S&W Seed Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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February 14, 2024

There are 5 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the S&W Seed Company's 2nd Quarter Fiscal Year 20 24 Financial Results Conference Call. Please note today's event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Robert Blum with Lytham Partners. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

All right. Thank you all for joining us today to discuss S&W Seed Company's 2nd Quarter Fiscal Year 20 24 Financial Results for the Quarter Ended December 31, 2023. With us on the call representing the company today is Mark Herman, company's Chief Executive Officer and Vanessa Bowman, the company's Chief Financial Officer. For those that didn't see, Vanessa has joined S and W in a full time capacity effective February 12, having previously served as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary since May 2023. At the conclusion of today's prepared remarks, we will open the call for a question and answer session.

Speaker 1

Before we begin with prepared remarks, Please note that statements made by the management team of S and W Seed Company during the course of this conference call may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended And Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended and such forward looking statements are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as may, future, planned or planned, will or should, expected, anticipates, draft, eventually or projected. Listeners are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements, including the risks actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks identified in the company's 10 ks for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, and other filings subsequently made by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Speaker 1

In addition to supplement S&W's financial results reported in accordance with U. S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP, S and W will be discussing adjusted EBITDA on this call. These non GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measure and are not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. A description of adjusted EBITDA and reconciliations of historical adjusted EBITDA to net loss are included at the end of and W's earnings release issued earlier today, which has been posted on the Investor Relations page of S and W's website.

Speaker 1

An audio recording and webcast replay for today's conference call will also be available online on the company's Investor Relations page. With that said, let me turn the call over to Mark Herman, Chief Executive Officer for S&W Seed Company. Mark, please proceed.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Robert, and good morning to all of you. I want to start with confirming the great leadership that Vanessa has provided to S and W over the last 6 months as Interim CFO and how excited we are that she has accepted the permanent CFO role. I'm pleased to share the progress that we are making with you today to continually transition S and W into an efficient operated best in class C company, driven primarily by the rapid adoption of our high value trait technology solutions within sorghum. As I have talked about since I took over as CEO back in July, My focus has been instituting key operational initiatives to drive the business towards profitability in the near term. These operational initiatives have included improved life cycle management to reduce obsolescence costs, the rationalization of certain low margin forage product lines and seed treatments, suspension of our stevia development program and overall seed manufacturing cost reduction plan.

Speaker 2

These operational improvements coupled with the high margin nature of our double team sorghum trade solutions resulted in our 2nd consecutive quarter with gross margins above 30%, an improvement of 900 basis points compared to last year, as well as further reduction of our operating expenses by more than $1,000,000 The net result is a $1,400,000 improvement in adjusted EBITDA. And please remember the Q2 is seasonally our smallest quarter of the year. Beyond operational improvements, my goal has been to build upon the existing trait technology pipeline that will ultimately be the key driver to S and W long term success. Our first trait, Double Team Grain Sorghum has been the home run that we expected it to be. Sales during the Q2 were up 2 33 percent to $4,000,000 as We continue to see strong farmer satisfaction, demand and adoption of the high margin trait technology.

Speaker 2

As it pertains to Double Team, I want to share a few points from our recent farm survey on brand health. First off, 100% of growers who use Double Team said that they were satisfied with the grass weed control system. Secondly, 100% of the growers who tried Double Team system said they would be increasing acres in this coming year. 3rd, 87% of growers use a double team system stated they were satisfied with the performance. 4th, 87% of growers saw the value of the Double Team system.

Speaker 2

And lastly, 100% of growers said Double Team was an easy to use system. Simply put, the feedback from growers is positive on value, satisfaction and performance of this system. Double Team provides superior grass which protects yields under high weed pressure and delivers a positive return on investment and thus increases overall farm profitability. For these reasons, since its launch in 2021 and broader commercial launch in the calendar year 2022, Double Team grain sorghum accounts for what we estimate to be 6% of all grain sorghum acres planted in the U. S.

