CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - November 05, 2015) - Canexus Corporation (TSX: CUS) (the "Corporation" or "Canexus") today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Highlights

• Cash Operating Profit ("COP") was $24.0 million for the third quarter of 2015, with continued strong performance from the North American Sodium Chlorate and South America business units, including $1.4 million of one-time costs.
• As previously announced on October 6, 2015, Canexus has entered into an arrangement agreement (the "Transaction") with Superior Plus Corp. ("Superior"), pursuant to which Superior has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Canexus ("Canexus Shares") for a value at announcement of approximately $1.70 per Canexus Share, payable in common shares of Superior ("Superior Shares") at an exchange ratio of 0.153 Superior Shares for each Canexus Share. Closing of the transaction is pending shareholder and regulatory approval.
• The caustic modernization project at North Vancouver is complete and came in on time and below budget. The anode refurbishment project is expected to be completed in Q4/15.
• The Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per common share payable January 15, 2016 to shareholders of record on December 31, 2015.

Financial Results

COP was $24.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 (Q2/15 - $27.6 million; Q3/14 - $22.0 million) and excludes the results of discontinued operations at NATO. Our Q3/15 results reflect the continued benefits of the weak Canadian dollar, increasing realized prices in the US and realized margin from our US dollar fixed margin contract in Brazil. In addition, the Corporation continued to see benefits from its Business Improvement Program ("BIP") and is on track to achieve $10-$15 million of annual savings by the end of 2015.

These positive results were offset by reduced hydrochloric acid ("HCl") prices due to reduced oil and gas hydraulic fracturing activity, reduced production capacity at North Vancouver due to a compressor malfunction and one-time G&A costs related to corporate strategic processes of $1.4 million.

On December 31, 2015, the $59.9 million of 5.75% convertible unsecured subordinated Series III debentures (the "Series III Debentures") mature. As previously announced, the Company has arranged a non-revolving credit facility agreement with its bank syndicate in the amount of $60 million to repay the Series III Debentures if the Transaction has not closed prior to December 31, 2015. At the time that the Transaction is closed, a change of control will be triggered and Superior will be required to make an offer in writing within 30 days of the closing date to purchase all of the then outstanding 5.75% convertible unsecured subordinated Series IV debentures (the "Series IV Debentures") at 101% and the 6.00% convertible unsecured subordinated Series V and the 6.50% convertible unsecured subordinated VI debentures at 100%, in each case of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest; provided that in the case of the Series IV Debentures Superior may elect to redeem the Series IV Debentures equal to the greater of 101% of the principal amount or the Canada Yield Price (as defined in the debenture indenture pertaining to such debentures), together with accrued and unpaid interest.

Operational Results

North American Sodium Chlorate

Canexus' North American Sodium Chlorate business continued record breaking performance in Q3/15. Record COP of $19.6 million (Q2/15 - $19.1 million; Q3/14 - $14.5 million) was achieved. We experienced higher realized prices from our US customers in the third quarter given the devaluation of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar, with approximately two-thirds of our sales volume exported to the US. North American sodium chlorate industry operating rates are expected to be near 90 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 due to recently announced mill closures, and will rebound to 92-93 percent following the closure of a competitor's plant in the southeastern US scheduled for December 1, 2015.

North American Chlor-alkali

Canexus' North American Chlor-alkali business had a $0.6 million loss in COP for the quarter (Q2/15 - $1.3 million profit, $0.8 million after including inter-segment costs associated with loading caustic and acid from railcars to trucks at our NATO facility; Q3/14 - $4.5 million profit). As expected, HCl sales volume and prices showed continued softness through Q3/15; caustic soda sales volumes were also slightly lower than the previous quarters due to changes in the customer portfolio which resulted in less caustic purchase volumes for resale by Canexus. These results were partially offset by higher chlorine sales volumes and prices.

The caustic modernization project is complete and has come in below budget. Annual savings from this project are expected to be approximately $3.5 million. However, the North Vancouver plant will continue to operate at reduced capacity due to a compressor outage caused by mechanical failure in Q3. The Company has started to proceed with Business Interruption and Property Claims under its insurance policies and early indications are that these will likely be covered claims. Production capacity is expected to be in the low 70 percent range until early April 2016 when repairs are planned to be completed and full production capacity is available. The anode replacement project is expected to be completed by the end of Q4/15.

South America

Canexus' Brazil operations generated COP of $7.5 million in the quarter (Q2/15 - $7.4 million; Q3/14 - $4.8 million). Brazil's operations continue to be highly stable with our primary customer running at high rates resulting in strong demand for our products which are sold under a long-term, cost plus, fixed US dollar margin contract. This business is also experiencing positive uplift from the devaluation of the Canadian dollar and the Brazilian Real as compared to the US dollar, as well as lower purchased product and fixed costs.

