The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Endri Leno - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: First question I have, I was wondering -- Linda, you mentioned a few times in the prepared remarks is that there have been some price increases
in Q1, but there are more to come in Q2 and in Q3. Is there a way you can quantify what is yet to come in terms of percentage -- increase or
percentage of volume? Or I mean, any way -- is there any way to quantify what is yet to come? It would be great.
Question: Endri Leno - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. Great. And then the other question I have, I just wanted to ask a little bit and put this in the context with the linen charge, which is flat in
dollar terms, and it has declined 1.5 percentage points as a percent of revenue, but revenue is up 15%. Is there -- can we use that as a directional
for volumes and sort of like what the quantum whereas the increase in revenue would be with the quantum on price, whereas the flat linen is kind
of more on the volume that you're seeing? Is that a good way of seeing it?
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Question: Endri Leno - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. That's great. And that would refer to the change in mix in the linen commentary in the MD&A?
Question: Endri Leno - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: My last question, and I'll jump in the queue. I just wanted to talk a little bit about the NCIB. Just kind of the thought process on it. I mean especially
as the share -- the stock is fairly liquid. And you're also talking about an active pipeline, which I would think perhaps you should pay some debt
down so you could be more active. I was just kind of -- I was wondering if you can talk a little bit about the thought process in terms of putting an
NCIB, how would you deploy it? And how would you balance it versus paying that down or even perhaps increasing the dividend?
Question: Endri Leno - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: Just a couple ones for me. The first one, I was just wondering to -- we were talking about price increases, are these the ones at least that you have
negotiated at the current, are these kind of more backward looking sort of you're trying to recoup the cost and what has happened, let's say, in
the last 12 or 24 months? Or is there a certain degree when you're looking at it in the future? And I'm trying to relate this, especially when it comes
to minimum wage increases that are yet to come in several of your geographies.
Question: Endri Leno - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: Great. I mean I think that natural gas hedge was a great move, by the way. The end my last question is, if you can just talk a little bit about inflation
in linen. I mean is there any -- are you able to offset because of your footprint? Or are you working through still lower-priced inventory? Because if
I recall correctly, you hold a lot of linen inventory.
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