Speaker 2

In spring of 2023 and believe it will grow to more than 10% of this year's plantings of grain sorghum. This is not only a tremendous achievement for our sales team, but also highlights the value and demand for innovation in this critical crop, which can be used as a substitute for many grains in the market day due to its keen nutrient profile and its ability to handle higher temperatures, drier climates better than many other crops and has been void of innovation to this point by larger agricultural companies. As I've said in the past, corn, soybeans and cotton growers have all benefited from the research investments in advanced tools for weed control technologies. However, sorghum simply has not benefited to this point from innovation despite being the 5th largest cereal crop globally. There are currently about 15,000,000 acres globally with the expectations to increase due to S and W's introduction of new to increase yield.

Speaker 2

It's my opinion that as farmers increasingly recognize the value of new management tools, Corresponding risk reduction and yield enhancement through controlling grasses and robust crop grazing safety technologies, These superior traits will drive greater numbers of sorghum planted acres. We are looking to build upon the success of Double Team grain sorghum with the introduction of Double Team Forage Sorghum solution and prussic acid free trait for sorghum. Initial double team forage sorghum sales are expected in the fiscal 2024 and a pilot launch of our prussic acid free trait for sorghum is being planted this year. High value trade technology solutions will be a key driver to S and W long term success And it is clear that we are becoming a key technology provider in sorghum. Our commercialization strategy is to continue to drive sales through our S and W Owned Sorghum Partners brand, but also align with independent seed companies with current market leading brands in key grain and forage sorghum markets to maximize market penetration through licensing of S&W germplasm and or our trades.

Speaker 2

On that front in the U. S, close to 45% of orders are with private label companies. And during the quarter, we have begun conversations with potential international licensees and have positive momentum leading us into the

Speaker 3

season. We

Speaker 2

couldn't be more pleased with the progress made to date within our Sorghum Trade Technology solutions as well as our pipeline. For the year, we continue to remain on target to achieve our stated goal of 11.5 $14,000,000 of Double Team sales, more than doubling our revenue from last year. And don't forget, our gross margins on Double Team are 65%, which will be key driver of future bottom line improvements. Beyond our Sorghum Trade Technology portfolio, Another key value driver is our agreement with Shell to develop Camelina as a feedstock for biofuels, which Shell has a takeoff agreement to develop green diesel SAF jet fuel production. We successfully achieved all the stated objectives required of VVO and received the $6,000,000 payment from Shell on February 6, 2024.

Speaker 2

As a reminder, the total paid to S and W inclusive of cash payments and repayments of a loan on the Nampa was $20,000,000 from Shell. The infusion of capital is great. However, the Excitement is really in the partnership and the financial interest. Remember, we currently own 34% of the JV to produce sustainable low carbon energy fuel solutions from novel crop sciences like Camelina. We are excited about the long term value we believe this JV will bring to the S and W and its shareholders.

Speaker 2

Within our Australia partnerships, we also received the expected $1,000,000 payment from TriGulf on January 2, 2024 as part of its position in the JV of the Australian Wheat Business. While we are strong adoption in our high margin Sorghum Trade Technology solutions, as we reported in the press release, we are closely monitoring the dynamics from expanding conflicts in the MENA region on our international alfalfa operations. The war in Ukraine and the civil war in Sudan as well as the conflict between Israel and Hamas all contributing to expanded Geopolitical conflicts in the MENA region has caused disruptions to normal farming operations and seed distribution channels. As we alluded to last quarter, we are seeing Saudi Arabia shifting acres to wheat, demand and price erosion as well as mix shifts in the market place all putting pressure on our business in the region. Further into a smaller scale, We have seen a shortage in supply within the Australia past year business with specific products, which has limited our ability to meet demand in Australia.

