CRP Ceres Global Ag Corp

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 10, 2022 /CNW/ - Ceres Global Ag Corp. (TSX: CRP) ("Ceres" or the "Corporation") today announced its financial and operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2021. All amounts are in U.S. currency unless otherwise noted.

Second Quarter Highlights
(Comparisons to second quarter of fiscal year 2021)

• Strong performance across core operations;
• Results driven by consistent volumes and effective risk management;
• Gross profit increased 147% to $16 million;
• Income from operations was $7 million;
• Net income was $4 million, or $0.13 per share (~C$0.16 per share);
• Advanced Northgate canola crush project by making $10.1 million in down payments to secure major equipment, furthering design and engineering work, and remaining on schedule for start-up summer 2024;
• Subsequent to quarter end the Corporation amended its revolving credit facility, increasing its line by $50 million, to $150 million, while obtaining a 25-basis point reduction in interest rates.

CEO Commentary

"A strong second quarter capped the best six-month period in Ceres' history," said Robert Day, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ceres. "Despite smaller crops and lower inventories across the industry, we continued to find needed supply for key customers and consistently delivered high quality product on time. Key to our success again this quarter was our solid operational execution and strategic positioning ahead of the 2021 crop year. As a result, we achieved higher net trading margins, higher gross profit and a much-improved bottom line. Contributing to our positive results was our recently expanded soybean crush plant in Jordan, Manitoba, which ran at full capacity during the quarter and produced the best financial results in the plant's history."

Summary Financial and Operational Results

Outlook 

Mr. Day continued, "We believe grain prices are at or near levels at which demand will continue to be rationed in order to balance limited supply for the remainder of the crop year. Opportunities in the third quarter will continue to present themselves through effective trading and positioning; however, we expect that generating gross margins will become more challenging as inventories continue to diminish."

"Our plans to build an integrated canola processing facility in Northgate, Saskatchewan, remain on track to begin operations in the summer of 2024. The facility will have capacity to process approximately one million metric tons of canola and refine over 500 thousand metric tons of canola oil, for both food and renewable fuel, annually. We have engaged project management and design firms to develop the construction and design for the project, and we continue to make progress around equity partnership and funding."

Conference Call Details

Management of Ceres will host a conference call today, February 10, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. ET.  All interested parties can join the conference call by dialing 1-888-254-3590 or 647-794-4605. Please dial in 15 minutes prior to the call to secure a line.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at: https://bit.ly/ceres2022q2. 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. 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.

Ceres and its subsidiaries add value across agricultural, energy and industrial supply chains through efficient sourcing, storing, transporting and marketing of high-quality agricultural commodities, value-added products and raw materials. Leveraging its network of commodity logistics centers and team of industry experts, Ceres connects farmers to customers around the world. 

Ceres 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 31 million bushels. 

Ceres 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, 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, 2021. 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.