Consolidated revenues increased 29% as reported and 47%, as adjusted for a divested business, to $147.2 million.
Ingredients segment revenues were $90.7 million, an increase of 55% as reported and 104%, as adjusted for a divested business. Fresh segment revenues were $56.3 million, an increase of 2%.
2022 proprietary revenues are expected to double versus 2021, contributing to a greater than 175% projected increase in Ingredients revenues to an estimated range of $250 million to $275 million.
Consolidated net loss of $148 million to $153 million and adjusted EBITDA loss of $80 million to $85 million is expected in 2022.
Completed an $85 million PIPE, including investments from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Apollo Capital Management, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Grosvenor Food & AgTech, to fund the execution of the Company’s strategic plan.
ST. LOUIS, MO – March 28, 2022 – Benson Hill, Inc. (the “Company” or “Benson Hill”), a food tech company unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants, today announced operating and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021.
“Our robust performance in 2021 established a foundation for the growth we expect in 2022 and beyond,” said Matt Crisp, Chief Executive Officer of Benson Hill. “We made tremendous progress towards commercializing our proprietary soy ingredients portfolio under our brands TruVail™, Veri™, and Bright Day™ for the food, oil, and aquaculture markets, respectively. There are strong tailwinds for our innovative product solutions, which can simplify the supply chain with fewer processing steps, lower costs, use fewer natural resources, and offer a domestic source of supply that is currently constrained to meet demand. This year we will continue to invest in capturing share to deliver strong revenue growth and gross margin improvement. As we look beyond 2022, the compelling value proposition we offer to advance the food system led to broad investor interest in our recent PIPE, which will support the execution of our growth plans, including our objective to generate positive EBITDA and free cash flow in 2025.”
Full Year 2021 Results as Compared to The Same Period of 2020
Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures is on page 9.
- Revenues were $147.2 million, an increase of $32.9 million, or 29%. Excluding $14.1 million in revenues from a barley business divested in October 2020, revenues grew 47%. The performance was driven by strong results in the Ingredients segment.
- Gross loss was $0.9 million, a decline in profitability of $12.9 million. Excluding $2.2 million in gross profit contribution from the divested barley business in 2020 and $2.8 million in one-time freight costs in Q1’2021 necessary to accelerate the receipt of soybean seed stock from South America, gross profit declined $7.9 million to $1.9 million. Adjusted gross profit margins were 1.3%.
- Selling, general and administrative expenses were $81.6 million, which included $11.7 million of transaction costs related to the merger with Star Peak Corp II on September 29, 2021. Additionally, the Company incurred non-recurring costs of $5.3 million for public company readiness.
- R&D expenses were $40.6 million, an increase of $11.1 million, primarily to continue expanding scientific capabilities to support the current and future product pipeline including related facility costs for the corporate headquarters and Crop Accelerator.
- Reported net loss was $126.2 million compared to a net loss of $67.2 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $80.4 million compared to a loss of $46.5 million. The Company recognized a loss of $11.7 million on the extinguishment of $37.5 million of high-cost debt.
- Cash and marketable securities on hand was $182.7 million as of December 31, 2021, which included an outlay of approximately $17 million in connection with the unfunded portion of the Company’s acquisition of ZFS Creston on December 29, 2021.
Ingredients Segment
- Revenues for the segment were $90.7 million, an increase of $32.1 million, or 55%. Excluding the $14.1 million contribution from the barley business, which was divested in October 2020, revenues grew 104%. 2021 was the introductory year for the Company’s proprietary soybeans, soybean oil and soybean meal products from the 2020 crop, which generated revenues of approximately $38 million compared to $6 million in 2020. In addition, adverse weather conditions drove higher average selling prices for yellow pea ingredients.
- Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was a loss of $29.6 million, an increase in loss of $21.6 million. The cost to introduce new products, startup costs for the acquired soy crush facility in Seymour, Indiana, and higher research and development costs to support existing and future products impacted the year over year results.
Fresh Segment
- Revenues for the segment were $56.3 million, an increase of $1.0 million, or 2%. An increase in volume sold was nearly offset by lower average selling prices. The U.S. fresh produce industry experienced an oversupply as a result of higher regional and ex-U.S. crop yields.
- Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $3.1 million, which was a decline in segment profitability of $3.3 million.
Consolidated Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights as Compared to The Same Period of 2020
Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures is on page 9.
- Revenues were $43.7 million, an increase of $20.2 million, or 86%. Revenues increased 95% excluding $1.1 million in revenues from the barley business divested in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by sales of proprietary soybeans, soybean oil and soybean meal, and higher average selling prices on yellow peas. Partially offsetting these increases was the impact of lower average selling prices of fresh produce.
- Gross loss and gross loss margin were $1.9 million and (4)%, respectively. The positive impact from the favorable market for yellow pea ingredients was offset by lower average selling prices for fresh produce, higher than planned transportation costs, initial startup costs of the Seymour facility, and losses generated by the commercial launch of the proprietary soy ingredients. In the prior year, the barley operation generated $0.2 million in gross profit.
- Reported net loss was $42.2 million compared to a net loss of $25.4 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $29.6 million compared to a loss of $16.7 million.
Company Milestones
Benson Hill completed several important milestones in 2021 to establish the foundation to execute the Company’s strategy for growth.
Technology
The Company achieved its goal to double its data acquisition, as well as add important data layers to its CropOS® innovation engine. The Crop Accelerator became fully operational and has dramatically increased the capacity for and speed of product pipeline innovation. Advancements in the yellow pea program led to validation of a pea protein concentrate product specification, which is a critical milestone on the Company’s path to introduce the first proprietary yellow pea crop in 2024 and commence commercialization in 2025 for a more nutrient dense and more sustainable pea protein concentrate.
Farmer Engagement
Benson Hill contracted and successfully harvested 70,000 acres of proprietary soybean crop, with results exceeding expectations for nutrient density and the successful completion of the Company’s largest field data collection effort to date. The launch of the Benson Hill Food System Innovators and Plant for Protein™ programs helped to strengthen farmer partner relationships. As a result, the Company achieved its 2022 soy contracting goal earlier than expected with returning farmers increasing their acre commitments by an average of over 20%.
Commercial
The Company has built an experienced Ingredients operations and go-to-market team. The launch of TruVail™, a new line of domestically sourced, non-GMO plant-based protein ingredients with sustainability benefits, established a portfolio of soy ingredient products for the food market. Furthering the commercialization efforts is the integrated business model enabled by the acquisition of the Creston, Iowa operation for food-grade ingredient production. In addition, the Company established a commercial collaboration with Riverence, the largest land-based producer of steelhead and rainbow trout in North America, to enhance the sustainability of aquaculture supply chains using Benson Hill’s Ultra-High Protein soy ingredients under its Bright Day™ brand.
2022 Outlook
Benson Hill expects consolidated revenues to be in the range of $315 million to $350 million, which represents year-over-year growth of over 100%. Ingredients segment revenues are expected in the range of $250 million to $275 million, representing total and organic (excluding legacy, non-proprietary revenues from Creston) year-over-year growth of more than 175% and 65%, respectively. A significant contributor to organic revenue growth is expected from the Company’s proprietary soy ingredient portfolio with revenues of $70 to $80 million, approximately double what was achieved in 2021. Revenue from legacy activity at the Creston facility is anticipated to be $90 million to $100 million. Revenues for the Fresh segment are expected to increase to $65 million to $75 million.
Consolidated gross profit is expected to be in the range of $9 million to $13 million with gross margin improvement over 2021 because of expected sales of a broader soy portfolio and a reduction of high-cost third-party tolling expense. The Company expects price stabilization in the Fresh segment resulting in high single digit gross margins, which will remain substantially below historical levels.
The Company expects a net loss of $148 million to $153 million and adjusted EBITDA to be a loss of $80 million to $85 million, which is a slightly greater loss than in 2021.
Finally, the Company expects use of cash to moderate in 2022 due to higher gross margins, lower Capex requirements and cost management efforts.
Capital Formation
Today, Benson Hill also announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with certain investors for a PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) offering of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock, which delivered approximately $85 million in gross proceeds. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the transaction to help fund its ongoing business growth, namely in its Ingredients segment.
