E-Malt.com News article: Canada & Australia: Viterra announced a 10% drop in the quarter to July, 31

Viterra Inc. announced on Sept. 6 a 10% drop in profit for the three months ended July 31, due to a one-time income tax item. Net earnings decreased 10% to C$111 million (30¢ per share) compared to C$123 million (34¢ per share) in the same quarter last year after the company recorded a one-time income tax item of C$31 million and C$21 million in the costs associated with the early redemption of company bonds.

Viterra reported EBITDA for the quarter of C$288 million, an increase of 15% compared to the C$251 million in the same quarter of 2011.

"Viterra once again achieved impressive quarterly results," said Mayo Schmidt, Viterra's president and chief executive officer. "For the year our Agri-Products business segment has delivered record results. Our Grain Handling and Processing business segments have also performed well. I am very pleased that our Viterra team remains focused on strong operational performance while we work to complete the transaction with Glencore."

Grain Handling and Marketing's EBITDA was C$103 million in the third quarter versus C$106 million in the same period last fiscal year. During the third quarter, lower global shipping volumes were offset by stronger grain handling margins and solid results from the Company's international grain marketing activities. On a year-to-date basis, the consolidated global pipeline margin increased to C$39.54 per tonne compared to C$36.80 per tonne a year earlier.

The Processing segment's EBITDA for the third quarter improved to C$31 million compared to C$28 million in 2011. Improved results from canola, malt, and oats were in part offset by the pasta operation, which is experiencing competitive pricing pressures. The food processing margin for the third quarter decreased to C$108.03 per tonne compared to C$120.77 per tonne last year due to lower pasta margins and a change in product mix as there are now more canola volumes given the new crush facility in China.

On a year-to-date consolidated basis, EBITDA was C$662 million compared to C$590 million in the prior year while net earnings were C$256 million (69¢ per share) versus C$254 million (68¢ per share) in the corresponding period of fiscal 2011.

For Viterra's South Australia grain handling operations, the Company expects shipments to be strong for the remainder of the year given the volume of grain in its system and ongoing solid demand from key export markets. To complement the 6.6 million tonnes received into the Company's system during the first nine months of fiscal 2012, there was approximately 1.8 million tonnes of carry-in stocks from fiscal 2011. Viterra currently estimates carry-over stocks into fiscal 2013 to range between 0.7 million and 1.0 million tonnes.

On Aug. 27, Viterra provided an update regarding the status of regulatory approvals of the proposed acquisition of Viterra by Glencore International plc. ("Glencore").

While the closing of the transaction remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all applicable conditions, the sole remaining regulatory approval is the approval of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China ("MOFCOM") under the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law.

Glencore continues to engage with MOFCOM to ensure approval as soon as possible. Viterra and Glencore will update the market in due course when they expect closing of the acquisition to occur.


07 September, 2012