Star Metro - GLG Life Tech Corporation Reports 2025 First Quarter Financial Results

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

The Company reported revenues of $3.2 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $3.5 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2024. This 8% decrease was attributable in part to a decrease in unit prices on many of the Company's products, particularly for the Company's largest customer amidst a competitive pricing landscape in the overall stevia market. The relative decrease in revenues was also attributable to a base effect arising from an atypical increase in orders in early 2024.

The Company continues its efforts to closely manage its SG&A expenses, reducing SG&A by $0.2 million or 44% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the first quarter of 2024.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company had net loss attributable to the Company from continuing operations of $3.2 million, a decrease in net loss of $1.2 million over the comparable period in 2024 ($4.4 million). The Company reported a net loss per share from continuing operations of $0.08 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to a net loss per share of $0.11 for the first quarter of 2024.

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS

2025 AGM Voting Results

The Company held its Annual General and Special Meeting (the "Shareholder Meeting") on May 22, 2025. The shareholders voted in all five nominated directors, with favorable votes for each exceeding 99%. Dr. Luke Zhang continues as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Brian Palmieri continues as Vice Chairman of the Board. Madame Liu Yingchun, Mr. Simon Springett, and Mr. David Bishop continue as directors of the Company. (Mr. David Bishop was added as a fifth director by the Board of Directors on March 27, 2025.)

Disposition of Runhai Facility

One of the matters voted on at the Shareholder Meeting was the transfer of the Company's Anhui Runhai Joint Stock Technology Co., Ltd. ("Runhai") subsidiary to Fengyang Xiaogang Hongzhang Health Industrial Park Co. Ltd ("Xiaogang"). Given that the Company has a long-term exclusive contract manufacturing agreement with Qingdao Honghongyuan Health Industry Technology Co., Ltd. ("HHY") - which is staffed almost entirely by the Company's formerly employed production staff/management and utilizes the Company's formerly owned "Runde" facility to produce products for the Company and its customers, all under the production standards mandated by the Company - Management determined that it would be in the interests of the Company and its shareholders to transfer the Runhai subsidiary to a third party.

As described in particular in the Management Proxy Circular, dated April 28, 2025, and distributed to shareholders, the transfer of the subsidiary (including assets, other than intellectual property rights, and debts) for a nominal amount to a third party both brings net improvement to the Company's balance sheet and reduces the Company's exposure to potentially adverse action that could be taken by the government in China towards foreign-held assets. With shareholder's nearly unanimously approving the transfer (votes for the transfer exceeded 99.99%) at the May 22, 2025, meeting, Management expects to reflect the results of the transfer in its second quarter interim financial filings.

The Company will continue to maintain its production focus through the operations at HHY. Given that the production operations at HHY are in all but name essentially identical to the Company's former production operations at its Runde facility, with HHY committed to adhering to the Company's production requirements, the Company has been able to seamlessly service the needs of its global customers with ample headroom to grow its sales volumes. Opting for a contract manufacturing arrangement with HHY (a purely Chinese entity), instead of maintaining direct ownership of Chinese facilities, has enabled the Company to bring major improvements to its balance sheet and significantly mitigate risk of actions that could be taken by the Chinese government at a time where macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have in recent months become more chaotic.

Company Outlook

In recent years, management focused particularly on mitigating the losses - especially from a cash or EBITDA perspective - that the Company suffered over the last several years and to ameliorate the Company's financial position. As a result of those sustained losses, the Company has lacked the cash necessary to fully fund the business operations and strategic product initiatives. The Company continues to manage its cash flows carefully to mitigate risk of insolvency and Management's efforts have been successful in improving the Company's performance, particularly its cash flows, with the Company regularly producing positive EBITDA (on the other hand, interest charges, most of which continue to be accrued rather than paid, continue to have significant impact on the Company's income statement and balance sheet). As a result of these efforts, management has been successful in improving the Company's cash flows. Nevertheless, without an infusion of cash in the months ahead, the Company may not be able to realize its strategic plans and could eventually cease to be a going concern.

