Q: Hi all, I know extendicare is not one of your faves but I'm wondering if you would comment on the stability of their divie distributions into the future and general financial stability.
5i Research Answer:
EXE, despite the inherent stability of its business, still sees cash flow bounce around a lot. Cash flow on an annual basis has varied between essentially zero (2016), to $25M (last 12 months), to $121M (2021). Payout ratio was 112% in the 2Q, but management does expect this to get better. Still, we would expect it to remain high, limiting any dividend increases. The dividend has not changed since 2013, when it was cut. We do not really worry about solvency here, just lack of growth. Without an improvement, we would not rule out another cut sometime down the road (likely not imminent, though). It is a small company with challenges, in a backdrop of higher rates, with a stock down nearly 50% since 2017. Just hard to get interested here.