Verde appoints Jo?o Paulo Frez as Chief Revenue Officer

 

SINGAPORE, Feb. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verde AgriTech Ltd (TSX: “NPK”) ("Verde” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of João Paulo Frez as Chief Revenue Officer (“CRO”). Mr. Frez has over two decades of sales experience in the agribusiness sector, with the past nine years dedicated to developing the market for specialty fertilizers in Brazil. He succeeds Mr. Gilson Guardiero, who has served as the Company’s CRO since Q3 2023. Until February 2024, Mr. Frez served as the Senior Commercial Director for Brazil at ICL, a leading global specialty minerals company.

In his role as Senior Commercial Director for Brazil at ICL, Mr. Frez managed a robust sales team that included 3 Business Unit Directors, 13 Regional Sales Managers, and 120 Technical Sales Executives. Under his leadership, ICL experienced significant growth in sales and margins, attributed to the successful expansion of the specialty fertilizers segment.

“Mr Frez stands out as one of Brazil's most accomplished senior executives in specialty fertilizer sales. His journey in the industry began with five years of experience in large-scale farming operations before embarking on a remarkable sales career characterized by significant growth in results. Mr. Frez's proven track record in devising successful sales strategies and managing robust commercial operations across Brazil will play a crucial role in enhancing Verde's sales performance and overcoming market challenges to fulfill our goals for 2024 and beyond, sustainably ensuring returns across our entire value chain by delivering high-performance agronomic products that yield good profitability for farmers, distributors, and our shareholders,” commented Cristiano Veloso, Verde’s Founder and CEO.

After playing a key role in setting up commercial operations at Cooasgo - one of Brazil's most prominent agricultural cooperatives from 2008 to 2012 - Mr. Frez transitioned to a commercial representative position at Consagro Agroquímica - an American multinational agrochemical company – where he focused on optimizing distribution channels and implementing direct sales strategies.

In 2015, he accepted the position of Regional Sales Manager at Fertilaqua, overseeing a team of 10 Technical Sales Executives across four Brazilian states. By 2017, he was promoted to Business Unit Director, a pivotal role overseeing a strategic commercial region in Brazil. His area of operation covered multiple states, including Minas Gerais, Goiás, Bahia, and Tocantins. As Business Unit Director, Mr. Frez led a team of 63 sales executives.

The specialty fertilizers segment's potential for high margins drew market attention to Fertilaqua, leading to its acquisition by ICL in 2021. After a year serving as Business Unit Director at ICL, Mr. Frez was promoted to the role of Senior Commercial Director. He maintained this position until February 2024, when he transitioned to Verde.

"Verde AgriTech’s dedication and mission to promote sustainable agriculture are truly inspiring. Verde's portfolio goes beyond just potassium supply. Our products deliver a variety of nutrients that substantially improve crop growth. They are also distinguished by their salinity-free composition, ability to enhance soil microbiota, low carbon footprint, and their capability to sequester atmospheric CO₂, contributing to climate change mitigation. From my experience, it’s evident to me that such characteristics establish our product as a notably superior specialty fertilizer, not just another commodity in the conventional potash market. However, our present market positioning does not fully convey these advantages, affecting the Company's profit margins. Adopting a Blue Ocean Strategy is essential to address this, aiming to stimulate demand and render traditional competition obsolete by focusing on value creation," stated Mr. Frez.

About Verde AgriTech

Verde is an agricultural technology Company that produces potash fertilizers. Our purpose is to improve the health of all people and the planet. Rooting our solutions in nature, we make agriculture healthier, more productive, and profitable.

Verde is a fully integrated Company: it mines and processes its main feedstock from its 100% owned mineral properties, then sells and distributes the Product.

Verde’s focus on research and development has resulted in one patent and eight patents pending. Among its proprietary technologies are Cambridge Tech, 3D Alliance, MicroS Technology, N Keeper, and Bio Revolution.¹ Currently, the Company is fully licensed to produce up to 2.8 million tons per year of its multinutrient potassium fertilizers K Forte® and BAKS®, sold internationally as Super Greensand®. In 2022, it became Brazil's largest potash producer by capacity. Verde has a combined measured and indicated mineral resource of 1.47 billion tons at 9.28% K₂O and an inferred mineral resource of 1.85 billion tons at 8.60% K₂O (using a 7.5% K₂O cut-off grade).² This amounts to 295.70 million tons of potash in K₂O. For context, in 2021 Brazil’s total consumption of potash in K₂O was 6.57 million³.

