Yesterday StoneMor Partners issued a press release which you can read here.  In it they “announced a number of key financial and operational updates representing further steps forward in its ongoing turnaround effort.  These steps include a waiver and amedment of certain loan covenants, growth financing from its largest investor and the completion of an extensive review of its asset base.”

Financing – in the release StoneMor announced that its largest investor, Axar Capital, has agreed to a credit facilty of up to $35 million.  The proceeds are to be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes to drive improvements in sales.

Asset Review – According to the release StoneMor “completed a detailed review of its more that 400 properties”.  They announced that the review looked into individual financial and operational performance of each facility which included “local market dynamics, current industry trends, including cremation, the impact of clustering efforts and growth opportunities”.

According to Jim Ford, StoneMor’s Chief Operating Officer, “More than two-thirds of our cemetery and funeral home properties are assets with attractive financial and operational metrics”.  Ford continuted, “We also identifed the bottom third properties that are marginally unprofitable in the aggregate.  We believe if we emulate the practices of our most profitable properties, many of our other properties can generate improved levels of profitability”.

On the asset review, Joe Redling, StoneMor’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “The findings of a comprehensive asset review also reinforce our belief that StoneMor’s portfolio of assets contains a significant number of properties that are attractive and valuable.  The insights obained will help us better deploy capital within a more focused investment, development and divestiture strategy to strengthen the business”.

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