MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 10,
2022 /CNW/ - Ceres Global Ag Corp. (TSX: CRP)
("Ceres" or the "Corporation") today announced its
financial and operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2021. All amounts are in U.S.
currency unless otherwise noted.
Second Quarter Highlights
(Comparisons to second
quarter of fiscal year 2021)
- Strong performance across core operations;
- Results driven by consistent volumes and effective risk
management;
- Gross profit increased 147% to $16
million;
- Income from operations was $7
million;
- Net income was $4 million, or
$0.13 per share (~C$0.16 per share);
- Advanced Northgate canola crush project by making $10.1 million in down payments to secure major
equipment, furthering design and engineering work, and remaining on
schedule for start-up summer 2024;
- Subsequent to quarter end the Corporation amended its revolving
credit facility, increasing its line by $50
million, to $150 million,
while obtaining a 25-basis point reduction in interest rates.
CEO Commentary
"A strong second quarter capped the best six-month period in
Ceres' history," said Robert Day,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Ceres. "Despite smaller
crops and lower inventories across the industry, we continued to
find needed supply for key customers and consistently delivered
high quality product on time. Key to our success again this quarter
was our solid operational execution and strategic positioning ahead
of the 2021 crop year. As a result, we achieved higher net trading
margins, higher gross profit and a much-improved bottom line.
Contributing to our positive results was our recently expanded
soybean crush plant in Jordan,
Manitoba, which ran at full
capacity during the quarter and produced the best financial results
in the plant's history."
Summary Financial and Operational Results
(in thousands of USD
except per
share)
|
3-Months Ended
December 31,
2021
|
3-Months Ended
December 31,
2020
|
6-Months Ended
December 31,
2021
|
6-Months Ended
December 31,
2020
|
Revenue
|
$304,795
|
$175,267
|
$513,166
|
$347,364
|
Gross profit
|
$16,058
|
$6,494
|
$39,917
|
$10,304
|
Income from
operations
|
$7,046
|
$2,733
|
$20,705
|
$2,775
|
Net income
(loss)
|
$4,033
|
$1,325
|
$12,802
|
$389
|
Earnings (loss) per
basic share
|
$0.13
|
$0.04
|
$0.42
|
$0.01
|
EBITDA1
|
$8,513
|
$4,255
|
$23,931
|
$5,873
|
Outlook
Mr. Day continued, "We believe grain prices are at or near
levels at which demand will continue to be rationed in order to
balance limited supply for the remainder of the crop year.
Opportunities in the third quarter will continue to present
themselves through effective trading and positioning; however, we
expect that generating gross margins will become more challenging
as inventories continue to diminish."
"Our plans to build an integrated canola processing facility in
Northgate, Saskatchewan, remain on
track to begin operations in the summer of 2024. The facility will
have capacity to process approximately one million metric tons of
canola and refine over 500 thousand metric tons of canola oil, for
both food and renewable fuel, annually. We have engaged project
management and design firms to develop the construction and design
for the project, and we continue to make progress around equity
partnership and funding."
Conference Call Details
Management of Ceres will host a conference call today,
February 10, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. ET. All interested parties can
join the conference call by dialing 1-888-254-3590 or 647-794-4605.
Please dial in 15 minutes prior to the call to secure a line.
A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available
at: https://bit.ly/ceres2022q2. Please connect at least 15 minutes
prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any
software download that may be required to join the webcast. An
archived replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
1EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes,
Depreciation and Amortization) is not a standardized financial
measure prescribed by IFRS; however, it is a metric that is used by
management to determine the Corporation's ability to service its
debt and finance capital.
In calculating EBITDA, Ceres excludes gains and losses on
property, plant and equipment, assets held for sale, and gains and
losses on equity investments. Ceres may calculate EBITDA
differently than other companies; therefore, Ceres' EBITDA may not
be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
Investors are cautioned that EBITDA should not be construed as
an alternative to net income or loss, or to other standardized
financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS and is not
intended to represent cash flows or results of operations in
accordance with IFRS.
About Ceres Global Ag Corp.
Ceres and its subsidiaries add value across agricultural, energy
and industrial supply chains through efficient sourcing, storing,
transporting and marketing of high-quality agricultural
commodities, value-added products and raw materials. Leveraging its
network of commodity logistics centers and team of industry
experts, Ceres connects farmers to customers around the
world.
Ceres is headquartered in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, and together with its affiliated companies,
operates 13 locations across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota. These facilities have an aggregate
grain and oilseed storage capacity of approximately 31 million
bushels.
Ceres has a 50% interest in Savage Riverport, LLC (a joint
venture with Consolidated Grain and Barge Co.), a 50% interest in
Farmers Grain, LLC (a joint venture with Farmer's Cooperative Grain
and Seed Association), a 50% in Gateway Energy Terminal (an
unincorporated joint venture with Steel Reef Infrastructure Corp.),
a 25% interest in Stewart Southern Railway Inc. (a short-line
railway located in southeast Saskatchewan with a range of 130 kilometers),
and a 17% interest in Canterra Seed Holdings Ltd. (a Canada-based seed development company).
For more information about Ceres, please visit
www.ceresglobalagcorp.com
Cautionary Notice: This news release contains
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation and United States securities laws. Forward-looking
information may include, but is not limited to, statements
regarding future operations and results, anticipated business
prospects and financial performance of Ceres and its subsidiaries,
including the plans, costs, timing and capital for the further
development of the Northgate Commodities Logistics Centre,
expectations or projections about the future, strategies and goals
for growth, expected and future cash flows, costs, planned capital
expenditures, regulatory change, general economic political and
market conditions anticipated capital projects, construction and
completion dates, operating and financial results, critical
accounting estimates, the expected financial and operational
consequences of future commitments. Generally,
forward-looking information can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not
expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate",
"believes", "may have implications" or variations of such words and
phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results
"may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or
"be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the opinions
and estimates of management at the date the information is made,
and is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of
risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual
events or results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking information. Key assumptions upon which such
forward-looking information is based are listed in the
"Forward-Looking Information" section of the MD&A for the
period ended December 31, 2021. Many
such assumptions are based on factors and events that are not
within the control of Ceres and there is no assurance they will
prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to
vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking
information include, among others, risks related to weather,
politics and governments, changes in environmental and other laws
and regulations, competitive factors in agricultural, food
processing and feed sectors, construction and completion of capital
projects, labour, equipment and material costs, access to capital
markets, interest and currency exchange rates, technological
developments, global and local economic conditions, the ability of
Ceres to successfully implement strategic initiatives and whether
such strategic initiatives will yield the expected benefits, the
operating performance of the Corporation's assets, the availability
and price of commodities and regulatory environment, processes and
decisions. Although Ceres has attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to
differ materially from those described in forward-looking
information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events
or results that are not anticipated, estimated or intended. There
can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to
be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such information. Ceres
undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information
if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions
should change, except as required by applicable securities
laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking information.
SOURCE Ceres Global Ag Corp.