Brazil ranks second in global potash demand and is its single largest importer, currently depending on external sources for over 97% of its potash needs. In 2022, potash accounted for approximately 3% of all Brazilian imports by dollar value.⁴

Corporate Presentation

For further information on the Company, please view shareholders’ deck:

https://verde.docsend.com/view/cb2w3cnd2jk4sw49

Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements

All Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resources estimates reported by the Company were estimated in accordance with the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards (May 10, 2014). These standards differ significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

This document contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements" are made as of the date of this document. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to:

1. the estimated amount and grade of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves;
2. the estimated amount of CO₂ removal per tonne of rock;
3. the PFS representing a viable development option for the Project;
4. estimates of the capital costs of constructing mine facilities and bringing a mine into production, of sustaining capital and the duration of financing payback periods;
5. the estimated amount of future production, both produced and sold;
6. timing of disclosure for the PFS and recommendations from the Special Committee;
7. the Company’s competitive position in Brazil and demand for potash; and,
8. estimates of operating costs and total costs, net cash flow, net present value and economic returns from an operating mine.

Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "envisages", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

All forward-looking statements are based on Verde's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. The most significant assumptions are set forth above, but generally these assumptions include, but are not limited to:

1. the presence of and continuity of resources and reserves at the Project at estimated grades;
2. the estimation of CO₂ removal based on the chemical and mineralogical composition of assumed resources and reserves;
3. the geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of rock conforming to sampled results; including the quantities of water and the quality of the water that must be diverted or treated during mining operations;
4. the capacities and durability of various machinery and equipment;
5. the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices and within the estimated delivery times;
6. currency exchange rates;
7. Super Greensand® and K Forte® sales prices, market size and exchange rate assumed;
8. appropriate discount rates applied to the cash flows in the economic analysis;
9. tax rates and royalty rates applicable to the proposed mining operation;
10. the availability of acceptable financing under assumed structure and costs;
11. anticipated mining losses and dilution;
12. reasonable contingency requirements;
13. success in realizing proposed operations;
14. receipt of permits and other regulatory approvals on acceptable terms; and
15. the fulfilment of environmental assessment commitments and arrangements with local communities.

Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Many forward-looking statements are made assuming the correctness of other forward looking statements, such as statements of net present value and internal rates of return, which are based on most of the other forward-looking statements and assumptions herein. The cost information is also prepared using current values, but the time for incurring the costs will be in the future and it is assumed costs will remain stable over the relevant period.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates expressed above do not occur as forecast, but specifically include, without limitation: risks relating to variations in the mineral content within the material identified as Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves from that predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction; the geotechnical characteristics of the rock mined or through which infrastructure is built differing from that predicted, the quantity of water that will need to be diverted or treated during mining operations being different from what is expected to be encountered during mining operations or post closure, or the rate of flow of the water being different; developments in world metals markets; risks relating to fluctuations in the Brazilian Real relative to the Canadian dollar; increases in the estimated capital and operating costs or unanticipated costs; difficulties attracting the necessary work force; increases in financing costs or adverse changes to the terms of available financing, if any; tax rates or royalties being greater than assumed; changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks relating to receipt of regulatory approvals; delays in stakeholder negotiations; changes in regulations applying to the development, operation, and closure of mining operations from what currently exists; the effects of competition in the markets in which Verde operates; operational and infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Verde's Annual Information Form filed with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com) for the year ended December 31, 2021. Verde cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive.

When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Verde, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Verde does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by Verde or on our behalf, except as required by law.

For additional information please contact:

Cristiano Veloso, Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: investor@verde.ag

www.verde.ag | www.investor.verde.ag

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1} Learn more about our technologies: https://verde.docsend.com/view/yvthnpuv8jx6g4r9
² As per the National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects within Canada (“NI 43 -101”), filed on SEDAR in 2017. See the Pre-Feasibility Study at: https://investor.verde.ag/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/NI-43-101-Pre-Feasibility-Technical-Report-Cerrado-Verde-Project.pdf
³ Source: Brazilian Fertilizer Mixers Association (from "Associação Misturadores de Adubo do Brasil", in Portuguese).
⁴ Source: Brazilian Comex Stat, available at: http://comexstat.mdic.gov.br/en/geral