Select Sands Reports Second Quarter 2017 Results

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Aug 15, 2017) - Select Sands Corp. ("Select Sands" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SNS)(OTCQX:SLSDF) today announced financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2017 and the filing of its 2017 second quarter financial statements and associated management's discussion and analysis on www.sedar.com. All results are stated in Canadian dollars (CAD) unless noted otherwise as US dollars (USD). The average currency conversion used for the second quarter was $1 USD = $1.3432 CAD.

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights

• Revenue more than doubled to $3.1 million from $1.5 million in the first quarter 2017. Second quarter revenue would have been greater, except for lost sales volumes of 8,000 to 12,000 tons due to a pause in shipping during the May flood in Arkansas, and the installation of a vertical shaft impact crusher at the Freeze Farm Wet Processing Facility.
• Gross margin for the Company's Sand Operations was $0.8 million, a substantial improvement over the gross margin loss of $0.4 million during this year's first quarter.
• Comprehensive loss decreased more than 75% to $0.8 million, or $0.01 basic and diluted loss per common share, as compared to a first quarter 2017 comprehensive loss of $3.4 million, or $0.04 basic and diluted loss per common share. These results included non-cash share-based compensation of $0.6 million and $2.2 million for the second and first quarters, respectively.
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ loss totaled $254,000 compared to a $771,000 loss for first quarter 2017 - a 67% improvement quarter-over-quarter.
• Capital expenditures were approximately $0.8 million as compared to $3.2 million for the first quarter 2017. Included in first quarter capital spending was $1.3 million for the purchase of the Bell Farm Property.
• As of June 30, 2017, cash and cash equivalents were $3.4 million, inventory on hand was $2.3 million, and accounts receivable was $3.1 million. The primary driver of the $1.7 million increase in accounts receivable from the $1.4 million balance as of March 31, 2017 was the rapid growth in sales in the latter part of the second quarter.

Zig Vitols, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Considering that we only began commercial production at the beginning of this year and the impact of flooding during May, I am extremely pleased with our results for the second quarter. Driving our results was the hard work of our employees and I want to personally thank all of them for their continued dedication and efforts."

Second Quarter 2017 Operational Highlights

• Select Sands continues to see strong demand for its Northern White frac sand product due to its premium quality and the strategic location of the Company's operations relatively close to the oil and gas basins in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Louisiana (SCOOP/STACK/Woodford, Haynesville, Fayetteville, Permian, DJ Basin and Eagle Ford). The enhanced economics provided by improving technologies for drilling and completing horizontal wells (more wells drilled per rig, longer lateral lengths, more frac stages per foot, and more sand per frac stage) is driving increased use of frac sand and the Company anticipates frac sand intensity and demand will continue to grow.
• Second quarter 2017 sales volumes for total frac and industrial sand increased 136% from the first quarter:

• Reconfiguration of operations processes were completed during the second quarter and the processing facility now has the capability to produce at a rate of 600,000 tons per year. To ensure optimal inventory management, Select Sands is producing at levels consistent with its ability to deliver product, which is primarily by rail.
• Efforts continue to assemble rail car sets to meet the strong demand for product. The Company is also pursuing opportunities for securing additional rail cars for product shipments through new and broadened customer relationships.
• At the end of the second quarter, more than 300 rail cars were in-service. Select Sands is working closely with interstate and short-line railroads to enhance service through efficiencies and increased loading capabilities. Complementing these efforts, the Company has secured additional rail car storage to improve sequencing of trains servicing its facility.
• To support Select Sand's plans for further capacity expansion of its processing facility, certain long lead time equipment has been purchased and is anticipated to be installed along with other components later this year once enhanced logistics capabilities are in place.

Financial Summary

The following table includes summarized financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017:

Outlook

"In preparation for improved rail movements, we increased our inventory levels during the second quarter," concluded Mr. Vitols. "This benefitted us significantly in July, as we sold our highest monthly level of product tons to date. We believe this bodes well for another quarter of solid growth in deliveries to our customers and increased revenue for Select Sands. We continue to make substantial progress on multiple fronts, with our primary focus remaining on further enhancing our logistics capabilities so as to reach our maximum production rate in the second half of the year. This will allow us to further capitalize on the strong demand for our frac sand products, including increased deliveries under our long-term one million-ton per year supply agreement for 2018 and 2019."

Elliott A. Mallard, PG of Kleinfelder is the qualified person as per the NI-43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 16, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern to discuss its second quarter 2017 results. To access the conference call, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-844-419-5430 and international callers may dial 1-216-562-0476. The conference call access code is 70093150. Please call ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time to ensure a proper connection. The conference call will also be available for playback by telephone for one week beginning shortly after the call. To access the telephone playback, dial 1-855-859-2056 or 1-404-537-3406 for international calls. The replay conference call access code is 70093150.

About Select Sands Corp.

Select Sands Corp. is an industrial Silica Product company developing its 100% owned, 520-acre Northern White, Tier-1, silica sands project located in Arkansas, U.S.A. Select Sands' Arkansas property has a logistical advantage of being significantly closer to oil and gas markets located in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Louisiana than Wisconsin sources. The Tier-1 reference above is a classification of frac sand developed by PropTester, Inc., an independent laboratory specializing in the research and testing of products utilized in hydraulic fracturing & cement operations, following ISO 13503-2:2006/API RP19C:2008 standards.

Select Sands' Sandtown project has NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resources of 42.0MM tons (TetraTech Report; February, 2016) and Bell Farm has Inferred Mineral Resources of 49.6MM tons (Kleinfelder Report; April, 2017). Both deposits are considered Northern White finer-grade sand deposits of 40-70 Mesh and 100 Mesh.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Information and statements which are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release relate to the continued escalation of rail car count, third quarter 2017 frac and industrial sand sales volumes, and further capacity expansion. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The following information is included for convenience only. Generally, a non-IFRS financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's performance, cash flows or financial position that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance (nor does it have a standardized meanings) under IFRS. In evaluating non-IFRS financial measures, investors should consider that the methodology applied in calculating such measures may differ among companies and analysts.

The Company uses both IFRS and certain non-IFRS measures to assess operational performance and as a component of employee remuneration. Management believes certain non-IFRS measures provide useful supplemental information to investors in order that they may evaluate Select Sand's financial performance using the same measures as management. Management believes that, as a result, the investor is afforded greater transparency in assessing the financial performance of the Company. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, nor superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Reconciliation of Net Loss to EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA:

The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before finance costs, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash share-based compensation, loss from flooding at its plant, and gain on sale of fixed assets. Select Sands uses Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental financial measure of its operational performance. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA to be an important measure as they exclude the effects of items that primarily reflect the impact of long-term investment and financing decisions, rather than the performance of the Company's day-to-day operations. As compared to net income according to IFRS, this measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in the Company's business, the charges associated with impairments, termination costs or Proposed Transaction costs. Management evaluates such items through other financial measures such as capital expenditures and cash flow provided by operating activities. The Company believes that these measurements are useful to measure a company's ability to service debt and to meet other payment obligations or as a valuation measurement.

Indicated Resources Disclosure

The Company advises that the production decision on the Sandtown deposit (the Company's current "Sand Operations") was not based on a Feasibility Study of mineral reserves, demonstrating economic and technical viability, and, as a result, there may be an increased uncertainty of achieving any level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, including increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit. Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure. There is no guarantee that production will occur as anticipated or that anticipated production costs will be achieved.