Australian Oilseeds Announces Fiscal 2024 Financial Results

Australian Oilseeds Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: COOT) today announced financial results for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

Fiscal 2024 Financial Highlights Compared to Prior Year

• Sales revenue increased 16.1% to A$33.7 million due to strong demand for the Company’s cold-pressed canola oil.
• Gross margin of 17.5% improved 40 basis points reflecting lower relative production costs partially offset by brand investments along with higher freight and storage.
• Net loss of A$21.3 million compared to net income of A$1.8 million, mostly due to A$23.2 million of recapitalization expense.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 15.6% to A$4.1 million.

“We are pleased to report strong fiscal 2024 results, reflecting steady progress with our key strategic initiatives,” said Gary Seaton, Chief Executive Officer. “Revenues increased by more than 16% driven by strong demand for our cold pressed canola oils and we delivered similar growth in Adjusted EBITDA. Our business momentum continues to build and we remain deeply committed to our mission of eliminating chemicals from the edible oil production and manufacturing systems to supply quality products such as non-GMO oilseeds, chemical free, and organic and non-organic food-grade oils to customers globally. More importantly, a large percentage of Canola seed that is processed by AOH is sourced from regenerative farming practices where contracted farmers are reducing their green house gas emissions for the production of Canola Seed by minimum 50% from the base line.”

About Australian Oilseeds Investments Pty Ltd. Australian Oilseeds Investments Pty Ltd. is an Australian proprietary company that, directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries, is focused on the manufacture and sale of sustainable oilseeds (e.g., seeds grown primarily for the production of edible oils) and is committed to working with all suppliers in the food supply chain to eliminate chemicals from the production and manufacturing systems to supply quality products to customers globally. The Company engages in the business of processing, manufacture and sale of non-GMO oilseeds and organic and non-organic food-grade oils, for the rapidly growing oilseeds market, through sourcing materials from suppliers focused on reducing the use of chemicals in consumables in order to supply healthier food ingredients, vegetable oils, proteins and other products to customers globally. Over the past 20 years, the Company’s cold pressing oil plant has grown to become the largest in Australia, pressing strictly GMO-free conventional and organic oilseeds.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures: This press release makes reference to certain non-GAAP measures. These measures are not recognized or defined measures under IFRS Accounting Standards, do not have standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS Accounting Standards and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional financial information to complement those IFRS Accounting Standards measures by providing further understanding of our results of operations from management’s perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS Accounting Standards. The non-GAAP financial measures, adjustments, and reasons for adjustments should be carefully evaluated as these measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be used in substitution for an analysis of the Company’s results under IFRS Accounting Standards.

In addition to providing financial measurements based on IFRS, we provide an additional financial metric that is not prepared in accordance with IFRS, or non-IFRS financial measure. We use this non-IFRS financial measure, in addition to IFRS financial measures, to understand and compare operating results across accounting periods, for financial and operational decision making, for planning and forecasting purposes, to measure executive compensation, and to evaluate our financial performance. This non-IFRS financial measure is Adjusted EBITDA, as discussed below.

We believe that this non-IFRS financial measure reflects our ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful comparisons and analysis of trends in the business, as it facilitates comparing financial results across accounting periods and to those of peer companies. We also believe that this non-IFRS financial measure enables investors to evaluate our operating results and future prospects in the same manner as we do. This non-IFRS financial measure may exclude expenses and gains that may be unusual in nature, infrequent, or not reflective of our ongoing operating results.

The non-IFRS financial measure does not replace the presentation of our IFRS financial measures and should only be used as a supplement to, not as a substitute for, our financial results presented in accordance with IFRS.

We consider Adjusted EBITDA to be an important indicator of the operational strength and performance of our business and a good measure of our historical operating trends. Adjusted EBITDA eliminates items that we do not consider to be part of our core operations. We define Adjusted EBITDA as IFRS net loss excluding the following items: interest income; income taxes; depreciation and amortization of tangible and intangible assets; unit and stock-based compensation; Business Combination transaction expenses; and other non-recurring items that may arise from time to time.

The non-IFRS adjustments, and our basis for excluding them from our non-IFRS financial measure, are outlined below:

	●	Unit and Stock-based compensation – Although unit and stock-based compensation is an important aspect of the compensation paid to our employees, the grant date fair value varies based on the derived stock price at the time of grant, varying valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions, and the variety of award types. This makes the comparison of our current financial results to previous and future periods difficult to interpret; therefore, we believe it is useful to exclude unit and stock-based compensation from our non-IFRS financial measures to highlight the performance of our business and to be consistent with the way many investors evaluate our performance and compare our operating results to peer companies.
	●	Business Combination transaction expenses – Business Combination transaction expenses represent the expenses incurred solely related to the Business Combination, which we completed on March 21, 2024. It primarily includes investment banker fees, legal fees, professional fees for accountants, transaction fees, advisory fees, due diligence costs, certain other professional fees, and other direct costs associated with strategic activities. These amounts are impacted by the timing of the Business Combination. We exclude Business Combination transaction expenses from our non-IFRS financial measures to provide a useful comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies because such amounts vary significantly based on the magnitude of the Business Combination transaction and do not reflect our core operations.

The following table reconciles IFRS net profit to Adjusted EBITDA during the periods presented (in thousands): 

	Year EndedJune 30, 2024				Year EndedJune 30, 2023
Net (Loss) Profit	$	(21,230,681	)		$	1,844,970
Interest Expense	$	835,813			$	612,735
Depreciation and amortization	$	498,566			$	571,899
Recapitalization expense	$	23,210,293			$	-
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities	$	(141,874	)		$	-
Income taxes	$	313,421			$	109,878
Business combination transaction expenses	$	611,109			$	404,491
Adjusted EBITDA	$	4,096,647			$	3,543,973

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding our financial outlook, business strategy and plans, market trends and market size, opportunities and positioning. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "should," "believe," "hope," "target," "project," "goals," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "may," "will," "might," "could," "intend," "shall" and variations of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control. For example, global economic conditions could in the future reduce demand for our products; we could in the future experience cybersecurity incidents; we may be unable to manage or sustain the level of growth that our business has experienced in prior periods; our financial resources may not be sufficient to maintain or improve our competitive position; we may be unable to attract new customers, or retain or sell additional products to existing customers; we may experience challenges successfully expanding our marketing and sales capabilities, including further specializing our sales force; customer growth could decelerate in the future; we may not achieve expected synergies and efficiencies of operations from recent acquisitions or business combinations, and we may not be able to pay off our convertible notes when due. Further information on potential factors that could affect our financial results is included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views only as of the date of this press release and we assume no obligation and do not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

SEC 10 K Filing link here:https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1959994/000149315224048520/form10-k.htm

ContactAustralian Oilseeds Holdings Limited126-142 Cowcumbla StreetCootamundra New South Wales 2590Attn: Bob Wu, CFOEmail: [e-mail]

Investor Relations ContactReed Anderson(646) [e-mail]