MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, US — Solid performances across all its operations propelled Ceres Global Ag Corp. to a strong third-quarter and nine-month performance.

Net income in the third quarter ended March 31 was $912,000, equal to 3¢ per share on the common stock, which compared with a loss of $78,000 in the same period a year ago. Net revenue totaled $269.63 million, up 32% from $203.91 million a year ago.

For the nine months ended March 31, net income was $13.71 million, or 45¢ per share, up sharply from $311,000, or 1¢ per share, in the same period a year ago. Net revenue totaled $782.79 million, up 42% from $551.28 million.

“In the grain segment, our strong results were once again due to successfully navigating volatile markets, this time, however, doing so in an environment influenced by the war in Ukraine,” Robert W. Day, president and chief executive officer, said during a May 11 conference call with analysts. “In unpredictable circumstances such as this, our traders have kept risk positions relatively small, and they focused on delivering products and services to our customers as prices are high and markets are inverted. Meanwhile, companies have trended toward minimizing inventories and waiting until later than normal to cover their needs. It’s an honor that our customers are relying on Ceres in these challenging times, and I am incredibly proud of our team as they have remained focused and delivered on our customers’ needs.”

Day said Ceres’ seed and processing segment benefited from the expansion of the company’s soybean crush plant in Jordan, Manitoba, Canada, in July 2021. As part of that expansion, the plant’s production capacity was increased by 50%, he said.

“As a result, soybean crush volumes were significantly higher than the same quarter a year ago, however, not quite as high as they would have been had it not been for power outages caused by weather,” he noted. “Nonetheless, the team found a way to get customers what they needed and maximize margins in the process, enabling another strong financial result for the quarter.”

During the third quarter Ceres secured the right to purchase 50% ownership of Berthold Farmers Elevator, LLC, and made headway on two key projects: the expansion of a grain elevator in the Farmers Grain, LLC joint venture in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, US, to be completed in July 2022, and a canola crush project at Northgate, Saskatchewan, Canada.