Terra Nostra Announces Year End Results: Record Revenue of $284.8 Million
October 08 2007 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
LOS ANGELES and ZIBO, China, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Terra
Nostra Resources Corporation (OTC:TNRO) (BULLETIN BOARD: 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, +1-214-559-9885 Web site: http://www.tnr-corp.com/
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