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WOBURN, Mass. - April 1, 2024 - Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq:YTEN) ("Yield10" or the "Company"), an agricultural bioscience company, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023.
"In 2023 we successfully executed our plan and achieved several key milestones that position Yield10 to build a sustainable products business based on engineered Camelina," said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Yield10. "Our crop innovations are intended to support grower adoption of the crop and enable commercial-scale planting to produce Camelina oil and meal products targeting significant market opportunities. "We believe Camelina represents a game changer for producing omega-3 oil and meal products.
In early 2024, we made the strategic decision to focus our resources on the commercialization of Camelina products targeting the aquafeed and nutritional markets for omega-3 fatty acids. In the year ahead, we plan to focus on executing our development program for omega-3 Camelina, building seed inventory in anticipation of commercial scale planting, obtaining regulatory approval to sell omega-3 oil for aquafeed in Chile, and engaging with potential commercial partners to enable future commercial sale of omega-3 oil and meal in target markets. If all goes according to plan, we estimate that our omega-3 products could begin producing revenue as early as 2025.
“We also recently achieved significant regulatory milestones supporting our commercial plans. USDA-APHIS completed review of our herbicide tolerance (“HT”) and omega-3 traits enabling us to plan for the commercial ramp-up of engineered Camelina varieties containing these traits in the U.S. We believe herbicide tolerance will be a significant factor in driving the adoption of Camelina. Our team is creating a portfolio of Camelina varieties incorporating these traits and others to improve the performance and value of the crop.
"In early 2024, Yield10 granted to Vision Bioenergy Oilseeds (“VISION”) a global license to certain proprietary varieties of Camelina for the production of feedstock oil for biofuels. This agreement is intended to empower farmers to capitalize on the growing biofuel market while advancing the decarbonization goals of aviation, maritime, and heavy-duty transport industries. Yield10 plans to work with biofuel players to support the production of Camelina feedstock oil.
“In 2023 we demonstrated closed-loop production of Camelina as we supplied our seed to growers under contract and arranged the offtake and sale of the grain to a biofuel refiner. We intend to continue to build relationships across the value chain to support increasing scale of Camelina production and sale of oil and meal into target markets.
"In the coming months, we expect to execute on our commercial and regulatory plan to produce omega-3 oil and meal products in Camelina, to combine our HT and omega-3 traits to produce new Camelina varieties, and to continue to support grower adoption of Camelina," said Dr. Peoples.
Recent Accomplishments
Recent progress by Yield10 is underscored by the key milestones achieved during 2023 and is setting the direction for the Company’s business strategy in 2024, including:
Recent progress by Yield10 is underscored by the key milestones achieved during 2023 and is setting the direction for the Company’s business strategy in 2024, including:
FULL YEAR AND FOURTH QUARTER 2023 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Cash Position
Yield10 is managed with an emphasis on cash flow and deploys its financial resources in a disciplined manner to achieve its key strategic objectives.
Yield10 used $10.1 million in cash for its operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2023 in comparison to $11.4 million used for operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company ended 2023 with $1.1 million in unrestricted cash and investments in comparison to a balance of $4.3 in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and shortterm investments as of December 31, 2022. The decrease in cash usage for operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2023, in comparison to the previous year, was the result of our decision to delay payments to vendors and conserve cash as we continued our Camelina biofuels and omega-3 business development activities. In February of 2024, we granted a commercial license to VISION Bioenergy Oilseeds, LLC, for certain proprietary varieties of Camelina for the production of feedstock oil for biofuels. Cash proceeds from the arrangement total $3.0 million. In March of 2024, we raised $1.2 million, net in a warrant inducement transaction.
Operating Results
Research grant revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $0.1 million in comparison to grant revenue of $0.5 million recorded in the previous year. Early in 2023, our work in support of a five-year DOE sub-award through Michigan State University was completed with no further grant revenue to be recognized. Research and development expense was $8.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of $0.5 million, in comparison to $7.8 million recorded during the year ended December 31, 2022. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to the increased cost of crop trials and commercial seed production, partially offset by lower employee compensation and benefits expenses as we implemented cost cutting measures during the year. General and administrative expenses were consistent at $6.2 million during the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
Yield10 reported a net loss of $14.5 million, or $1.82 per share for the full year 2023, as compared to a net loss of $13.6 million, or $2.76 per share in 2022. During the fourth quarter of 2023, research and development expense increased by $0.1 million from $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 to $2.0 million. General and administrative expenses decreased by $0.1 million to $1.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2023, from $1.4 million during the fourth quarter of 2022. Yield10 reported a loss after taxes of $3.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, or $0.27 per share, compared to a similar loss after taxes of $3.3 million, or $0.67 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Conference Call Information
Yield10 Bioscience management will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. (ET) to discuss the fourth quarter and full year 2023 results. The Company also will provide a corporate update and answer questions from the investor community. A live webcast of the call with slides can be accessed through the Company's website at www.yield10bio.com in the investor relations events section. To participate in the call, dial toll-free 877-709-8150 or 201-689-8354 (international). Reference Event ID:13745439. The webcast will be archived on the Company's website in the investor relations events section.
About Yield10 Bioscience
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. ("Yield10" or the "Company") is an agricultural bioscience company that is leveraging advanced genetics to develop the oilseed Camelina sativa ("Camelina") as a platform crop for large-scale production of sustainable seed products. These seed products include feedstock oils for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation biofuels; omega-3 (EPA and DHA+EPA) oils for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and aquafeed applications; and, in the future, PHA bioplastics for use as biodegradable bioplastics. Subject to the availability of sufficient financial resources to continue operations, our commercial plan is based on establishing a grain contracting business leveraging our proprietary elite Camelina seed varieties, focusing on the growing demand for low-carbon intensity feedstock oil for biofuels and omega-3 oils for nutritional applications. Yield10 is headquartered in Woburn, MA and has a Canadian subsidiary, Yield10 Oilseeds Inc., located in Saskatoon, Canada.For more information about the company, please visit www.yield10bio.com, or follow the Company on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn. (YTEN-E)
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical, including, without limitation, statements regarding the ability of omega-3 Camelina and the technology being developed to provide sustainable alternatives to existing means of omega-3 oil production, expectations regarding regulatory approval for commercial production of Yield10’s Camelina product lines, the reliability, scalability and addressable market of omega-3 oils produced from omega-3 Camelina, and collaborations with potential strategic partners, including the planned completion of the global commercial license under the agreement with Rothamsted and signing of an agreement with BioMar, constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to the Company’s ability to secure adequate funding in the near term to continue operations and to remain listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, as to which no assurance can be given, as well as the risks and uncertainties detailed in Yield10 Bioscience's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Yield10 assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the matters described herein.
Contacts:
Yield10 Bioscience:
Lynne H. Brum, (617) 682-4693, LBrum@yield10bio.com
