Sandy McIntyreArctic Glacier Income FundAG.UN-CSEDON'T BUYAug 15, 2008
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.
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 $51 million over the last 6 months.
Great contrarian play. One of the leaders in the ice field. Their main problem is lawsuits over price fixing. Settled in the US but not yet in Canada. Longer term he expects it will do pretty well. Doesn't have a clean balance sheet. Will look at it again in a few months.
Classic example of a company that made a number of acquisitions, financed it with debt and, at a certain point, cash flow came in less than expected and created issues with the debt. Any time you get involved in legal issues in the US such as collusion, he would not own the stock.
Suspended distributions. Future is very unclear. This company and Reddy Ice are under investigation for potential price manipulation. Could be a big win for them if they are cleared but could also be disbanded because of a loss.
Got hit with an investigation by the Justice Department in the US because of too much market share. Had to discontinue distributions. If you own, Hold for some possible recovery.
Manufacture “Arctic Glacier” ice that you buy at stores. Made a foray into the US about 3 years ago. Has been hurt by 25%-30% because of the US$. Very dependent on the weather. He found there are too many unknowns with the cash flow stability. Thinks the SCC is investigating them in the US.
Distribution is not too bad. Have done a good job of integrating the smaller acquisitions they have done over the years. Management team seems to know what they are doing. If there were a bit further pullback in price, he would consider buying for his fund.
Has a dominant market share. Most of their business is in the US, making them very susceptible to currency changes. Bothers him that ice seems to depend on a handful of weekends during the year.