Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ:BIOX) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Are you looking for more as material of a headwind as you faced two years ago? Do you think that’s going to be offset by other variables? Help us kind of frame the outlook here for the next quarter relative to the experience a couple of years ago?

Federico Trucco: Hi, Ben. This is Federico. Thank you for joining us once more, and thanks for the question. I think that we are better prepared than what we were back then, first, because we have a more diversified base today. So we will have, I think, we expect more meaningful contribution from Pro Farm in North America and Europe in the quarter. In terms of the fertilizer impact. That is mostly related to corn planting, and that depends on the rain event that might happen in the upcoming days or weeks. So I think if those rain events that occur and sort of there is a transition from last season corn to layer season corn. We might see a slowdown in the fertilizer sales, but I have to say that we are much better positioned than what we were two years ago when we faced a similar situation. And having had sort of this great start I think, gives us enough of a cushion to deliver the first half revenues and results that we expected to deliver for fiscal year 2023.

Benjamin Klieve: Got it. Okay, very good. Plenty more to talk about, but I’ll pass up the time here. Congratulations on a great quarter and I’ll get back in line. Thanks guys.

Federico Trucco: Thanks.

Operator: Next question comes from Brian Wright from ROTH Capital Partners. Brian, please go ahead. Your line is open.

Brian Wright: Thanks. Good morning. First of all, just wow, that’s all I got to say commentary. Question, on the global minimum targets with the Syngenta agreement where you said the average is $23 million on a yearly basis of the life €“ is that over the first four years, five or the 10-year period? And how to think about like maybe how that minimum target kind of moves from the beginning to the end?

Enrique Lopez Lecube: Hi, Brian. Great to have you in the call and thank you for your initial comments. We feel the same way. So the $23 million average is basically the $230 million that are contractualized at minimum profit overnight of the agreement divided by 10 years. So initially, that number €“ so what we expect in the initial years, while we are still pursuing some of the business ourselves. So this is not starting all at once. And it’s probably be over $23 million average. And then as we move to the later years, it’s going to be above that $23 million average. So that’s the guaranteed profitability under the agreement, obviously, a format. On top of that, if we have sales from the collaboration that exceed those minimum targets, we will be sharing profits at a 50% to 40% rate depending on the geography and the year. So that is basically what we are reflecting with an average number in terms of the Syngenta collaboration.

Brian Wright: Great. And then just a follow-on, if I could. The cash position post the agreement, it’s robust. I know you completed the $5 million share buyback. There seems to be room for potentially more, just any kind of comments along those lines?

Federico Trucco: In terms of the buyback, you mean?

Brian Wright: Correct.

Federico Trucco: Yes. I think we would like to continue to do what we have done in the past, which is take advantage of dislocations in the market and opportunistically exercise the buyback program. If we need to refresh on a monthly basis because we are sort of meeting the $5 million capped every month we will pass to our board permission to do so. But this is kind of a capital allocation decision that needs to provide a level of return that is attractive compared to the other capital allocations that we might have in our business.