Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Verde AgriTech Plc (TSX: “NPK”) (OTCQB: “AMHPF”) (“Verde” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has formed a special committee to evaluate when and how to share profits with shareholders. The analysis will be conducted by a Special Committee comprised of independent directors of the Board, consisting of Mr. Michael St Aldwyn (Verde’s Lead Independent Director), Mr. Renato Gomes and Mr. Paulo Sérgio Ribeiro Machado.
Shareholders’ Participation
Verde welcomes all shareholders to exercise their owner’s rights and contribute to the Special Committee’s studies, by completing the form which can be accessed through the following link: https://verdeag.typeform.com/to/zYCCIG08
As announced by the Company in its press release published on January 24, 2022, the Paid for Growth (“P4G”) program is being engineered in detail to enable the Company to distribute earnings to shareholders while expanding production. The Special Committee’s studies will be the cornerstone for P4G’s elaboration.
Verde went into production to establish a small operation to generate enough cash flow to fund its future expansion. With the Company’s growing credibility, it has secured debt financing under favorable terms. The combined cash flow and loans allow Verde to continue its expansion while protecting shareholders’ value generation.
“Verde has always tried to differentiate itself from other technology or resource companies by trying to avoid all but the most necessary dilution. Over the years, the company raised approximately C$70 million, which was cautiously invested in exploration, technology development, production and expansion”, commented Verde’s Founder, President & CEO Cristiano Veloso.
Paid for Growth Program
In March 2021 the Company announced its maiden-profit, for the year 2020, though Verde still had accumulated losses of C$16.04M for the period, as disclosed in 2020 Audited Financial Statements. Seeing that Verde is incorporated in the United Kingdom, it is barred from making any type of payment to shareholders while there are no distributable reserves available in the parent Company. A study will be carried out to consider the options available to the company to restructure its balance sheet and or corporate structure to resolve this issue. The Special Committee will evaluate dividend, share buyback and other potential structures that might be beneficial to shareholders and Verde’s accelerated growth strategy.
Verde has a scalable project, with a NPV per share of C$ 50.17[1], that can be potentially financed through accumulated cash flow and debt, and so far that has been validated by the Company’s profitable and consistent growth. The deliberate, incremental approach has allowed the company to reach financial independence from the capital equity market and has minimized the need to dilute existing shareholders.
“I am humbly proud of our achievements up to this point and excited that the Company is now in a position to discuss how to share profits with our shareholders, many of whom have unwaveringly supported the Company through thick and thin. As always, any and all payouts will be pursued without compromising Verde’s accelerated growth trajectory.”, concluded Mr. Veloso.
About Verde AgriTech
Verde is an agricultural technology company that produces fertilizers. Our purpose is to improve the health of all people and the planet. Rooting our solutions in nature, we make agriculture healthier, more productive, and profitable.
Corporate Presentation
For further information on the Company, please view shareholders’ deck: https://verde.docsend.com/view/zkcbnszrwri4gmjx
Investors Newsletter
Subscribe to receive the Company’s updates at:
http://cloud.marketing.verde.ag/InvestorsSubscription
The last edition of the newsletter can be accessed at:
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements can be accessed at this link.
For additional information please contact:
Cristiano Veloso, Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: investor@verde.ag
www.investor.verde.ag | www.supergreensand.com | www.verde.ag
[1] Based on $2.607 billion NPV after tax divided by 50,378,619 shares outstanding as of November 15, 2021. Estimated Net Present Value after tax of US$1.99 billion, with 8% discount rate and Internal Rate of Return of 287% (see NI 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Technical Report Cerrado Verde Project, MG, Brazil, page 207). Currency exchange: US$1.00 = C$1.27.
Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Verde AgriTech Plc (TSX: “NPK”) (OTCQB: “AMHPF”) (“Verde” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received a Mining Concession[1] for extraction of up to 2,500,000 tonnes per year (“tpy”) of potash rich ore, which is processed into Verde’s multinutrient potassium products, BAKS® and K Forte®, sold internationally as Super Greensand®, (the “Product”). With this new Mining Concession, the Company is now fully permitted to produce up to 2,833,000 tpy.
“This mining concession marks one more milestone for Verde. It will supply raw material for our Plant 2, which will boost production and accelerate sales growth. It is also another important governmental stamp of approval for our efforts towards reducing Brazil’s crippling dependency on imported potash”, said Cristiano Veloso, Verde’s Founder and CEO.
