Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (BIOX) Reports Q1 Revenues Miss

Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NYSE: BIOX) reported Q1 revenue for the quarter came in at $36.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $40 million.

FISCAL 1Q21 FINANCIAL & BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Total revenue increased 8% on a comparable basis to $42.2 million, with Adjusted EBITDA rising 30% to $10.5 million.
• Bioceres’ cash position rose more than five-fold through more efficient sources of capital versus the same period in fiscal year 2020, including $17 million raised through the August 2020 local public offering of Rizobacter bonds bearing zero percent interest.
• The Company’s Net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 2.12x at quarter-end, compared to 2.15x in fiscal 1Q20.
• HB4 Wheat and HB4 Soy inventory ramp-up processes advance as discussed in Bioceres’ previous Earnings Report. A dry winter season hindered wheat production in Argentina, but was conducive to highlighting the full potential of HB4 drought tolerance as this crop’s harvest approaches in the southern hemisphere.

MANAGEMENT REVIEW

Commenting on the Company’s transaction with Arcadia, Mr. Federico Trucco, Chief Executive Officer of Bioceres, said, “My first relevant transaction as CEO of Bioceres back in 2011-12 was the agreement with Arcadia Biosciences for the constitution and financing of Verdeca LLC. At that time, Bioceres could barely pay the due diligence and legal costs associated to the transaction, HB4 was a technology promise, our ability to de-regulate a GMO event was disputable, and the overall investment required to transform this promise into a commercially approved product was estimated at over $100 million by industry experts. To be able to say that we have successfully overcome these initial difficulties and are today re-gaining full control not only on HB4 Soy but also on other very attractive earlier stage technologies and technology platforms within Verdeca’s portfolio, fills me with enormous pride. I would like to thank Arcadia for trusting us back in 2012 and for helping us advance Verdeca’s pipeline to its current state. We also take this opportunity to welcome Arcadia as a new shareholder of our company.”

Mr. Trucco added, “We are announcing this important transaction little over one month after Argentina’s regulatory clearance of HB4 Wheat, becoming the first company globally to have a commercially enabled path to market for a drought tolerance trait in this staple crop. Encouraged by this development, we are adding to our portfolio of wheat technologies Arcadia’s genome-edited varieties, especially designed to tackle major consumer health concerns. This expanded wheat portfolio will allow us to further leverage our investments in closed growing systems which, in addition to strong identity preservation and traceability capabilities, remain of paramount importance as we engage with growers and consumers for which our technologies are relevant.”

Mr. Enrique Lopez Lecube, Chief Financial Officer of Bioceres, said, “Our recent agreement with Arcadia together with the HB4 Wheat approval in Argentina, both significant achievements for Bioceres, were preceded by the growth momentum that we maintained going into the new fiscal year. Sales for the first fiscal quarter grew 8% year over year, while Adjusted EBITDA increased 30% despite a slow start to the growing season, due to limited rainfall. The resilience of our core business, along with our strong balance sheet and cash position, are a solid foundation for generating substantially higher levels of growth as we continue to make further headway with our HB4 strategy. By acquiring full ownership of Verdeca we are now in a position to capture significantly more of our core technology’s underlying economic value, ensuring that we maximize ROI as we further invest in ramping up our inventories and in accelerating our commercial efforts.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (BIOX) click here.

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