Select Sands Reports Third Quarter 2017 Results

--- Frac and Industrial Sand Sales Volumes Increase More Than 115% Over Q2 2017 Levels ---

--- Generates Positive Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA ---

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Select Sands Corp. (“Select Sands” or the “Company”) (TSXV:SNS) (OTC:SLSDF) today announced financial and operational results for the third quarter of 2017 and the filing of its 2017 third quarter financial statements and associated management’s discussion and analysis on www.sedar.com. All results are stated in Canadian dollars (CAD) unless noted otherwise as US dollars (USD). The average currency conversion used for the nine months ending September 30, 2017 was $1 USD = $1.3074 CAD.

Third Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights

• Revenues grew 148% to $6.6 million from $3.1 million in the second quarter 2017. Contributing to the increase was the combination of higher sales volumes for frac sand and increased average sales pricing for frac and industrial sand.  
• Gross margin for the Company’s Sand Operations was $1.4 million as compared to $0.8 million in the preceding quarter – a 75% sequential quarterly increase.  
• Reported comprehensive net income of $0.5 million, or $0.01 per basic and diluted common share, versus a second quarter comprehensive loss of $0.8 million, or $0.01 basic and diluted loss per common share. These results included non-cash share-based compensation of $(0.3) million and $0.6 million for the third and second quarters, respectively.
• Generated adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $0.4 million compared to a $0.3 million loss for the second quarter 2017 – more than a 160% improvement quarter-over-quarter.
• As of September 30, 2017, cash and cash equivalents were $3.2 million, inventory on hand was $2.6 million, accounts receivable was $3.4 million, and working capital was $7.3 million.  Subsequent to the third quarter, Select Sands established a USD $2.0 million line of credit that charges 5.25% per annum in interest on any draws made and must be repaid in full by October 13, 2018.  No draws have yet been made against the line of credit.

(1)    Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure and is described and reconciled to net loss in the table under “Non-IFRS Financial Measures”.

Zig Vitols, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The third quarter represented another period of improved financial performance and significant progress on multiple fronts for Select Sands, and I cannot be more pleased with our results.  It was our first quarter to generate positive net income and adjusted EBITDA, which is outstanding given we only began commercial production at the start of this year. Our success is a direct result of our dedicated employees, and I want to thank them for their extraordinary efforts as we continue to build a business designed to further capitalize on a positive industry backdrop.”

Third Quarter 2017 Operational and Recent Highlights

• Third quarter 2017 sales volumes for total frac and industrial sand increased 117% from the second quarter:

• During the third quarter, Select Sands made continued progress on further enhancing the logistics capabilities of its operations. This included starting construction on a new road from the facility that will reduce transportation costs as it will provide shorter distance and direct access from the facility to a recently rebuilt multi-lane highway. Since the new access road will reduce travel on county roads, it will allow the option to increase operating hours as required. 
•  To ensure optimal inventory management, Select Sands continues to produce at levels consistent with its ability to deliver product, which is primarily by rail. During the third quarter, the Company leveraged its recently expanded offsite rail car storage facility to improve the sequencing of trains. Complementing these efforts, the Company continued to work closely with interstate and short-line railroads to further enhance service through increased efficiencies and loading capabilities.
• Supporting it logistics efforts, the Company recently received its first purchase order to ship product by barge. Under the terms of the agreement, Select Sands will ship 10,000 tons of frac sand to the Northeastern United States for use in the Utica and Marcellus shale basins.
• On October 19, 2017, Select Sands announced that it had recently entered into an agreement for the option to purchase 223 acres of property in Newark, Arkansas, to serve as a platform to support the Company’s near- and long-term operational and capacity expansion initiatives. Under the terms of the agreement, Select Sands may exercise the option at any time on or before October 3, 2020, for a total purchase price of approximately USD $1.6 million (including the value of any payments made by the Company in advance of exercising the option). Highlights and features of the property include:
  • Ideally located relative to Select Sand’s Sandtown and Bell Farm sand mines;
  • Sufficient acreage for a new-build facility designed to process three to five million annual tons of frac and industrial sand;
  • Access to rail with the ability load a 150-railcar unit train on a loop track for enhanced loading of finished products;
  • Elevated above the flood plain allowing for uninterrupted operations; and
  • Sufficient access to natural gas, three-phase electricity and water.

Financial Summary

The following table includes summarized financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2017, June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017:

Select Sands Corp.
Summarized Consolidated Interim Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(Expressed in Canadian Dollars) (Unaudited)

(1)    Excludes depreciation. Includes non-cash share-based compensation of ($283,234), $633,910 and $2,196,418 for the third, second and first quarters, respectively.
(2)   Excludes depreciation, depletion and amortization; non-cash share-based compensation; gain on sale of equipment; and, loss from flooding at plant. See table under “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” for reconciliation to net loss.

