BioAmber Reports First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

MONTREAL, May 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - BioAmber Inc. (NYSE: BIOA) (TSX: BIOA), a leader in renewable materials today announced operational and financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Highlights:

• Sales of bio-succinic acid were $2.1 million, a 46% increase over the same period last year.
• There were 7 new clients that began buying bio-succinic acid in the quarter.
• The plant attained a new throughput record, briefly surpassing 70% and saw a further reduction in variable costs relative to the previous quarter.
• Research and Development expenses were $1.6 million for the quarter, a 16% decrease relative to the same period last year.
• On January 27, 2017, the Company raised $20.1 million in gross proceeds from an equity offering, and used the proceeds to reimburse in full all outstanding corporate debt.
• On April 28, 2017, $8.9 million was released from escrow as a result of the automatic exercise of a Special Warrant issued on December 30^th, 2016.
• On May 3, 2017, the Company's shares became eligible for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol BIOA.
• On May 9, 2017, the 8 million warrants that the Company had issued at the time of its initial public offering expired. None of the warrants were exercised prior to their expiry.

"Our first quarter of 2017 witnessed record throughput rates at the plant, combined with incremental decreases in our overall operating costs per unit sold," stated Fabrice Orecchioni, BioAmber's President, Chief Operations Officer and Interim-CEO. "In addition, our recent TSX Listing will provide greater liquidity and depth of distribution for our shareholders and potential new investors", he added.

Q1 2017 Financial Results

Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 were $2.1 million.  The 46% increase relative to the same period last year was driven by an increase in the quantity of bio-succinic acid sold from our Sarnia operations.

Cost of goods sold increased from $3.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 to $4.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, primarily due to an increase in the volume sold partially offset by a reduction in our production costs.

General and administrative expenses increased from $2.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 to $4.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.  This was driven by one-time severance costs in connection with the departure of the CEO and CFO for a total of approximately $1.2 million, and additional non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $1.2 million resulting from accelerated vesting of stock-options associated with the departures.

Research and development expenses were $1.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, down from $1.8 million for the same period last year. This decrease is primarily explained by a reduction in research and development expenses to support the commissioning and start-up of the Sarnia facility. 

Sales and marketing expenses were $642,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, down from $1.2 million for the same period last year. This was due to the expanded commercial role that Mitsui has assumed, particularly in Asia, which allowed the Company to reduce the size of its global commercial team, resulting in a decrease in sales and marketing salaries, benefits and associated costs, including stock-based compensation and travel expenses.

The Company registered financial income of $8.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 as compared to a financial charge of $3.4 million for the same period last year. This variation of $12.3 million was mainly due to the non-cash mark-to-market adjustment change of $12.7 million for the IPO warrants, the June 2009 Warrants, the April 2011 Warrants and the 2017 Warrants. This income was partially offset by issuance costs of $350,000 associated with the 2017 Warrants.

The Company also incurred a $745,000 non-cash gain on debt extinguishment from the renegotiation of our FEDDEV loan, offset by a loss on the Bridging demand loan repayment.

The Company recorded a net income attributable to BioAmber Inc. shareholders of $106,000, or an income of $0.003 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, compared to a net loss of $10.9 million, or a loss of $0.39 per share for the same period last year.

The Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 was $10.5 million, or a loss of $0.31 per share, compared to an Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders of $8.1 million, or a loss of $0.29 per share for the three months ended March 31, 2016.  Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders is a non-GAAP financial metric that excludes (i) the impact of the change in fair value of the IPO, Legacy and 2017 Warrants and (ii) the non-cash gain on debt extinguishment. 

Please refer to Annex A: "Non-GAAP Financial Information—Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders" for more information regarding this non-GAAP financial metric.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

BioAmber will discuss these results on a live audio webcast, which will be available on the Internet to investors, members of the news media and the general public at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on May 9, 2017. To access the webcast of the conference call, go to the company's website, www.bio-amber.com. Audio of the teleconference is also available by dialing: 

North American callers:  +1 (888) 390-0546     International callers:  +1 (416) 764-8688

Teleconference replays will be available through May 16, 2017: Domestic: +1-888-390-0541

International: +1 416-764-8677   Passcode:  007413 #. A replay of the webcast will also be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the live webcast on BioAmber's website, for a period of 30 days.

About BioAmber

BioAmber (NYSE: BIOA) is a renewable materials company. Its innovative technology platform combines biotechnology and catalysis to convert renewable feedstock into building block materials that are used in a wide variety of everyday products including plastics, paints, textiles, food additives and personal care products. For more information visit www.bio-amber.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation, statements related to (i) our production capacity and the ramping-up of our sales for our Sarnia Bio-SA facility, and (ii) the timing of the construction of our next plants, as well as the financing of such plants.  All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements.  These statements often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "seek," "will," "may" or similar expressions.  Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond BioAmber's control.  BioAmber's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. 

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur and the timing of events and circumstances and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  All such statements speak only as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by BioAmber, see disclosures contained in BioAmber's public filings with the SEC including, the "Risk Factors" section of BioAmber's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the recent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

ANNEX A:Non-GAAP Financial Information

Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders

BioAmber presents Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders as a supplemental measure of BioAmber's performance.  Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders is a non-GAAP financial metric that excludes, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, the impact of the change in fair value of the IPO, Legacy Warrants and 2017 Warrants and the non-cash gain on debt extinguishment. Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders excluded, for the three months ended March 31, 2016, the impact of the change in fair value of the IPO warrants and the Legacy Warrants. The above items are excluded from BioAmber's Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders because these items are non-cash in nature, or because the amount and timing of these items are either unpredictable or not driven by current operating results and renders comparisons with prior periods and competitors less meaningful.  BioAmber believes Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders is a useful measure for analysts and investors to evaluate BioAmber's future ongoing performance as this measure allows for a more meaningful comparison of BioAmber's projected cash earnings and performance with its historical results from prior periods and to the results of its competitors.  Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders corresponds more closely to the cash operating income generated from BioAmber's business and allows investors to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting the ongoing cash earnings capabilities of BioAmber's business.

Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders has certain limitations in that it does not take into account the impact of certain expenses to BioAmber's consolidated statements of operations.  In evaluating Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders, you should be aware that in the future BioAmber may incur expenses similar to the adjustments in this presentation. BioAmber's presentation of Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders should not be construed as an inference that BioAmber's future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Adjusted Net Loss Attributable to BioAmber Inc. Shareholders is not a measurement of BioAmber's financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP.

SOURCE BioAmber Inc.