On March 26, 2020, the National Mining Agency (“ANM”), Brazil’s mining regulatory body, approved the Feasibility Study (“PAE”, from Plano de Aproveitamento Econômico) for the extraction of 25,000,000 tpy for Verde’s Mine Pit 2, as part of the Mining Concession Application (known in Brazil as Requerimento de Lavra). The Feasibility Study details the technical and economic viability of the project and indicates, among other information, the mining method and scale of production.
The Mining Concession was preceded by an Environmental License assessed and issued at the state level by Minas Gerais’ Environmental and Sustainable Development Secretary (known in Brazil as Secretaria de Estado de Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Sustentável). The Company had applied for the 2,500,000 tpy Environmental License for Mine Pit 2 on March 30, 2020, and it was approved on December 23, 2020.
This Mining Concession was granted to the Company as an expansion to the existing 100,000 tpy Mining Permit (in Brazil known as Guia de Utilização), previously granted for Mine Pit 2. In total, the Company is now permitted to extract up to 2,600,000 tpy from Mine Pit 2 alone.
Under Brazilian law, a pit is fully permitted to mine when the Company holds both a Mining Concession/Permit and Environmental License for that area. With this latest Mining Concession, Verde is now fully permitted to mine 2,833,000 tpy (please see the topic “Summary of Licenses and Permits” below) and has submitted concurrent mining and environmental applications for an additional 2,500,000 tpy, still pending approval.
Summary of Licenses and Permits
The Company has 3 different mine pits, each at different permitting stages and targeting different volumes, as summarized in the table below.
| Mine Pit |
Fully Permitted to Produce (tpy) |
Mining (tpy) |
Environmental (tpy) |
| Granted |
Pending |
Granted |
Pending |
| 1 |
233,000 |
233,000 |
0 |
233,000 |
0 |
| 2 |
2,600,000 |
2,600,000 |
22,500,000 |
2,600,000 |
0 |
| 3 |
0 |
49,800 |
2,500,000 |
0 |
2,500,000 |
| Total |
2,833,000 |
2,882,800 |
25,000,000 |
2,833,000 |
2,500,000 |
2022 Guidance
On January 10, 2022, Verde issued a press release announcing the 2022 and 2023 guidance. The Company’s target is detailed on a quarterly basis, reflecting the market demand’s seasonality, as follows:
| Period |
Q1 2022 |
Q2 2022 |
Q3 2022 |
Q4 2022 |
FY 2022 |
| Sales target (tonnes) |
115,000 |
200,000 |
250,000 |
135,000 |
700,000 |
| Revenue (C$’000) |
10,070 |
21,954 |
27,228 |
13,011 |
72,263 |
| EBITDA (C$’000) |
1,358 |
10,155 |
13,414 |
3,506 |
28,434 |
| EPS (C$) |
0.02 |
0.18 |
0.25 |
0.06 |
0.50 |
The 2022 guidance is underpinned by the following assumptions:
- Grant of mining concession
- Average Brazilian Real (“R$”) to Canadian dollar exchange rate: C$1.00 = R$4.40
- Average KCl CFR Brazil of US$500, compared to current price of US$760 per tonne (as per the market intelligence firm Acerto Limited weekly price as of December 3, 2021).
- Sales Incoterms: 50% CIF and 50% FOB
- Sales channels: 50% direct sales and 50% indirect sales
2023 Guidance
For 2023, Verde’s sales volume target is 1.4 million tonnes. This target represents a potential 100% growth Year-on-Year (“YoY”).
About Verde AgriTech
Verde is an agricultural technology company that produces fertilizers. Our purpose is to improve the health of all people and the planet. Rooting our solutions in nature, we make agriculture healthier, more productive, and profitable.
Corporate Presentation
For further information on the Company, please view shareholders’ deck: https://verde.docsend.com/view/p9qyzinwe64ii4ke
Investors Newsletter
Subscribe to receive the Company’s updates at:
http://cloud.marketing.verde.ag/InvestorsSubscription
The last edition of the newsletter can be accessed at:
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements can be accessed at this link.
For additional information please contact:
Cristiano Veloso, President, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: investor@verde.ag
www.investor.verde.ag | www.supergreensand.com | www.verde.ag
[1] Mining Concession (known in Brazil as “Portaria de Concessão de Lavra”): guarantees to the owner the power and duty to explore the mineral deposit until it is exhausted, without a definite term. The title can only be obtained by mining companies and only after undertaking the authorised exploration through an exploration authorisation and subsequent approval of the Final Exploration Report. One of the essential documents for requesting a mining concession is the Feasibility Study, which must demonstrate the technical and economic viability of the project and indicate, among other information, the mining method, the planned scale of production and the mine closure plan.
