Attached files

file filename
8-K - FORM 8-K - Gevo, Inc.d496146d8k.htm

Exhibit 99.1

 

LOGO

For Immediate Release

Gevo Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Financial Results

 

   

Reports EPS of ($0.34) including $2 million non-cash gain from the change in fair value of embedded derivatives contained in Gevo’s convertible notes

 

   

Ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of $67 million

 

   

Reiterates expectation to produce isobutanol in 2013

 

   

Luverne, Minn. plant remains temporarily idle while being readied to restart after completion of process technology optimization

 

   

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed District Court’s favorable decision

 

   

Received four recent patents including two patents related to the production of biojet fuels

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - March 5, 2013 - Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) today announced its financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2012.

“We are pleased with the progress we’ve made optimizing our technology over the past three months and remain on-track to restart isobutanol production at Luverne this year,” said Patrick Gruber Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Gevo. “After assuming the additional role of Chief Technology Officer, Chris Ryan has done an exceptional job orienting our technology team towards achieving our goals of producing isobutanol consistently and at commercially viable rates. Our market development work with strategic customers such as Coca-Cola, Toray, the United States Air Force, and Sasol is moving forward and we look forward to turning this work into revenues as soon as possible.”

Recent Highlights

Subsequent to the end of the year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded Gevo U.S. Patent No. 8,373,012 and U.S. Patent No. 8,378,160. Both patents are related to methods of making renewable hydrocarbons and/or jet blendstock from biomass-derived isobutanol, which is subsequently converted into hydrocarbons that meet or exceed the requirements of ASTM for diesel fuels, gasoline, and various aviation fuels.


In November, the USPTO awarded Gevo U.S. Patent No. 8,304,588, which covers methods for the production of isobutanol in retrofit ethanol production plants. The claimed technology addresses the full scope of isobutanol production in modified, retrofit ethanol plants, from pretreatment and fermentation to separation and purification.

These patents are in addition to U.S. Patent No. 8,273,565 and U.S. Patent No. 8,283,505, awarded in September and October and discussed in Gevo’s third quarter 2012 press release.

In November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Appeals Court) upheld the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware’s decision in which the lower court denied a motion for a preliminary injunction sought by Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC (Butamax). The Appeals Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling which stated that, “Gevo, Inc. raised a substantial question of validity concerning [Butamax’s] asserted patent (the ‘889 Patent)… and plaintiff (Butamax) does not hold a valid patent, nor would defendant (Gevo) infringe if it did”.

In January 2013, Gevo announced a stock repurchase program that authorizes the company to repurchase up to $15,000,000 of its common stock over a one-year period.

Financial Highlights

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $1.9 million compared to $17.2 million in the same period in 2011. The decrease in revenues resulted from the company suspending ethanol production at its Luverne, Minn. facility in May 2012. During the fourth quarter of 2012, the company concluded initial startup operations for the production of isobutanol at its Luverne facility. As previously announced, following completion of startup operations, production was temporarily paused to allow the company to focus on optimizing specific parts of its technology to further enhance isobutanol production rates. Production from startup operations will be directed to initial sales, customer testing, and future conversion into jet fuel for the U.S. Air Force (USAF).

Following the decision to pause isobutanol production, the company considered reverting to ethanol production during the fourth quarter of 2012 but determined that the economics of producing and marketing ethanol at that time would have generated greater negative cash flows compared to maintaining the facility at idle. Consequently, the company made the decision to idle the facility and not to revert to ethanol production during the quarter. Revenue reported in the fourth quarter of 2012 included sales from reduction of Gevo’s corn inventory, revenue under its agreement with The Coca-Cola Company, sales of biobased jet fuel to the USAF, and from ongoing research agreements. Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011 primarily related to the sale of ethanol and related products.


Research and development expense decreased to $4.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 from $5.9 million for the same period in 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the focus of Gevo’s development efforts were startup operations for the production of isobutanol at its Luverne facility and optimization of specific parts of its isobutanol production technology to further enhance isobutanol production rates. The decrease in research and development spending in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 was due primarily to work performed at the South Hampton Resources, Inc. facility near Houston, Texas developing a hydrocarbon pilot plant facility which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2011. There was no comparable expense in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Selling, general and administrative and other expense decreased to $7.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 from $8.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. The decrease in selling, general and administrative and other expense in the fourth quarter of 2012 primarily reflected lower compensation expenses, including the decision of Gevo’s executive officers to waive their 2012 bonus payments. The decrease in compensation expenses was partially offset by increased legal-related expenses, including expenses in support of Gevo’s ongoing litigation with Butamax.

Interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $2.2 million compared to $1.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. The increase resulted from interest incurred on the company’s $45 million of 7.5% convertible notes due 2022 which were issued in July 2012. The company also reported a non-cash gain of $2 million related to changes in the fair value of embedded derivatives contained in the convertible notes. These derivatives result from the rights that holders of the convertible notes have upon conversion, and under certain circumstances, will result in non-cash amounts being recorded in the company’s statement of operations in each reporting period while the convertible notes remain outstanding.

The net loss for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $13.2 million compared to $14.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Gevo reported cash and cash equivalents on hand of $66.7 million as of December 31, 2012.

Subsequent to the end of the year, certain holders of the company’s convertible notes elected to convert approximately $4.2 million of those convertible notes into common shares of the company, in accordance with the terms of the convertible notes, thereby reducing the principal amount of convertible debt outstanding at March 4, 2013 to $40.8 million. In total, through March 4, 2013, Gevo has issued 1,453,698 shares of common stock at an effective issue price of $3.68 per share in settlement of the conversions of the convertible notes and related coupon make-whole payments.


Webcast and Conference Call Information

Hosting today’s conference call at 4:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. MST) will be Dr. Gruber, Chief Executive Officer, and Mark Smith, Chief Financial Officer. They will review the company’s financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2012 and provide an update on recent corporate highlights.

To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-800-265-0241 (inside the U.S.) or 1-617-847-8704 (outside the U.S.) and reference the access code 53437085. The presentation will be available via a live webcast at:

http://www.media-server.com/m/acs/c6c4c9f5cd1aa21f964665ca48e98b4f

A replay of the call will be available two hours after the conference call ends on March 5, 2013 until Midnight EDT on April 5, 2013. To access the replay, please dial 1-888-286-8010 (inside the U.S.) or 1-617-801-6888 (outside the US) and reference the access code 31702414. The archived webcast will be available for 30 days in the Investor Relations section of Gevo’s website at www.gevo.com.

About Gevo

Gevo is a leading renewable chemicals and next-generation biofuels company. Gevo’s patent-protected, capital-light business model converts existing ethanol plants into biorefineries to make isobutanol. This versatile chemical can be directly integrated into existing chemical and fuel products to deliver environmental and economic benefits. Gevo started up its first commercial isobutanol facility in Luverne, Minn. and has a marquee list of partners including Coca-Cola, Sasol, and LANXESS, among others. Gevo is committed to a sustainable biobased economy that meets society’s needs for plentiful food and clean air and water. For more information, visit www.gevo.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements that are not purely statements of historical fact, and can sometimes be identified by our use of terms such as “intend,” “expect,” “plan,” “estimate,” “future,” “strive” and similar words. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Gevo and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future


events or otherwise. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Gevo in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Gevo for the year ended December 31, 2011, as amended, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Gevo.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

Consolidated financial information has been presented in accordance with GAAP as well as on a non-GAAP basis. On a non-GAAP basis, financial measures exclude non-cash items such as stock-based compensation. Management believes that it is useful to supplement its GAAP financial statements with this non-GAAP information because management uses such information internally for its operating, budgeting and financial planning purposes. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management’s internal comparisons to Gevo’s historical performance as well as comparisons to the operating results of other companies. In addition, Gevo believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors because they allow for greater transparency into the indicators used by management as a basis for its financial and operational decision making. Non-GAAP information is not prepared under a comprehensive set of accounting rules and therefore, should only be read in conjunction with financial information reported under U.S. GAAP when understanding Gevo’s operating performance. A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP financial information is provided in the financial statement tables below.

#     #     #


Gevo, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations Information

(Unaudited, in thousands)

 

                 Three Months Ended  
   Year Ended December 31,     December 31,  
   2012     2011     2012     2011  

Revenue and cost of goods sold

        

Ethanol sales and related products, net

   $ 19,908      $ 63,742      $ —        $ 16,994   

Grant revenue, research and development program revenue and other revenue

     4,477        807        1,924        235   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenues

     24,385        64,549        1,924        17,229   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cost of goods sold

     32,410        60,588        2,811        15,526   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross (loss) margin

     (8,025     3,961        (887     1,703   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating expenses

        

Research and development

     19,431        19,753        4,352        5,938   

Selling, general and administrative and other

     43,981        28,901        7,806        8,889   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     63,412        48,654        12,158        14,827   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (71,437     (44,693     (13,045     (13,124
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other income (expense)

        

