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Investment Q&A

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Q: It was noted in the recent quarterly release that Constellation has "lowered the hurdle rate for deals of $100m or more". Does this mean that the company will accept/expect lower rates of return on these larger deals? If so, will this not reduce the profitability of those deals and finally, does this imply that CSU has indeed started to "hit the wall" in terms of growth? I hope I am wrong as this has been (thanks to 5i) one of my best investments!

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on May 06, 2019
Q: Would you be so kind as to provide your interpretation of Sylogist’s May 1 news release as it pertains to any possible positioning of the Company to merge or be acquired. Specifically, am I reading too much into the sections of the news release that talk about (1) senior executive contracts being negotiated to address …change of control provisions and (2) senior executive efforts will be focused on M&A activity to realize industry peer comparable value for our shareholders.
Read Answer Asked by Vincent on May 05, 2019
Q: Hi, Sylogist Board passed some important resolutions on May 1. Could you please help us understand its significance as an investor. Thanks

CALGARY, May 1, 2019 /CNW/ - Sylogist Ltd. (TSXV:SYZ.VN) ("Sylogist" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General and Special Meeting held on May 1, 2019 and the directors election of a chairman and committees for the ensuing year. In addition, the Company is pleased to announce the Board of Directors today approved a comprehensive plan to improve shareholder value through increased financial performance, M&A focus, enhanced board governance and accelerated growth initiatives.
Growth in Shareholder Value Initiatives:

- The Board directed management to complete a rigorous Company operational review, to target annual savings through workforce efficiency gains resulting in reduced annual costs of $1.8 million over historical costs. Much of the review conducted to date has focused on the impact of a mobile workforce. Today, over 80% of Sylogist's workforce has a mobile component to their employment. The impact of a mobile workforce reduces the need for fixed office space, administrative support, certain sales costs and travel time, while promoting a borderless workforce and improving employee work/life balance. Through the flexibility provided by a mobile workforce we are able to cover multiple time zone support and professional service commitments, with a more streamlined employee base. Functions, including software support, some software development, sales, investor relations and professional services, historically requiring extensive travel for face-to-face meetings, are now largely addressed with technology conferencing tools. This means we can now hire the most talented people who can be located where they want to live;

- A number of organic growth initiatives are commencing in the second half of fiscal 2019 with financial impact expected in the fiscal 2020 results. Projects previously noted include a new payroll platform and North Carolina education market opportunities:

- The Company is currently testing a pay-per-use payroll platform and will start rolling this service out to customers in Q3. Effective by the end of June, the payroll platform will be supplemented with an employee perks benefits system. The perks system provides employees with tax effective benefits that well exceed the employers' cost of the payroll system, making the economic advantage of selecting a pay-per-use platform an easy decision;

- Sylogist was not, at this time, selected for a master service agreement with the state of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. To date, two larger organizations have been awarded agreements to compete in the North Carolina market once they pass a number of hurdles, including state compliance. The Department of Public instruction has, however, agreed to fund customer upgrades for the modern K12 certified solution. Given the lengthy process ahead for the new entrants' certification, testing and piloting of new system offerings, the timeline for selection and early implementation of replacement systems has been extended by 4 years or more from the original plan. The current plan leaves Sylogist with a much longer runway of continued support for its legacy system and funding for upgrades to its modern K12 system. The Company has adjusted the forward operating parameters in the business to address the current situation and these changes result in projected increased profitability over an extended period of time. On a financial basis the Company is very pleased with the developments in this market to date.

- Sylogist is pleased to announce the recent signing of a $3M (CAD) professional services contract to implement Sylogist's Navigator solution in multiple international locations for a large not-for-profit organization. Discussions are underway with the customer toward a meaningful increase in scope and duration of this contract.

- Senior executive efforts will be focused on M&A activity to realize industry peer comparable value for our shareholders.

The Company is pleased to announce it will be releasing its second quarter financial results before the market opening on May 15th, 2019.
Read Answer Asked by rajeev on May 05, 2019
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