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Feb. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Verde AgriTech Plc (TSX: “NPK”) (OTCQB: “AMHPF”) (“Verde” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a rate of 165% Earned Growth in 2021, compared to a rate of 61% in 2020, demonstrating a higher client repurchase rate and successful client referrals. The Earned Growth Rate (“EGR”) measures the sales growth by volume generated by returning customers and new client purchases made by existing clients’ referrals.1
The Earned Growth methodology was created by Fred Reichheld, a business strategist at Bain & Company who is renowned for his research and writing on the loyalty business model and loyalty marketing, and author of Winning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers.2 EGR was created as a metric framework for customer success in lieu of traditional methodologies, which are usually based on samples of survey responses that do not have a specific sector methodology and can be easily biased according to the criteria utilised.
EGR is an accounting-based methodology that provides companies with an objective, data-driven connection between customer success, repeat and expanded purchases, word-of-mouth recommendations, a positive company culture, and business results. It gauges customer loyalty through the lens of revenue growth, identifying which revenue streams come from existing customers doing more business with a company and which ones come from referrals.
Historically, Verde assessed its rate of recurring clients through repurchases, which showed the percentage of repeat clients that bought Verde’s product over two consecutive years.
The Company has continuously contacted its clients for feedback surveys, contacting both repurchasing clients and clients that did not purchase the following year. It became clear that the rate of repurchase alone distorted the reality of agricultures’ cyclicity. Farmers may decide not to repurchase for several reasons disconnected from product satisfaction, including but not limited to:
- If soil nutrient is adequate for the next season’s productivity expectation;
- Market volatility impacting prices of the grown crop;
- Credit issues causing inability to secure enough funds to cover full harvest requirements;
- Natural peculiarity of crop that leads to different fertilization requirement when crop growth does not require annual fertilizer; (e.g. eucalyptus, coffee, etc.);
- Expiration of farm leases that were harvested previously;
- Adverse climate impact, such as drought or frost, that often resulting in crop loss and thus no need or financing for subsequent fertilizer application.
Therefore, over the past year, Verde studied the latest methodologies that could adequately reflect growth and customer success within the realities for agriculture.
Earned Growth Rate has two independent components:
- Net Revenue Retention (“NRR”): The current year’s revenues from repurchasing customers, divided by the preceding year’s total revenues, expressed as a percentage. In the case of Verde, ‘revenue’ has been replaced by ‘volume’ so that product price fluctuations do not unduly distort the metric.
- Earned New Customers (“ENC”): The percentage of product volume acquisition from new customers earned through referrals.
EGR is determined by adding NRR and ENC together and then subtracting 100%.
Prompted for comment on Verde’s adoption of the EGR metric, Reichheld was categorical in asserting that he “believes that wise investors now understand the vital importance of Earned Growth Rate as an indicator of profitable, sustainable growth”.
In 2020, the first year when the company compiled detailed enough information to calculate its EGR, Verde had a rate of 61% EGR. In 2021, Verde’s EGR rate hit 165%.
“At Verde, client satisfaction and retention is paralleled by our rapid growth. To adequately measure our client success rate and be able to drive our sales team to its best performance, EGR is already one of our key metrics. We are honoured to see a nearly threefold increase of EGR in 2021 because it is a reflection of how Verde’s client base is increasingly embracing our products, repurchasing it or endorsing it to friends and neighbours.”, said Cristiano Veloso, Verde’s Founder and CEO.
Verde’s New Brand Identity
The Company updates its visual identity to better reflect its purpose. The new logo reinforces the idea that technology and nature can go hand in hand to make agriculture more productive, profitable and nutritious. The logo’s “V” connects at its vertices the two main arms of the company – technology and nature – in an upward movement, to show that this junction brings growth, the achievement of good results, and will contribute to a more sustainable and healthier world. The new colour palette is inspired by the hue of Verde’s main raw material, which is at the base of the products developed by the Company.
For more details, access the shareholder deck to learn more about our new brand identity:
Investors Newsletter
Subscribe to receive the Company’s updates at:
http://cloud.marketing.verde.ag/InvestorsSubscription
The last edition of the newsletter can be accessed at:
About Verde AgriTech
Verde is an agricultural technology company that produces fertilizers. Our purpose is to improve the health of all people and the planet. Rooting our solutions in nature, we make agriculture healthier, more productive, and profitable.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements can be accessed at this link.
