changes and developments affecting the Corporation’s industry, including customer preferences, tastes, and buying patterns, market conditions, retail dynamics, the potential for consumer purchasing decisions to be influenced by perceived social or political alignment in the context of trade conflicts and the activities of competitors and customers; the risk that competitors may have access to better technology, including artificial intelligence and digital marketing capabilities; disruptions in, failures of, or cybersecurity threats targeting the Corporation’s information technology systems leading to business disruptions, compromised data integrity, confidentiality breaches, or business email compromise-related fraud; the successful deployment of the Corporation’s multi-year strategy (defined in Section 4 - “Multi-Year Strategy” of the Corporation’s MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2025), including the successful execution of its key capital projects along with the materialization of the underlying expected benefits; dependence on licensed or third-party brand arrangements that are subject to renewal, termination, or modification by the brand owner, where any adverse change could result in lost sales or additional costs; the ability to revitalize the performance of the Corporation’s U.S. beverage subsidiaries; climate change and disasters causing higher operating costs and capital expenditures and reduced production output, or impacting the availability, quality or price volatility of key commodities sourced by the Corporation; the potential for work stoppages due to the non-renewal or the inability to conclude collective bargaining agreements or other reasons; the Corporation’s ability to effectively integrate any acquisitions; loss of or disputes with key suppliers or supplier concentration; changes made to laws and rules that affect the Corporation’s activities, particularly in matters of tax, as well as the interpretation thereof, and new positions adopted by relevant authorities; the Corporation’s ability to maintain strong sourcing and manufacturing platforms and efficient distribution channels; fluctuations in the prices of inbound and outbound freight, the impact of oil prices (and derivatives thereof) on the Corporation’s direct and indirect costs along with the Corporation’s ability to transfer those increases through higher prices or other means, if any, to its customers in competitive market conditions and considering demand elasticity; the successful deployment of the Corporation’s health and safety programs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; serious injuries or fatalities, which could have a material impact on the Corporation’s business continuity and reputation and lead to compliance-related costs; the scarcity of labour and the related impact on the hiring, training, developing, retaining and reliance of personnel together with their productivity, employment matters, compliance with employment laws across multiple jurisdictions; the increasing concentration of customers in the food industry, providing them with significant bargaining power, particularly on the Corporation’s selling prices; the implementation, cost, and impact of environmental sustainability initiatives, as well as the cost of remediating environmental liabilities; failure to maintain the quality and safety of the Corporation’s products, which could result in product recalls and product liability claims for misbranded, adulterated, contaminated, or spoiled food products, along with reputational damage; risks associated with the Corporation’s use of artificial intelligence-enabled tools; risks related to fluctuations in interest rates, currency exchange rates, liquidity and credit, stock price and pension obligations; the incurrence of restructuring, disposal, or other related charges together with the recognition of impairment charges on goodwill or long-lived assets; the sufficiency of insurance coverage; and the implications and outcome of potential legal actions, litigation or regulatory proceedings to which the Corporation may be a party. The Corporation cautions readers that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

The Corporation’s ability to achieve its sustainability priorities, targets and goals is further subject to, among other factors, its ability to access and implement all technology necessary to achieve them; the development, deployment, and performance of technology and industry-specific solutions; environmental regulation; the availability, accessibility and suitability of comprehensive and high-quality data; and changes in standards or methodologies used. The Corporation’s ability to achieve its sustainability priorities, targets and goals is further subject to, among other factors, its ability to leverage its supplier relationships.

The assumptions, expectations, and estimates involved in preparing forward-looking statements and risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are discussed in the Corporation’s materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including information about risk factors that can be found in Section 19 - “Uncertainties and Principal Risk Factors” of the Corporation’s MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2025. Readers should review this section in detail.

All forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date hereof. Unless required by law, the Corporation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements contained herein are wholly and expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

^{_____________________
1} This measure does not constitute a standardized financial measure in accordance with the financial reporting framework used to prepare the Corporation's financial statements. Comparing it to a similar financial measure presented by other issuers may not be possible. Refer to Section “Financial Measures Not in Accordance with IFRS” of this press release for more information, including the definition and composition of the measure or ratio as well as the reconciliation to the most comparable measure in the financial statements, as applicable.

Information:        

Investor contact
Eric Gemme
Chief Financial Officer
Lassonde Industries Inc.
450-469-4926, extension 10456
IR@lassonde.com
        
Media contact
Isabelle Nadeau
Lassonde Industries Inc.
450-469-4926, extension 10167
Isabelle.nadeau@lassonde.com

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.