Aimia holds fourth annual investor day
Announced Several Growth Initiatives as well as New Commercial
Partnerships in UK and Canada
MONTREAL, Sept. 20, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ – (TSX: AIM) Aimia held its fourth
annual investor day at Corus Quay in Toronto today to showcase its
global operations.
“In the 10 short years since we became a separate entity, Aimia has
turned into a significantly cash generative, multi-national company
with a robust growth platform,” stated Rupert Duchesne, Group Chief
Executive. “We have grown from a single Canadian entity into an
investment grade global enterprise with operations in more than 20
countries. With our full suite of services we are leaders in the
global loyalty industry. We are following the roadmap that we set out
in the early years and are making investments that we expect will
generate high returns for our shareholders for years to come.”
During the event, which was attended by more than 100 people, Aimia
confirmed its consolidated guidance for 2012 and disclosed the
following:
- A new major partner for Nectar UK – eBay
-
The creation of a new joint venture between Aimia’s Intelligent Shopper
Solutions business and Sainsbury’s - Several partner renewals and a new partner signing in Canada
- The step-up of an investment in an Indonesian loyalty company
Nectar UK and eBay Announce Major New Partnership
Nectar, the UK’s most popular loyalty program, and eBay, the UK’s
largest online marketplace, have today announced a major new strategic
partnership which will enable Nectar card holders to collect points
automatically when they shop on eBay. The announcement coincides with
the celebration of the Nectar program’s tenth birthday.
The move will benefit millions of consumers by combining the spending
power of Nectar’s 18.5 million members and eBay UK’s 17 million unique
monthly visitors. It is a significant extension of the affiliate
relationship that eBay previously had in place with Nectar eShops where
shoppers earned points if they clicked through nectar.com. Now, eBay
shoppers will be able to collect points on successful bids and ‘buy it
now’ transactions once they have undertaken one simple step to link
their eBay account and their Nectar card. eBay’s largest categories for
UK shoppers are fashion, home and garden, electronics and motor parts
and accessories, with 65% of goods traded on the marketplace globally
now bought new or at a fixed price.
The partnership marks a significant step in extending the proportion of
household items on which Nectar points can be earned. Currently points
can be earned on 50 per cent of household spend – including groceries,
DIY, holiday bookings, household bills and petrol. The addition of eBay
as Nectar’s strategic online retail partner is a significant step
towards increasing the level of household spending that is eligible to
earn Nectar points.
Jan-Pieter Lips, Managing Director of Nectar, said: “This partnership
will have similar reach to those we have in place with other household
names such as British Gas, BP and Homebase which have enabled millions
of people to collect Nectar points and get ‘something for nothing’ on
their daily household spend. eBay is one of the most popular online
shopping sites in the UK and Nectar has a fantastically engaged, savvy
community of collectors so the two brands are a natural fit. It’s
testament to the strength of our proposition that eBay has chosen to
partner with us and it marks a clear strategic development and a
commitment to digital for Nectar as a business, as well as an
appropriate way of celebrating our tenth birthday.”
Consumers will be able to collect Nectar points directly from eBay.co.uk
site from mid October. To celebrate the launch, eBay will be running a
number of promotions in key categories over the Christmas shopping
period.
Aimia and Sainsbury’s Form Joint Venture to Provide Comprehensive B2B
Marketing Solutions
Aimia and Sainsbury’s today announced they have formed Insight 2
Communication (I2C), a joint venture company, which will offer suppliers more
comprehensive multi-channel marketing solutions in and around
Sainsbury’s stores and online.
I2C will provide Sainsbury’s suppliers with a ‘one-stop shop’ solution by
rolling out both targeted and non-targeted advertising campaigns across
all of Sainsbury’s communication channels. Through a series of
licensing and supply agreements with Aimia and Sainsbury, the joint
venture will combine people, intellectual property and tools, including
Self Serve and Sainsbury’s fast-growing in-house non-targeted
communications business. The licensing and supply agreements will be
for an initial term of 6 years.
