TORONTO, May 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Feronia Inc. (“Feronia” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: FRN) today provides an update on the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business and advises on the timing for filing of its interim financial statements, accompanying management’s discussion and analysis and related CEO and CFO certifications for the three months ended March 31, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unprecedented challenges to the global economy. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on market participants, the Canadian Securities Administrators have announced temporary relief from certain regulatory filings required to be made on or before June 1, 2020. This blanket relief provides a 45-day extension for periodic filings, including financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis, and is implemented through the Ontario Securities Commission Ontario Instrument 51-502 (“Instrument 51-502”).COVID-19 has impacted Feronia, its employees, and its ability to rely on timely information in relation to its financial reporting obligations. Feronia’s board of directors and management are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the health of its employees and best manage the short-term challenges to the business.As a result, Feronia will be relying on the extension permitted under Instrument 51-502 in respect to the following: (i) the requirement to file its interim financial statements for the three month period ended March 31, 2020 (the “Interim Financial Statements”) in accordance with section 4.4(b) of NI 51-102; (ii) the requirement to file management’s discussion and analysis for the three month period ended March 31, 2020 (the “Interim MD&A”) in accordance with section 5.1(2) of NI 51-102; and (iii) the requirement to file certifications related to the Interim Financial Statements (together with the Interim Financial Statements and the Interim MD&A, collectively, the “Interim Filings”) pursuant to section 5.1 of NI 52-109.The Interim Filings, which would have otherwise have had a deadline of filing of June 1, 2020, are expect to be filed on SEDAR on or before July 14, 2020.Feronia is continuing to work diligently and expeditiously with its management to file the Interim Filings. In the interim, officers, directors and other insiders of Feronia will continue to be subject to the Company’s insider trading policy, pursuant to which such persons are prohibited from trading in any securities of the Company until the first trading day following the dissemination by the Company of such quarterly results.Other than as previously disclosed by the Company and herein with this press release, Feronia confirms that there have been no material business developments since the date of its audited annual financial statements that were filed on May 22, 2020.As required by Instrument 51-502, the Company will issue further press releases at 30 day intervals providing updates on material business developments, if any, including an update on the Interim Filings.For further information please contact:About Feronia Inc.Feronia is an agribusiness operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).At the heart of Feronia lies a long-established palm oil business, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), which has three remotely located plantations; Lokutu, Yaligimba and Boteka.When Feronia acquired its palm oil business from Unilever in 2009, it had suffered from years of underinvestment and considerable disruption caused by conflict in the DRC. Our initial focus has been on rebuilding the business and resuming production to secure its future and the livelihoods of the thousands of people we directly employ.Feronia’s plantations produce crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). CPO is part of the staple and traditional diet of the Congolese and, with our products sold locally in the DRC, we are well placed to help decrease reliance on imports and increase food security and quality.Feronia prides itself on being the guardian of our 109-year-old palm oil business and its employees, communities, and environment. We have a long-term commitment to improve the living and working environment of our employees and their communities and are committed to sustainable agriculture, environmental protection and community inclusion. Feronia has in place an Environmental and Social Action Plan which is focused on implementing environmental and social best practice and improving social infrastructure.Feronia is implementing IFC/World Bank standards for environmental and social sustainability. Our oil palm replanting programme is brownfield in nature – replacing old palms with new – and it has no reliance on deforestation.Feronia’s management team has extensive experience in managing both plantations and farming operations in emerging markets.For more information please see www.feronia.comCautionary NotesExcept for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this press release constitutes “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as “anticipates”, “plans”, “proposes”, “estimates”, “intends”, “expects”, “believes”, “may” and “will”. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: risks related to foreign operations (including various political, economic and other risks and uncertainties), the interpretation and implementation of the “Loi Portant Principes Fondamentaux Relatifs A L’Agriculture”, termination or non-renewal of concession rights or expropriation of property rights, political instability and bureaucracy, limited operating history, lack of profitability, lack of infrastructure in the DRC, high inflation rates, limited availability of debt financing in the DRC, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, competition from other businesses, reliance on various factors (including local labour, importation of machinery and other key items and business relationships), the Company’s reliance on one major customer, lower productivity at the Company’s plantations and arable farming operations, risks related to the agricultural industry (including adverse weather conditions, shifting weather patterns, and crop failure due to infestations), a shift in commodity trends and demands, vulnerability to fluctuations in the world market, the lack of availability of qualified management personnel and stock market volatility. Details of the risk factors relating to Feronia and its business are discussed under the heading “Risks and Uncertainties” in Feronia’s management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019, a copy of which is available on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.Neither the 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.
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