Stonegate Capital Partners Initiates Coverage on SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU) (OTCQX:SECUF)

DALLAS, TX -- March 8th, 2023 --  SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU)(OTCQX:SECUF): Stonegate Capital Partners initiates their coverage on  SSC Security Services Corp. The full report can be accessed by clicking on the following link: https://stonegateinc.com/reports/SECU_Initiation.pdf

COMPANY UPDATES

• Continued execution of pivot strategy: The Company has continued to execute on their strategy to grow their security business through acquisitions and organic growth. After a busy 2021, SECU followed up by acquiring Logixx in 2022. The Logixx deal was an all-cash deal that transacted for approximately 3x prior years EBITDA. This presents a phenomenal value considering most private companies in this sector trade for about 4x to 6x EBITDA.
• Share buyback plan: In December of 2022 the Company announced a share buyback plan. The specifics of this plan include the intent to purchase 1,200,000 shares representing 10% of float. The share buyback program was initiated on January 4, 2023 and will continue until January 3, 2024 or until all 1,200,000 shares are bought. This is in addition to the 41% of shares outstanding that the Company has bought back through NCIB and Substantial Issuer Bids over the last 5 years.
• Debt free with no plans to change: SECU is in a strong position from a liquidity standpoint. They currently have no debt and management has made it clear that they will be judicious if and when they take on more debt. Additionally, the company is in a strong position from a working capital standpoint with $24.5M in working capital to end the year. The company also has approx. $35.7M in adjusted working capital which accounts for portions of their legacy business that will most likely become cash within the next year.
• Legacy business is now immaterial: Management has noted on their most recent release that their legacy business is no longer material to their financials. As the Company continues to wind down their remaining legacy assets, we expect that those cash flows allocated to legacy assets will be reallocated to the security services portion of their business. In the meantime, we have accounted for the legacy assets on their balance sheet by including these assets into adjusted working capital. We also subtract these near cash legacy assets from Enterprise Value to arrive at Adjusted EV. We also expect SECU to start trading at a multiple that is more in-line with other security services businesses.
• Consistent dividend payer: We note that the Company has paid a dividend of $0.12 annually since inception. This results in a current dividend yield of approximately 4.4%. This consistency proves management’s focus on delivering shareholder returns and has signaled that they intend to maintain this dividend for the foreseeable future.
• Valuation: The Company is currently trading at 2024 expected EV/EBITDA of 4.1x vs average comps of 7.9x. We note that historically comps trade between 8.1x to 9.6x on average. Considering this historical range, we apply a range of 8.0x to 9.0x with a midpoint of 8.5x to our 2024 EBITDA and arrive at a valuation of $4.14 to $4.44 with a midpoint of $4.29. When we look at valuation through a discounted cash flow lens, we apply a discount range of 10.00% to 11.00% with a midpoint of 10.5% leading to a valuation range of $4.63 to $5.15 with a midpoint of $4.88.