SunOpta Announces Fiscal 2011 and Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 6, 2012) - SunOpta Inc. (“SunOpta” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ:STKL; TSX:SOY), a leading global company focused on natural, organic and specialty foods, today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2011. All amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars and results are reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP, except where specifically noted.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2011 the Company reported quarterly revenues of $258.5 million versus revenues of $230.6 million for the quarter ended January 1, 2011, a year over year increase of 12.1% . This increase is indicative of continued strength in the natural, organic and specialty foods sectors. Revenues increased 8.8% excluding the impact of acquisitions.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2011 the Company incurred a loss per diluted common share from continuing operations of $0.06 or $4.2 million, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $2.6 million or $0.04 per diluted common share for the quarter ended January 1, 2011. Included in the results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 was a primarily non-cash charge of approximately $8.7 million after tax or $0.13 per diluted common share, reflecting the write-down of intangible and other long-lived assets and certain inventory at the Company’s Purity Life Health Products and Frozen Foods operations. Adjusting for these items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations¹ in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $4.5 million or $0.07 per diluted common share.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2011 the Company realized EBITDA¹ of $10.1 million as compared to $15.3 million for the quarter ended January 1, 2011.

For the year ended December 31, 2011 the Company realized revenues of $1,082.1 million versus revenues of $898.3 million for the year ended January 1, 2011, a year over year increase of 20.5% . Revenues increased 11.6% excluding the impact of acquisitions.

For the year ended December 31, 2011 the Company realized earnings per diluted common share from continuing operations of $0.14 or $9.6 million, compared to $0.20 or $13.2 million for the year ended January 1, 2011. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations¹ for the year ended December 31, 2011 were $20.2 million or $0.30 per diluted common share, after excluding the effect of the aforementioned write-downs of intangible and other long-lived assets and certain inventory at the Company’s Purity Life Health Products and Frozen Foods operations of approximately $8.7 million after tax or $0.13 per diluted common share, as well as the effect of specific net costs of $2.0 million after tax or $0.03 per diluted common share which we believe are not reflective of normal operations, including severance, rationalization and curtailment charges. The severance, rationalization and curtailment charges were partially offset by gains realized during the year on the sale of the Company’s Mexican fruit processing assets and recognition of decreased contingent consideration liabilities.

For the year ended December 31, 2011 the Company realized EBITDA¹ of $52.6 million as compared to $60.8 million for the year ended January 1, 2011.

At December 31, 2011, the Company’s balance sheet reflected a current ratio of 1.35 to 1.00, long-term debt to equity ratio of 0.17 to 1.00 and total debt to equity ratio of 0.54 to 1.00. At December 31, 2011 the Company had total debt outstanding of $162.0 million, an increase of $21.3 million from the period ended January 1, 2011. At December 31, 2011 the Company had total assets of $631.5 million and a net book value of $4.55 per outstanding share.

Steve Bromley, President and Chief Executive Officer of SunOpta commented, “Our results from continuing operations reflect continued growth in the core natural and organic foods categories within which we operate, and also reflect the impact of the difficult commodity environment over the course of this past year. We have recently undertaken to streamline our operations and organization structure, addressing underperforming food based operations and targeting improved earnings predictability and return on assets. We continue to be confident in our strategy and are encouraged by the number of new initiatives and opportunities we have in the pipeline. We believe we are well positioned in the natural and organic foods sector and are confident in our future prospects.”

The Company plans to host a conference call at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 to discuss the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011 results and recent corporate developments. The conference call can be accessed via a link at the Company’s website at www.sunopta.com. Additionally, the call may be accessed with the toll free dial-in number 1-877-312-9198 or 631-291-4622. A replay number can also be accessed between March 7th and 14th with the toll free dial-in number 1–855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 followed by pass code: 46853475#.

¹See discussion of non-GAAP measures

About SunOpta Inc.

