Herrmann has more than 35 years of
experience in the seed industry including as CEO of AgReliant
Genetics and various VP positions with Monsanto
LONGMONT, Colo., June 26,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed Company
(Nasdaq: SANW), a global agricultural company, today
announced the appointment of seed industry veteran Mark Herrmann as Chief Executive Officer,
effective July 1, 2023, following the
planned retirement of current CEO, Mark
Wong. Wong will continue to serve as a member of S&W's
Board of Directors.
"We are excited to announce the appointment of Mark Herrmann, one of the agricultural seed
industry's leading executives, as S&W's new CEO," commented
Alan Willits, Chairman of S&W.
"Mark has a strong track record building and growing seed
businesses into crop leadership positions, with a specific focus on
trait technology. We look forward to his leadership as we continue
to drive value in S&W's strong platform of assets."
Herrmann has more than 35 years of experience in the seed
industry, including as the Chief Executive Officer of AgReliant
Genetics LLC, the 3rd largest North American Seed Corn
company and leader in Soybeans and other supporting crops,
headquartered in Westfield,
Indiana from January 2016 to
July 2020. From 1999 to 2016,
Herrmann held various positions at Monsanto Company and its
subsidiaries including as Vice President North America Vegetable
Seed, Vice President US Technology Development and Licensing,
President of Corn States LLC, Director Eastern US and Director
Monsanto US Seed and Trait Business. Herrmann joined the Monsanto
Company through the acquisition of DEKALB Genetics Corporation in 1998, where he
began his career in the seed business in 1984 with leadership roles
in sales, sales management, marketing and product management.
Mark Herrmann said, "I am honored
to have the opportunity to lead S&W as we embark on an exciting
future for the company. I look forward to leveraging my career
experiences in the seed business to bring continued positive impact
to our customers, employees and shareholders."
Since January 2021, Herrmann has
served as president and founder of Acumen Seed Executive Consulting
LLC, a seed executive consulting firm. He currently serves on the
Advisory Board of EarthSense, Inc., a private agricultural robotics
company based in Champaign,
Illinois. He has been extensively involved with the American
Seed Trade Association, serving as a member of its Board from 2009
to 2020, a member of its Executive Board from 2015 to 2020, and as
Chairman from 2016 to 2017. Herrmann also served on the NCGA
Advisory Council AIG from 2008 to 2010. Mr. Herrmann holds a BS in
Agronomy from Western Illinois
University.
Willits continued, "We want to thank Mark Wong for his strong strategic leadership
over the past six years. During this time, S&W expanded its
crop portfolio through two strategic acquisitions, developed and
commercialized innovative trait technologies in sorghum, and
entered S&W into an exciting partnership with Shell for
renewable fuel production. We look forward to his continued
guidance as a member of the S&W board of directors."
Fiscal 2023 Guidance Reiterated
S&W is reiterating its previously issued guidance for fiscal
2023 revenue and adjusted EBITDA. The Company expects fiscal 2023
revenue to be within a range of $65.0
million to $75.0 million,
compared to fiscal 2022 revenue of $71.4
million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of
$(12.0) million to $(8.0) million for fiscal 2023, compared to
adjusted EBITDA of $(23.8) million in
fiscal 2022.
About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W
Seed Company is a global multi-crop, middle-market agricultural
company headquartered in Longmont,
Colorado. S&W's vision is to be the world's preferred
proprietary seed company which supplies a range of forage and
specialty crop products that supports the growing global demand for
animal proteins and healthier consumer diets. S&W is a global
leader in proprietary alfalfa, grain and forage sorghum and pasture
seeds, with significant research and development, production and
distribution capabilities. S&W is currently focused on
commercializing stevia products, entering the camelina market and
developing products to address unmet market needs through
high-value improved traits in its crops. more information, please
visit www.swseedco.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to guidance for expected fiscal 2023 revenue,
calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of
America ("GAAP"), S&W has provided guidance for expected
fiscal 2023 adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP measure. S&W
uses non-GAAP financial measures internally to facilitate
period-to-period comparisons and analysis of its operating
performance and liquidity, and believes they are useful to
investors as a supplement to GAAP measures in analyzing, trending
and benchmarking the performance and value of its business.
However, these measures are not intended to be a substitute for
those reported in accordance with GAAP. These measures may be
different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies,
even when similar terms are used to identify such measures. S&W
has not reconciled expected fiscal 2023 adjusted EBITDA to net
income (loss) for the same period because the reconciling line
items that impact net income (loss), including interest expense,
non-cash stock-based compensation, and foreign currency (gain)
loss, among others, are uncertain or out of S&W's control and
cannot be reasonably predicted. The actual amount of these items
during fiscal 2023 will have a significant impact on net income
(loss). Accordingly, a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net
income (loss) is not available without unreasonable efforts.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such
forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
"Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans,
results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as
"anticipates," "believe," "expected," "may," "future," "plans,"
"should" or "will." Forward-looking statements in this release
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: our ability
to drive value in our platform of assets and our expectations
regarding future performance; Mr. Herrmann's anticipated
contributions to our business, including by driving a positive
impact to our customers, employees and shareholders; Mr. Wong's
continued guidance as a member of our board of directors; and our
guidance on revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2023. You are cautioned
that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and
uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or
results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties
related to: the effects of macroeconomic events, such as the
COVID-19 pandemic, and uncertain market conditions, such as
inflation and supply chain disruptions, on our business and
operations; the sufficiency of our cash and access to capital in
order to meet our liquidity needs, including our ability to pay our
growers as our payment obligations come due; our need to comply
with the financial covenants included in our loan agreements,
refinance certain of our credit facilities and raise additional
capital in the future and our ability to continue as a "going
concern"; our potential transactions under negotiation may not
result in consummated transactions and our recently completed
transactions may not yield the anticipated benefits of such
transactions; changes in market conditions, including any
unexpected decline in commodity prices, may harm our results of
operations; changes in the competitive landscape and the
introduction of competitive products may negatively impact our
results of operations; our business and strategic initiatives may
not achieve the expected results; previously experienced logistical
challenges in shipping and transportation of our products may
become amplified, delaying our ability to recognize revenue and
decreasing our gross margins; and the risks associated with our
ability to successfully optimize and commercialize our business.
These and other risks are identified in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation,
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2022 and in other filings subsequently
made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date on which they were made and are based on
management's assumptions and estimates as of such date. We do not
undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information,
the occurrence of future events or otherwise.
Company Contact:
S&W Seed Company
Phone: (720) 593-3570
www.swseedco.com
Investor Contact:
Robert Blum
Lytham Partners, LLC
Phone: (602) 889-9700
sanw@lythampartners.com
www.lythampartners.com
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