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
(in thousands of
USD except per share)
|
3-Months Ended
September 30, 2019
|
3-Months Ended
September 30, 2018
|
Revenue
|
$126,592
|
$90,241
|
Gross
profit
|
$6,460
|
$5,084
|
Income from
operations
|
$2,805
|
$1,317
|
Net income
(loss)
|
$1,758
|
$(8,514)
|
Earnings (loss) per
basic share
|
$0.06
|
$(0.30)
|
EBITDA1
|
$4,413
|
$(5,748)
|
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.