Yellow Pages Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Yellow Pages (TSE:Y) reported lower first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, while management highlighted continued cash generation, shareholder returns and planned pension contributions during the company’s first quarter 2026 earnings call.

President and Chief Executive Officer Sherilyn King said the company was “quite pleased” with its first-quarter results, citing “good profitability and cash generation” despite challenges in the global economy. Yellow Pages reported adjusted EBITDA equal to 19.3% of revenue for the quarter.

King said the company’s revenue change in the quarter was “broadly stable” compared with the same measurement one year earlier. She also noted that Yellow Pages had approximately CAD 58 million in cash at the end of April, after certain regular seasonal cash disbursements.

Revenue Declines 7.8%

Chief Financial Officer Assunta Tortis said total revenue fell CAD 4 million, or 7.8% year-over-year, to CAD 46.8 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. She said the decline was mainly attributable to lower revenue from higher-margin digital media and print products, and to a lesser extent lower-margin digital services products, which put pressure on gross margin.

The 7.8% revenue decline compared with a 7.6% decline reported for the same period last year. Tortis said the slightly higher rate of decline was driven by print revenue, while the decline rate for digital revenue improved modestly.

Digital revenue decreased 6.1% year-over-year to CAD 38.2 million, improving from a 6.8% decline in the first quarter of 2025. Tortis attributed the improvement to a strong renewal rate and higher average spend per customer.

Print revenue fell 14.8% year-over-year to CAD 8.6 million. Tortis said the decrease was mainly due to fewer print customers, though spend per customer improved as a result of price increases.

Adjusted EBITDA Margin Narrows

Adjusted EBITDA declined CAD 2.9 million, or 24%, to CAD 9 million in the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 19.3%, compared with 23.4% a year earlier.

Tortis said adjusted EBITDA was affected by revenue pressure, ongoing investments in telesales force capacity and the impact of Yellow Pages’ share price on cash-settled stock compensation. Those effects were partially offset by cost-of-sales optimization and reductions in operating costs, including a smaller workforce and lower associated employee expenses.

The company recorded a CAD 1.7 million expense from the revaluation of cash-settled stock compensation based on its share price, compared with a CAD 1.3 million recovery in the same period of 2025.

Tortis said revenue pressure and changes in product mix, partly offset by continued optimization and cost reductions, are expected to continue pressuring margins in upcoming quarters.

Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures declined CAD 2.9 million year-over-year to CAD 8.5 million, primarily because of lower adjusted EBITDA. Net income fell to CAD 4.1 million from CAD 5 million a year earlier, principally due to lower adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by lower restructuring and other charges and lower depreciation and amortization.

Yellow Pages had 520 employees as of March 31, 2026, down from 572 a year earlier, a decrease of 9.1%.

Dividend and Share Repurchase Plan

King said the board declared a dividend of CAD 0.25 per common share, payable June 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as of May 25, 2026.

The company also discussed a previously announced CAD 25 million discretionary cash buyback through a plan of arrangement. Tortis said Yellow Pages will repurchase 2,037,489 common shares from shareholders on a pro rata basis at CAD 12.27 per share. The purchase price represents the volume-weighted average price for the five consecutive trading days ending immediately before April 7, 2026.

The arrangement requires approval by at least 66 and two-thirds of the votes cast by shareholders at the company’s annual general and special meeting, expected to be held virtually on June 11, 2026. Tortis said shareholders holding more than 80% of outstanding shares have agreed to vote in favor of the arrangement. The plan also requires approval from the Supreme Court of British Columbia and is expected to be completed by the end of June 2026.

Pension Contributions

King said Yellow Pages contributed an additional CAD 2 million to its defined benefit pension plan in April 2026 in connection with the plan of arrangement. Combined with an earlier CAD 2 million payment made in the first quarter, the company has made CAD 6 million in total payments to the defined benefit pension plan since the annuity purchase in May 2025.

No analyst questions were asked during the call. King said the company expects to connect with investors again in August for its second-quarter results.

About Yellow Pages (TSE:Y)

Yellow Pages Ltd is a media and marketing solutions company in Canada, offering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) services to help them connect with local consumers. The company has two reportable segments namely Yellow Pages and Other. It generates maximum revenue from the Yellow Pages segment.