Speaker 2

The 3rd and 4th quarters of our business are always the largest quarters of the year for us. We are monitoring the dynamics closely and began the fiscal year a series of cost cutting initiatives within our international operations as well as production optimization ships to mitigate any potential impact on our bottom line. We will look to provide any further update as critical upcoming selling season continues. Again, our focus is on profitability in the near term, not sales growth at any cost. I believe the actions that we have showcased on the margin improvement, OpEx reduction, successful execution of our high value sorghum trade solutions and our JV with Shell highlight our commitment to develop our best in class C company for the long term.

Speaker 2

With that, let me turn the call to Vanessa to review the financials. I will then look to quickly wrap things up and take your questions. Vanessa?

Speaker 3

Thanks, Mark. Good morning to everyone on the call today. Let me run through the details of the quarter, starting with revenue. Total revenue for Q2 2024 was $10,900,000 compared to $12,900,000 in Q2 of last year. Breaking it down further.

Speaker 3

Sorghum sales were $5,500,000 versus $2,000,000 last year, an improvement of $3,500,000 Of this, Double Team was $4,000,000 versus $1,200,000 in Q2 a year ago, an increase of 2 33 percent or $2,800,000 of the increase. International Forage sales were $3,600,000 compared to $8,600,000 a decrease of $5,000,000 and U. S. Forage sales were $1,400,000 compared to $2,300,000 a decrease of $900,000 Looking at it geographically, we saw A $3,600,000 increase in U. S.

Speaker 3

Sorghum of which $2,800,000 was associated with double team growth. We also saw a $3,500,000 decrease in MENA for the reasons Mark discussed, as well as our broader decision to not discount non dormant alfalfa as cheaper European seed disrupted the market. We also had a $1,100,000 decrease in Australia Pasture Products due to a shortage in supply. And finally, we had a $300,000 decrease in Asia. Again, The key points here, Americas and Double Team are up nicely, which are being offset by the macro drivers impacting MENA and Australia operation.

Speaker 3

Due to the dynamics in the MENA region, Mark discussed potentially impacting international alfalfa operations. We currently expect fiscal 2024 revenue to be on the lower end of the previously communicated range of $76,000,000 to $82,000,000 As Mark mentioned, we are entering our 2 largest quarters of the year. Breaking the guidance down further, we expect Sorghum related revenue is to be between $22,000,000 $23,000,000 in total compared to $15,500,000 in fiscal 2023. Within sorghum, we are anticipating double teen to be 11 point $5,000,000 to $14,000,000 an increase of 77% to 115% compared to fiscal 2023. On the international side, we are expecting revenue to be on the low end of the previously communicated range of 45 to $50,000,000 compared to $43,600,000 in fiscal 2023.

Speaker 3

And finally, On the U. S. Forage operations, we see revenue of about $9,000,000 compared to $10,800,000 last year. Now turning to margins. GAAP gross margins for the Q2 of fiscal 2024 were 30.3% compared to 21.3% in the Q2 of fiscal 2023.

Speaker 3

This is now the 2nd consecutive quarter with GAAP gross margins north of 30%. The improvement in gross profit margin was primarily driven by increased sales of our high margin double team traded sorghum and a more favorable product mix in the Australian domestic market. This increase was partially offset by decreased prices in the MENA region and increased sales of our lower margin grain sorghum to Mexico. Looking to fiscal 2024 as a whole, Despite the strong first and second quarters, we want to maintain our expectations for full year gross margins, inclusive of any LCM charges to be between 24% 26%. Remember, this compares to 19.8% in fiscal 2023.

Speaker 3

To the extent that we have more clarity on the alfalfa market in the coming quarters, we will look at any potential needs to revise these expectations, But we believe we have taken a rather conservative view to account for these factors on the margin side to date. Now we'll transition to operating expenses. GAAP operating expenses for the 2nd quarter were $7,900,000 which is consistent with the Q1 of this year and an improvement compared to $9,000,000 in last year's Q2. Breaking it down a bit. We saw a $400,000 improvement from research and development expenses, a $500,000 improvement in depreciation and amortization and a $200,000 improvement in selling, general and administrative Consistent with our expectations provided last quarter, we continue to believe total operating for the fiscal year to be around $32,500,000 which is inclusive of depreciation and amortization.