Outlook

“We anticipate growing demand for our Northern White frac sand product due to its premium quality and the strategic location of our operations relatively close to the some of the most prolific producing oil and gas basins in the U.S., including the Permian, Eagle Ford, SCOOP/STACK/Woodford, Haynesville, Utica, Marcellus and DJ,” concluded Mr. Vitols. “To better serve this need, we remain laser-focused on enhancing our logistics capabilities. As part of these efforts, our ability to now also deliver by barge provides important optionality as we target selling into additional oil and gas basins. It also moves us closer to our goal of reaching our facility’s maximum annual production rate of 600,000 tons and provides further visibility for product deliveries as we evaluate plans for the potential future development of a new, much larger production facility on the acreage for which we recently entered into a purchase option.”

Elliott A. Mallard, PG of Kleinfelder is the qualified person as per the NI-43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call on Monday, November 13, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern to discuss its third quarter 2017 results. To access the conference call, callers in North America may dial toll free 1-855-669-9657 and callers outside North America may dial 1-412-542-4135. Please call ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time to ensure a proper connection and ask to be joined into the Select Sands call.

The conference call will also be available for playback approximately one hour after the call on the Company’s website at www.selectsandscorp.com.

About Select Sands Corp.

Select Sands Corp. is an industrial Silica Product company developing its 100% owned, 520-acre Northern White, Tier-1, silica sands project located in Arkansas, U.S.A. Select Sands’ Arkansas property has a logistical advantage of being significantly closer to oil and gas markets located in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Louisiana than Wisconsin sources. The Tier-1 reference above is a classification of frac sand developed by PropTester, Inc., an independent laboratory specializing in the research and testing of products utilized in hydraulic fracturing & cement operations, following ISO 13503-2:2006/API RP19C:2008 standards.

Select Sands’ Sandtown project has NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resources of 42.0MM tons (TetraTech Report; February, 2016) and Bell Farm has Inferred Mineral Resources of 49.6MM tons (Kleinfelder Report; April, 2017). Both deposits are considered Northern White finer-grade sand deposits of 40-70 Mesh and 100 Mesh.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company.  Information and statements which are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release relate to enhancements in logistics capabilities, continued growth in frac sand sales volumes, opportunity for increased shipments by barge, and further capacity expansion. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

Contact

Please visit www.selectsandscorp.com  or call:
Zigurds Vitols
President & CEO
Phone: (604) 639-4533

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Select Sands Corp.
Consolidated Interim Statements of Financial Position
(Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
(Unaudited)

Select Sands Corp.
Consolidated Interim Statements of Cash Flows                                            
(Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
(Unaudited)

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The following information is included for convenience only.  Generally, a non-IFRS financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, cash flows or financial position that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS.  Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance (nor does it have a standardized meanings) under IFRS.  In evaluating non-IFRS financial measures, investors should consider that the methodology applied in calculating such measures may differ among companies and analysts.

The Company uses both IFRS and certain non-IFRS measures to assess operational performance and as a component of employee remuneration.  Management believes certain non-IFRS measures provide useful supplemental information to investors in order that they may evaluate Select Sand’s financial performance using the same measures as management.  Management believes that, as a result, the investor is afforded greater transparency in assessing the financial performance of the Company.  These non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, nor superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before finance costs, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash share-based compensation, loss from flooding at its plant, and gain on sale of fixed assets. Select Sands uses Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental financial measure of its operational performance.  Management believes Adjusted EBITDA to be an important measure as they exclude the effects of items that primarily reflect the impact of long-term investment and financing decisions, rather than the performance of the Company’s day-to-day operations.  As compared to net income according to IFRS, this measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in the Company's business, the charges associated with impairments, termination costs or Proposed Transaction costs.  Management evaluates such items through other financial measures such as capital expenditures and cash flow provided by operating activities.  The Company believes that these measurements are useful to measure a company’s ability to service debt and to meet other payment obligations or as a valuation measurement.

Indicated Resources Disclosure

The Company advises that the production decision on the Sandtown deposit (the Company’s current “Sand Operations”) was not based on a Feasibility Study of mineral reserves, demonstrating economic and technical viability, and, as a result, there may be an increased uncertainty of achieving any level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, including increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit.  Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure.  There is no guarantee that production will occur as anticipated or that anticipated production costs will be achieved.