Sprott Resource Corp. Announces 2009 Year End Results and Filing of Annual
Information Form
TORONTO, March 29 /CNW/ - (TSX: SCP) - Sprott Resource Corp. ("SRC" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the year-ended December 31, 2009. SRC also announced that it has filed its annual information form ("AIF") for the year-ended December 31, 2009 with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, which includes the disclosure and reports relating to reserves data and other oil and gas information required pursuant to National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities. The consolidated financial statements, related management's discussion and analysis and the AIF can be found on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
2009 Operational and Business Highlights:
- Purchased, through Orion Oil and Gas Ltd. ("Orion"), a newly formed subsidiary, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Auriga Energy Inc. ("Auriga"), a private oil and gas company operating in Alberta by way of an exempt take-over bid. - Launched One Earth Farms Corp. ("One Earth Farms") in Q1 2009 with investment of $27.5 million. In Q4 2009, One Earth Farms completed a $15 million strategic financing and issued 15 million common shares at $1 per share. - Increased physical holdings of gold bullion to 73,971 ounces with a fair market value of $84.8 million, as at December 31, 2009, representing an unrealized gain of approximately $10 million. - Investment portfolio increased by $5.2 million to $33.8 million as at December 31, 2009.
Subsequent to Year-End:
- Orion amalgamated with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wintrayson Capital Corp. and was renamed Orion Oil & Gas Corporation ("Orion Corp."). Orion Corp. was listed on the TSX and currently trades under the symbol OIP. SRC owns 79% of Orion Corp.'s issued and outstanding shares. - Waseca Energy Ltd. completed a $20 million rights offering to existing shareholders. SRC purchased 28 million shares of Waseca for $17 million and increased its ownership to 81.3%. - Stonegate Agricom Ltd. ("Stonegate") filed an updated NI 43-101 report for its Mantaro Phosphate Deposit demonstrating significant potential for the project. SRC owns 72.6% of Stonegate. On March 16, 2010, Stonegate announced the filing of a preliminary prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada, other than Quebec, in respect of an initial public offering of common shares and warrants of Stonegate.
"The volatility in 2009 created a number of attractive investment opportunities on which we capitalized," said Kevin Bambrough, President and CEO of Sprott Resource Corp. "We made a number of significant investments during the year and two of our subsidiaries completed financings."
"We achieved a number of significant milestones that have increased the value of our investee companies," continued Mr. Bambrough. "We will continue looking for new investments and providing our investee companies with the support necessary to grow and drive their business values higher."
2009 Financial Highlights: Consolidated Income Statements ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Ended Year Ended Dec. 31, Dec. 31, 2009 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net earnings (loss) ($000's) ($2,981) $134,228 Earnings (loss) per share - basic ($0.03) $1.94 Earnings (loss) per share - diluted ($0.03) $1.93 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated Balance Sheets ------------------------------------------------------------------------- As at Dec. 31, Dec. 31, 2009 2008 $000's $000's ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments $107,085 $203,547 Gold & silver bullion (at cost) $75,392 $61,930 Portfolio investments $33,750 $28,564 Total Assets $408,602 $314,286 Current liabilities $21,930 $21,946 Total Liabilities (including non-controlling interest) $74,040 $29,530 Shareholders' equity $334,562 $284,756 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Review
Working Capital
As at December 31, 2009, the Company had current assets of $198.0 million, consisting primarily of cash and cash equivalents ($107.1 million), and gold bullion ($75.4 million). Current liabilities of $21.9 million consist of accounts payable and accrued liabilities ($21.7 million) and capital tax payable ($252 thousand).
For the year ended December 31, 2009, working capital decreased to $176.0 million from $246.2 million at December 31, 2008. The decrease in working capital is due to the net purchase of public securities, the acquisition of Orion, and operating losses in the Company's subsidiaries. The Company's working capital is adequate to meet its obligations and to fund planned expenditures for at least the next year.
Oil and Gas Revenue (net of royalties)
For the year ended December 31, 2009, oil and gas revenue net of royalties increased to $9.9 million from $38 thousand in 2008. The increase was attributable to the acquisition of Orion and Waseca's increased production from drilling.
Farming Revenue and Production Costs
One Earth Farms commenced its crop harvest during the third quarter of 2009 and generated $2.7 million in crop sales, excluding harvested crops still in inventory as at December 31, 2009. In 2010, One Earth Farms expects to farm approximately 65,000 acres of crops, including 2,000 acres of hay, and support 2,000 head of cattle on 15,000 acres of pastureland.
Other Income and Expenses
Other income and expenses includes general and administrative expenses, management fees, incentive fees, oil and gas operating and production expenses, farm production expenses, gains on the disposition of investments and other miscellaneous income and expenses. In 2009, other income and expenses was a loss of $16.9 million from a gain of $139.4 million in 2008. The primary reason for the year over year decline was the realized gain on the sale of the Company's PBS Coals investment in 2008. Other factors include the acquisition of Orion and the growth of Waseca and One Earth Farms in 2009.
As at December 31, 2009, the Company had 96,191,427 common shares issued and outstanding.
About Sprott Resource Corp.
SRC is a Canadian based company, the primary purpose of which is to invest, directly and indirectly, in natural resources. Through acquisitions, joint ventures and other investments, SRC seeks to provide its shareholders with exposure to the natural resource sector for the purposes of capital appreciation and real wealth preservation. SRC is well positioned to draw upon the considerable experience and expertise of both its Board of Directors and Sprott Consulting Limited Partnership ("SCLP"), of which Sprott Inc. is the sole limited partner. Pursuant to a management services agreement between SCLP and SRC, SCLP provides day-to-day business management for SRC as well as other management and administrative services.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements respecting the future performance of SRC's business, its operations, management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions, including the amount of acreage that management expects One Earth Farms to farm in 2010. These forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on current facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable including the current state of negotiations between One Earth Farms and First Nations in respect of additional farmland to be farmed in 2010. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause SRC's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied from such information, including, but not limited to, One Earth Farms being unable to lease the stated amount of land in 2010. SRC has attempted to identify important factors that could cause its actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements. However, there can be other factors that cause results, performance and achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and the information contained therein. SRC does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
For further information: Stephen Yuzpe, Chief Financial Officer, Tel: (416) 977-7333, Fax: (416) 977-9555
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