A factor that continues to contribute to the Company's financial situation is the competitive price pressure in the stevia market over the last few years that has reduced mainstream "Reb A" products (such as Reb A 80 and Reb A 97) to the lowest price levels in years; less mainstream products such as "Reb M" have also more recently been facing significant price pressure. Monk fruit prices have also become highly competitive in the marketplace. To maintain margins at sustainable levels, the Company has focused on improving production efficiencies, and continues to strive for a mix of products that is weighted more heavily on higher margin, specialty products, and has focused more on higher margin direct sales.

To address operating cash requirements, management previously negotiated revolving loan facilities with third parties for working capital purposes. Management continues to work with third parties for its working capital needs. This has been a significant departure from the Company's prior practice of arranging loans with related parties to fund the Company's operations and the Company has been successful in securing and managing these loan facilities.

Further, the Company's focus on maintaining positive cash flow led the Company to take decisive steps in the last few years to reduce its SG&A costs as well as its production costs. In that time period, both its North American operations and Chinese operations significantly reduced SG&A costs. For many years, the Company's production capacity had been far greater than its projected order levels, as it had then sought rapid increases in orders for Reb A products. Instead, the Company focused on "right-sizing" the Chinese operations - i.e., to optimize staffing and production planning to meet the Company's projected production requirements while retaining the ability to accommodate growth in future order volumes - management made significant progress in this area. These efforts have enabled the Company to sell its goods at more competitive and/or more profitable prices, although the competitive price pressures remain strong.

Management has also availed itself of opportunities to improve the Company's balance sheet - to improve the Company's working capital position and to alleviate the debt burden that has impeded the Company's progress for many years now. In 2020, management realized the sale of one of its two idle assets; the sale of the "Runhao" facility resulted in significant debt reduction. In 2023, the Company also realized significant debt reduction through the bankruptcy liquidation of its other long-idled asset, "Runyang". Shareholders, on May 22, 2025 (and as noted further above), approved the transfer of the Company's Runhai facility on terms similar to the previously consummated transfer of the Company's Runde facility. The Company has thereby removed Chinese bank debt from its books, with only long-held related party debt and third-party working capital loans reflected as debt on its balance sheet.

Revenue trends have been and remain encouraging, as Management's efforts to increase sales have brought generally increasing revenues in the last two years . Further, these efforts have resulted in positive EBITDA the last two completed fiscal years. Increasing revenues is important to the Company's goals of maintaining and improving positive cash flow and positive EBITDA.

Against this backdrop of sales growth, the Company has faced significant regulatory hurdles. It is currently cease-traded, as a result of its delay in filing its 2023 full-year financials (since filed, on June 28, 2024), pursuant to a British Columbia Securities Commission order (the failure-to-file cease trade order or "FFCTO"). As a result of that filing delay, the Company was also delayed in filing its interim first quarter financials for 2024 (filed on July 23, 2024). Further, the Company was under a delisting review initiated by the TSX, on the basis of the Company's share price and market capitalization remaining lower than the TSX's requirements, as well as the Company's sustained losses over the years and negative working capital situation, that as noted above, culminated in a decision by the TSX to delist the Company's shares effective close of business September 3, 2024.

The Company has since transferred its listing to the NEX exchange, where it is currently listed (as of September 4, 2024). While the FFCTO had been in effect during the transition to the NEX exchange, the Company was recently notified by the BCSC (on May 21, 2025) that the FFCTO has been lifted and Management is now working on the steps necessary for the Company's issue to resume trading on the NEX exchange.

Although the regulatory hurdles are substantial, Management continues to have a positive outlook, at least in the near term, on the Company's revenues, particularly compared to 2023 and 2024, as sales volumes remain at elevated levels approaching the end of 2024 and entering 2025. As Management seeks to have the Company's stock trading again, Management continues to focus on maintaining and increasing revenues, notwithstanding pricing pressures, as well as on maintaining and improving margins and increase cash flows.

Cease-Trade Status

As noted in the Outlook section above, while the Company has been cease-traded since April of 2024, the FFCTO was revoked on May 21, 2025. Management is now working on the remaining steps necessary for the Company's issue to resume trading on the NEX exchange.

SELECTED FINANCIALS

As noted above, the complete set of financial statements and management discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2025, are available on SEDAR and on the Company's website at www.glglifetech.com.

Results from Operations

The following results from operations have been derived from and should be read in conjunction with the Company's annual consolidated financial statements for 2024 and the condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025.