SunOpta Inc. is a leading global company focused on natural, organic and specialty foods products. The company specializes in sourcing, processing and packaging of natural and organic food products, integrated from seed through packaged products; with a focus on strategically vertically integrated business models. The Company’s core natural and organic food operations focus on value-added grains, fiber and fruit based product offerings, supported by a global infrastructure. The company has two non-core holdings, a 66.2% ownership position in Opta Minerals Inc., listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a producer, distributor, and recycler of environmentally friendly industrial materials; and a minority ownership position in Mascoma Corporation, an innovative biofuels company.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our continued growth in core categories, our efforts to streamline our operations and organization structure to address underperforming food based operations, statements regarding new initiatives and opportunities we have in the pipeline, and statements regarding the expected impact of these efforts and initiatives on annual operating expenses, future cash flows and future earnings. The terms and phrases “continued”, “improved”, “positioned”, “believe” and other similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on information available to us on the date of this release and are based on estimates and assumptions made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments as well as other factors the Company believes are appropriate in the circumstances including, but not limited to, general economic conditions, consumer interest in health and wellness, product pricing levels, current customer demand, planned facility and operational expansions, competitive intensity, cost rationalization and product development initiatives. Whether actual timing and results will agree with expectations and predications of the Company is subject to many risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, global economic conditions, consumer spending patterns and changes in market trends, decreases in customer demand, potential failure of product development, working capital management and continuous improvement initiatives, availability and pricing of raw materials and supplies, and other risks described from time to time under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (available at www.sec.gov). Consequently all forward-looking statements made herein are qualified by these cautionary statements and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by the Company will be realized.

For further information, please contact:

SunOpta Inc.

Steve Bromley, President & CEO
Tony Tavares, Vice President & COO
Robert McKeracher, Vice President & CFO
John Dietrich, Vice President, Corporate Development
Susan Wiekenkamp, Information Officer
Tel: 905-455-2528, ext 103
susan.wiekenkamp@sunopta.com  
Website: www.sunopta.com  

SunOpta Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
For the quarter ended December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011
Unaudited
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

SunOpta Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
For the year ended December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011
Unaudited
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

SunOpta Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
As at December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011
Unaudited
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

SunOpta Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
For the quarter ended December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011
Unaudited
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

SunOpta Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
For the year ended December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011
Unaudited
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

SunOpta Inc.
Segmented Information
For the quarter ended December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011
Unaudited
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars)

SunOpta Foods has the following segmented reporting:

SunOpta Foods has the following segmented reporting:

(Operating Income (Loss) is defined as “Earnings before the following” excluding the impact of “Other (income) expense, net” and "Goodwill impairment")

SunOpta Inc.
Segmented Information
For the year ended December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2011
Unaudited
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars)

SunOpta Foods has the following segmented reporting:

SunOpta Foods has the following segmented reporting:

(Operating Income (Loss) is defined as “Earnings before the following” excluding the impact of “Other (income) expense, net” and "Goodwill impairment")

¹Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company provides information regarding Operating Income and Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) as additional information about its operating results, which are not measures in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes that these non-GAAP measures assist investors in comparing performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that are not indicative of the Company’s core operating performance. The non-GAAP measures of operating income and EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

The Company defines Operating Income as “Earnings from continuing operations before the following” excluding the impact of “Other (income) expense, net” and “Goodwill impairment”; and EBITDA as Operating Income plus depreciation and amortization. The following is a tabular presentation of Operating income and EBITDA, including a reconciliation to GAAP earnings (loss) from continuing operations, which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure:

The Company also reported Adjusted earnings from continuing operations and Adjusted earnings from continuing operations per diluted share for the periods presented. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations and Adjusted earnings from continuing operations per diluted share are also non-GAAP financial measures. During the quarter and year ended December 31, 2011, the Company recognized specific charges and recorded certain gains that we do not believe are reflective of normal business operations. We have adjusted the Loss attributable to SunOpta Inc. and the Loss Attributable on a per diluted share basis to exclude the effect of these charges and gains to arrive at Adjusted earnings from continuing operations and Adjusted earnings from continuing operations per diluted share. The following is a tabular presentation of Adjusted earnings from continuing operations and Adjusted earnings from continuing operations per diluted share, including a reconciliation to GAAP Loss attributable to SunOpta Inc. and GAAP Loss attributable to SunOpta Inc. on a per diluted share basis, which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

Following is a calculation of our Adjusted earnings from continuing operations and Adjusted earnings from continuing operations per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Following is a calculation of our Adjusted earnings from continuing operations and Adjusted earnings from continuing operations per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2011.