HOUSTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Omega Protein
Corporation (NYSE: OME), the nation's leading producer of Omega-3
fish oil and specialty fish meal products, today announced that it
had closed a $10 million term loan
with the U.S. Department of Commercial Fisheries Finance Program.
Proceeds from the loan will be used to reimburse the Company
for prior expenditures for fishing vessel refurbishments and a
state-of-the-art dryer system that should result in reduced
emissions and improved product quality. The loan has a term
of 15 years, is amortized on a quarterly basis, and bears an
interest rate at 5.73% per year. The loan is secured by first
liens on a Company fishing vessel and certain assets located at the
Company's Reedville, Virginia
facility.
About Omega Protein
Omega Protein Corporation is the nation's largest manufacturer
of heart-healthy fish oils containing Omega-3 fatty acids for human
consumption, as well as specialty fish meals and fish oil used as
value-added ingredients in aquaculture, swine and other livestock
feeds. Omega Protein makes its products from menhaden, an
Omega-3 rich fish that is not utilized as seafood, but which is
abundantly available along the U.S. Gulf
of Mexico and Atlantic Coasts.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: The
statements contained in this press release that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks
and uncertainties. The actual results of future events
described in any of these forward-looking statements could differ
materially from those stated in the forward-looking statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to be
materially different from those forward-looking statements
include, among others: (1) the Company's ability to meet its raw
material requirements through its annual menhaden harvest, which is
subject to fluctuations due to natural conditions over which the
Company has no control, such as varying fish population, fish oil
yields, adverse weather conditions, natural and other disasters and
disease; (2) the impact of worldwide supply and demand
relationships on prices for the Company's products; (3) Omega
Protein's expectations regarding demand and pricing for its
products proving to be incorrect; (4) fluctuations in the Company's
quarterly operating results due to the seasonality of the Company's
business and its deferral of inventory sales based on worldwide
prices for competing products; and (5) the impact of the uncertain
economic conditions, both in the United
States and globally. These and other factors are
described in further detail in Omega's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including its reports on Form 10-K,
Form10-Q and Form 8-K. The Company also posts its latest
internally generated price list for various products on its Company
website, www.omegaproteininc.com. Pricing and product
availability information disclosed in the price list are subject to
change or discontinuance without prior notice, and the Company
undertakes no obligation to update such information.
SOURCE Omega Protein Corporation