Speaker 3

Now to EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2024 was a negative 3 point $2,000,000 compared to adjusted EBITDA of negative $4,600,000 in Q2 fiscal 2023, an improvement of $1,400,000 A full reconciliation is available in the press release. Again, we are maintaining our guidance for fiscal 2024 of negative adjusted EBITDA to be between negative $7,500,000 to negative $4,000,000 This would represent an improvement of approximately $2,000,000 to 5 $500,000 compared to fiscal 2023. Finally, on the net income line, GAAP net losses for Q2 fiscal 2024 was negative $6,500,000 or $0.15 per basic and diluted share compared to GAAP net losses of negative $6,000,000 or negative $0.14 per basic and diluted share in Q2 of last fiscal year. As discussed in previous calls, We will incur a loss of equity method due to our interest in BVO.

Speaker 3

During Q2 of this year, that amounted to $600,000 This is a non cash expense to S and W. We have provided a reconciliation in our press release not only for adjusted EBITDA, but for non GAAP adjusted net loss as well. As we discussed last quarter and mentioned in the press release, we received a $6,000,000 payment from Shell in February of 2024. This number is not included in our cash number as of the end of December 2023. Despite our negative adjusted EBITDA expectation, which translates rather closely to our cash utilization, the payment from Shell is expected to cover any operating cash needs this year.

Speaker 3

Beyond fiscal 2024, if we are able to continue the growth in our sorghum technology portfolio and achieve the benefits of the stability and cost containment initiatives across the remaining parts of the organization, it is our thought that we will be near a positive cash flow position in the future. Again, I am happy to follow-up with any of the details we went through if you should have any questions. With that, Let me turn the call back over to Mark.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Vanessa. As we've discussed, we have had tremendous operational progress move S and W towards a best in class C company. Gross margins have improved substantially during the first half of the fiscal year and we have built on the progress made last year to reduce operating expenses. Our first trait technology product we have developed double team grain sorghum has been the home run that we expected it to be. Sales during the Q2 were up 2 33 percent to $4,000,000 as we continue to see strong farmer satisfaction demand and adoption of the high margin trait technology.

Speaker 2

We're looking to build upon the success of Double Team Sorghum with the introduction of Double Team Forage Sorghum, a solution and prussic acid free trait for sorghum, both of which will recognize revenue in the coming season. Our agreement with Shell to develop Camelina as a feedstock For biofuels, Green Diesel and SAF jet fuel production continues to move forward and meet all performance milestones. And the $6,000,000 payment from Shell came through this last week. We clearly have an important few months Coming up here in alfalfa and sorghum growing seasons and are laser focused on executing against our business plan and mitigating any potential impacts that we may come across within our international operations pertaining to MENA. Overall, I'm pleased with the progress that we are making and I'm appreciative of the continued support of our shareholders.

Speaker 2

With that said, I look forward to taking your questions. Operator?

Operator

First question comes from Ben Klieve with Lake Street. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

All right. Thanks for taking my questions. First, a couple of questions on Australian operations. 1, wondering if you could provide an update on The status of the strategic review. And then second of all, if you can comment on these kind of macro dynamics within Australia that you talked about, what effect, if any, they've had on the strategic review?

Speaker 2

Yes. Thanks, Ben. So on the strategic review, several of the initiatives we were looking at implementing are options to unlock value. We've decided weren't beneficial for S and W. Value, we've decided weren't beneficial for S and W shareholders.

Speaker 2

We've really moved to significant initiatives, Most of them streamline costs and change our relationship in what I would call non EBIT implemented by spring. Most of the financial benefits of cost savings and or structure changes will come in 20 and 25 fiscal year. But we're moving forward with those. We've got 8 significant initiatives are being implemented now by the local team.

