Totonto, Jul 21, 2008 - SunOpta Inc.today announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2007 and also provided restated quarterly financial results for the quarters ended March 31, 2007, June 30, 2007 and September 30, 2007. All amounts are expressed in US dollars.
For fiscal 2007 the Company had revenues of $804,494,000 as compared to revenues of $598,026,000 in 2006, an increase of 34.5%. Fiscal 2007 revenues in the SunOpta Food Group increased to $727,290,000 from $530,453,000 in 2006, or 37.1%, including internal growth of 21.2%. The Company's consolidated internal revenue growth was 18.2%. Revenues in Opta Minerals Inc. increased 17.3% from 2006 to 2007 to $75,365,000 and revenues in SunOpta BioProcess Group declined 44.5% during the same period to $1,839,000. As a result the Company has now realized 41 consecutive quarters of consolidated revenue growth versus the same quarter in the previous year.
Earnings for the year were $407,000, or $0.01 per diluted common share as compared to $10,959,000 or $0.19 per diluted common share in 2006. Earnings for the year were impacted by certain one-time issues as noted below.
Segment operating income(1) decreased in 2007 to $5,662,000, or 75.7% compared to 2006. Segment operating income in the SunOpta Food Group decreased $10,659,000 or 46.3%, driven by a reduction of $24,083,000 in the SunOpta Fruit Group, that resulted from higher inventory, commodity, storage and processing costs, which the group did not fully pass on to customers and higher SG&A to support this segment. This shortfall was offset by strong gains in the balance of the Company's Food operations. The SunOpta Grains and Foods Group realized a 156.2% increase in segment operating income, driven by strong demand for natural and organic grains and grains based ingredients and packaged products combined with the turnaround in the group's sunflower business. The SunOpta Distribution Group realized a 65.3% increase in segment operating income as a result of continued internal growth and efficiency gains combined with the impact of acquisitions completed in 2006 and 2007. The SunOpta Ingredients Group also realized a 13.5% increase in segment operating earnings as a result of increased volumes and operating efficiencies.
(1) Earnings before dilution gain, goodwill impairment, interest, taxes and minority interest.
Segment operating income within Opta Minerals Inc. in 2007 was $6,668,000 as compared to $6,876,000 in 2006, a decline of $208,000, or 3.0%, reflecting the positive impact of acquisitions completed in 2006 and 2007, offset by declines in certain legacy sectors due to cyclical economic weakness. The combined SunOpta BioProcess and Corporate Group segment operating income declined $6,769,000 from 2006 to 2007 due to reduced margins on certain equipment contracts, a provision of $3,342,000 against a disputed equipment supply contract and increased corporate, legal and professional fees, related primarily to the incremental year end activities.
At December 31, 2007, the Company's balance sheet reflected a current working capital ratio of 1.87 to 1.00, long-term debt to equity ratio of 0.39 to 1.00 and total debt to equity ratio of 0.62 to 1.00. The Company had total assets on December 31, 2007 of $564,540,000 and a net book value of $3.97 per outstanding share. The Company has obtained a waiver from its lending syndicate for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and March 31, 2008 and amendments to certain covenants for the fiscal quarters ending June 30, 2008, September 30, 2008, December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2009 and the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008.
The Company has restated financial results for the quarters ended March 31, 2007, June 30, 2007 and September 30, 2007 to reflect adjustments required to account primarily for the previously announced inventory write-downs and other adjustments in the SunOpta Fruit Group. Earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 were amended to $0.02 per diluted common share versus the previously reported $0.06 per diluted common share; earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 were amended to $0.05 per diluted common share versus the previously reported $0.11 per diluted common share; and earnings per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 were amended to $0.05 per diluted common share versus the previously reported $0.08 per diluted common share.
The Company expects to file its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and amended quarterly reports on Forms 10-QA for the quarters ended March 31, 2007, June 30, 2007 and September 30, 2007 by the close of business on July 21, 2008. In addition, the Company expects to file a Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 by July 31, 2008. At that time the Company plans to host a shareholder conference call to discuss the results and ongoing business activities.
The Company anticipates filing results for the second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2008 by August 9, 2008 and plans to host a shareholder call at the time to further discuss the results and update ongoing business activities.