RiceBran Technologies (RIBT) Tops Q4 EPS by 1c, Revenues Beat

RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ: RIBT) reported Q4 EPS of ($0.11), $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.12). Revenue for the quarter came in at $5.81 million versus the consensus estimate of $5.75 million.

"As a manufacturer of non-perishable foods, RiceBran Technologies is focused on maximizing production to do our part in keeping the U.S. supply chain for food functioning in these trying times related to COVID-19," said Brent Rystrom, President and Chief Executive Officer. "As a participant in what the Department of Homeland Security terms the 'critical infrastructure industry' of Food & Agriculture, all of our employees are focused on keeping our facilities operating and producing."

"In 2019, RiceBran Technologies devoted significant time, effort and resources to making investments and improvements, particularly in debottlenecking Golden Ridge and through the acquisition and integration of MGI Grain," Mr. Rystrom continued "As a result of these strategic actions, we believe we are well-positioned to drive stronger results in 2020. We are already seeing rapidly accelerating growth at Golden Ridge where revenues increased nearly 90% sequentially in the fourth quarter with additional sequential growth of near 70% expected in first quarter of 2020. Additionally, with the mill now running at much higher levels, we can ramp up our bran production and start shipping large volumes of stabilized rice bran from Golden Ridge in the second quarter of this year that will meaningfully impact sales and EBITDA. As a result of this and progress at MGI Grain and our traditional SRB businesses, we are excited for our opportunity to drive substantial sales and EBITDA growth in 2020 and beyond for RiceBran Technologies."

2020 Guidance Updates:

"We completed several initiatives in 2019 to improve financial performance in 2020." said Todd Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer. "Most notable were the investments we made to reposition our largest facilities to enhance growth, securing a flexible source of working capital funding, and completing a secondary offering in December. We plan to improve profitability in 2020 by leveraging lower costs of raw materials, more efficient labor management, and a significant reduction in SG&A. As a result of these initiatives and broader management strategies, we believe the Company is well-positioned to grow the business, improve profitability, and build value for stockholders in 2020 and throughout the years to come."

As a critical producer of non-perishable food, RBT serves an important role in the supply chain and expects to remain fully operational during the COVID-19 crisis. If we are able to maintain operations as planned, we expect annual revenue in 2020 of approximately $37 to $40 million, reducing quarterly EBITDA losses sequentially from fourth quarter 2019 levels and transitioning to positive EBITDA in the second half of the year. We expect over 50% of total revenue to be attributable to our Golden Ridge operations, and we look for sequential gains in revenue to continue throughout the year. We anticipate total SG&A for the year of less than $10 million, with approximately $2.2 to $2.4 million in depreciation and amortization and $1.1 million in non-cash compensation.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on RiceBran Technologies (RIBT) click here.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Vivos Therapeutics posts 35% revenue gain but widens net loss
• Reading (RDI) Tops Q2 EPS by 4c
• Evogene chairman to address dissident shareholders on results call