AGT Announces Q4 Profit

TORONTO - Mar 25/13 - SNS -- Alliance Grain Traders Inc. reported adjusted net earnings of $874,000 on sales of $231.45 million during the fourth quarter ending December 31, compared to @1.3679 million on sales of $169 million during the same three-month period the previous year.

This lifted net earnings for the entire 2012 fiscal year to $22.547 million on total revenue of $855.3 million, compared to adjusted earnings of $20.355 million on revenue of $760 million during the previous fiscal year.

In releasing the company's results for the 2012 fiscal year, Murad Al-Katib, President and CEO of AGT, said, "Recovery in global pulse and staple foods markets is proceeding as we expected. We are optimistic we will see this gradual recovery continue in 2013, in the first half of the year and leading into a new North American harvest in the fall.

"While the macroeconomic headwinds in emerging markets are dissipating," he said, "with currency stabilizing and credit liquidity improving, normalization of product imports, we feel, will come back to more traditional levels in the near term as local market stocks are estimated to be very low.

"This may result in higher export levels from Canada, the U.S. and Australia. . . . We started to see signs of demand improvements late in 2012. These signs have continued and the new year appears to have started well, which we feel supports our view of gradual recovery of our business in 2013."

During the year, AGT negotiated two new credit and financing arrangements.

Chief among these was an amended and restated credit agreement that provides for three facilities in an aggregate principal amount of $270 million ($300 million in the event that the $30 million accordion option is exercised in full) through AGT's wholly owned Alliance Pulse Processors Inc. ("APP") subsidiary through the Bank of Nova Scotia and a syndicate of six other lenders. The Senior Secured Credit Facility contained customary negative covenants and maintenance of certain ratios at the APP and AGT level.

Additionally, an offering of $125 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured second lien notes due February 14, 2018 was completed on February 14, 2013, with proceeds used to repay certain indebtedness of some of AGT's global subsidiaries and for general corporate purposes.

AGT also announced a cash dividend for the quarter ending March 31, 2013 of $0.15 per common share. The dividend will be payable on April 5, 2013 to shareholders of record on March 28, 2013. This dividend is an eligible dividend for Canadian income tax purposes. AGT's current annualized cash dividend rate is approximately $0.60 per share.