Had a distribution cut. Had Debt/EBITDA of 3.6%. Higher than he would accept in an operating business. Summer has been cold and wet so they are being squeezed operationally. 96.8% payout ratio.
Got hit with an investigation by the Justice Department in the US because of too much market share. Had to discontinue distributions. If you own, Hold for some possible recovery.
Suspended distributions. Future is very unclear. This company and Reddy Ice are under investigation for potential price manipulation. Could be a big win for them if they are cleared but could also be disbanded because of a loss.
Classic example of a company that made a number of acquisitions, financed it with debt and, at a certain point, cash flow came in less than expected and created issues with the debt. Any time you get involved in legal issues in the US such as collusion, he would not own the stock.
Great contrarian play. One of the leaders in the ice field. Their main problem is lawsuits over price fixing. Settled in the US but not yet in Canada. Longer term he expects it will do pretty well. Doesn't have a clean balance sheet. Will look at it again in a few months.
He was discouraged because they had so many legal problems that they had to deal with. Also, financials didn't look very good. Have lost about $51 million over the last 6 months.