Adecoagro recorded Adjusted EBITDA of $72.8 million in 2Q14, marking a 75.6% growth over 2Q13

LUXEMBOURG, Aug. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Adecoagro S.A. (NYSE: AGRO, Bloomberg: AGRO US, Reuters: AGRO.K), one of the leading agricultural companies in South America, announced today its results for the second quarter of 2014.

Important Notice:

• Under IFRS accounting, the sale of a non-controlling interest in a subsidiary is accounted for as an equity transaction, with no gain or loss recognized in the consolidated statement of income. Any difference between the selling price and the book value is recognized in Shareholder's Equity. This type of transaction had not been contemplated when the Company originally defined its Adjusted EBITDA in 2011. Management believes that the sale of a controlling or non-controlling interest in a subsidiary, whose main underlying asset is farmland, is a key element in its Land Transformation business since in either case it allows the company to monetize the capital gains generated by the transformation of undeveloped or underutilized farmland, thereby enhancing return on invested capital. Accordingly, the Company has decided to include the gains or losses from sales of non-controlling interests in subsidiaries in its Adjusted EBITDA definition.

Financial & Operational Highlights:

• In 2Q14, Adecoagro recorded an Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $72.8 million, 75.6% higher than 2Q13. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 36.9% in 2Q14 compared to 22.0% in 2Q13. 6M14 Adjusted EBITDA was $107.5 million, 52.6% higher than 6M13.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin grew to 35.5% in 6M14 from 24.2% in 6M13.
• Net Sales in 2Q14 reached $197.5 million, while 6M14 net sales were $302.8 million, showing a 5.0% and 4.0% respective increase compared to last year.
• In our Farming and Land Transformation businesses, Adjusted EBITDA in 2Q14 was $41.8 million, $20.6 million or 96.9% higher than 2Q13. Year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA stands at $77.7 million, marking a 94.3% increase over 6M13. These improvements are explained by increased operational and financial performance in the following segments: (i) in the Crops segment, higher crop yields coupled with lower production costs resulting from operational efficiencies and devaluation of the Argentine peso, increased our margins, resulting in a 42.4% growth in Adjusted EBITDA; (ii) in the Rice segment, an increase in planted area together with lower costs driven by the implementation of efficient production technologies and the devaluation of the Argentine peso expanded Adjusted EBITDA by 232.8%.                                                                                                               Performance was enhanced by the Land Transformation business which generated $25.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA in 2Q14, 269.6% higher quarter-over-quarter, through the sale of a 49% stake in Global Anceo S.L.U. and Global Hisingen S.L.U. (please see transaction details in page 3, Strategy Execution – Land Transformation).
• In the Sugar, Ethanol and Energy business, our mills crushed 2.1 million tons of sugarcane in 2Q14, 21.1% higher than 2Q13. The increase in cane milling, resulted from (i) the ramp up and consolidation of our cluster in Mato Grosso do Sul, which resulted in higher milling efficiency per hour; (ii) favorable weather conditions during June which allowed us to accelerate the harvesting pace; and (iii) a 17.6% expansion of our sugarcane plantation. As a result, year-over-year sugar, ethanol and energy production volumes grew by 40.6%, 9.8% and 31.3% respectively. In addition, financial performance was enhanced by (i) a 5.5% increase in sugarcane yields coupled with a 0.9% increase in TRS; (ii) operational synergies and efficiencies which reduced our production costs; and (iii) a 79.0% increase in energy revenues resulting from higher cogeneration productivity and higher prices; and partially offset by lower sugar and ethanol prices. As a result of the above, Adjusted EBITDA in 2Q14 reached $35.6 million, 37.8% higher than 2Q13, while Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 46.7% from 33.1% in 2Q13.
• Net income in 2Q14 totaled $1.5 million, $25.3 million higher than 2Q13. Net income in the quarter was enhanced by operational and financial improvements in the Farming and Sugar & Ethanol businesses coupled with (i) a $23.6 million increase in Financial Results primarily explained by the appreciation of the Brazilian Real in 2Q14 compared to a depreciation in 2Q13, and our adoption of Cash Flow Hedge Accounting as of July 1, 2013; and (ii) a $16.3 million increase in long term biological assets primarily explained by an increase in sugarcane yields; and partially offset by (i) a $5.8 million higher D&A charge resulting from the expansion of our asset base; and (ii) an $11.6 million lower tax benefit.

