AgriBioTech, Inc. said today that, despite shipping seed products in record volume, a decline in average selling prices and other factors resulted in a net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2000.

The nation's largest developer and marketer of forage and cool-season turfgrass seed had said on
October 13th that, despite continuing strong demand for its proprietary seed products, falling prices were likely to reduce revenues and result in a net loss for the quarter. Nevertheless, the company said a higher mix of proprietary to common seeds improved gross margin for the quarter and that implementation of its strategic plan is on track.

For the first quarter ended September 30, AgriBioTech reported a net loss of $3.6 million, or $0.07
per share, on revenues totaling $73.5 million, compared with net income of $333,000, or $0.01 per
share, on sales of $89.6 million in the same period last year. On an EBITDA basis (earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, restructuring and special charges and extraordinary items), the Company reported a positive $1.6 million, compared with a positive $5.3 million in the first quarter a year ago. Management considers EBITDA an important, cash-based measure of operating performance, particularly for companies engaged in significant industry consolidation through acquisitions and mergers. AgriBioTech is in the process of consolidating and restructuring 34 different companies acquired over the past four years.

According to Richard Budd, chairman and chief executive officer, "The revenue decrease reflects
three factors: the decline in average sales price for seed products because of excessive worldwide supplies, a delayed harvest of turfgrass seed in Oregon that compressed our fall sales opportunity, and our ongoing strategy to focus on proprietary, higher margin internally produced seeds at the expense of larger volume but lower margin common variety sales.

"In recent months we have invested in a number of activities that were disruptive but clearly provide long-term benefits by giving the company a terrific competitive advantage. We are in the final stages of consolidating our turfgrass seed facilities, completing the implementation of the Oracle® based enterprise resource planning system that will provide essential sales and inventory forecasting information, assessing and reengineering business flow processes, and investing in an automated packing line. All of this will be accomplished before the spring shipping season,'' he said.

During the quarter, a patent covering key Hybrigene technology was issued and the company also received notice of allowance for its first alfalfa product patent.

The Company indicated that it is currently completing the due diligence process for a combination of long-term debt of up to $20 million and a new revolving credit facility for up to $115 million. "Due  diligence meetings are under way now with potential members of a syndicate being formed by General Electric Credit Corp. and the refinancing is scheduled to be completed soon. In the meantime, we are functioning well with our existing line of credit, which doesn't expire until June 2001,'' Budd said.

In looking ahead, he said that , "Although seasonal factors always generate losses in the company's second quarter, pent up demand from the shortened fall turf season and a second consecutive strong forage season anticipated for this spring should bode well for AgriBioTech's third and fourth quarters. In addition, our turfgrass sales to mass merchandisers continue to grow. We expect to see stronger demand for our highly regarded, higher margin proprietary forage products this spring, and we will be introducing several new Hytest corn hybrid products this year.

"We continue to increase our ratio of proprietary products and reduce expenses, with the objective of achieving profitability before the end of fiscal 2000. I fully expect us to be operating in an efficient and coordinated manner when the third quarter rolls around--and that's always a big quarter for us.

"Although we will not face the huge losses experienced in prior quarters, as we go through the
remainder of the year, we will be faced with decisions that require us to choose between short-term profitability and true long-term opportunity to significantly increase shareholder value. We will continue to invest for the long term, especially in our R&D program,'' he said.

Certain of the statements in this press release, including, for example: expectations of future demand and sales for ABT's products; ABT's ability to finalize the new, long-term financing; and the objective of a return to profitability in Fiscal Year 2000 are, or could be considered, forward looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. They are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results could differ materially. The risks and uncertainties associated with these statements include, but are not limited to: actual customer orders and purchases, which are dependant, in part, on weather patterns and competitor activity; ability of ABT to package and deliver needed seed inventory; ability of ABT to finalize the transactions to obtain debt financing, which depend on potential lenders' assessments of ABT's assets, overall financial condition and operations; ability of ABT to successfully manage the integration; ability of ABT to control and reduce costs; and ability of ABT to successfully transition to the new Oracle based ERP system; and other factors as detailed from time to time in ABT's most recently filed Form 10-K and other SEC filings.

The company indicated that it will file its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30 by the end of this week to allow for inclusion of new segment reporting data.

AgriBioTech, Inc. is a vertically integrated, full-service seed company specializing in the forage and turfgrass sector, complete with research and development of proprietary seed varieties, seed
processing plants, and a national and international distribution and sales network. ABT's vision is to lead the turf and forage seed industry in discovering its value potential.

Company news release
N2235