Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU) to go private in $78 million deal; Shares Soar 56%

Shawshank, VA 5/1/12 (StreetBeat) -- Privately held Louis Dreyfus Commodities LLC said one of its subsidiaries agreed to acquire Imperial Sugar Co (Nasdaq: IPSU) for about $78 million, as the commodity company looks to diversify into refining and distribution.

At $6.35 per share, the offer represents a 57 percent premium to Imperial Sugar's closing stock price on Monday.
Including debt, the all-cash deal is worth $203 million, the companies said in a statement.

"This transaction is an important step forward in our plan to grow and diversify our global sugar activities from sugar cane crushing and international sugar trading into sugar refining and distribution," Louis Dreyfus Commodities Chief Executive Mikael Morn said.

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Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU) Enters Agreement to Sell Investment in Wholesome Sweeteners

Palm Beach, FL 3/8/12 (StreetBeat) -- Imperial Sugar Company (NASDAQ:IPSU) announced today that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its 50% interest in Wholesome Sweeteners, Inc. to an affiliate of Arlon Group, a private investment group focused on food and agriculture. Imperial’s net proceeds from the sale are estimated to be between $55 million to $60 million cash, subject to adjustment based on Wholesome’s working capital and revolving credit borrowings at the time of closing. Closing of the transaction, which is subject to consummation of the buyer’s debt financing, customary regulatory approvals and certain other closing conditions, is expected to occur in April 2012. Imperial expects to report a gain of $35 million to $40 million upon completion of the sale.

Wholesome Sweeteners is the leading provider of organic and fair trade certified sweeteners in North America. The company, which was formed in 2001, is a 50/50 joint venture between Imperial and Edward Billington and Son, Limited of Liverpool, England.

About Imperial Sugar

Imperial Sugar Company is one of the largest processors and marketers of refined sugar in the United States to food manufacturers, retail grocers and foodservice distributors. With packaging and refining facilities across the U.S., the Company markets products nationally under the Imperial®, Dixie Crystals®, and Holly® brands.

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Imperial Sugar (NASDAQ:IPSU ) Up Over 12% In Spite of Recent Health Warnings on Sugar

Tallahassee, FL 2/10/12 (StreetBeat) -- www.InvestorIdeas.com, a global investor research portal for independent investors, issues a trading alert for sugar company, Imperial Sugar Company (NASDAQ:IPSU). Imperial Sugar has moved up since it reported its financials yesterday, with the stock currently trading at $6.7950, up 0.7750(12.87%) 10:26AM EST.

With recent reports and headlines that sugar is so toxic that is should be taxed like alcohol, investors may want to look at the long term prospects for refined sugar companies.

A report, “Public health: The toxic truth about sugar. by Robert H. Lustig, 1 Laura A. Schmidt2 & Claire D. Brindis3’ points to the overall health dangers of sugars.

Companies and consumers are turning to stevia, a natural root sweetener, as a healthier alternative. According to a recent interview with president of PepsiCo Mexico, Pedro Padierna, in theatlantic.com, “Stevia, as a natural zero calorie sweetener for beverages, has received a warm welcome because it comes from a South American plant source. In the case of Quaker, we've seen tremendous brand growth in adding natural, local ingredients like the chia seed to Instant Quaker Oats. “

Imperial Sugar Company (NASDAQ:IPSU ) has a 52wk range of: $2.55 - $25.68.

Imperial Sugar Company (NASDAQ:IPSU ) reported a net loss for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2011 of $3.5 million, or $0.29 per share, on net sales of $227.7 million. Results for the same period of the prior fiscal year were a loss of $8.9 million, or $0.75 per share, on net sales of $227.4 million.

“Imperial’s results continue to be affected by the margin compression experienced in the second half of last fiscal year, driven by high raw sugar prices and competitive pricing dynamics,” commented John Sheptor, president and CEO of Imperial Sugar, “although we were able to increase prices during the quarter sufficient to improve margins on a consecutive quarter basis. Production rates at the Port Wentworth refinery in the first quarter were largely unchanged and costs remained high. We continue to focus on operating reliability and efficiency to improve results.”

