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Mon, February 14, 2011
[ Mon, Feb 14th 2011 ] - Market Wire
ManTech Acquires TranTech Inc.

Commercial Announces 15% Growth in Revenues for First Quarter


Published on 2011-02-14 04:05:24 - Market Wire
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EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Feb. 14, 2011) -

Fiscal 2011 First Quarter - Highlights



- Revenues improved by 14.9% over the same quarter in the prior year, 20.2%
improvement once normalized for branches sold in Eastern Canada
- Significant improvement in EBITDA by $1.1 million from same period in the
prior year
- EPS of $0.00 compared to an EPS loss of $0.04 in the same period in the
prior year

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All figures in CAD Three Months Ended December 31 Increase (Decrease)
2010 2009 $ %
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Revenue $ 24,411,438 $ 21,251,236 $ 3,160,202 14.9%
EBITDA (i) 706,103 (371,645) $ 1,077,748 290%
Net Loss (72,695) (843,876) $ 771,181 91%
Basic EPS (ii) (0.00) (0.04)
Diluted EPS (ii) (0.00) (0.04)
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(i) EBITDA is defined as earnings (loss) before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization
(iii) EPS is defined as Earnings (loss) per share


COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS INC. ("Commercial" or "Company") (TSX:CSA) a leading Canadian distributor of bearings, power transmission equipment, oilfield, industrial, safety products today announced its financial results for the three-month period ended December 31, 2010. A complete copy of the Company's report is available on the Internet at [ www.sedar.com ].

Financial highlights from first quarter of fiscal 2011 are as follows:

Commercial reported revenue of $24.4 million compared to revenue of $21.3 million for the same period last year, representing a quarter-over-quarter increase of 14.9 percent. The Company reported positive EBITDA of $0.7 million in the quarter compared to EBITDA loss of $0.4 million in the same period last year. Net loss for the quarter amounted to $0.1 million compared to net loss of $0.8 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

Activity levels in all of the Company's primary markets continued steady growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2011, as in the preceding two quarters. In comparison to the same quarter in the prior year, revenues have increased by 20.2 percent once normalized for the two Eastern branches which were sold in the second quarter of the prior year. Increase in revenue is mainly attributable to the increase in drilling activity in Western Canada and the general economic improvement in other primary markets including manufacturing, mining, resale, forestry and agriculture.

Jim Barker, President and CEO of Commercial noted, "We generate significant revenues from the energy sector in Western Canada which is largely dependent on the price of oil and gas. Rig counts and rig utilization rates have improved mainly driven by favourable oil prices and land sales in Western Canada continue to outpace prior year's volumes and price. Based on this, we expect revenue generation from the energy sector to increase in the future. At the same time, we continue to focus on our other primary markets. Our business model is to operate with a diversified customer base and we can achieve this further through the variety of product lines and our geographically dispersed locations in Western Canada".

About Commercial

Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Commercial is one of Canada's leading independent industrial distributors with 24 Services Centres and approximately 240 employees located primarily in Western Canada. Commercial offers more than 160,000 items critical to maintenance repair and operations (MRO) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers. The Company represents 450 leading manufacturers and serves over 11,000 customer accounts within a broad cross-section of industries, including oil and gas, forestry, firefighting, food processing, chemical processing, mining, utilities, manufacturing, agriculture and construction. Commercial trades under the symbol "CSA" on the Toronto Stock Exchange. For further information on the Company, please visit [ www.commercialsolutions.ca ] and for detailed financial information visit [ www.sedar.com ].

Forward Looking Statements

From time to time, the Company may publish forward-looking statements relating to such matters as expected financial performance, business prospects, development activities and like matters. These statements involve risk and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risk factors previously described. Actual results could differ materially from those projected as a result of these risks and should not be relied upon as a prediction of future events. Commercial undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, with an exception to securities laws requirements.