Mr. Crisp continued, “We’re pleased to have raised this additional financing, which enables us to continue executing on our plans for growth and solidify our position as a leader in the plant-based food movement. We evaluated a number of potential financing paths and ultimately determined that this agreement was the best path forward to position the business for continued success. We are grateful for the support from existing and new investors who understand the significant role we are positioned to play in advancing the food system. This is an exciting time at Benson Hill, and we remain confident in our ability to create value for our customers, farmers partners, consumers and shareholders by delivering food made better from the beginning.”
The definitive agreements define the issuance and sale of 26,150,000 units at a purchase price of $3.25 per unit in a private placement. Each unit consisted of one share of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and a warrant to purchase one-third of one share of the Company’s common stock. In the aggregate, 8,716,661 shares of the Company’s common stock are underlying the warrants.
The warrants have an exercise price of $3.90 per share of common stock (subject to customary adjustments), were exercisable upon issuance, and will expire on March 25, 2027. Each warrant is redeemable by the Company for $0.10 upon the Company’s common stock trading greater than $9.75 per share for 20 of 30 consecutive trading days.
The aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of the offering were approximately $85 million. The offering closed on March 25, 2022.
Webcast
A webcast of the conference call will begin at 8:30 am ET today. The link to participate is available here.
About Benson Hill
Benson Hill moves food forward with the CropOS® platform, a cutting-edge food innovation engine that combines data science and machine learning with biology and genetics. Benson Hill empowers innovators to unlock nature’s genetic diversity from plant to plate, with the purpose of creating nutritious, great-tasting food and ingredient options that are both widely accessible and sustainable. More information can be found at bensonhill.com or on Twitter at @bensonhillinc.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In this press release, the Company includes non-GAAP performance measures. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures to facilitate management’s financial and operational decision-making, including evaluation of the Company’s historical operating results. The Company’s management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating the Company’s operating performance and are similar measures reported by publicly listed U.S. competitors, and regularly used by securities analysts, institutional investors, and other interested parties in analyzing operating performance and prospects. These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of the Company’s operations that, when viewed with GAAP results and the reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, may provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting the Company’s business. By providing these non-GAAP measures, the Company’s management intends to provide investors with a meaningful, consistent comparison of the Company’s performance for the periods presented. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered supplemental to, and not a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s definition of these non-GAAP measures may differ from similarly titled measures of performance used by other companies in other industries or within the same industry.
Because non-GAAP financial measures exclude the effect of items that will increase or decrease the Company’s reported results of operations, management strongly encourages investors to review the Company’s consolidated financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and the Company’s definition of these non-GAAP measures is included in the tables accompanying this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or the Company’s future financial or operating performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding: the Company’s currently expected guidance regarding its full year 2022 consolidated revenues, revenues for its proprietary soy portfolio, incremental revenues from legacy activity at the Creston facility, segment revenues, gross profit, gross margins, net loss and adjusted EBITDA, and cash usage; the anticipated benefits of the PIPE transaction and the capital raised thereby to the Company and its stockholders; financial or other information based upon or otherwise incorporating judgments or estimates relating to future performance, events or expectations; the Company’s strategies and plans for growth; the Company’s, positioning, resources, capabilities, and expectations for future performance; estimates and forecasts of financial and other performance metrics; projections of market opportunity; the Company’s outlook and financial and other guidance; and management’s strategy and plans for growth. In some cases, the reader can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “may,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “predict,” or similar words. Such forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions made by Benson Hill as of the date hereof and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the Company’s ability to achieve anticipated benefits of recent business combinations, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and achieve growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers, and retain its management and key employees; the ability to deploy capital raised in the PIPE transaction in a manner that furthers Benson Hill’s growth strategy, as well as the general ability to execute the Company’s business plans; the transition to becoming a public company; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are also subject to the risks and other issues described above under “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures,” which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations included in the Company’s forward-looking statements included in this press release. Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward looking statements will be achieved. There may be additional risks about which the Company is presently unaware or that the Company currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Benson Hill expressly disclaim any duty to update these forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law.
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Contacts
Investors: Ruben Mella: (314) 714-6313 / rmella@bensonhill.com
Media: Melanie Bernds: (314) 605-6363 / mbernds@bensonhill.com
