CRP Ceres Global Ag Corp

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 13, 2019 /CNW/ - Ceres Global Ag Corp. (TSX: CRP) ("Ceres" or the "Corporation") today announced its financial and operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2019. All amounts are in U.S. currency unless otherwise noted.

CEO Commentary
"Q1 2020 marked a strong start to the 2020 fiscal year as we met both financial and growth-based targets for the quarter, demonstrating continued progress from the turnaround strategy we have been pursuing for the past several years," said Robert Day, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ceres. "In addition to strong financial performance from our core business, the team made solid progress integrating the acquisition of Delmar Commodities and in collaborating with Steel Reef to ensure a smooth start to the Gateway Energy Terminal joint venture."

"While market conditions have been challenging, due in part to rain and snow through most of harvest and continued uncertainty around international trade tariffs, efforts made around talent development and process improvement over the past several years have prepared us for this type of environment," Mr. Day continued. "This is allowing us to consistently deliver on our customers' needs and be true to our vision to be the most trusted and valued partner with quality-conscious customers."

Summary Financial and Operational Results

Financial and Operational Highlights for the quarter ended September 30, 2019

• Net income for the period was $1.8 million compared to a net loss of $8.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.
• Gross profit increased $1.5 million compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 as a result of solid positioning ahead of challenging harvest weather events.
• EBITDA increased $10.1 million compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2018.
• Gateway Energy Terminal began operations on July 1, 2019.
• Delmar Commodities, Ltd. was acquired effective August 1, 2019 and was accretive to earnings of the Corporation for the quarter.
• On September 30, 2019, the Corporation closed a non-brokered private placement equity raise of approximately $10 million through the issuance of common shares.

Outlook 
Mr. Day continued, "While we expect conditions to remain challenging as weather experienced over the harvest period impacts the broader 2019-20 crop year, Ceres positioned itself well for these events and we expect the core business will continue to perform well through Q2 2020 while the Great Lakes and North Mississippi River logistics gateways remain open."

"Meanwhile, we remain committed to our growth, and to adding complementary farmer grain origination assets to our network that will allow us to more competitively originate products directly from farmers," Mr. Day added. "In addition, we are focused on increasing efficiency and adding capacity to recent acquisitions."

Conference Call Details
Ceres will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter fiscal year 2020 financial and operational results on Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. E.S.T. 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: 3999251. Please dial in 15 minutes prior to the call to secure a line. The conference call will be archived for replay until Thursday, November 28, 2019 at midnight E.S.T. To access the archived conference call, please dial 1-855-859-2056 and enter the encore code 3999251.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2125305/E9ABA629B72267940738A0D462951C0C.

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.

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. (ceresglobalagcorp.com)

Through its network of commodity logistics centers and team of industry experts, Ceres merchandizes high-quality North American agricultural commodities and value-added products and provides reliable supply chain logistics services to agricultural, energy and industrial customers worldwide. 

Ceres is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN and together with its wholly-owned affiliates, operates 13 locations across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota. These facilities have an aggregate grain and oilseed storage capacity of approximately 30.8 million bushels.

Ceres also has a 50% interest in Savage Riverport, LLC, a joint venture with Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., a 50% interest 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.

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, 2019. 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.