Legumex Walker Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter 2013

- Pacific Coast Canola Reaches Positive Milestone in September -
- Special Crops Delivers Strong Results -

WINNIPEG, MB, Nov. 13, 2013 /CNW/ - Legumex Walker Inc. (TSX: LWP) (the "Company") today reported its financial results for the third quarter and year-to-date (nine-month) period ended September 30, 2013. All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Highlights for the Third Quarter (all comparative metrics are relative to the third quarter ended September 30, 2012, unless otherwise stated):

• Oilseed Processing (Canola) Segment:
• Based on 16,800 tonnes sold in September, Pacific Coast Canola (PCC) generated EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of US $730,000, and used modest cash flow from operations⁽¹⁾ of US $399,000.
• Completed commissioning of the PCC facility in July 2013;
• Continued to ramp up towards full commercial production, crushing and selling 33,300 tonnes of canola seed and generating $21.6 million in revenue;
• Crushed 21,000 tonnes in September or the equivalent of approximately 66% of capacity;
• Adjusted gross profit⁽¹⁾ for the third quarter 2013 was a small loss of $65,000, as the PCC facility generated sufficient crush margin to almost fully recoup plant costs.
• Special Crops Segment:
• Revenue increased 37% to $77.2 million on a 23% volume increase to 83,900 tonnes;
• Adjusted gross profit⁽¹⁾ increased 83% to $5.7 million from $3.1 million due to higher commodity margins and volumes shipped, partially offset by higher plant processing costs;
• EBITDA⁽¹⁾ increased 462% to $2.4 million from $434,000;
• Completed the addition of a new processing plant in Dalian, China;
• Consolidated:
• Consolidated revenue for the third quarter 2013 increased 75% to $98.8 million from $56.5 million;
• Adjusted gross profit⁽¹⁾ for the third quarter 2013 increased 81% to $5.6 million compared with $3.1 million.
• Selling and administrative expenses for the third quarter 2013 were stable at $5.8 million compared with $5.6 million.
• Loss before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization⁽¹⁾ improved to $167,000 from $2.0 million, with the loss for the third quarter of 2013 being primarily attributable to final commissioning and initial commercialization of the PCC facility; and,

"Pacific Coast Canola is turning the corner towards positive cash flow generation, essentially breaking even in the month of September with 21,000 tonnes crushed," said Joel Horn, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "The facility continues to operate as designed and our customers continue to be very pleased with the quality of our oil and meal, including our non-GMO oil, for which we have now received verification.  We are regularly receiving product certifications from new customers, which include some of the largest food processors in the country, our book of business is building well and demand for our products bodes well as we push to full production.   To this end, we are enhancing our logistics capabilities and expanding our local customer base, and continue to drive towards our next major milestone."

Mr. Horn continued, "Our Special Crops segment delivered another quarter of solid performance, including generating significantly higher cash flow from operations over the same period last year.  Tonnage, revenue, gross margin and EBITDA⁽¹⁾ all grew meaningfully compared to the third quarter of last year.  The ramp up at PCC and our continuing progress on efficiencies, utilization and managing operating costs across our entire organization position us well for the fourth quarter and into next year and beyond as we fully realize the value of our investments and efforts."

Highlights for the Year-to-Date (all comparative metrics are relative to the year-to-date ended September 30, 2012)

• Oilseed Processing (Canola) Segment
• Revenue for the Oilseed Processing segment for the first nine months of 2013 was $47.1 million.
• Adjusted gross loss for the first nine months of 2013 was $6.8 million.
• Loss before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization for the first nine months of 2013 was $9.4 million.
• Special Crops Segment:
• Revenue increased 32% to $251.1 million on a 24% increase in tonnes shipped to 285,700;
• Adjusted gross profit¹ increased 34% to $20.2 million from $15.1 million;
• EBITDA¹ increased 36% to $11.4 million from $8.4 million; and
• Cash flow provided by operations¹ of $8.0 million increased 120% from $3.6 million.
• Consolidated:
• Consolidated revenue for the first nine months of 2013 increased 56% to $298.2 million from $190.8 million for the first nine months of 2012.
• Loss before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization¹ of $3.2 million compared with EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $2.4 million, including a $9.4 million loss before interest, taxes and depreciation related to commissioning and commercialization of the PCC facility; and,
• Cash flow provided by operations was $2.9 million compared with cash flow used in operations in 2012 of $946,000 million, after excluding cash flow used in operations¹ by the PCC facility during its commissioning and commercialization of $13.3 million.

Highlights Subsequent to Third Quarter End

• The PCC facility's non-GMO canola oil received Non-GMO Project Verification and the facility crushed and sold non-GMO canola oil; and,
• PCC also took delivery of its first unit train of canola seed, which provides access to significantly lower unit train freight cost, and successfully unloaded the train within specifications.