Aimia retains sole ownership of its proprietary data analytical tools,
including Self Serve. The international operations of Aimia’s
Intelligent Shopper Solutions (ISS) will not be affected by the
creation of the joint venture.
The joint venture board will have equal representation from Sainsbury’s
and Aimia, whilst the day to day senior management team has been
created by bringing together the best talent from both Aimia and
Sainsbury’s.
Aside from a small initial working capital requirement, the joint
venture will be self sufficient from a cash perspective and is expected
to fully distribute its retained earnings to its shareholders on a
regular basis.
The joint venture will give Aimia access to additional revenues,
however, due to the timing of the transaction and the terms of the
arrangement, there will be no material impact to Aimia’s consolidated
financial statements in 2012. For 2013 reporting, Aimia will evaluate
the accounting of this arrangement in compliance with the new standard,
IFRS 11, Joint Arrangements. Aimia will account for this entity either
as a joint operation which would mean accounting for its proportionate
share of the revenues, expenses, assets and obligations of the entity
or it will account for the entity as a joint venture under the equity
accounting method.
Multiple Partner Renewals and a New Partner Signing in Canada
Aeroplan announced expanded, multi-year relationships with Imperial Oil
(Esso) and Direct Energy. Aeroplan has renewed contracts with Home
Hardware Primus and Rexall.
As previously announced, Aeroplan expanded its coalition through a
multi-year partnership with Bentley, Canada’s largest specialty
retailer of luggage, handbags and backpacks with more than 300 stores
across Canada.
In addition, Aeroplan is building out its promotional business. Until
October 31, 2012, Aeroplan Members are able to earn 60,000 Aeroplan
Miles when they purchase or lease a new Infiniti FX, QX or M® qualifying vehicle through a Canadian Infiniti dealer. Also, Aeroplan is
partnering with premium appliance company, Miele, on a range of new
products coming to market in the coming months.
Aimia’s proprietary business in Canada announced the name of its newest
client, Husky Energy, one of Canada’s largest integrated energy
companies.
Aimia Makes Small Strategic Investment to Take Full Ownership Stake in
Loyalty Company in Indonesia, a Key Asian Market
Aimia also announced that it has completed a $2 million investment in
Indonesia to increase its ownership in a company called Interact from
40 per cent up to 100 per cent. Interact is the leader in Indonesia’s
rapidly emerging loyalty sector with a solid portfolio of blue chip
clients, including Nestle and Mazda. Indonesia is one of Asia’s
fastest growing economies and is the world’s fourth most populated
country with a population of close to 240 million people.
2012 Outlook – Consolidated Guidance Confirmed
While it is likely that the higher than forecasted Gross Billings growth
rate experienced in the first half of the year in the EMEA region will
slow in the second half, EMEA is on track for a strong year and is
compensating for some top line softness in the Canada and US & APAC
business segments. As a result, we are reiterating our 2012 annual
consolidated guidance provided in the February 22, 2012 earnings press
release, although we are modifying our targets for each of our three
business segments.
For the year ending December 31, 2012, Aimia expects to report the
following:
|
Key Financial Metric |
Target Range (as provided on |
Target Range (updated on |
|
|
Consolidated Outlook |
|||
|
Gross Billings Growth 1 |
Between 3% and 5% | Lower end of range | |
| Adjusted EBITDA2 | Between $370 and $380 million | Upper end of range | |
|
Free Cash Flow 2,3 |
Between $220 million and $240 million |
No change | |
|
Capital Expenditures |
To approximate $55 million |
No change | |
|
Income Taxes |
Current income tax rate is |
No change |
|
|
Business Segment Gross Billings Growth Outlook |
|||
|
Canada |
Between 2% and 4% |
Between 1.0% and 2.0% | |
|
EMEA |
Between 8% and 11% |
Between 11% and 13% | |
|
US & APAC1 |
Between -2% and 2% |
Between -9% and -7% | |
|
Other |
|||
|
Nectar Italia |
Greater than €60 million in |
No change | |
Notes:
-
The Gross Billings growth guidance excludes the effect of a client loss
(Qantas) in APAC at the end of the first quarter of 2012. The target
growth ranges are based on 2011 reported Gross Billings, excluding $40
million related to Qantas. The client loss will have a negligible
impact on Adjusted EBITDA. -
The Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow outlook range includes an
assumption of planned incremental operating expenses in business
development activities, principally in the U.S., India and Brazil,
technology platform related expenditures that are operating in nature
and additional brand related expenses associated with our new branding,
which in total will approximate $20 million in 2012. - Free Cash Flow before dividends.
