| Ralph D. McRae, Chairman and CEO Leading Brands, Inc. (604) 685-5200 ext. 238 [email protected] |
|
NEWS
RELEASE
LEADING BRANDS, INC. ANNOUNCES FISCAL 2003 YEAR END RESULTS
Revenue for the year was $41,503,000US ($56,680,000Cdn) versus $47,362,000US ($73,808,000 Cdn) the prior year. Net loss was $1,847,000US ($2,523,000Cdn) or $0.12 US ($0.17Cdn) per share versus a net loss of $0.46US ($0.71Cdn) per share in the prior fiscal year.
Leading Brands Chairman and CEO Ralph McRae said: �Results for fiscal 2003 were negatively impacted in two principal ways. The first was the less than efficient operation of our plants caused by disruptions surrounding changes to existing, and addition of new, bottling lines. As earlier explained, those issues are well behind us.
�Second are matters surrounding the activities of management of Leading Brands of America and others, which in part are the subject of a lawsuit commenced by that company and pending in the District Court for the State of Connecticut. We have since re-focused our US business from one that was primarily dependant upon regional distributors to a hybrid model based on the Integrated Distribution System (IDS) that works so well for us in Canada.�
Mr. McRae added: �As mentioned in prior releases, the decrease in revenues versus last year is primarily the result of the change in billing methods to one of our largest co-pack customers.�
The Company will hold a conference call in conjunction with the release of its Q1 2004 results, anticipated before the end of June 2004.
About Leading Brands, Inc.
Leading Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: LBIX) is North America's only fully integrated premium beverage company. The Company's unique Integrated Distribution System™(IDS)™ offers turnkey, one-stop shopping to food and beverage brand owners, including product development, manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing and licensing. In addition, Leading Brands produces their own line of beverages such as TREK™, Pez® 100% Juices™, Soy2O™ Country Harvest® Juices, Caesar's® Bloody Caesar Cocktail, and Cool Canadian® Water.
Disclaimer: The Company relies upon the Safe Harbor Laws of 1933, 1934, and 1995 for all public news releases, newsletters and other statements. Statements, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The Company, through its management, makes forward-looking public statements concerning its expected future operations, performance and other developments. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the Company's best judgment based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that other factors will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements. It is impossible to identify all such factors. Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the Company include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, weather conditions, changing beverage consumption trends, pricing, availability of raw materials, economic uncertainties (including currency exchange rates), government regulation, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcement.
We Build Brands™
©2004 Leading Brands, Inc.
(tables follow)
LEADING BRANDS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME (LOSS)
(EXPRESSED IN CANADIAN DOLLARS)
February 29 February 28
2004 2003
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Sales $ 56,680,106 $ 73,808,314
Expenses
Cost of sales 43,134,373 59,234,777
Selling, general & administration expenses 14,193,563 13,991,004
Depreciation and amortization 1,629,664 1,600,932
Interest expense 463,833 645,170
Other expenses (income) 12,405 (9,188)
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Total Expenses 59,433,838 75,462,695
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Net loss before taxes (2,753,732) (1,654,381)
Current income taxes (5,385) -
Future Income Taxes 1,099,912 2,081,000
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Net Income (loss) after income taxes (1,659,205) 426,619
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Write down of deferred costs (863,912) -
Write down of investment - (10,166,815)
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Net Loss (2,523,117) (9,740,196)
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Deficit, beginning of period (23,212,864) (13,438,168)
Preferred Share Dividends - 34,500
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Deficit, end of period (25,735,981) (23,212,864)
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LOSS PER SHARE
Basic $ (0.17) $ (0.71)
Fully diluted $ (0.17) $ (0.71)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding 14,949,575 13,754,598
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LEADING BRANDS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME (LOSS)
(EXPRESSED IN UNITED STATES DOLLARS)
February 29 February 28
2004 2003
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Sales $ 41,502,604 $ 47,361,598
Expenses
Cost of sales 31,584,076 38,009,995
Selling, general & administration expenses 10,392,885 8,977,802
Depreciation and amortization 1,193,281 1,027,292
Interest expense 339,630 413,996
Other expenses (income) 9,083 (5,897)
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Total Expenses 43,518,955 48,423,188
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Net loss before taxes (2,016,351) (1,061,590)
Current income taxes (3,943) -
Future Income Taxes 805,383 1,335,344
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Net Income (loss) after income taxes (1,214,911) 273,754
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Write down of deferred costs (632,579) -
Write down of investment - (6,523,880)
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Net Loss (1,847,490) (6,250,126)
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Deficit, beginning of period (15,676,561) (9,404,297)
Preferred Share Dividends - 22,138
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Deficit, end of period (17,524,051) (15,676,561)
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LOSS PER SHARE
Basic $ (0.12) $ (0.46)
Fully diluted $ (0.12) $ (0.46)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding 14,949,575 13,754,598
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