June 12, 2009

Viterra's second quarter net earnings reached C$26.3 million, down 21.7 percent from C$33.6 million in the same period a year ago.

The net earnings included a C$8 million loss mainly related to the disposal of assets for the quarter, said Viterra.

For the six-month period ended April 30, 2009, Viterra had a net loss of C$6.6 million, compared to net earnings of C$74.8 million in the same period last year. Viterra attributed the loss to the impact of the world economic crisis on fertiliser margins. Net earnings for the period were C$18.8 million, excluding the C$28.1 million inventory write-down taken in the first quarter and the loss on disposal.

The company's second-quarter EBITDA amounted to C$85.4 million, compared to C$78.5 million a year ago. For the six months ended April 30, EBITDA was C$79 million compared to C$159.8 million last year, reflecting lower agri-products EBITDA, which included a fertiliser inventory write-down in the first quarter.

Consolidated sales and other operating revenues climbed C$82.7 million to C$1.6 billion for the second quarter, up from C$1.5 billion in the same period last year. Higher sales led to stronger gross margin and EBITDA for the quarter. On a year-to-date basis, consolidated sales and other operating revenues were C$3 billion, an increase of C$200 million over the C$2.8 billion reported for the six months ended April 30, 2008.

Total shipments in the Grain Handling and Marketing segment were up 36.7 percent over the prior year, contributing C$77 million of EBITDA for the quarter and C$124.9 million for the six months ended April 30, 2009. This compares to C$77.6 million of EBITDA for the second quarter of 2008 and C$150.6 million of EBITDA for the six months ended April 30, 2008.

US$1 = C$1.10469 (Jun 11)