The above guidance excludes the effects of fluctuations in currency
exchange rates. In addition, Aimia made a number of economic and market
assumptions in preparing its 2012 forecasts, including assumptions
regarding the performance of the economies in which the Corporation
operates and market competition and tax laws applicable to the
Corporation’s operations. The Corporation cautions that the assumptions
used to prepare the above forecasts for 2012, although reasonable at
the time they were made, may prove to be incorrect or inaccurate.
Accordingly, our actual results could differ materially from our
expectations as set forth in this news release. The outlook provided
constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable
securities laws and should be read in conjunction with the “Caution
Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” section.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are identified by the use of terms and
phrases such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”,
“intend”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”, “project”, “will”, “would”, and
similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Such
statements may involve but are not limited to comments with respect to
strategies, expectations, planned operations, future actions,
anticipated financial performance and business prospects.
Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions
and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Any forecasts or
forward-looking predictions or statements cannot be relied upon due to,
amongst other things, changing external events and general
uncertainties of the business and its corporate structure. Results
indicated in forward-looking statements may differ materially from
actual results for a number of reasons, including without limitation,
dependency on top accumulation partners and clients, conflicts of
interest, greater than expected redemptions for rewards, regulatory
matters, retail market/economic conditions, industry competition, Air
Canada liquidity issues, Air Canada or travel industry disruptions,
airline industry changes and increased airline costs, supply and
capacity costs, unfunded future redemption costs, failure to safeguard
databases and consumer privacy, changes to coalition loyalty programs,
seasonal nature of the business, other factors and prior performance,
foreign operations, legal proceedings, reliance on key personnel,
labour relations, pension liability, technological disruptions and
inability to use third party software, failure to protect intellectual
property rights, interest rate and currency fluctuations, leverage and
restrictive covenants in current and future indebtedness, uncertainty
of dividend payments, managing growth, credit ratings, as well as the
other factors identified in this news release and throughout Aimia’s
public disclosure record on file with the Canadian securities
regulatory authorities.. Material factors and assumptions that were
applied in drawing a conclusion or making a projection or forecast are
also set out throughout this document. We believe that the expectations
represented by our forward-looking statements are reasonable, yet there
can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.
The purpose of the forward-looking statements is to provide the reader
with a description of management’s expectations regarding the matters
described in this news release and may not be appropriate for other
purposes. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent
Aimia’s expectations as of September 20, 2012, and are subject to
change after such date. However, Aimia disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required under applicable securities regulations.
About Aimia
Aimia Inc. (“Aimia”) is a global leader in loyalty
management. Aimia’s unique capabilities include proven expertise in
delivering proprietary loyalty services, launching and managing
coalition loyalty programs, creating value through loyalty analytics
and driving innovation in the emerging digital and mobile
spaces. Aimia owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s premier coalition
loyalty program and Nectar, the United Kingdom’s largest coalition
loyalty program. In addition, Aimia has majority equity positions in
Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia as well as a minority position
in Club Premier, Mexico’s leading coalition loyalty program and
Cardlytics, a US-based private company operating in merchant-funded
transaction-driven marketing for electronic banking.
Aimia is a Canadian public company listed on the Toronto Stock
Exchange (TSX: AIM) and has over 3,400 employees in more than 20
countries around the world. For more information about Aimia, please
visit www.aimia.com.
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/aimiainc.
SOURCE: AIMIA
Contact:
Media
JoAnne Hayes
416-352-3706
joanne.hayes@aimia.com
Analysts & Investors
Trish Moran
416-352-3728
trish.moran@aimia.com