Net loss attributable to shareholders for the third quarter of 2013 improved to $3.8 million, or $0.23 loss per share, from a net loss attributable to shareholders of $5.5 million, or $0.40 loss per share, for the third quarter of 2012.  The loss attributable to shareholders for the third quarter of 2013 includes a loss of $3.6 million, or $0.22 loss per share, from the commissioning and commercialization of the PCC facility.

¹Non-GAAP Measures

This news release contains references to "Adjusted gross profit", "EBITDA," "Cash Flow from Operations", "Cash Flow Provided by Operations" and "Non-recurring Costs". Adjusted gross profit is defined for the purposes of this news release as gross profit before depreciation and amortization.  EBITDA is defined for the purposes of this news release as earnings from operations before other income and expenses, depreciation and amortization, financing costs, non-recurring costs and income taxes.  Cash Flow from Operations and Cash Flow Provided by Operations is defined for the purposes of this news release as the cash provided by or used in operating activities excluding non-cash working capital changes. Management believes excluding the seasonal swings of non-cash working capital assists in evaluation of long-term liquidity.  Non-recurring Costs is defined as one-time costs deemed to be non-recurring by management relating to acquisitions, integration and other incorporation or amalgamation activities. Management believes that Adjusted Gross Profit, EBITDA and Cash Flow from Operations are useful supplemental measures of cash flow prior to finance costs, capital expenditures, income taxes and other non-cash items included in earnings. Management uses Adjusted Gross Profit, Cash Flow from Operations as a financial measure of liquidity. EBITDA and Cash Flow from Operations are not recognized earnings measures under Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or IFRS (collectively referred to herein as "Canadian GAAP") and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by Canadian GAAP. Therefore, Adjusted Gross Profit, EBITDA and Cash Flow from Operations may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Investors are cautioned that EBITDA and Cash Flow from Operations should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings or loss (which are determined in accordance with Canadian GAAP) as an indicator of the performance of the Company or as a measure of liquidity and cash flows.  The Company believes that Adjusted Gross Profit, EBITDA and Cash Flow from Operations are useful supplemental measures of cash flow prior to debt service, investing and financing activities and income taxes. The Company's method of calculating EBITDA and Cash Flow from Operations may differ materially from the methods used by other public companies and, accordingly, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other public companies.  A reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Profit and EBITDA to Net Earnings (loss) and a reconciliation of Cash Flow from Operations to Cash Flow provided by Operating Activities are set out in section 13 of the MD&A (as defined below).

Financial Statements and MD&A

Legumex Walker's Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended September 30, 2013 are available on the Company's website at www.legumexwalker.com in the "Investors" section and www.sedar.com.

Conference Call

Legumex Walker will host a conference call on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its third quarter 2013 financial results. To access the conference call by telephone, dial [phone] or [phone]. Please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call to ensure access.

A recording of the conference call will be archived for replay by telephone until Wednesday, November 21, 2013 at midnight.  To access the archived conference call, dial 1-855-859-2056 and enter the reservation number 91125807.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available http://www.legumexwalker.com/investors-presentations.php. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast.

About Legumex Walker Inc.

Legumex Walker is a growth-oriented processor and merchandiser of special crops (sunflower seed, flax and canary seed), pulses (lentils, peas, beans and chickpeas) and canola products. The Company is one of the largest processors of special crops and pulses in Canada.  Legumex Walker has 15 processing facilities strategically located in key growing regions in the Canadian Prairie Provinces, the American Midwest, and China, global sales, logistics, and distribution platform and access to multimodal transportation capabilities. In addition, the Company has an 85 percent interest in Pacific Coast Canola, LLC, which operates the first and only commercial-scale canola oilseed processing facility West of the Rocky Mountains.

Cautionary Note on Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those with respect to, the growth of the Company's business, including statements with respect to the PCC facility reaching full production, 2013 fourth quarter results and progress in efficiencies, utilization and operating costs. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company (including its operating subsidiaries) to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and are based on the assumption that the PCC Facility will reach full production before the end of the year and that the Company will have the opportunity to improve efficiencies, and improve utilization and operating costs. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, timing and cost overrun risks associated with the commissioning of the PCC Facility (as defined herein), risks related to the operation of the PCC Facility, product liabilities, environmental risks, regulations related to agricultural commodities, weather related risks, the demand for and availability of rail, port and other transportation services, the actual results of harvests, fluctuations in the price of pulses and other crops and canola oil prices, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, risks relating to the integration of acquisitions, as well as those factors referred to in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the period ended December 31, 2012 and the Company's 2013 Annual Information Form, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and which should be reviewed in conjunction with this document. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  Although the Company believes the assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Legumex Walker Inc.

INVESTOR& MEDIA RELATIONS:

Marin Landis
Investor Relations - Legumex Walker
[email protected]
[phone]

Lawrence Chamberlain
TMX Equicom
[email protected]
[phone] ext. 257