Revenue

Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025, decreased by 8% to $3.2 million, a $0.3 million decrease compared to $3.5 million for the same period in 2024. This 8% decrease was attributable in part to a decrease in unit prices on many of the Company's products, particularly for the Company's largest customer amidst a competitive pricing landscape in the overall stevia market. The relative decrease in revenues was also attributable to a base effect arising from an atypical increase in orders in early 2024. International (ex-China) sales comprised 100% of revenues in the first quarter (100% in first quarter of 2024).

Cost of Sales

For the three months ended March 31, 2025, the cost of sales decreased to $2.7 million, compared to a cost of sales of $2.9 million for the same period last year (a decrease in cost of sales of 5%). Cost of sales as a percentage of revenues was 86% for the first quarter, a three-percentage point increase compared to the first quarter of 2024 (83%). This three-percentage point increase in cost of sales as a percentage of revenues is attributable in part to a decrease in unit selling prices in the first quarter of 2025, relative to the first quarter of 2024, that was driven primarily by competitive pricing pressures, despite raw material costs for much of the Company's product portfolio either remaining static or increasing.

Gross Profit (Loss)

Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2025, decreased by 24% to $0.5 million, compared to $0.6 million in gross profit for the same period last year. This 24% decrease in gross profit was driven by the decrease in revenues for the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024 as well as by the decrease in unit prices attributable to increasingly competitive pricing in the stevia marketplace. The gross profit margin was 14% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 17% in the first quarter of 2024, for the same reasons as described above for the year-over-year comparison of cost of sales as a percentage of revenues.

Selling, General and Administration Expenses

Selling, General and Administration ("SG&A") expenses include sales, marketing, general and administration costs ("G&A"), stock-based compensation, and depreciation and amortization expenses on G&A fixed assets. A breakdown of SG&A expenses into these components is presented below:

G&A expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025, decreased by $0.2 million to $0.3 million, compared to $0.5 million in the same period in 2024. The $0.2 million decrease in G&A expenses for the first quarter of 2025 was driven primarily by a reduction in consulting fees. G&A-related depreciation and amortization expenses were $nil million for each of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.

Net Loss Attributable to the Company

For the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company had net loss attributable to the Company from continuing operations of $3.2 million, a decrease in net loss of $1.2 million over the comparable period in 2024 ($4.4 million). This $1.2 million decrease is attributable to decreases in (1) foreign exchange loss ($1.1 million) and (2) SG&A expenses ($0.2 million), which were offset by (3) a decrease in gross profit ($0.1 million).

Quarterly Basic and Diluted Loss per Share

The basic and diluted loss per share from continuing operations was $0.08 for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared with a basic and diluted net loss per share from continuing operations of $0.11 for the comparable period in 2024.

Additional Information

Additional information relating to the Company, including our Annual Information Form, is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Additional information relating to the Company is also available on our website (www.glglifetech.com).

For further information, please contact:
Simon Springett, Investor Relations
Phone: +1 (604) 669-2602 ext. 101
Fax: +1 (604) 662-8858
Email: [email protected]

About GLG Life Tech Corporation

GLG Life Tech Corporation is a global leader in the supply of high-purity zero calorie natural sweeteners including stevia and monk fruit extracts used in food and beverages. GLG's vertically integrated operations, which incorporate our Fairness to Farmers program and emphasize sustainability throughout, cover each step in the stevia and monk fruit supply chains including non-GMO seed and seedling breeding, natural propagation, growth and harvest, proprietary extraction and refining, marketing and distribution of the finished products. Additionally, to further meet the varied needs of the food and beverage industry, GLG, through its Naturals+ product line, supplies a host of complementary ingredients reliably sourced through its supplier network in China. For further information, please visit www.glglifetech.com.

Forward-looking statements: This press release may contain certain information that may constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or words and phrases that state or indicate that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.

While the Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations about future events, the statements are not guarantees of the Company's future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include amongst others the effects of general economic conditions, consumer demand for our products and new orders from our customers and distributors, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government authorities, uncertainties associated with legal proceedings and negotiations, industry supply levels, competitive pricing pressures and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. Specific reference is made to the risks set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form for the financial year ended December 31, 2024. In light of these factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur.

Further, although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

As there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: GLG Life Tech Corporation

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

T. MacDonald--SMC