TC Transcontinental Inc., during its annual shareholders’ meeting in Montreal, paid tribute to its patriarch and co-founder, Rémi Marcoux, who, as previously announced, is now succeeded by his daughter, Isabelle Marcoux, as the new Chair of the Board.
“My dream was to found a company that was built on my values and that would last for a long time. Every day I have had the great pleasure of realizing this dream,” stated Rémi Marcoux, during his address to the shareholders. He founded the company in 1976, with business partners Claude Dubois and André Kingsley. “In addition to enjoying seeing Transcontinental grow, I also have a great feeling of pride. We are members of the select group that has been in business for 35 years or more, and this is a wonderful achievement.
“It shows our ability to weather storms and change,” Marcoux continued. “We had to adapt, anticipate trends, transform ourselves and take calculated risks. In this period when the print, media and marketing communications industries are in a state of transformation, I am certain that Transcontinental will continue to find excellent opportunities for growth.” Marcoux will remain a director on the Board.
Isabelle Marcoux, Transcontinental’s Vice President of Corporate Development, has been Vice Chair of the Board since 2008. She spoke to shareholders about her father’s legacy: “Rémi is giving us a company with assets which place it in an excellent position for the future: sustained growth, loyal and satisfied customers, a strong corporate culture based on the values of innovation, respect, performance and teamwork, a low debt level, a commitment to sustainable and responsible development and excellent corporate governance.”
Addressing the shareholders about the current state of Transcontinental, François Olivier, President and CEO, said, “I would describe 2011 as a year of major change at Transcontinental. We have redefined the basis of our future development. Whether this involved modernizing our values, positioning and our new branding; or setting up programs to promote innovation; or markedly improving the performance of our print network; or announcing the acquisition of Quad/Graphics Canada; or amalgamating our Media and Interactive sectors, we have had a single aim throughout: to serve our customers better.”
Olivier noted how TC Transcontinental Printing has seen more than $700 million in capital investments in recent years, particularly in a new hybrid press platform. The company also expects to generate an additional $40 million in operating income in the next 12 to 24 months specifically from the acquisition of Quad/Graphics Canada. Digital and interactive marketing operations account for about 10 percent of TC Transcontinental’s consolidated revenues, or close to $200 million.
On February 21, Transcontinental announced that it has put in place a new $400 million five-year unsecured revolving credit facility that expires in February 2017. “We are very pleased that our financial partners continue to demonstrate their confidence in our company, strategy and prospects,” stated Nelson Gentiletti, Chief Financial and Development Officer. “This agreement provides us with the flexibility we need to pursue our strategic plan and also recognizes our disciplined approach to financial management, including our strong balance sheet with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.4x, our cash flow generating ability and our investment grade credit rating.”
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