MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Ceres Global Ag Corp. (TSX:
CRP) ("Ceres" or the "Corporation") today announced its financial
and operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. All amounts are in U.S.
currency unless otherwise noted.
CEO Commentary
"The second quarter marked a strong rebound as we increased
volumes to our customers in North
America and took advantage of market volatility," said
Robert Day, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Ceres. "Our recent acquisitions enabled us to
drive volume through our North American supply chains more
competitively, offsetting the high-priced U.S. rail freight costs
that continued to impact cereal grain competitiveness to world
markets. In addition, we reached an important milestone by closing
on the formation of Farmers Grain, LLC, our joint venture with
Farmer's Cooperative Grain and Seed Association ("FCGS") based in
Thief River Falls, Minnesota."
Summary Financial and Operational Results
(in thousands of
USD except per
share)
|
3-Months Ended
December 31,
2020
|
3-Months Ended
December 31,
2019
|
6-Months Ended
December 31,
2020
|
6-Months Ended
December 31,
2019
|
Revenue
|
$175,267
|
$157,186
|
$347,364
|
$284,258
|
Gross
profit
|
$6,494
|
$9,332
|
$10,304
|
$16,018
|
Income from
operations
|
$2,733
|
$4,301
|
$2,775
|
$7,332
|
Net income
(loss)
|
$1,325
|
$2,333
|
$389
|
$4,091
|
Earnings (loss) per
basic share
|
$0.04
|
$0.08
|
$0.01
|
$0.14
|
EBITDA1
|
$4,255
|
$5,785
|
$5,873
|
$10,425
|
Financial and Operational Highlights for the quarter ended
December 31, 2020
- Revenues increased $18.1 million
compared to the second quarter of the previous year primarily due
to an increase in bushels handled and higher commodity prices;
- Gross profit was $6.5 million
compared to $9.3 million for the
second quarter of last year. The decrease is primarily driven by
lower durum volumes compared to the prior year;
- Net income was $1.3 million
compared to $2.3 million for the same
quarter last year. Lower gross profits were partially offset by
lower interest and general & administrative costs;
- Ceres successfully completed the integration of its Nicklen
Siding facility, a grain elevator in Ridgedale, Saskatchewan, adding to its
origination capabilities for core products and providing greater
flexibility and solutions to end use customers;
- On February 10, 2021, Ceres
closed on the formation of Farmers Grain, LLC, a grain
merchandizing joint venture that will be based in Thief River Falls, MN, and which will allow
Ceres to increase its grower origination in the region;
- On February 10, 2021, the
Corporation amended its revolving credit facility, resulting in
lower and more competitive interest rates.
Outlook
Mr. Day continued, "While our volumes are typically lower in the
third quarter due to seasonal shutdowns in the Great Lakes and
Upper Mississippi River, we plan to maintain our current pace by
exporting product through third-party facilities and we are well
positioned to take advantage of price distortions caused by ongoing
market volatility. Meanwhile, we expect rail freight prices
in spring and summer to soften as China shifts its purchasing activity to
South America, increasing the
competitiveness of U.S. products out of the Great Lakes and Ceres'
ability to export to the world market."
"With the formation of Farmers Grain, LLC, Ceres will increase
grower origination in the region and partner with growers to
deliver value-added solutions to our downstream customers. The
joint venture will undergo an expansion project over the next 18
months designed to enable loading unit trains. Additionally, we
remain on track for a summer completion of our soybean crush plant
expansion in Jordan, Manitoba, and our pipeline of other greenfield
and acquisition opportunities remains strong."
Conference Call Details
Ceres will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter
fiscal year 2021 financial and operational results on Friday, February 12, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. EST. Robert
Day, Ceres' President and CEO, and Jay Bierley, 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. Please dial in 15 minutes prior to
the call to secure a line. The conference call will be archived for
replay until Friday, February 26,
2021 at midnight, ET. To access the archived
conference call, please dial 1-855-859-2056 and enter the
reservation number 8248582.
A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available
at: http://bit.ly/CeresQ22021. 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 and its subsidiaries ("Ceres Global")
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 Global 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 32 million
bushels.
Ceres Global 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 Global, 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, 2020. 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.