Special Meeting of Shareholders

On October 6, 2015, Canexus announced that it had entered into an arrangement agreement with Superior pursuant to which Superior has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Common Shares for a value at announcement of approximately $1.70 per Canexus Share, payable in Superior Shares at an exchange ratio of 0.153 Superior Shares for each Canexus Share (representing the equivalent of $1.70 per Canexus Share on the 20-day volume weighted-average-price of Superior Shares as of October 5, 2015).

Together, the combined companies are positioned to be more efficient and productive. Both Canexus and Superior have identified opportunities for the combined business to reduce costs by realizing significant synergies through increased scale, reduced overhead and greater efficiencies. The combined entity will also have greater operational flexibility and a stronger balance sheet to provide improved optionality for future growth through expansion.

The Company will be mailing a notice of meeting and management information circular to its shareholders of record as of November 10, 2015 in preparation for its special meeting of shareholders to be held on December 11, 2015. Canexus' Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote IN FAVOUR of the resolution approving the Transaction.

"The proposed transaction with Superior is a unique opportunity to create immediate value for Canexus' shareholders," stated Doug Wonnacott, President and CEO of Canexus. "Our combination with Superior aligns our highly complementary portfolios to create a company well-positioned to serve our customers in North and South America. Superior also has the track record and the financial capability to develop and execute a growth strategy that should benefit stakeholders in the short and long term. Management and the Board are unanimously in support of the transaction and recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the resolution."

Financial Results

Distributable Cash

Reconciliation of Net Cash Generated from Operating Activities to Distributable Cash

Segmented Information for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2015 and 2014

Canexus has a total of six electrochemical manufacturing plants -- four in Canada and two at one site in Brazil -- organized into three business units. Below is our first quarter performance by segment.

Notes:

1. The North America Sodium Chlorate operating segment (i) sells sodium chlorate at market rates to the South America operating segment and
   (ii) provides transloading services at market rates to the North America Chlor-alkali ("NACA") operating segment for caustic soda transloaded from barges into trucks for delivery to NACA customers that are eliminated for financial reporting purposes.
2. NATO charged transloading fees (approximating market rates charged by third party terminals) to the North America Chlor-alkali operating segment for hydrochloric acid and caustic soda transloaded from railcars into trucks for delivery to North America Chlor-alkali customers that are eliminated for financial reporting purposes.

Highlights for each business unit are as follows:

North America Sodium Chlorate

Q3 2015 versus Q2 2015: Sales revenue for the North America Sodium Chlorate segment increased one percent to $68.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to $67.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015. The increase was due to higher delivered prices (three percent) in the US resulting from the weakening Canadian dollar (three months ended September 30, 2015 -- US $0.78 as compared to US $0.81 for the three months ended June 30, 2015), partially offset by lower sales volumes (one percent). Cash Operating Profit Percentage increased from 28 percent to 29 percent as a result of higher delivered prices (two percent) and lower fixed costs, partially offset by higher electricity rates and purchased product costs.

Q3 2015 versus Q3 2014: Sales revenue increased 13 percent in the third quarter of 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014. The weakening Canadian dollar (three months ended September 30, 2015 -- US $0.78 as compared to US $0.92 for the three months ended September 30, 2014) contributed to higher delivered prices (12 percent). Sales volumes increased by one percent. Cash Operating Profit Percentage increased to 29 percent from 24 percent with higher delivered prices more than offsetting higher electricity rates, purchased product and freight costs.

North America Chlor-alkali

Q3 2015 versus Q2 2015: Sales revenue for the North America Chlor-alkali segment decreased four percent to $46.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to $48.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015. The decrease was due to lower caustic soda (six percent) sales volumes, partially offset by higher chlorine (three percent) sales volumes and higher chlorine (10 percent) delivered prices. During the three months ended September 30, 2015, a compressor shut down due to mechanical failure which reduced capacity at the plant by nine percent. This contributed to Cash Operating Loss of $0.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to Cash Operating Profit of $1.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015.

Q3 2015 versus Q3 2014: Sales revenue for the North America Chlor-alkali segment decreased 14 percent in the third quarter of 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014. The decrease was due to lower caustic soda (17 percent) and hydrochloric acid (31 percent) sales volumes and lower hydrochloric acid (31 percent) delivered prices, partially offset by higher chlorine (56 percent) and caustic soda (four percent) delivered prices and higher chlorine (43 percent) sales volumes. Lower MECU realized netback prices (seven percent) and lower MECU production volumes (three percent) arising from the mechanical failure of the compressor noted above contributed to Cash Operating Loss of $0.6 million for the third quarter of 2015 as compared to Cash Operating Profit of $4.5 million for the same period in 2014, partially offset by lower purchased product costs.