Revenues for the first quarter were unchanged as 18% higher sales prices offset a 16% reduction in sales volumes relating principally to the contribution of the Gramercy refinery to Louisiana Sugar Refining LLC in January 2011. Gross margins on a hedge accounting basis and excluding the impact of LIFO inventory reductions declined to 1.2% of sales in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from 1.4% in the same period of the prior year, as increases in raw sugar costs exceeded sales price improvements. On a consecutive quarter basis, gross margin on a hedge accounting basis excluding LIFO improved from a negative 4.2% in the quarter ended September 30, 2011.


About Imperial
Imperial Sugar Company is one of the largest processors and marketers of refined sugar in the United States to food manufacturers, retail grocers and foodservice distributors. The Company markets products nationally under the Imperial®, Dixie Crystals® and Holly® brands. For more information about Imperial Sugar, visit www.imperialsugarcompany.com and www.iscnewsroom.com.

About InvestorIdeas.com:
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Disclaimer: Our sites do not make recommendations. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. We attempt to research thoroughly, but we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of information presented. All Information relating to featured companies is sourced from public documents and/ or the company and is not the opinion of our web sites. This site is currently compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising. www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp

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Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU) Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2012 Results

Orlando, FL 2/9/12 (StreetBeat) – Imperial Sugar Company (NASDAQ:IPSU) today reported a net loss for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2011 of $3.5 million, or $0.29 per share, on net sales of $227.7 million. Results for the same period of the prior fiscal year were a loss of $8.9 million, or $0.75 per share, on net sales of $227.4 million.

“Imperial’s results continue to be affected by the margin compression experienced in the second half of last fiscal year, driven by high raw sugar prices and competitive pricing dynamics,” commented John Sheptor, president and CEO of Imperial Sugar, “although we were able to increase prices during the quarter sufficient to improve margins on a consecutive quarter basis. Production rates at the Port Wentworth refinery in the first quarter were largely unchanged and costs remained high. We continue to focus on operating reliability and efficiency to improve results.”

Revenues for the first quarter were unchanged as 18% higher sales prices offset a 16% reduction in sales volumes relating principally to the contribution of the Gramercy refinery to Louisiana Sugar Refining LLC in January 2011. Gross margins on a hedge accounting basis and excluding the impact of LIFO inventory reductions declined to 1.2% of sales in the quarter ended December 31, 2011 from 1.4% in the same period of the prior year, as increases in raw sugar costs exceeded sales price improvements. On a consecutive quarter basis, gross margin on a hedge accounting basis excluding LIFO improved from a negative 4.2% in the quarter ended September 30, 2011.

Sheptor continued, “We have maintained compliance with the terms of our revolving credit agreement and are exploring opportunities to improve liquidity. We are in the late stages of exploring with our partner the potential sale of our interest in Wholesome Sweeteners to a third party.”

Capital expenditures during first quarter of fiscal 2012 were $4.2 million, principally for safety, environmental and equipment replacement projects. The Company reported that it had undrawn availability under its amended revolving credit agreement of $18.4 million, at February 7, 2012 after deducting $70.1 million of borrowings.

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Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU) 4Q loss widens on high sugar prices

Tallahassee, FL 1/6/12 (StreetBeat) -- Imperial Sugar Co.'s (Nasdaq: IPSU) fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened as it dealt with increased raw sugar prices and competitive pricing by its rivals.

The Sugar Land, Texas company said Friday that it will consider more asset sales as higher sugar prices and mounting losses put pressure on its financial resources.

The company reported Friday that it lost $32.5 million, or $2.73 per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compares with a loss of $2.3 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 slipped 13 percent to $231.4 million from $264.4 million.

President and CEO John Sheptor said in a statement that aside from the higher raw sugar prices and competitive pricing, Imperial Sugar's results were hurt by slower-than-expected progress in raising production rates and cutting costs at its refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga.

For the year, Imperial Sugar lost $53.4 million, or $4.49 per share. That compares with a profit of $136.9 million, or $11.33 per share, in the previous year.

Fiscal 2010's results included a pretax $278.5 million gain related to an insurance claim settlement, while fiscal 2011's results include an $18.9 million charge for a valuation allowance and impairment charges of $7.1 million.

Annual revenue declined 7 percent to $848 million from $908 million.

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