Feronia Inc. Reports 2017 Results
May 02 2018 - 9:09AM
Feronia Inc. (“Feronia” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:FRN) today
released its audited financial results for the year ended December
31, 2017. All amounts in this release are expressed in US
dollars unless otherwise indicated.
2017 Highlights
- Produced 143,572 tonnes of fruit (2016: 109,061 tonnes), a
year-over-year increase of 32%
- Produced 27,189 tonnes of Crude Palm Oil (“CPO”) (2016: 20,724
tonnes), a year-over-year increase of 31%
- Revenue of $21.1 million (2016: $17.2 million), a
year-over-year increase of 23%, primarily from the sale of 24,609
tonnes of CPO at an average price of $775 per tonne (2016: 23,293
tonnes at $670 per tonne)
- Completed installation of new fiber boilers and turbines at
Yaligimba and Lokutu
- Completed drawdown of remaining $34 million of DFI Debt
Facility
Xavier de Carnière, Chief Executive Officer of Feronia
Inc. commented:
“We take great pride in what we have
accomplished in 2017. We have achieved a 31% production increase in
one year (62% in two years), whilst continuing to develop our
social and environmental efforts, entering into agreements with our
communities, reducing our cost of production, bringing a new
significant shareholder on board, finalizing the disbursement of
our loan facility, reinforcing our team, increasing our workforce’
salaries to reflect the consumer price index in the DRC,
commissioning possibly Africa’s most modern boiler & turbine in
Yaligimba, kick-starting the rehabilitation of our Lokumete mill
and commencing our Boteka boiler & turbine projects.
“Whilst a moment of proud reflection is
warranted, there is still much to be done before we can confidently
consider that we have reached cruising altitude. For instance, the
variable portion of our cost of production, including transport
costs and labour efficiency, require improvement. Absenteeism at
the plantations remains a serious concern. Our housing renovation
programme is not progressing as fast as we hoped, partly because of
difficulties in bringing the right skills to the sites.
Agricultural upkeep standards are not at the required level yet,
although they are rapidly improving, and downtime at our Lokutu and
Boteka mills are still above acceptable levels; a direct
consequence of insufficient preventative maintenance.
“We have demonstrated our ability to face
difficult challenges as a team, and overcome them one by one. We
are now confidently capitalizing on that ability and the trend is
clearly pointing in the right direction and we are delivering on
our business plan.
“Together we have the skills, the determination
and the passion. The challenges before us may still be plenty, but
we are confident that we will succeed.”
For further information please
contact:
Xavier de
CarniereChief Executive Officer, Feronia Inc.44 (0)7468 697
658xavier.decarniere@feronia.comwww.feronia.com |
Paul
DulieuDirector of Communications and Corporate Development, Feronia
Inc.44 (0)7554 521421 paul.dulieu@feronia.comwww.feronia.com |
About Feronia Inc.
- Feronia is an agribusiness operating in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC).
- At the heart of Feronia lies a long established palm oil
business, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), which has three
remotely located plantations; Lokutu, Yaligimba and Boteka.
- When Feronia acquired its palm oil business from Unilever in
2009, it had suffered from years of underinvestment and
considerable disruption caused by conflict in the DRC. Our initial
focus has been on rebuilding the business and resuming production
to secure its future and the livelihoods of the thousands of people
we directly employ.
- Feronia’s plantations produce crude palm oil (CPO) and palm
kernel oil (PKO). CPO is part of the staple and traditional diet of
the Congolese and, with our products sold locally in the DRC, we
are well placed to help decrease reliance on imports and increase
food security and quality.
- Feronia prides itself on being the guardian of our 107 year-old
palm oil business and its employees, communities, and environment.
We have a long term commitment to improve the living and working
environment of our employees and their communities and are
committed to sustainable agriculture, environmental protection and
community inclusion. Feronia has in place an Environmental and
Social Action Plan which is focused on implementing environmental
and social best practice and improving social infrastructure.
- Feronia is working towards certification by the Roundtable for
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and is implementing IFC/World Bank
standards for environmental and social sustainability. Our oil palm
replanting programme is brownfield in nature – replacing old palms
with new – and it has no reliance on deforestation.
- Feronia’s management team has extensive experience in managing
both plantations and farming operations in emerging markets.
- For more information please see www.feronia.com
Cautionary NotesExcept for statements of
historical fact contained herein, the information in this press
release constitutes “forward-looking information” within the
meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking
information may be identified by words such as “anticipates”,
“plans”, “proposes”, “estimates”, “intends”, “expects”, “believes”,
“may” and “will”. There can be no assurance that such statements
will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could
differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially include, among others: risks
related to foreign operations (including various political,
economic and other risks and uncertainties), the interpretation and
implementation of the “Loi Portant Principes Fondamentaux Relatifs
A L’Agriculture”, termination or non-renewal of concession rights
or expropriation of property rights, political instability and
bureaucracy, limited operating history, lack of profitability, lack
of infrastructure in the DRC, high inflation rates, limited
availability of debt financing in the DRC, fluctuations in currency
exchange rates, competition from other businesses, reliance on
various factors (including local labour, importation of machinery
and other key items and business relationships), the Company’s
reliance on one major customer, lower productivity at the Company’s
plantations and arable farming operations, risks related to the
agricultural industry (including adverse weather conditions,
shifting weather patterns, and crop failure due to infestations), a
shift in commodity trends and demands, vulnerability to
fluctuations in the world market, the lack of availability of
qualified management personnel and stock market volatility. Details
of the risk factors relating to Feronia and its business are
discussed under the heading “Risks and Uncertainties” in Feronia’s
Management’s discussion and Analysis for the year ended December
31, 2017, a copy of which is available on the Company’s SEDAR
profile at www.sedar.com. Most of these factors are outside
the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise
required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the
Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update
publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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