MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Nov. 13, 2018 /CNW/ - Ceres Global Ag Corp.
(TSX: CRP) ("Ceres" or the "Corporation") today announced its
financial and operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. All amounts are in U.S.
currency unless otherwise noted.
CEO Commentary
"Operating results, excluding the
Scoular litigation settlement and associated fees and costs in Q1
2019, marked our best quarter since Ceres began the turnaround of
its U.S. business and development of the Northgate site three and a
half years ago," said Robert Day,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Ceres. "With solid
performance from our underlying business, and the strong balance
sheet we have today, we can emphasize our focus on growth-based
initiatives."
"Several areas of the business performed well in Q1 2019,
including the durum and spring wheat product lines, the Natures
Organic Grist business, and Natural Gas Liquids ("NGLs") supply
chain services at the Northgate facility," Mr. Day continued. "We
are optimistic that we can maintain the positive trajectory of
improved financial results while also making big strides in our
growth."
Summary Financial and Operational Results
(in thousands of
USD except per share)
|
3-Months Ended
September 30, 2018
|
3-Months Ended
September 30, 2017
|
Revenue
|
$88,432
|
$130,638
|
Gross
profit
|
$4,989
|
$3,063
|
Income from
operations
|
$1,222
|
$519
|
Net income
(loss)
|
$(7,774)
|
$(806)
|
Earnings (loss) per
basic share
|
$(0.28)
|
$(0.03)
|
EBITDA
1
|
$(5,843)
|
$1,523
|
Adjusted net income
2
|
$1,705
|
$103
|
Financial and Operational Highlights for the quarter ended
September 30, 2018
- Income from operations was $1.2
million for the quarter, which continues the trend of
improved earnings for the Corporation.
- Natures Organic Grist, LLC ("NOG") was acquired on July 11, 2018 and was accretive to earnings of
the Corporation for the quarter.
- On October 4, 2018, the
Corporation entered into a settlement agreement with The Scoular
Company ("Scoular") to settle the lawsuit filed by Scoular in 2014.
The Corporation will pay $11.3
million in cash to Scoular and Scoular will release all
claims against Ceres relating to the subject matter of the
lawsuit.
Outlook
Mr. Day continued, "While the broader industry environment is not
expected to significantly improve in the near future, Ceres is
benefitting from solid customer relationships and consistent trade
flows that have been developed over the past several years. We
expect our core grain business will continue to perform well
through Q2 2019 while key logistics gateways remain open, and then
slow into Q3 2019 as the North Mississippi River and the Great
Lakes freeze for the season. Meanwhile, we expect some of the
seasonal slowdown in our grain business to be offset by growth in
supply chain services of liquid hydrocarbons and industrial
products at Northgate."
"We remain focused on growing our business by adding
complementary farmer grain origination assets to our network that
will allow us to more competitively originate products directly
from farmers and build more optionality across our supply chains,"
Mr. Day added. "In addition, we continue to make progress analyzing
long-term opportunities in the hydrocarbon space at Northgate."
Conference Call Details
Ceres will hold a conference
call to discuss its first quarter fiscal year 2019 financial and
operational results on Wednesday, November
14, 2018 at 9:00 am ET.
Robert Day, Ceres' President and
CEO, and Kyle Egbert, Ceres' CFO,
will co-chair the conference call.
All interested parties can join the conference call by dialing
1-888-231-8191 or 647-427-7450, conference ID: 9971598. Please dial
in 15 minutes prior to the call to secure a line. The conference
call will be archived for replay until Wednesday, November 28, 2018 at midnight ET. To access the archived conference
call, please dial 1-855-859-2056 and enter the encore code
9971598.
A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available
at:
https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1862058/8B7401653802EEE609660613B281D0E3.
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 as these items are considered to be
non-reoccurring in nature. Ceres may calculate EBITDA differently
than other companies; therefore, Ceres' EBITDA may not be
comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
2Adjusted net income is not a standardized financial
measure prescribed by IFRS; however, it is a metric that is used by
management to determine the Corporation's profitability excluding
non-reoccurring events.
In calculating adjusted net income, Ceres excludes gain (loss)
on sale or impairment of property, plant and equipment, income
(loss) from investments in associates, revaluation of warrants and
legal expense related to ongoing litigation and one-time
write-downs. Ceres may calculate adjusted net income differently
than other companies; therefore, Ceres' Adjusted Net Income may not
be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
Investors are cautioned that EBITDA and adjusted net income
should not be construed as alternatives to net income or loss, or
to other standardized financial measures determined in accordance
with IFRS, and are not intended to represent cash flows or results
of operations in accordance with IFRS.
About Ceres Global Ag Corp. (ceresglobalagcorp.com)
Through our network of commodity logistics centers and team of
industry experts, Ceres procures and provides North American
agricultural commodities & value-added products, industrial
products, fertilizer, energy products and reliable supply chain
logistics services to customers worldwide.
Ceres operates five locations, Duluth,
MN; Minneapolis, MN;
Shakopee, MN; Northgate,
Saskatchewan; and Port Colborne, Ontario, and is headquartered
in Minneapolis, MN. Our facilities
throughout North America have an
aggregate grain and oilseed storage capacity of approximately 29.7
million bushels.
Ceres also has a 50% interest in Savage Riverport LLC, a joint
venture with Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. ("CGB"), 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 Canadian-based seed development company.
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 September 30, 2018. 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
ability of Ceres to successfully defend the claim by The Scoular
Corporation, 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.