Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. — Form 6-K Summary
Reporting period: Fiscal third quarter and nine-month period ended March 31, 2021. Filed May 13, 2021. Results are presented in U.S. dollars under IFRS and are unaudited. Comparisons are year over year unless stated otherwise.
Business Context and Operating Highlights
Bioceres provides crop productivity technologies, including seeds, microbial inputs, crop nutrition and crop protection products. The company is advancing its drought-tolerant HB4 wheat and soybean programs and positioning them as part of a lower-carbon agricultural system.
- More than 60,000 hectares of HB4 wheat had been contracted for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere planting season, involving more than 200 growers and 550 locations.
- Approximately half of the HB4 wheat growers had been onboarded through the Generation HB4 digital platform.
- HB4 soybean harvest was approximately 60% complete; about 23,000 hectares had been planted in late 2020.
- Bioceres entered an agreement with consumer brand Havanna to develop HB4 wheat-derived products with farm-to-fork traceability.
Financial Performance and Metrics
| Metric | 3Q20 | 3Q21 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue, reported | $25.7 million | $36.2 million | +41% |
| Total revenue, comparable | — | $35.0 million | +35% |
| Gross profit | $10.8 million | $15.3 million | +42% |
| Gross margin | 41.9% | 42.3% | +41 bps reported; +362 bps comparable |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $2.6 million | $6.9 million | +163% |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 10.2% | 19.0% | +881 bps |
Revenue by segment: Crop Protection revenue increased 4% reported but declined 3% on a comparable basis; Seed and Integrated Products declined 9%; and Crop Nutrition increased 203% reported and 191% comparable, primarily due to micro-beaded fertilizer sales, which increased 466% year over year.
| Metric | 9M20 | 9M21 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue, reported | $124.9 million | $127.3 million | +2% |
| Gross profit | $56.7 million | $58.2 million | +3% |
| Gross margin | 45.4% | 45.7% | +35 bps reported; +141 bps comparable |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $31.8 million | $31.7 million | Approximately flat |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 25.5% | 24.9% | -58 bps |
| Profit/(loss) for the period | $1.1 million | $(5.2) million | Declined |
Third-quarter operating profit was $4.8 million versus $0.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Finance expense remained significant at $5.0 million in the quarter and $23.6 million for the nine-month period. The company reported a third-quarter net loss of $0.6 million, compared with a $3.6 million net loss in 3Q20.
Cash, Debt and Liquidity
- Cash and cash equivalents were $16.8 million at March 31, 2021, compared with $27.2 million at June 30, 2020.
- Cash and cash equivalents plus other current financial assets totaled approximately $49.2 million, versus $54.3 million in the comparable nine-month metric disclosed by the company.
- Total borrowings were $136.2 million, comprising $85.4 million current and $50.7 million non-current borrowings, compared with $104.9 million at June 30, 2020.
- Convertible notes totaled $47.2 million at March 31, 2021.
- Net debt to LTM EBITDA increased to 2.89x from 2.30x.
- Cash-flow information, including operating, investing and financing cash flows, is not provided in the filing text.
Material Changes, Outlook and Unusual Items
- Trailing-twelve-month comparable revenue increased 12% to $177.0 million, while LTM Adjusted EBITDA increased 14% to $46.4 million.
- Rizobacter Argentina completed a $26.0 million public offering of Series V corporate bonds in Argentina.
- Bioceres contributed non-core GLA rights to Moolec Science in exchange for a 6% ownership interest, providing exposure to the alternative-food market.
- The company transferred its stock exchange listing from NYSE American to Nasdaq Global Select Market.
- Management expects seed inventories and the HB4 program infrastructure to support a meaningful launch after regulatory approvals in China for HB4 soy and Brazil for HB4 wheat. The filing does not provide a specific revenue or earnings forecast.
- Bioceres’ sustainability-linked financing framework targets cumulative savings of more than 156,000 tons of CO2 equivalent by 2025 if HB4 soybean and wheat rollout projections are achieved.
Risks and Contingencies
Key risks include obtaining Chinese and Brazilian regulatory approvals, execution of HB4 commercialization and inventory ramp-up, agricultural and grower adoption risks, COVID-19 impacts on operations and liquidity, financing costs, and broader economic conditions. Management’s forward-looking statements are subject to material uncertainty and are not guarantees of future performance.
Investor Verification Checklist
- Verify the reconciliation between reported revenue of $36.2 million and comparable revenue of $35.0 million, including the effect of IAS 29.
- Assess whether the sharp Crop Nutrition and micro-beaded fertilizer growth is sustainable.
- Track HB4 regulatory approvals in China and Brazil, contracted hectares, harvest results and commercial launch timing.
- Review debt maturities, convertible-note terms, interest expense and liquidity after the $26.0 million bond offering.
- Reconcile reported cash of $16.8 million with the company’s broader $49.2 million cash and financial-assets metric.
- Evaluate the financial and governance implications of the Moolec Science transaction and the 6% ownership interest.