ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US — Benson Hill, Inc. reported gross profit of $400,000 for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, a drop of $900,000 from a year ago, and revenues of $32 million, an increase of 13% from last year.

"In the third quarter, we continued to see strong year-over-year revenue growth, particularly in our Ingredients segment, and we are on track to meet or exceed our 2021 revenue guidance of $127 million. The harvesting of our proprietary soybean crop for this year is nearing completion, and farmers are committing now to plant our Ultra-High Protein soybean acres for the 2022 planting season,” said Matt Crisp, chief executive officer of Benson Hill. “In addition, we recently achieved two milestones in the execution of our strategy with the opening of our Crop Accelerator and the startup of our recently acquired Indiana-based soy crush facility. Our momentum continues, and we believe we are positioned to create significant value for our shareholders as the 'picks and shovels' in the rapidly growing plant-based food revolution.

The company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $20.1 million compared to a loss of $12 million a year ago. The company recognized a loss of $11.7 million on the extinguishment of $37.5 million of high-cost debt.

Revenues for the Ingredients segment were $23.1 million, an increase of $5.9 million, or 34%. Excluding the $4.4 million contribution from the barley operations, which was sold in October 2020, revenues grew 80% The performance in the quarter includes the introductory year of proprietary high protein soybeans, soybean oil and soybean meal products from the 2020 crop and higher volumes and average selling prices for commodity yellow pea.

Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was a loss of $5.3 million, an increase in loss by $3.1 million. The introduction of new products, startup costs for the acquired soy crush facility, and higher research and development costs to support existing and future products impacted year over year results.

Revenues for the Fresh segment were $8.8 million, a decrease of $2.1 million, or 19%. The decline in revenue was primarily driven by lower average selling prices and sales volumes. The U.S. produce industry continues to have an oversupply condition as a result of higher regional and ex-U.S. crop yields.

Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $2.4 million, which was a decline of $0.9 million.

Benson Hill opened its state-of-the-art, technology enabled Crop Accelerator facility on time and under budget. The Crop Accelerator aims to help reduce lead times associated with crop innovation by doubling the plant growth cycles per year.

The facility is also expected to provide a more than twenty-fold expansion in testing capacity and incorporate automation and imaging capabilities. This advances the company's breeding programs, particularly in soybean and yellow pea, and is expected to generate additional proprietary data streams for incorporation into the predictive and simulation capabilities in the CropOS technology platform.

The company said the harvest of the 2021 proprietary soybean crop is nearly complete with extensive data collection of protein, yield, phenotypes, soybean composition, soil health, and other variables.

In addition, Benson Hill commenced operations of its soy crush facility in Seymour, Indiana, US. The facility was acquired to help enable the planned commercialization of its proprietary soybean portfolio. The company made investments for the startup of the facility and plans further upgrades for dependable and cost-effective soy crushing. The integrated business model for soy is a critical component to deliver on the rapidly growing demand for plant-based protein ingredients.