South America

Q3 2015 versus Q2 2015: Sales revenue for the South America segment decreased two percent to $25.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to $26.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 primarily due to higher sodium chlorate (eight percent) and caustic soda (six percent) delivered prices, partially offset by lower caustic soda (seven percent), chlorine (46 percent), sodium hypochlorite (12 percent) and sodium chlorate (two percent) sales volumes. Cash Operating Profit Percentage increased from 28 percent to 29 percent as a result of a favourable foreign exchange impact resulting from the weakening of both the Brazilian Real and Canadian dollar as compared to the US dollar and lower fixed costs.

Q3 2015 versus Q3 2014: Sales revenue for the South America segment increased seven percent in the third quarter of 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014 due to higher sodium chlorate (25 percent) and caustic soda (14 percent) delivered prices, partially offset by lower sodium chlorate (five percent), caustic soda (nine percent), chlorine (46 percent) and sodium hypochlorite (13 percent) sales volumes. Cash Operating Profit Percentage increased to 29 percent from 20 percent as a result of a favourable foreign exchange impact resulting from the weakening of both the Brazilian Real and Canadian dollar as compared to the US dollar and lower purchased product and fixed costs. During the three months ended September 30, 2014, there was a planned maintenance shutdown at both the sodium chlorate and chlor-alkali plants.

General Market Fundamentals

North America Sodium Chlorate: Through September 2015, global pulp shipments have risen 3.9 percent compared to the same period in the prior year. Hardwood pulp shipments continue to lead the way, up 6.8 percent for 2015 to date. Combined producer inventory levels ending August 2015 stood at 35 days, with bleached softwood and hardwood kraft inventories at 30 days and 39 days, respectively, versus 27 days and 40 days, respectively, in September 2014.

North America demand for sodium chlorate was stable in the third quarter though expected to decline in the fourth quarter due to a number of announced mill closures. Industry operating rates continue in the low 90 percent range and are expected to decline in October 2015, corresponding to announced mill closures, recovering to near 93 percent with the announced closure of the Tronox plant in December 2015.

North America Chlor-alkali: The chlor-alkali industry operating rate in North America increased 4.4 percent to 85.7 percent of capacity for the three months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2015. This increase was due to improvement in demand from the vinyls and water treatment segments. Caustic soda production increased in the quarter consistent with the increased industry chlorine operating rate.

HCl burner operating rates remained low for the three months ended September 30, 2015 due to a reduction in demand from lower drilling and hydraulic fracturing activity in the oil and gas industry. HCl supply reductions occurred later in the quarter due to planned maintenance outages at several HCl producer sites.

Pricing on a MECU basis (before the impact of HCl) did not change for the three months ended September 30, 2015. HCl prices remain under pressure due to excess supply market conditions however, actual price declines have moderated. Industry wide caustic soda price increases were implemented beginning October 1, 2015.

South America: Brazilian pulp production and exports increased by 4.3 and 5.3 percent in the eight months to August 2015, respectively, compared to the same period in 2014. Sodium chlorate demand from Canexus Brazil's major customer was slightly lower than expected in the third quarter of 2015 following higher than expected demand in the second quarter. The Brazilian chlor-alkali capacity utilization rate was at 83.6 percent in the third quarter of 2015 which was two percent lower than the same period in 2014. Canexus Brazil's chlor-alkali capacity utilization rate was 93.7 percent for the three months ended September 30, 2015.

Financial Updates

• Long-term Debt and Finance Expense:
  • Canexus has US dollar borrowings (September 30, 2015 - US$127 million, September 30, 2014 - US$225 million) which create unrealized foreign currency translation losses as the Canadian dollar weakens. In Q3/15 we recorded unrealized foreign currency translation losses of $11.7 million (Q3/14 - $11.7 million). These amounts are included in finance expense.
  • Interest expense in Q3/15 was $8.2 million (Q3/14 - $5.8 million). Interest capitalized on major projects in Q3/15 was $0.2 million (Q3/14 - $1.6 million).

• Other Expense:
  • In Q3/15, mark-to-market fair value losses of $2.3 million (Q3/14 - $1.3 million) and realized losses of $1.1 million (Q3/14 - Nil) were recorded on foreign exchange forward contracts.
  • In Q3/15, mark-to-market fair value losses of $1.1 million (Q3/14 - $0.6 million) and realized losses of $0.3 million (Q3/14 - $0.1 million) were recorded on a cross currency swap. In Q3/11, we entered into a cross currency swap to effect the payment of interest in US dollars on the Series IV Convertible Debentures issued on June 30, 2011.

