Ceapro Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2016 Financial and Operational Results

EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Aug. 24, 2016) - Ceapro Inc. (TSX VENTURE:CZO) ("Ceapro" or the "Company"), a growth-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of active ingredients for healthcare and cosmetic industries, announced today its financial results for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2016 and provided an overview of recent operational highlights.

Financial Highlights for the Second Quarter of 2016

• Best second quarter performance with revenues reaching historical highs;

• Total sales of $4,168,000 in 2Q 2016 vs. $2,439,000 in 2Q 2015, an increase of 71%;

• Income from operations before tax of $2,358,000 in 2Q 2016 vs. $658,000 in 2Q 2015;

• Gross margin of $3,014,000 in 2Q 2016 vs. $1,749,000 in 2Q 2015; and

• Net profit after tax of $1,636,000 in 2Q 2016 vs. $658,000 in 2Q 2015.

Gilles Gagnon, M.Sc., MBA, President and CEO of Ceapro, stated, "We are very pleased to have ended the second quarter of 2016 with these exceptional results. Of note, this is the fourth consecutive record-setting quarter that Ceapro has delivered and we aim to continue to excel in our high-value de-risked base business in cosmeceuticals, which has shown to be a proven result of the effectiveness of our business strategy."

Recent Corporate Highlights

• Closed a private placement of CDN$10.0 million with the majority of the offering subscribed by fundamental institutional investors;

• Renewed a major distribution agreement with long-time partner, Symrise AG;

• Completed human bioavailability study using Ceapro's high concentration of avenanthramides. Manuscript submitted for publication;

• Contributed high concentration avenanthramides for a U.S.based human bio-efficacy study to be co-sponsored with a multinational company;

• Pursued the development of the Company's enabling Pressurized Gas eXpanded Technology (PGX) at demonstration scale level; and

• Initiated commissioning of a new manufacturing facility.

"With the results from this quarter combined with the announcement of the renewal of a long-term agreement with our major distributor, Symrise AG, Ceapro has established a solid base for this tremendous year-over-year growth and for the long term," added Mr. Gagnon.

Expected Near-Term Milestones

• Opening of new GMP bio-processing extraction facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in Q3 2016;

• Commence pilot clinical study to develop beta glucan as a cholesterol reducer in Q4 2016;

• Complete the development of a prototype for a functional drink in Q4 2016; and

• Complete bio-efficacy study of avenanthramides as an anti-inflammatory compound in exercise induced inflammation in Q1 2017.

Mr. Gagnon concluded, "Beyond these excellent financial results and while we will transfer the manufacturing operations to a new manufacturing facility during the second half of 2016, we will do our utmost to continue to develop our pipeline and execute our projects rigorously toward market expansion into the profitable nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors."

Financial Results for the Three Month and Six Month Periods Ended June 30, 2016

• Total sales of $4,168,000 and $8,231,000 in Q2 and H1 2016 respectively compared to $2,439,000 and $4,154,000 in 2015. A 98% increase for the first six month period.

• Income from operations before tax of $2,358,000 and $4,092,000 in Q2 and H1 2016 respectively compared to $658,000 and $428,000 in 2015.

• Net profit of $1,636,000 and $2,849,000 in Q2 and H1 2016 respectively compared to a net profit of $658,000 and net profit of $464,000 in 2015.

• General and Administration expenses of $525,000 and $1,020,000 in Q2 and H1 2016 respectively compared to $629,000 and $1,431,000 in 2015. The decrease in G&A in 2016 compared to 2015 is mostly due to a significant decrease in share based compensation costs due to the fact that the number of options granted in 2016 is negligible.

• Cash generated from operations of $3,059,000 during the first six months of 2016 compared to $279,000 for the same period in 2015.

• Retained earnings position of $2,790,000 as of June 30, 2016 compared to a deficit of $59,000 as of December 31, 2015.