Strategy Execution

• On June 17, 2014, Adecoagro completed the sale of a 49.0% interest in Global Anceo S.L.U. and Global Hisingen S.L.U, two Spanish subsidiaries, for a total price of $50.6 million, which has been paid in full at closing. The main underlying assets of Global Anceo S.L.U. and Global Hisingen S.L.U are La Guarida and Los Guayacanes, two farms located in the Argentine provinces of Salta and Santiago del Estero, respectively. This transaction generated $25.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA in 2Q14, representing a 28.0% premium over the Cushman & Wakefield independent appraisal dated September 2013.
• Guayacanes and La Guarida farms have a total area of 26,299 hectares and were acquired by Adecoagro in 2007, for a total of $51.1 million. Following the acquisition, Adecoagro transformed and developed over 10,000 hectares of cattle pastures into crop production. The farm is currently composed of 17,371 hectares of croppable land which are used for growing grains and oilseeds and over 6,000 hectares of cattle grazing pastures. Adecoagro has operated these farms under a sustainable production model focused on no-till farming, crop rotation and other agricultural best practices, which have enhanced productivity and soil quality. After accounting for the purchase price, transformation capital expenditures, operating cash flows and selling price, these investments generated an internal rate of return of 19.1%
• The construction of the second phase of the Ivinhema mill, which will add 3.0 million tons of nominal crushing capacity and consolidate our 10.0 million ton cluster in Mato Grosso do Sul, is progressing slightly ahead of schedule and on budget regarding capital expenditures. We are currently in the process of assembling the second boiler, the ethanol distillery and the power substation, and are closely monitoring the manufacture and delivery of key equipment parts. We expect phase II to commence crushing activities by the start of the 2015/16 sugarcane harvest.
• On August, 12, 2014, the Board of Directors approved the extension of the Company's share repurchase program for an additional twelve month period, and therefore ending on September 23, 2015. Under the buyback program, the Company can continue acquiring shares up to 5% of the outstanding share capital. As of the date of this report, the Company has repurchased a total of 2.3 million shares for a total consideration of $18.1 million and an average price of $7.72 dollars per share.

Notes:

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as consolidated profit from operations before financing and taxation, depreciation, amortization and unrealized changes in fair value of long-term biological assets (sugarcane, coffee and cattle) plus the gains or losses from disposals of non-controlling interests in subsidiaries. Adjusted EBIT is defined as consolidated profit from operations before financing and taxation, and unrealized changes in fair value of long-term biological assets (sugarcane, coffee and cattle) plus the gains or losses from disposals of non-controlling interests in subsidiaries. Adjusted EBITDA margin and Adjusted EBIT margin are calculated as a percentage of net sales.

To read the full 2Q14 earnings release, please access www.ir.adecoagro.com. A conference call to discuss 2Q14 results will be held tomorrow with live webcast through the internet:

English Conference Call
August 15, 2014
8 a.m. (US EST)
9 a.m. Buenos Aires & Sao Paulo
2 p.m. Luxembourg

Tel: (877) 317-6776
Participants calling from the US
Tel: +1 (412) 317-6776
Participants calling from other countries
Access Code: Adecoagro

Investor Relations Department
Charlie Boero Hughes
CFO

Hernan Walker
IR Manager
Email: [email protected] 
Tel: +54 (11) 4836-8651

About Adecoagro:
Adecoagro is a leading agricultural company in South America. Adecoagro owns over 269 thousand hectares of farmland and several industrial facilities spread across the most productive regions of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, where it produces over 1.3 million tons of agricultural products including corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, dairy products, sugar, ethanol and electricity among others.

SOURCE Adecoagro S.A.