• General and Administrative: General and administrative expenses were lower for Q3/15 as compared to Q3/14 primarily as a result of reduced head count.

• Capital Expenditures: Capital expenditures in Q3/15 were $10.9 million, of which $5.8 million on was spent on maintenance projects, $4.8 million on continuous improvement projects and $0.3 million on expansion projects. The continuous improvement capital was primarily being spent on the caustic modernization project underway at our North Vancouver chlor-alkali facility which is now complete.

• Provision for (Recovery of) Income Taxes: As of September 30, 2015, the Corporation had approximately $804.8 million of future tax deductions which can be used to shelter future taxable income in Canada.

• Liquidity: At September 30, 2015, total borrowings under committed credit facilities were $304.7 million with remaining available undrawn capacity of approximately $87.7 million. Cash on hand at September 30, 2015 was $5.2 million.

Notes:

1. Depreciation and Amortization included in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 - $11.5 million and $34.2 million, respectively (three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 - $11.7 million and $34.8 million, respectively)
2. Depreciation and Amortization included for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 - $0.2 million and $0.6 million, respectively (three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 - $0.3 million and $0.9 million, respectively)

Conference Call

Canexus will hold a conference call on November 6, 2015 at 8:30 am MT (10:30 am ET) to discuss Canexus' third quarter 2015 financial results. A news release will be issued the evening before the call. Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis will be posted on the Canexus website at www.canexus.ca and filed on SEDAR.

The call will be hosted by Doug Wonnacott, President and Chief Executive Officer; Dean Beacon, Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer; and Ross Wonnick, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Following the call there will be a question and answer session for analysts and institutional investors.

To access the call, please dial 1-416-340-8010 or 1-866-226-1792 outside Canada and USA.

A replay of the conference call will be available until end of day ET on November 13, 2015. To access the replay call 1-905-694-9451 or 1-800-408-3053 outside Canada and USA, followed by passcode 8940935#.

About Canexus

Canexus produces sodium chlorate and chlor-alkali products largely for the pulp and paper and water treatment industries. Our four plants in Canada and two at one site in Brazil are reliable, low-cost, strategically located facilities that capitalize on competitive electricity costs and transportation infrastructure to minimize production and delivery costs. Canexus targets opportunities to maximize shareholder returns and delivers high-quality products to its customers and is committed to Responsible Care^® through safe operating practices. Canexus' common shares (CUS) and debentures (Series III - CUS.DB.A; Series IV - CUS.DB.B; Series V - CUS.DB.C; Series VI - CUS.DB.D) trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. More information about Canexus is available at www.canexus.ca.

Non-GAAP Measures

Cash operating profit, cash operating profit percentage, payout ratio, cash payout ratio and distributable cash are financial measures not determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for publicly accountable enterprises in Canada ("GAAP"), but management believes they are useful in measuring the Corporation's performance. Readers are cautioned that these measures should not be construed as alternatives to net income or loss or other comparable measures determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of the Corporation's performance or as a measure of the Corporation's liquidity and cash flow. The Corporation's method of calculating non-GAAP measures may differ from the methods used by other issuers and accordingly, the Corporation's non-GAAP measures are unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other issuers. Readers should consult the Corporation's MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 filed on SEDAR for a complete explanation of how the Corporation calculates each such non-GAAP measure.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of the Corporation and its subsidiaries, including with respect to: expectations for efficiencies as a result of the Transaction, including reduced costs and enhanced synergies; expectations for operational flexibility, balance sheet strengthening and the potential for future growth by expansion; expectations regarding the timing of the mailing of the circular for and conduct of the Meeting; expectations for the timing of completion of the anode refurbishment at North Vancouver; anticipated savings and timing thereof for the BIP; expected North American sodium chlorate operating rates for Q4 2015; expected annual savings from the caustic modernization project at North Vancouver; expected capacity constraints at North Vancouver and the timing of compressor repair at the North Vancouver plant. The use of the words "expects", "anticipates", "continue", "estimates", "projects", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends", "may", "will" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general economic conditions, future costs, treatment under governmental regulatory, tax and environmental regimes and the other risks and uncertainties detailed under "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's Annual Information Form filed on the Corporation's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Management believes the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are currently reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. Due to the potential impact of these factors, the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. Any financial outlook information contained in this news release about prospective results of operations, financial position or cash flows is based on assumptions about future events, including economic conditions and proposed courses of action, based on Management's assessment of the relevant information currently available. Readers are cautioned that such financial outlook information contained in this news release should not be used for purposes other than those for which it is disclosed herein.