Sienna Senior Living Inc. Announces Additions to Executive Team and Provides Important Updates

MARKHAM, Ontario, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sienna Senior Living Inc. (“Sienna” or the “Company”) (TSX: SIA) today provided the following business update.

The health and well-being of residents and team members remain Sienna’s top priority in dealing with the extraordinary challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company is making good progress in implementing important measures, first announced by the Company on June 3, 2020 in its Six-Point Action Plan, to address the challenges that certain of our long-term care residences have been facing.

“Earlier this month I was honoured to be appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Sienna Senior Living. I committed then to stabilizing this company and re-positioning it for success,” said Nitin Jain, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are on track and making progress. Our company is taking strong action and we will be providing regular updates on our progress – our residents, families and colleagues expect and deserve no less.”

Executive Appointments

Sienna is pleased to announce the following appointments to its executive leadership team:

Stephen Foster, Executive Vice President, Long-Term Care (Interim): Stephen is a recognized expert with extensive leadership experience in the sector, having recently retired as Chief Operating Officer of a major Canadian seniors’ housing operator. Reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Vice President, Long-Term Care will be focused on strategic and operational execution for the Company’s long-term care segment and developing a high performing team, to help our residents live fully, every day.

Karen Hon, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President: Karen has been a member of the Sienna team for five years, most recently leading Corporate Finance, Investor Relations and Shared Services and having supported Sienna’s last three equity raises. Reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer focuses on the financial management activities of the Company, with overall responsibility for financial management and fiscal integrity of the Company, and for directing the financial, strategic, internal controls, financing, tax, financial operations, debt strategy, capital markets strategy, treasury, audit, and budgeting functions of the business.

David Hung, Senior Vice President, Corporate Services: David has been a member of the Sienna team for five years, most recently leading Operations Finance and Procurement, and has built a reputation over 20 years as a people-focused leader. Reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer, the Senior Vice President, Corporate Services is a key member of the executive team, providing strategic direction and daily operational oversight for Information Technology, the Project Management Office, Real Estate, Enterprise Privacy & Security, Risk Management and Procurement. 

COVID-19 Update

Cases and Outbreak Status

• As of June 24, 2020, 43 of the 48 long-term care residences and all 35 retirement residences of Sienna’s 83 owned or managed residences do not have any active resident cases of COVID-19. Of the 9 residences with COVID-19, 4 residences do not have any active resident cases and 3 residences have less than 5 active resident cases.
• As of June 24, 2020, we are encouraged with the progress in 18 of Sienna’s long-term care residences and 6 retirement residences, which have been cleared of outbreak status.

For more information on our response to COVID-19 and affected residences, please visit .

Pandemic Expenses

Sienna expects to continue to incur an increased level of expenses to support the costs of managing COVID-19. While some of these temporary expenses are expected to be covered by government funding, certain expenses, including fees related to hospital management agreements, advisory services and certain pandemic pay programs, may not be covered. In particular where expenses are funded, we anticipate timing differences between the incurrence of expenses and the funding of such expenses.

For the five months ended May 31, 2020, the net impact of pandemic-related expenses, which do not impact the Company’s operating funds from operations, was $4.1 million, mainly comprised of additional staffing costs, personal protective equipment and supplies.

Business Update

Retirement Occupancy

The Company’s average same property occupancy in the Retirement portfolio continued to be affected by reduced move-in activity during the pandemic, partially offset by lower move-out activity and conversion of short-term stays to permanent (March 2020, 84.6%; April 2020, 83.7%; May 2020, 83.0%). Rent collections from residents for the months of April and May 2020 remained similar to previous collection levels.

Long-Term Care Government Funding

The governments of British Columbia and Ontario will continue to provide full funding for vacancies caused by the temporary closure of admissions due to the outbreak. The government of Ontario has also announced the suspension of occupancy targets required to receive full funding to the end of the calendar year. 

Staffing

Sienna continues to address staffing challenges experienced across the seniors’ living sector by recruiting and deploying additional staff and expediting the hiring process, while supporting single worksites. Since the beginning of March 2020, Sienna has hired approximately 600 full-time and 750 part-time staff members, in addition to converting over 1,000 existing part-time positions to full-time for team members seeking full-time work.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity Update

The Company maintains a strong financial position with significant liquidity and a substantial unencumbered asset pool. Sienna will continue to focus on enhancing its liquidity position and expects to continue to delay new expansion projects and limit capital expenditures to essential maintenance capital. With respect to upcoming debt maturities, in particular the refinancing of the Company’s Series B  senior secured debentures maturing in Q1 2021, the Company expects it will be able to successfully refinance its maturing debt based on Sienna’s current financial position and debt profile.

• Liquidity was $208 million as at June 15, 2020, comprised of cash and cash equivalents and available credit facilities;
• Fair value of unencumbered asset pool remained high at approximately $540 million as at March 31, 2020;
• Debt-to gross book value improved to 46.9% as at March 31, 2020 from 47.8% as at December 31, 2019.

About Sienna Senior Living

Sienna Senior Living Inc. (TSX:SIA) offers a full range of seniors' living options, including independent living, assisted living, long-term care, and specialized programs and services. Sienna's approximately 12,000 employees are passionate about helping residents live fully every day, and were the driving force behind Sienna being named one of Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures. For more information, please visit .

Risk Factors

Refer to the risk factors on “General Business Risks” and “COVID-19 and Other Outbreaks” disclosed in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2020, and other risk factors disclosed in its most recent annual Management Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements and are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management’s current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements generally use forward-looking words, such as “anticipate,” “continue,” “could,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “believe,” “goals” or other similar words and include, without limitation, statements with respect to the impact of COVID-19 and measures taken to mitigate the impact. These statements are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements and, accordingly, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on information currently available and what management currently believes are reasonable assumptions. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable law.

For further information, please contact:

Karen Hon

Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President

(905) 477-4006 x3069

Nancy Webb

Vice President, Marketing and Communications

(905) 415-7623