Terra Nostra Announces Year End Results: Record Revenue of $284.8 Million
October 05 2007 - 3:08PM
PR Newswire (US)
LOS ANGELES and ZIBO, China, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Terra
Nostra Resources Corporation (OTCBB: TNRO), a majority owner of two
joint venture companies in the copper and stainless steel
industries in China, is pleased to announce financial results and
highlights for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2007. 2007 Year End
Highlights * Record revenue of $284.8 million; * Operating profits
of $1.8 million as compared to an operating loss of $13.5 million
for fiscal 2006; * Pre-selling production to meet strong market
demand; * Ramping up of stainless steel production facilities; and
* Inauguration of 150,000 metric ton ("MT") stainless steel rolling
mill. Consolidated revenue for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2007
was $284.8 million, compared to $5.1 million in the 2006 fiscal
period. The increase in revenue was driven primarily through
increased sales in the stainless steel joint venture, and
completion of the acquisition of the copper joint venture. Gross
profit for the fiscal year was $18.1 million, as compared to a loss
of $1.7 million for the same period a year ago. Operating profits
were $1.8 million, as compared to a loss of $13.5 million in fiscal
year 2006. Cost of sales for the year was $266.7 million as
compared to a cost of sales of $6.8 million in 2006. Additionally,
management anticipates significant further improvements in gross
margins as: * Larger volume contracted raw material purchases
replace lower volume non-contracted purchases; * Continued
increases in stainless steel and copper production allow fixed
labor and overhead costs to be more broadly distributed; * Yield
rates increase as a result of continued operating experience; and *
Lower maintenance and facility operating costs ensue from further
optimization of production processes. "At present, strong market
conditions for our products exist in China. Demand for stainless
steel and copper remains high, driven by continued economic growth
and development in China. This market situation has allowed Terra
Nostra to pre-sell certain production at premium contracted
prices," stated Mr. Sun Liu James Po, Terra Nostra's Chief
Executive Officer. "We expect these strong market conditions to
remain for the foreseeable future while the Company continues to
ramp up production at current facilities to full capacity to meet
market demands." Terra Nostra operates two majority owned Sino
Foreign Joint Venture companies in the stainless steel and copper
industries in China. STAINLESS STEEL JOINT VENTURE Shandong Quanxin
Stainless Steel Co., Ltd. ("SQSS") is a 51% owned subsidiary of
Terra Nostra which operates a new integrated stainless steel plant
in Zibo City, Shandong Province, PRC. SQSS employs three
electric-arc furnaces and two AOD refining furnaces in its casting
mill with a peak production capability of 230,000 MT. The
downstream strip rolling mill was phased-in over the past fiscal
year and has a production capability of 150,000 MT per annum. SQSS
also has advanced plans to develop a 30,000 MT capacity welded tube
line and a 60,000 MT capacity rod line, subject to further
feasibility analysis. COPPER JOINT VENTURE Shandong Terra Nostra
Jinpeng Metallurgical Co., Ltd. ("STJMC"), also a 51% owned
subsidiary of Terra Nostra, is a producer, seller, and distributor
of electrolytic copper, value-added copper products, and precious
metals with production locations in Changshan town and Dongying
city, Shandong Province, PRC, both located one hour from Zibo city.
STJMC currently sells approximately 16,000 MT per annum of
electrolytic copper, 6,000 MT per annum of low-oxygen copper rod,
and 6,000 MT per annum of no-oxygen copper rod. The amount of gold
and silver sold varies from year to year based on the mix of scrap
and ore used in the production process and precious mineral content
of the raw materials. About Terra Nostra Resources Corporation
Terra Nostra is one of the leading copper producers in China
through its 51% interest in Shandong Terra Nostra Jinpeng
Metallurgical Co., Ltd., which has an existing and under
construction total production capacity of 170,000 MT of
electrolytic copper, 20,000 MT of low-oxygen copper, and
value-added copper rod and wire facilities. Terra Nostra is also
emerging as a leading stainless steel producer in China through its
51% interest in Shandong Quanxin Stainless Steel Co., Ltd., a
modern stainless steel production facility with a 230,000 MT
capacity casting mill, and a 150,000 MT rolling mill. The two joint
venture companies, which Terra Nostra recently entered into an
agreement to increase its ownership up to 90%, with total assets of
US$180 million and over 1,000 employees, are located in the highly
industrialized coastal province of Shandong, midway between Beijing
and Shanghai. More information on Terra Nostra can be found at
http://www.tnr-corp.com/. Forward Looking Statements Except for the
historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in
this press release, including statements with respect to
expectations concerning (i) projects underway or under
consideration, including production capacity and completion
schedules; (ii) business and future potential of Terra Nostra
Resources Corporation ("TNRO"); (iii) estimates or implications of
future earnings, profits, EBITDA, and the sensitivity of earnings
to metals prices; (iv) estimates of future metals production, sales
and profitability; (v) estimates of future cash flows, and the
sensitivity of cash flows to the other metals and ore costs as well
as, but not limited to, fluctuations in fuel prices, scrap prices,
and the availability of both, and statements related to these
matters or which use words such as "may," "might," "should,"
"expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict,"
"potential" or "continue," and the negative of these terms and
other comparable terminology are all forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Further risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which affect the forward- looking
statements included herein, and could cause actual results to
differ materially from future results expressed, projected or
implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, completion of TNRO's capital contributions to the joint
venture companies, working capital financing, metals price
volatility, competition for projects, reserve acquisition costs,
currency fluctuations, international economic uncertainty,
sovereign risk, force majeure, changes in tax law or concession
law, project scheduling delays, labor disputes, increased
production costs and variances in ore grade, scrap grade or
recovery rates from those assumed in production plans, political
and operational risks in the countries in which TNR may operate and
governmental regulation and judicial outcomes, and other risks
detailed from time to time in TNRO's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-KSB
for the year ended May, 31, 2007. Copies of each filing may be
obtained from TNRO or the SEC. Furthermore, metals operation, by
their very nature, entail inherent cyclical, sectoral, and
commodity risk and could expose an investor to the entire loss of
all capital invested. TNRO does not undertake any obligation to
publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or
to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be
required under applicable securities laws. DATASOURCE: Terra Nostra
Resources Corporation CONTACT: Tom Collins of Mercantile Ascendency
for Terra Nostra Resources Corporation, +1-214-559-9885 Web site:
http://www.tnr-corp.com/
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