For the first time, Management is publishing a podcast discussion of our preliminary results in lieu of an earnings call which can be found on our website.
FOURTH QUARTER 2025 HIGHLIGHTS:
Total revenue grew $6.1M (+5.8%) to $110.9M driven by acquisitions. Healthcare organic revenue fell $0.8M (-1.5%) to $52.0M on non-recurring large capital sales in pharmacy in the prior year, offset by growth in aesthetics and vision care. Packaging organic revenue fell $8.1M (-16%) from prior year primarily from our US business as continued macroeconomic pressures affect product volumes.
Adjusted EBITDAaL1 fell $0.6M (3.6%) to $14.8M as rising Healthcare contribution was offset by falling packaging.
Net debt at $52.8M on acquisitions, representing leverage of 0.96x.
Working capital at $90.1M, driven by high inventory from acquisitions.
Converted from an Income Trust to a Corporation at cost of $0.8M.
FISCAL 2025 HIGHLIGHTS:
Total revenue grew $22.4M (+ 5.5%) to $430.2M driven by acquisitions. Healthcare organic revenue fell $6.3M (-3.2%) to $189.0M on non-recurring sales in pharmacy and weak demand in aesthetics offset by growth in vision care. Packaging organic revenue fell $4.4M (-2.1%) to $208.1M from prior year primarily from our US food & beverage business as continued macroeconomic pressures affect product volumes.
Adjusted EBITDAaL fell $2.1M (-3.7%) to $54.8M on healthcare rise of $4.8M (+15.3%) to $36.1M offset by a packaging decline of $6.9M (-23.4%) to $22.6M. Corporate expenses were steady year over year.
Three acquisitions totaling $63.3M with contingent consideration of $5.0M.
Separately disclosed items of $7.8M include acquisition costs ($2.2M), corporate conversion costs ($0.8M), the defense of a patent dispute in healthcare ($1.9M), the loss on socially engineered wire fraud ($1.2M), management termination costs ($0.3M) and the costs associated with the fair value of inventory sold at DPW ($1.4M).
ABOUT RICHARDS GROUP
Richards Group now operates and reports in two core segments, Healthcare and Packaging, positioned to deliver sustainable growth and long-term value. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the Group serves an increasingly global customer base with market leading medical devices, supplies, and equipment as well as a diverse offering of glass and plastic packaging solutions. The group differentiates itself on product innovation, high-touch service, and deep expertise.
Founded in 1912, Richards developed into a North American leader in glass and plastic packaging, then began evolving into healthcare through the mid-2010s. Today it enjoys positions as the largest Canadian distributor in aesthetic, pharmacy, and vision care devices and is pursuing new opportunities as an OEM. This diversity of operations allows consistent growth and strong cashflow in variable market conditions.
The Group's value creation strategy is built with a focus on cashflow and debt capacity to fund organic growth, acquisition opportunities, and operations modernization. Disciplined capital deployment, a cultural focus on entrepreneurship, and scalable infrastructure position Richards for long term value delivery.
2025 results:
Overall revenue was up 5.5%, driven by 6.7% acquisition growth and dragged by a 5.4% decline in food and beverage packaging and a 1.3% decline in existing healthcare business. These organic declines reflect a market-wide pull back in US rigid packaging demand, non-recurring large healthcare capital revenues from the prior year, and an ongoing softness in the aesthetic injectable and device market that has been a trend since 2024.
Adjusted EBITDAaL1 decreased $2.1M, as higher administrative expenses were partially offset by contributions from the acquisitions. Working capital grew by $24.4M, primarily driven by acquired inventory, inventory purchase commitments and seasonal prepaid trade show expenses in the healthcare OEM business.
Adjusted free cash flow2 of $35.0M was mainly used to fund dividend distributions of $15.1M, debt repayments of $12.4M and the separately disclosed items of $7.8M in connection with the acquisition costs, patent legals costs and a socially engineered wire fraud.
Selected Review of Operations (unaudited)
($ thousands)
Qtr. 1
Qtr. 2
Qtr. 3
Qtr. 4
Calendar Year
2025
2024
2025
2024
2025
2024
2025
2024
2025
2024
2023
Revenue
100,705
97,877
110,105
107,413
108,492
97,677
110,874
104,815
430,176
407,782
425,927
Cost of sales
60,012
58,946
66,005
65,360
62,361
58,860
61,628
62,789
250,006
245,955
265,236
Gross profit
40,693
38,931
44,100
42,053
46,131
38,817
49,246
42,026
180,170
161,827
160,691
40.4 %
39.8 %
40.1 %
39.2 %
42.5 %
39.7 %
44.4 %
40.1 %
41.9 %
39.7 %
37.7 %
Selling and distribution expenses
18,320
16,985
19,501
18,319
22,030
17,197
22,240
17,262
82,091
69,763
71,039
Administrative expenses
7,355
6,132
7,271
6,182
7,607
6,183
8,997
6,642
31,230
25,139
22,898
Foreign currency loss
8
259
10
183
19
53
78
258
115
753
96
Lease payments
2,974
2,216
2,703
2,248
3,131
2,284
3,143
2,523
11,951
9,271
8,707
Adjusted EBITDAaL1
12,036
13,339
14,615
15,121
13,344
13,100
14,788
15,341
54,783
56,901
57,951
12.0 %
13.6 %
13.3 %
14.1 %
12.3 %
13.4 %
13.3 %
14.6 %
12.7 %
14.0 %
13.6 %
Richards derives its revenue from Canada (60%), United States (33%), and Europe & other regions (7%). On the year, revenue increased by $22.4M or 5.5%. Acquisitions contributed $28.9M, offset by a $5.2M decline in food & beverage packaging and $6.3M decline in organic healthcare sales. For the fourth quarter, revenue increased by $6.1M or 5.8%, driven by $14.9M from acquisitions offset by a 15.5% contraction in packaging.
Cost of sales decreased $1.2M for the fourth quarter or 1.8% and increased by $4.1M for the year or 1.6% from the same periods in the prior year. During the fourth quarter, gross profit margins were up 4.3% from the same period in 2024 primarily due to higher margins in the Healthcare segment driven by acquisitions. For the year, gross profit margins were up 2.2% on higher Healthcare margins.
Selling and distribution expenses increased $5.0M for the fourth quarter and $12.3M for the year mainly due to higher costs from acquisitions in the year.
Administrative expenses (before amortization) increased $2.5M for the fourth quarter and were up $6.5M for the year over the same periods in 2024, respectively with the increases caused by the acquisitions and addition of corporate staffing.
The foreign currency loss (gain) resulted primarily from exchange rate changes applied to our foreign-denominated working capital position within our Canadian and foreign operations assumed through acquisitions. The strengthening of the Canadian dollar spot rate by 1¢ in the fourth quarter led to the net losses.
Adjusted EBITDAaL1 decreased $0.6M for the fourth quarter and $2.1M for the year over the same periods in 2024, respectively. The decrease during the fourth quarter and for the year reflected the higher administrative costs offset by higher gross profit. As a percent of sales, Adjusted EBITDAaL was down 0.7% for the fourth quarter and 1.3% for the year.
Excluded from Adjusted EBITDAaL are separately disclosed items. For fiscal 2025, these include acquisition costs ($2.2M), corporate conversion costs ($0.8M), the defense of a patent dispute in healthcare ($1.9M), the loss on socially engineered wire fraud ($1.2M), management termination costs ($0.3M) and the costs associated with the fair value of inventory sold in acquisitions ($1.4M).
Segmented Results Highlights (unaudited)