Interest expense

     (6,338     (3,577     (2,177     (1,036

Gain from change in fair value of embedded derivatives

     17,000        —          2,000        —     

Other income

     63        56        45        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other income (expense)

     10,725        (3,521     (132     (1,036
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (60,712     (48,214     (13,177     (14,160

Deemed dividend - amortization of beneficial conversion feature on Series D-1 preferred stock

     —          (1,094     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to Gevo, Inc. common stockholders

   $ (60,712   $ (49,308   $ (13,177   $ (14,160
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to Gevo, Inc. common stockholders - basic and diluted

   $ (1.86   $ (2.15   $ (0.34   $ (0.54
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding - basic and diluted

     32,619,091        22,909,916        39,300,054        26,005,744   


Gevo, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Information

(Unaudited, in thousands)

 

     December 31,  
   2012      2011  

Assets

     

Current assets:

     

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 66,744       $ 94,225   

Accounts receivable

     698         2,938   

Inventories

     6,659         3,814   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     1,779         1,757   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current assets

     75,880         102,734   

Property, plant and equipment, net

     77,093         28,777   

Deposits and other assets

     3,138         1,519   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 156,111       $ 133,030   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities

     

Current liabilities:

     

Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other current liabilities

   $ 8,256       $ 12,626   

Current portion of secured debt, net

     8,513         3,491   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     16,769         16,117   

Long-term portion secured debt, net

     15,445         24,752   

Convertible notes, net

     25,554         —     

Other long-term liabilities

     512         24   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     58,280         40,893   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     97,831         92,137   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 156,111       $ 133,030   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 


Gevo, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Cash Flow Information

(Unaudited, in thousands)

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Three Months Ended
December 31,
 
     2012     2011     2012     2011  

Operating Activities

        

Net loss

   $ (60,712   $ (48,214   $ (13,177   $ (14,160

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

        

Non-cash expenses

     13,554        12,536        2,734        5,016   

Gain from change in fair value of embedded derivatives

     (17,000     —          (2,000     —     

Changes from working capital

     (3,900     2,067        (8,303     1,293   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     (68,058     (33,611     (20,746     (7,851

Investing Activities

        

Acquisitions of property, plant and equipment

     (52,432     (8,015     (1,496     (4,435

Other

     (607     (18     —          (58
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (53,039     (8,033     (1,496     (4,493

Financing Activities

        

Proceeds from issuance of secured debt

     5,000        10,000        —          10,000   

Proceeds from issuance of convertible debt, net of discounts

     42,300        —          —          —     

Proceeds from issuance of common stock

     61,875        114,704        —          —     

Payments on secured debt

     (10,406     (1,897     (3,139     (495

Other financing activates

     (5,153     (2,212     128        (541
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

     93,616        120,595        (3,011     8,964   

Net (decrease) increase in cash and and cash equivalents

     (27,481     78,951        (25,253     (3,380

Cash and cash equivalents

        

Beginning of period

     94,225        15,274        91,997        97,605   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ending of period

   $ 66,744      $ 94,225      $ 66,744      $ 94,225   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 


Gevo, Inc.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

(Unaudited, in thousands)

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Three Months Ended
December 31,
 
     2012     2011     2012     2011  

Gevo Development, LLC / Agri-Energy, LLC

        

(Loss) income from operations

   $ (12,600   $ 1,462      $ (2,056   $ 1,181   

Depreciation and amortization

     2,113        2,061        532        518   

Non-cash stock-based compensation

     216        85        52        45   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP (loss) income from operations

   $ (10,271   $ 3,608      $ (1,472   $ 1,744   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gevo, Inc.

        

Loss from operations

   $ (58,837   $ (46,155   $ (10,989   $ (14,305

Depreciation and amortization

     1,200        2,539        244        710   

Non-cash stock-based compensation

     7,763        6,741        937        1,884   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP loss from operations

   $ (49,874   $ (36,875   $ (9,808   $ (11,711
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gevo Consolidated

        

Loss from operations

   $ (71,437   $ (44,693   $ (13,045   $ (13,124

Depreciation and amortization

     3,313        4,600        776        1,228   

Non-cash stock-based compensation

     7,979        6,826        989        1,929   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP loss from operations

   $ (60,145   $ (33,267   $ (11,280   $ (9,967
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

###

 

Media Contact:

 

   Investor Contact:

Steve Halsey

 

   Chelsea DeLong

Gibbs & Soell for Gevo

 

   PR & Marketing Coordinator

T: (212) 697-2600

 

   T: (303) 858-8358
shalsey@gibbs-soell.com    cdelong@gevo.com