RiceBran Technologies: Reports Q1/2016 Financial Results

Scottsdale / AZ. (rbt) RiceBran Technologies (up to 2012 NutraCea), a global leader in the production and marketing of value added products derived from rice bran, announces financial results for Q1 2016.

Financial Highlights

Revenues: Consolidated revenues for Q1 2016 rise to 10.1 million USD compared to 9.7 million USD in the same quarter of the prior year. USA segment revenues increase by 53 percent compared to Q1 2015 and by 23 percent sequentially to reach a record 7.8 million USD. Brazil segment revenue declined from 4.6 million USD in Q1 2015 to 2.3 million USD in Q1 2016 due decreased throughput and a decline in the value of the Brazilian currency.

Gross Profit: Consolidated Q1 2016 gross profit improved by 100 percent to 2.2 million USD compared to 1.1 million USD in Q1 2015. USA segment gross profit increased by 49 percent compared to Q1 2015 with margins remaining strong at 31.7 percent inclusive of a 50 percent increase in animal nutrition sales.

Adjusted Ebitda: The Company’s USA and Corporate segment achieved 376’000 USD in positive adjusted Ebitda in Q1 2016 compared to an adjusted Ebitda loss of (647’000 USD) in the same quarter of the prior year. The Company’s Brazil segment recorded an Adjusted Ebitda loss of (593’000 USD) in Q1 2016 down from (924’000 USD) in Q1 2015. Overall consolidated adjusted Ebitda loss in Q1 2016 was (217’000 USD), a 1.3 million USD improvement from the (1.6 million USD) recorded in Q1 2015.

Net Loss: Q1 2016 consolidated net loss narrowed to (251’000 USD), a 92 percent improvement compared to a consolidated net loss of (3.0 million USD) recorded in Q1 2015.

W. John Short, CEO and President, commented: «In the first quarter of 2016 we recorded record revenue in our USA segment which grew significantly both quarter over quarter and sequentially. Our sales growth was broad based coming from both human ingredients and functional foods as well as animal nutrition. We experienced significant growth from two customers that were a very small percentage of sales in 2015 as well as a nice ramp from our largest customer that launched a complete line of reformulated products early in 2016. The distribution agreement signed with Kentucky Equine Research late in 2015 helped us achieve a 50 percent increase in animal nutrition sales in the quarter. Most importantly, we achieved this performance while at the same time reducing USA segment operating expenses quarter over quarter. We have seen continued follow through thus far in Q2 2016 and believe that our sales initiatives in 2015 coupled with our supply chain strategies are beginning to deliver sustainable growth to take advantage of the capacity investments we have made in our USA Segment plants over the past two years. Consumer demand for our products continues to improve and we are now set to add organic rice bran products to our portfolio based on the agreements we entered into with Narula to fuel further growth in 2016».

Short continued, «In Brazil, the continued effects of the country’s economic collapse and currency devaluation have weighed heavily on our Brazil segment. While we have streamlined operations and continue to reduce costs to mitigate its effect on our overall business, we are still experiencing supply chain difficulties that have led to inconsistent performance, low processing rates and further losses, albeit at a reduced level due to the success of our cost reduction initiatives. The recovery of 1.9 million USD related to our acquisition of Irgovel coupled with our capital raise in February of this year places us on more solid financial ground, giving us the ability to grow in our USA segment while we explore a number of both short and long term strategic alternatives for Brazil in order to ride out this economic storm. Overall, we see continued strong demand in our USA segment as we move through 2016 and believe our marketing efforts and greater bran availability will help to drive further improvement in both our overall top and bottom line performance for the foreseeable future».