Cedar Falls, Iowa
September 6, 2001
Ag Services of America, Inc.
(NYSE:ASV - news) today announced that it expects to report
earnings for the three and six months ended August 31, 2001
below prior expectations. The Company expects to report diluted
earnings per share in the range of $0.34 to $0.36 for the second
quarter ended August 31, 2001 as a result of a decline in the
prime lending rate and the effect of an interest rate swap
agreement. Also contributing to the decline in earnings was the
impact of unplanted acres and the change in crops planted by
customers due to the wet weather conditions experienced during
the 2001 planting season.
``Current general agricultural economic conditions have created
a difficult environment to operate in for us as well as our
customers and other agribusinesses. Along with the poor economic
conditions, Fiscal 2002 second quarter and six-month results
were impacted by interest rate declines and wet weather
conditions this spring in much of our primary market area,''
stated Brad D. Schlotfeldt, Senior Executive Officer. ``The
decline in the prime lending rate, which is the base rate used
by the Company to charge interest, has the effect of reducing
earnings on our invested capital and negatively impacting the
interest rate swap agreement that was associated with the $30
million term debt facility entered into last year during the
second quarter. As stated at the end of the first quarter, the
cool wet weather in the spring delayed crop planting and in many
areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, portions of Iowa
and portions of Nebraska. Cool wet
conditions caused many producers to change the type of crops
planted (in some cases resulting in the need of 50% fewer crop
inputs to produce the alternate crop) and to leave a portion of
their acres unplanted. The impact of unplanted acres and changes
in crops planted was more significant than we expected at the
end of the first quarter. The combination of reduced acres
planted, changes in crops planted, and the interest rate swap
agreement coupled with lower interest rates will have a negative
effect on our overall revenues and earnings for Fiscal 2002. We
expect fiscal year revenues to increase in the range of $20 - 30
million over last year's levels and earnings for the year to
range from $1.10 to $1.15 per diluted share.''
Ag Services of America, Inc., which operates
Powerfarm.com, is based
in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and is a leading supplier of input
financing and agricultural inputs, including seed, chemicals,
fertilizer and cash advances to primarily corn and soybean
growers in the U.S. The Company's one-stop shopping business
model includes competitive and flexible financing packages
through its AgriFlex Credit® program combined with the most
comprehensive offering of agricultural inputs from national
sources such as Asgrow, Aventis, BASF, Dekalb, Dow AgroSciences,
DuPont, Garst, Monsanto, Pioneer Hi-Bred, and Syngenta. The
Company also provides ancillary services such as crop insurance,
crop scouting and grain marketing.
AgriFlex Credit is a
registered trademark and Powerfarm.com and Powerfarm Credit are
trademarks of Ag Services of America, Inc. All other trademarks
or product names are the property of their respective owners.
Company news release
N3777
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