• The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $910,000 as of June 30, 2016 as compared to $1,681,000 as of December 31, 2015.

CEAPRO INC.
Consolidated Statements of Net Income and Comprehensive Income
Unaudited
			Quarters Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
			2016			2015			2016			2015
			$			$			$			$
Revenue (note 15)			4,167,855			2,439,366			8,231,431			4,153,851
Cost of goods sold			1,153,517			690,229			2,383,280			1,612,615
Gross margin			3,014,338			1,749,137			5,848,151			2,541,236
Research and product development			(61,251	)		236,835			266,581			342,742
General and administration			524,858			629,225			1,020,504			1,431,158
Sales and marketing			643			3,506			2,829			6,673
Finance costs (note 14)			48,896			37,024			147,377			143,774
Income from operations			2,501,192			842,547			4,410,860			616,889
Other operating loss (note 13)			(143,587	)		(184,823	)		(319,279	)		(189,253	)
Income before tax			2,357,605			657,724			4,091,581			427,636
Income taxes
	Current tax expense		36,090			-			(421,916	)		-
	Deferred tax (expense) recovery		(757,897	)		-			(820,475	)		36,250
Income tax (expense) recovery			(721,807	)		-			(1,242,391	)		36,250
Total comprehensive income for the period			1,635,798			657,724			2,849,190			463,886
Net income per common share (note 20):
	Basic		0.03			0.01			0.05			0.01
	Diluted		0.02			0.01			0.04			0.01
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding (note 20):
	Basic		62,879,483			61,669,149			62,731,361			61,605,706
	Diluted		66,476,458			65,843,789			66,106,894			65,298,020

CEAPRO INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Unaudited
			June 30,		December 31,
			2016		2015
			$		$
ASSETS
Current Assets
	Cash and cash equivalents		909,934		1,681,125
	Trade receivables		1,332,038		538,995
	Other receivables		71,462		124,132
	Inventories (note 4)		960,302		1,242,417
	Prepaid expenses and deposits		117,489		259,560
			3,391,225		3,846,229
Non-Current Assets
	Investment tax credits receivable		487,339		603,302
	Deposits		94,309		93,264
	Licenses (note 5)		31,848		33,329
	Property and equipment (note 6)		13,047,816		9,868,676
	Deferred tax assets		326,578		1,258,674
			13,987,890		11,857,245
TOTAL ASSETS			17,379,115		15,703,474
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current Liabilities
	Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		1,906,688		2,005,611
	Deferred revenue (note 9)		372,328		1,172,198
	Current portion of long-term debt (note 7)		988,291		984,318
	Convertible debentures (note 8)		914,569		872,355
	Current portion of CAAP loan (note 11)		77,858		72,942
	Income tax payable		200,840		95,180
			4,460,574		5,202,604
Non-Current Liabilities
	Long-term debt (note 7)		1,758,369		2,277,186
	CAAP loan (note 11)		254,484		235,529
	Deferred tax liabilities		-		111,621
			2,012,853		2,624,336
TOTAL LIABILITIES			6,473,427		7,826,940
Equity
	Share capital (note 10)		6,973,903		6,800,018
	Equity component of convertible debentures (note 8)		106,200		106,200
	Contributed surplus		1,035,643		1,029,564
	Retained earnings (deficit)		2,789,942		(59,248	)

The complete financial statements are available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.ceapro.com.

About Ceapro Inc.

Ceapro Inc. is a Canadian biotechnology company involved in the development of proprietary extraction technology and the application of this technology to the production of extracts and "active ingredients" from oats and other renewable plant resources. Ceapro adds further value to its extracts by supporting their use in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, and therapeutics products for humans and animals. The Company has a broad range of expertise in natural product chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology and process engineering. These skills merge in the fields of active ingredients, biopharmaceuticals and drug-delivery solutions. For more information on Ceapro, please visit the Company's website at www.ceapro.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Source: Ceapro Inc.