AUSTRALIAN Oilseeds Holdings is eyeing the first quarter of 2025 for construction to commence on its proposed Central Queensland oilseed-crushing plant.

The $25-million plant will be located at Emerald and is being progressed by Energreen Nutrition, an entity related to AOH.

At capacity, the plant is expected to be able to crush 200 tonnes of oilseeds per day.

In documents published to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission last week, NASDAQ-listed AOH said pre-construction activities for the project will be completed by the end of 2024.

This work includes obtaining development approvals and an Environmental Protection Agency licence, securing off-take agreements, and signing construction contracts.

“The groundbreaking will occur in the first quarter of 2025 calendar year with the construction period expected from January 2025 to December 2026 and the receipt of the certificate of completion is expected in March 2025,” the document said.

Testing and commissioning are expected to be finished by December 2026.

If realised, the project will be the only large-scale crush plant in Qld with hopes that the facility will rejuvenate the production of oilseeds, other than cottonseed as a byproduct of the fibre crop, in the state.

According to AOH, CQ currently produces 40,000-50,000t per year of primarily cottonseed plus some sunflower seed, which could be increased to to 65,000-70,000t.

“The Central Queensland cropping region has a strong history of oilseed production, but this capacity has largely disappeared due to a lack of essential processing infrastructure.

“We believe that Queensland has the potential to develop a $1-billion oilseed-processing and value- addition base industry similar to development cases in New South Wales and Victoria where the oilseed crushing industry is contributing between $5B and $7B per annum to the respective economies.”

Earlier this year, Energreen Nutrition and subsidiary CQ Oilseeds received Qld Government support through a $5M grant under the Industrial Partnership Program.

AOH said the remaining capital will come from a combination of operating cashflow, a bank loan, and equity funding.

The company is still awaiting development approvals from the Central Highlands Regional Council.

It first lodged the development application in December 2022.

Due to the project’s intended location off the Capricorn Highway, a state-controlled road, the proposal was referred to the Qld Government’s State Assessment and Referral Agency.

On November 18, the project received SARA approvals with the condition that stormwater management must not cause a worsening of the operating performance of the highway and rail corridor.

Retail sales drive growth

Via a subsidiary, AOH also manages the Cootamundra crush plant, located in the eastern Riverina region of NSW.

Alongside the plant, AOH also has a controlling stake in Good Earth Oils, which manages the marketing and sales of canola and vegetable oils to retail customers.

The Cootamundra plant supplies the raw product to Good Earth Oils as well as entering three-month rolling contracts for bulk oils to customers, such as Riverina Oils & Bio Energy in nearby Wagga Wagga and 100% Bottling Company in the NSW Hunter Valley.

During the financial year to June 30, Good Earth Oils entered into supply agreements with Woolworths, Coles, and Costco supermarkets.

Revenue from retail oil sales hit $12.56M in FY24 June 30, eclipsing $11.48M in revenue from wholesale oil sales.

This is a first for AOH, which recorded no retail oil sales for FY23.

The pivot to the retail market was behind a drop in wholesale oil revenue of almost $9M.

Overall, AOH recorded a net loss of $21.3M for FY24, down 1250 percent on the net profit of $1.8M recorded in FY23.

The company said this was mainly due to a $21.3M recapitalisation expense.

AOH chief executive officer Gary Seaton said the organisation was “pleased to report strong fiscal 2024 results”.

“Our business momentum continues to build, and we remain deeply committed to our mission of eliminating chemicals from the edible oil production and manufacturing systems to supply quality products such as non-GMO oilseeds, chemical free, and organic and non-organic food-grade oils to customers globally,” Mr Seaton said in a statement.

Nasdaq issues

The financial year was not without issues for AOH, which listed on the Nasdaq in February.

In May, the company announced it had dismissed its accounting firm, BF Borgers CPA PC, which had prepared AOH’s statements for FY22 and FY23.

This news came after the SEC commenced proceedings against Borgers for fraud which included systemic failures to prepare and maintain audit documents and fabricating meetings.

It is believed several listed companies and approximately 1500 SEC filings were impacted by the fraud.

As a result, AOH has confirmed that after a review by newly appointed accounting firm, BDO, the FY22 and FY23 results could not be relied upon.

It estimated that the accounting errors had resulted in the company’s equity being overstated by $372,670 in FY22 and by $328,826 in FY23.

The net profit after tax in FY22 was overstated by $372,671 and increased by $43,844 in FY23 after the review.

AOH could also be delisted from the Nasdaq if it does not meet the minimum share price requirements of US$1 per share by February 2025.

On August 28, Nasdaq announced it had sent a warning letter to AOH giving the company an initial 180 days to resolve the issue.

However, it could receive an additional 180 days to comply if it presents a credible plan to raise its share price.

In a statement, the company said it was “currently evaluating options to regain compliance” and intended “to timely regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirement”.

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