For additional information please contact:
Cristiano Veloso, President, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: investor@verde.ag
www.investor.verde.ag | www.supergreensand.com | www.verde.ag
1 For a summarized definition of EGR, see article: F. Reichheld, D. Darnell and M. Burns, Net Promoter 3.0, Harvard Business Review, November 2021, available at: https://hbr.org/2021/11/net-promoter-3-0
2 F. Reichheld, D. Darnell and M. Burns, Winning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers (Harvard Business Review Press) 2021.
Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Verde AgriTech Plc (TSX: “NPK”) (OTCQB: “AMHPF”) (“Verde” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its Paid for Growth (“P4G”) strategy, a cornerstone program aimed at distributing gains to shareholders as a result of the Company’s continued accelerated market expansion. This will be possible thanks to the availability of a transformative source of funding secured by the Company. Previously, financing could only be secured by invoice discounting or guaranteed by capital goods, now Verde’s future sales contracts are accepted as debt collateral.
The Company also communicates an expansion to its Cultivando Amor program, a charitable initiative aimed at supporting local rural communities.
“In Brazil, no other bank has financed more harvests than Banco do Brasil. In 2020 alone, it financed Brazil’s agriculture to the tune of R$ 191 billion. It is therefore fitting that the bank step up to provide this important credit facility to Verde, thereby helping fuel the accelerating production of our potash rich multinutrient fertilizer that will be vital for countless more harvests in our country”, affirmed Dr. Alysson Paolinelli, former Brazilian minister of agriculture, recipient of the World Food Prize and member of Verde’s Board of Directors.
Banco do Brasil S.A. (“BB”) has granted to Verde a line of credit through Agribusiness Certificate of Credit Rights (“CDCA”, from Certificado de Direitos Creditórios do Agronegócio). A CDCA is a financial instrument used by established Brazilian agricultural businesses, it is a freely traded credit bond that represents expected cash payments originating from farmers and third parties. Its issuance and use are limited to the agricultural sector, be it farming production and processing, or industrialized farming inputs and machinery. CDCA is only granted to producers of broadly traded and accepted commodities and goods.
Verde’s loan is for a term of 36 months with an interest rate of CDI (based on SELIC, the Brazilian Central Bank overnight rate) + 2.92% per annum, with a 6 months grace period. The guarantee of the operations are future sales contract with Verde. The first loan was for R$10 million.
The financing was granted by BB after thorough due diligence that included an evaluation of Verde’s historical market and sales performance, seeing that the credit arrangement recognizes future sales contracts as collateral, with no further pre-conditions for its execution and grant.
The funds raised through this new loan modality will be used for accelerated expansion. Consequently, Verde will free up its earnings and re-finance its growth based on an expanding credit line proportional to its required growth capital investment and forecasted sales. This can be done so long as there is an upwards trajectory for production because then future sales are expected to continuously outstrip current production.
“I am proud to have started my formal work career at Banco do Brasil, at the age of 18, and grateful for everything I learned during that experience. Today, it is therefore exciting to see the bank playing a key role in helping Brazilian farmers to retake control by financing Verde, Brazil’s largest potash mine.
It is crippling for our country to rely on imports for 96% of our potash needs. Given Brazil’s role as the world’s largest food exporter, it is equally worrying to think that the bread basket of the World would succumb without three distant sources of potash: Canada, Russia and Belarus, which jointly account for around 80% of all global potash sales.
Debt funding alongside accumulated cashflow has been and will continue to be the preferred route to accelerate Verde’s growth even more, especially now in light of Banco do Brasil’s transformative financing structure”, commented Verde’s Founder, President & CEO Cristiano Veloso.
Paid for Growth and Cultivando Amor
Verde’s P4G was launched by the Company to enable it to distribute earnings to shareholders, while expanding production. P4G is being engineered in detail so that it can make the most of the Company’s potential earnings without compromising its accelerated growth strategy.
As it returns gains to its shareholders, Verde will also expand its ongoing Cultivando Amor program. This is a charitable initiative in which the Company sits down with local rural communities located in the region of its operations and market to jointly select commendable social projects and charitable institutions to be supported.
“It has been nearly 17 years since we founded Verde. I am ever thankful to several shareholders who have patiently supported us along the nearly two decades of development. We hope that today’s announcement will motivate all shareholders to support Verde for decades to come while earning their well-deserved share of our success.
