AGT Reports Q2 Loss

TORONTO - Aug 10/16 - SNS -- AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. reported a net loss of CDN $2.193 million on sales of $438.66 million during the second quarter ending June 30, compared to net earnings of $3.494 million on sales of $378.225 million during the same three-month period last year.

This dropped net earnings for the first half of the current fiscal year to $24.813 million on sales of $880.053 million, compared to net earnings of $4.039 million on sales of $763.445 million the previous fiscal year.

In announcing the results, Murad Al-Katib, President and CEO of AGT, said, "We are pleased with these results, especially given the supply constraints that the Canadian pulse sector has faced due to shortages of product from last year's harvest.

"We expect good quantities of pulses from harvest this year, and we already see farmers getting ready to get out into the field and get their pulses and durum wheat into the bins. We expect new crop deliveries to start in a few weeks, and this is a positive for our plant operations and sales programs for the balance of 2016 and into 2017"

AGT also announced a cash dividend for the quarter ending September 30, 2016 of $0.15 per common share. The dividend will be payable on October 11, 2016 to shareholders of record on September 30, 2016. This dividend is an eligible dividend for Canadian income tax purposes. AGT's current annualized cash dividend rate is approximately $0.60 per share.

AGT noted that the adjusted gross profit from its food ingredients and packaged foods business increased from $189.17 to $197.38 per metric ton (MT). That segment accounted for 13.8% of total tons invoiced.