Speaker 4

Okay. Thank you for that. Next question on Double Team. The performance in the second quarter was a positive surprise me. I thought that revenue would kind of trickle in from that product in the Q2, but it was much more material than I had My question to you is, when you laid out your full year revenue expectations for that product, Did you anticipate 2nd quarter revenues of this magnitude or was that a positive surprise to you as well?

Speaker 4

And then I have a follow-up question to that.

Speaker 1

So it was part of the

Speaker 2

planning process, Ben. A significant portion of our sales in U. S. Has now become 3rd party seed brands that are in licensing, both germplasm and trait technology. So in the plan for processing and moving material in December and being able to position with seed companies that are then going to process that seed into their bag and prepare their channel for sales.

Speaker 2

It will happen earlier in the year. So We weren't surprised by it. It was a significant initiative. It has been a big success for the operations team. If you remember last year, there were some challenges in smooth movement of material into the marketplace.

Speaker 2

And we're sitting very, very well right now for calm and steady delivery through this winter period, right, February and particularly March. So we weren't surprised by it. It's all pretty consistent with our forecasts that are in place for the full year, but an Extremely positive signal for the continued demand and success of the product in the marketplace.

Speaker 4

Okay, great. Thanks, Mark. And then I think you kind of addressed my follow-up question, but curious about The level of comfort you have with inventory levels for that product here heading into the second half of fiscal year, I mean, it sounds like you think you've got the inventory in place to hit that revenue target of up to $14,000,000 But I'm just curious if there's any kind of uncertainty around inventory to hitting the high end of that number?

Speaker 2

No, there's we're really sitting very, very solid. We've got one very high demand product on the early side that has signals of being sold out that now with sales organizations making sure that all that demand follows through. And then the other key 3, us to keep aggressively selling right through spring. And then we have a good supply of the new DTE ford sorghum as well to continue driving demand. So we're feeling very good about where we're sitting at inventory.

Speaker 2

And of course, all this product was either produced last year or this year. So Quality is solid and we believe we've got a good handle on the LCM or as well. So feeling very good about where the sorghum business is positioned right now.

Speaker 4

Great. Very good. And then last question for me, regarding Vision Bio, historically you've talked about this isn't going to be something that an initiative that's going to require any cash going from S and W to Vision here I'm at least in the for the foreseeable future. But just curious if that thought is reiterated today, take literally in the context, it looks like Vision is making a modest investment into licensing from another company. So is that still an initiative that you think is not going to be consuming any S and W cash here, At least for the next, I don't know, 12 to 18 months?

Speaker 2

Yes. I believe that's still consistent. You probably know from the original deal closing that Shell was putting in $13,000,000 this year into the operating budget for BBO and then $12,000,000 next year. And then the plan in place is that it would be creating enough revenue to be cash neutral and supporting the business operations going forward. So I know Vision Bio is also working on their 5 year plan simultaneously to as we are.

Speaker 2

So we'll give more information as we move through it, But do believe that they're hitting all the milestones that are in place right now and fully anticipate that for the near term future as well.

Speaker 4

Very good. Excellent. Well, I appreciate you taking my questions. Best of luck here coming up in the second half of your fiscal year and I'll get back in queue.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Ben.

Operator

Thank you. And this concludes our question and answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mark Herman for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Yes. I'd just like to bring awareness of one thing. We are updating the investor deck and our targets are to get that onto the Web site this week. So it will be in place. We're going to work to try to keep the investor deck updated With any significant new information as we go forward, which would include as we look at our 5 year plan as we move forward as well.

Speaker 2

And any update to as far as customer information that's happening in the marketplace that investors would find of interest. So with that, I'd like to extend my thanks to everyone for participating in today's call. We look forward to hopefully speaking with all of you again here shortly.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. We thank you all for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.

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