It was never easy to implement our non-dilutive strategy over so many years, but we are proud to reach our 17th year as a profitable company with an outstanding share count not too different from day one of our 2007 IPO”, concluded Mr. Veloso.
About Banco do Brasil:
Banco do Brasil is a Brazilian bank, incorporated as a mixed capital company, with the Federal Government of Brazil holding 50% of the shares (as of November 17, 2021), being one of the five state-owned banks of the Brazilian government, traded on the B3 as BBAS3.
BB was founded in 1808 and has been working in several countries for over 70 years. The bank has a great branch network in Brazil and abroad, with more than 5,000 of branches worldwide, establishing extensive experience in global financial markets.
About Cultivando Amor Project:
Cultivando Amor is a project that emerges from Verde’s commitment to honour its core purpose: improving the health of all people and the planet.
For each of the project’s member cities, there is a partner charity institution. For each hectare in the region that is cultivated with BAKS® or K Forte®, Verde donates part of the sales’ profits to the partner institution of that city. The initiative has the support of the cities’ Rural Union of Farmers (Sindicato Dos Produtores Rurais).
In 2020, Cultivando Amor’s pilot project was conducted in the city of Patrocínio, where the program’s funds contributed to the Cancer Hospital of Patrocínio, a regional reference in cancer treatment.
In 2021, Verde raised over R$270,000 for charities across 16 cities in Brazil.
Cultivando Amor’s goal for 2022 is to magnify its impacts exponentially: to be present in over 100 cities throughout Brazil.
Investors Newsletter
Subscribe to receive the Company’s monthly updates at:
http://cloud.marketing.verde.ag/InvestorsSubscription
The last edition of the newsletter can be accessed at:
About Verde AgriTech
Verde is an agricultural technology company that develops and produces fertilizers. Rooting our solutions in nature, we make agriculture healthier, more productive, and profitable for farmers. We work to improve the health of all people and the planet.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements can be accessed at this link.
For additional information please contact:
Cristiano Veloso, President, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: investor@verde.ag
www.investor.verde.ag | www.verde.ag | www.supergreensand.com
Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Verde AgriTech Plc (TSX: “NPK”) (OTCQB: “AMHPF”) (“Verde” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its 2022 guidance of 700,000 tonnes production, with sales of $72.3 million, EBITDA of $28.4 million, net earnings per share (“EPS”) of $0.50; and a 2023 guidance of 1.4 million tonnes.
2022 Guidance
The Company’s target is detailed on a quarterly basis, reflecting the market demand’s seasonality, as follows:
| Period |
Q1 2022 |
Q2 2022 |
Q3 2022 |
Q4 2022 |
FY 2022 |
| Sales target (tonnes) |
115,000 |
200,000 |
250,000 |
135,000 |
700,000 |
| Revenue ($’000) |
10,070 |
21,954 |
27,228 |
13,011 |
72,263 |
| EBITDA ($’000) |
1,358 |
10,155 |
13,414 |
3,506 |
28,434 |
| EPS ($) |
0.02 |
0.18 |
0.25 |
0.06 |
0.50 |
The 2022 guidance is underpinned by the following assumptions:
- Grant of mining concession
- Average Brazilian Real (“R$”) to Canadian dollar exchange rate: C$1.00 = R$4.40
- Average KCl CFR Brazil of US$500, compared to current price of US$760 per tonne (as per the market intelligence firm Acerto Limited weekly price as of December 3, 2021).
- Sales Incoterms: 50% CIF and 50% FOB
- Sales channels: 50% direct sales and 50% indirect sales
“Over the previous years, seeing that we were producing and selling a new product, our guidance was limited to volume and revenue. From 2022 onwards we are pleased to add EBITDA and EPS to Verde’s guidance”, said Cristiano Veloso, Verde’s Founder and CEO.
2023 Guidance
For 2023, Verde’s sales volume target is 1.4 million tonnes. This target represents a potential 100% growth Year-on-Year (“YoY”).
Investors Newsletter
Subscribe to receive the Company’s monthly updates at:
http://cloud.marketing.verde.ag/InvestorsSubscription
The last edition of the newsletter can be accessed at:
About Verde AgriTech
Verde is an agricultural technology company that develops and produces fertilizers. Rooting our solutions in nature, we make agriculture healthier, more productive, and profitable for farmers. We work to improve the health of all people and the planet.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements can be accessed at this link.
For additional information please contact:
Cristiano Veloso, President, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: investor@verde.ag
www.investor.verde.ag | www.verde.ag | www.supergreensand.com
