Asia Bio-Chem Group Corp. Announces First Quarter 2015 Financial Results

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Jun 01, 2015, 22:12 ET

TORONTO, June 1, 2015 /CNW/ - Asia Bio-Chem Group Corp. (CSE: ABC) ("Asia Bio-Chem" or the "Company") announces its financial results for the three-month period ending March 31, 2015.

Highlights

Highlights for the First Quarter of 2015

During the first quarter, the Company had no production and only small amount of sales from inventory.
Net loss for the first quarter was $13.1 million (-$0.15 per share) compared with a net loss of $8.3 million (-$0.10 per share) during the first quarter of 2014.
The company's EBITDA was negative $3.2 million during the first quarter compared with negative $1.4 million during the first quarter of 2014.
The Company continues to fund its losses with loans from various sources. As at March 31, 2015 total loans outstanding were $309.6 million.
The Company continues to enjoy the strong support of its banking group and successfully renewed $16.3 million in loans in the first quarter.
The Company maintains unrestricted cash balance of $1.3 million at March 31, 2015.

"Due to poor market conditions, the Company ceased production during the first quarter", stated Mr. Zhiping Wang, President and CEO of Asia Bio-Chem. "We continue to maintain our borrowings and have received increasing support from Beidahuang Group."

For the quarter ended March 31, 2015, only minimal revenues were achieved through sales from inventory. Due to inventory valuation write-down at December 31, 2014, gross margin was 16.3% during the first quarter compared with negative 14.3% during the corresponding period of 2014.

Minimal sales resulted in higher losses as net income fell to negative $13.1 million compared with negative $8.2 million during the first quarter of 2014.

SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

in thousands of Canadian dollars except per share and percentage data		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2015	2014	% Change
Sales		1,250	23,774	-94.7%
Gross profit (loss)		203	(3,403)	n/a
Gross margin (% of Sales)		16.3%	-14.3%
Operating expenses		6,910	6,292	9.8%
Income (loss) from operations		(6,707)	(9,695)	30.8%
Other income (expense)		(6,712)	1,439	n/a
Income taxes (recovery)		(341)	(40)	-7.5%
Net income (loss)		(13,078)	(8,216)	-59.2%
EBITDA		(3,195)	(1,366)	-133.9%
Earnings per share:
	Basic and diluted	(0.15)	(0.10)
Weighted average number of shares:
	Basic and diluted	85,306,258	85,306,258

Unrestricted cash position declined to $1.3 million from $7.5 million at December 31, 2014. As at March 31, 2014, total debt was $309.6 million.

About Asia Bio-Chem Group Corp.
Asia Bio-Chem Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries in the People's Republic of China, is in the business of processing corn into cornstarch, germ and gluten for sale into the domestic Chinese market. From its plants in Liaoning and Heilongjiang Province, the Company has a total processing capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of corn per year.

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects,", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward looking statements, except as required by law, in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

SOURCE Asia Bio-Chem Group Corp.