Davis, California, USA
March 29, 2017
- Revenues Increase 41% in the Fourth Quarter, up 43% for Full Year
- Product Shipments Up 102% to $5.2 Million in the Fourth Quarter, up 81% for 2016 to $16.4 Million
- Full Year Operating Expenses Reduced by 29.6%
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBII), a leading provider of effective and environmentally responsible pest management and plant health products, today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016.
Financial and Business Results
The Company grew total GAAP revenues for the fourth quarter of 2016 by 40.6% to $2.7 million as compared to $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Product shipments in the fourth quarter of 2016 increased by 102% to $5.2 million from $2.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. This represents the highest product shipments of any quarter in the Company's history and reflects significant contributions to growth from each of the Company's commercialized agricultural products. In addition, based on its preliminary review of information regarding product shipments from January 1, 2017 through the date of this release, the Company currently estimates that product shipments for the first quarter of 2017 will exceed the amount of product shipments reported in the fourth quarter of 2016.1
Dr. Pam Marrone, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Fiscal 2016 was a truly pivotal year and we are very excited to have ended the year with the strongest level of shipping activity in our history and to also see that momentum carry into the early part of 2017. We regard this as a clear indication that the demand for our products remains strong despite a generally sluggish overall agricultural market and, given broad-based growth in our product line and a strong launch of our new Majestene bio-nematicide, as evidence that the Marrone brand is gaining strength among growers."
Dr. Marrone continued, "We continue to believe that our best path to growth is through a strong portfolio of biological agricultural solutions that address a variety of unmet grower needs for pest management and plant health, both in integrated pest management programs and for organic growers, who have even fewer options. We continue to push for growth from increased penetration of our existing products, through expanded labels as we target new crops, new product launches, new applications such as seed treatments, new customers and strategic partnerships and growth associated with international expansion."
Dr. Marrone concluded, "We are excited by the market acceptance of our products, and the continued good evidence from our field trials and grower demos that show an increasingly wider range of clear economic benefits for growers. We believe that we are on the right path to create sustainable value for our customers, our employees, and our shareholders."
The Company's gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2016 was 39.0%, compared to a negligible gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2015. Improving volume and a reduction of unabsorbed manufacturing costs with the scale-up of the Company's Michigan manufacturing facility and a stronger mix of higher margin product all contributed to the increased margin.
The Company's reported net loss for the fourth quarter of 2016 improved to $7.8 million, compared to a loss of $11.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. The improvement in the fourth quarter reflects growth in sales, improved product-level and total gross margins, the impact of prior restructuring activities to control costs and the absence of expenses and professional fees associated with the Company's financial restatement and related investigations and litigation.
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016 totaled $14.0 million compared to $9.8 million for the prior year. Product shipments, as described above, for the year ended December 31, 2016 increased by 81.1% to $16.4 million, compared to $9.0 million for the full year of 2015. Growth was broad-based with contributions from each of the Company's four major agricultural products: Regalia, Grandevo, Venerate and Majestene.
The Company's reported net loss for the full year of 2016 improved to $31.1 million, compared to a loss of $43.7 million in 2015. Similar to the fourth quarter, this improvement reflects: growth in sales, improved gross margins, the impact of prior restructuring activities to control costs and the absence of expenses and professional fees associated with the Company's 2015 investigation and restatement and related litigation.
For 2016, gross margin was 32.2%, compared to 5.6% in the full year of 2015. Similar to the fourth quarter, this improved margin reflects improving volume and a reduction of unabsorbed manufacturing costs with the scale-up of the Company's Michigan manufacturing facility and a stronger mix of higher margin product all contributed to the increased margin.
As of December 31, 2016, the Company had $12.6 million of cash, including $3.0 million of restricted cash, on its balance sheet. The Company used $24.3 million in cash for the full year and $6.0 million during the fourth quarter of 2016 in cash flows from operations, which is a decrease of $1.5 million from the fourth quarter of 2015.
1 See notes at the end of this release for additional information related to non-GAAP financial measures and the Company's preliminary estimates regarding product shipments for the first quarter of 2017.
Recent and 2016 Business Highlights
- Row Crop Collaborations with Koch Agronomic Services and Albaugh LLC
- Majestene Bionematicide Launched and Awarded "Best New Biopesticide" by Agrow
- Successful Launches of New Regalia and Grandevo Formulations
- Haven Anti-Transpirant Now Commercially Available
- EPA Registration of MBI-601 Biofumigant
- Regalia Registration in Chile
- First Commercial Grandevo sales in Mexico
- Execution of Grandevo Distribution Agreement for Australia and New Zealand
- Advanced Insecticidal Product Candidate under Evogene Collaboration
Field Trial Highlights
- Regalia showed increased yields in strawberries, rice, alfalfa and tomato and improved coffee rust control in Central America.
- Majestene demonstrated efficacy against nematodes and growth, yield or quality increases demonstrated in thirteen different crops.
- Grandevo confirmed its performance for the serious and invasive spotted wing Drosophila on soft fruits, especially in rotations with conventional standards for resistance management.
- Venerate performed as well as two chemical standards against walnut husk fly and showed promise in programs for Asian citrus psyllid, strawberry thrips and coffee berry borer.
- Haven demonstrated increased yields for almonds, walnuts, tomatoes and corn and reduction of sun stress and bitter pit in certain apple varieties.
- Biostacked seed treatments developed in conjunction with Groundwork BioAg, Ltd showed significant corn and soy yield increases comparable to commercial chemical and mixed chemical and biological standards for key nematode and corn rootworm pests.
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