Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) today reported net income of $155.8 million, or $0.94 per diluted share for fourth quarter 2021, compared to net income of $44.7 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for fourth quarter 2020. The company also reported net sales of $1.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021, as compared with net sales of $1.0 billion for the same period a year ago. 

"Q4 was an outstanding quarter, capping off another record year for Darling Ingredients, " said Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Darling Ingredients Inc. "Robust demand in our feed segment aligned with increasing demand at Diamond Green Diesel (DGD) positions us well for strong performance in 2022."

DGD sold a record 370 million gallons of renewable diesel in fiscal year 2021 at an average of $2.07 EBITDA per gallon. The DGD Norco, La. renewable diesel expansion project was commissioned in the fourth quarter and is operating above nameplate capacity.

"DGD is providing a solid return," Stuewe added. "Our announced agreement to purchase Valley Proteins strategically positions us to provide low CI feedstocks to fuel growing demand for renewable diesel. It also opens the door to potential new export opportunities as our world drives toward decarbonization."

The leverage ratio as measured by the company's bank covenant was 1.57x at the end of the year. The company reduced its Term Loan B outstanding balance by $100 million during 2021. Capital expenditures totaled approximately $274 million in 2021.  Repurchase of the company's common stock totaled $167.7 million in 2021.

For the 2021 fiscal year, Darling reported net sales of $4.7 billion, as compared with net sales of $3.6 billion for 2020. Net income attributable to Darling for 2021 was $650.9 million, or $3.90 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $296.8 million, or $1.78 per diluted share, for 2020.

As of Jan. 1, 2022, Darling had $69.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $1.29 billion available under its committed revolving credit agreement. Total debt outstanding at the end of the fiscal year was $1.46 billion.

Combined adjusted EBITDA was $306.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $214.5 million for the same period in 2020. For the 2021 fiscal year, combined adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.235 billion, compared to $841.5 million for fiscal year 2020.

Darling Ingredients Inc. reports Adjusted EBITDA results, which is a Non-GAAP financial measure, as a complement to results provided in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) (for additional information, see "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" included later in this media release). The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional useful information to investors. Adjusted EBITDA, as the Company uses the term, is calculated below:

About Darling

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) is the largest publicly traded company turning food waste into sustainable products and a leading producer of renewable energy. Recognized as a sustainability leader, the company operates 250 plants in 17 countries and repurposes nearly 10% of the world's meat industry waste streams into value-added products, such as green energy, renewable diesel, collagen, fertilizer, animal proteins and meals and pet food ingredients. To learn more, visit darlingii.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Darling Ingredients Inc. will host a conference call to discuss the Company's fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021 financial results at 9 a.m. Eastern Time (8 a.m. Central Time) on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.  To listen to the conference call, participants calling from within North America should dial 1-844-868-8847; international participants should dial 1-412-317-6593.  Please refer to access code 10163722. Please call approximately ten minutes before the start of the call to ensure that you are connected.

The call will also be available as a live audio webcast that can be accessed on the Company website at http://ir.darlingii.com. Beginning one hour after its completion, a replay of the call can be accessed through March 8, 2022, by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (U.S. callers), 1-855-669-9658 (Canada) and 1-412-317-0088 (international callers).  The access code for the replay is 82060219.  The conference call will also be archived on the Company's website.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized accounting measurement under GAAP; it should not be considered as an alternative to net income, as a measure of operating results, or as an alternative to cash flow as a measure of liquidity and is not intended to be a presentation in accordance with GAAP.  Adjusted EBITDA is presented here not as an alternative to net income, but rather as a measure of the Company's operating performance. Since EBITDA (generally, net income plus interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is not calculated identically by all companies, this presentation may not be comparable to EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA presentations disclosed by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated in this presentation and represents, for any relevant period, net income/(loss) plus depreciation and amortization, goodwill and long-lived asset impairment, interest expense, (income)/loss from discontinued operations, net of tax, income tax provision, other income/(expense) and equity in net loss of unconsolidated subsidiary. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating the Company's operating performance compared to that of other companies in its industry because the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA generally eliminates the effects of financing, income taxes and certain non-cash and other items that may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.

As a result, the Company's management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure to evaluate performance and for other discretionary purposes. In addition to the foregoing, management also uses or will use Adjusted EBITDA to measure compliance with certain financial covenants under the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facilities, 5.25% Notes and 3.625% Notes that were outstanding at January 1, 2022. However, the amounts shown in this presentation for Adjusted EBITDA differ from the amounts calculated under similarly titled definitions in the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facilities, 5.25% Notes and 3.625% Notes, as those definitions permit further adjustments to reflect certain other non-recurring costs, non-cash charges and cash dividends from the DGD Joint Venture. Additionally, the Company evaluates the impact of foreign exchange impact on operating cash flow, which is defined as segment operating income (loss) plus depreciation and amortization.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This media release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding the business operations and prospects of Darling Ingredients Inc. and industry factors affecting it. These statements are identified by words such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "could," "may," "will," "should," "planned," "potential," "continue," "momentum," and other words referring to events that may occur in the future.  These statements reflect Darling Ingredient's current view of future events and are based on its assessment of, and are subject to, a variety of risks and uncertainties beyond its control, each of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.  These factors include, among others, existing and unknown future limitations on the ability of the Company's direct and indirect subsidiaries to make their cash flow available to the Company for payments on the Company's indebtedness or other purposes; global demands for bio-fuels and grain and oilseed commodities, which have exhibited volatility, and can impact the cost of feed for cattle, hogs and poultry, thus affecting available rendering feedstock and selling prices for the Company's products; reductions in raw material volumes available to the Company due to weak margins in the meat production industry as a result of higher feed costs, reduced consumer demand or other factors, reduced volume from food service establishments, or otherwise; reduced demand for animal feed; reduced finished product prices, including a decline in fat and used cooking oil finished product prices; changes to worldwide government policies relating to renewable fuels and greenhouse gas("GHG") emissions that adversely affect programs like the U.S. government's renewable fuel standard, low carbon fuel standards ("LCFS") and tax credits for biofuels both in the United States and abroad; possible product recall resulting from developments relating to the discovery of unauthorized adulterations to food or food additives; the occurrence of 2009 H1N1 flu (initially known as "Swine Flu"), Highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza (collectively known as "Bird Flu"), severe acute respiratory syndrome ("SARS"), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (or "BSE"), porcine epidemic diarrhea ("PED") or other diseases associated with animal origin in the United States or elsewhere, such as the outbreak of African Swine Fever ("ASF") in China and elsewhere; the occurrence of pandemics, epidemics or disease outbreaks, such as the current COVID-19 outbreak; unanticipated costs and/or reductions in raw material volumes related to the Company's compliance with the existing or unforeseen new U.S. or foreign (including, without limitation, China) regulations (including new or modified animal feed, Bird Flu, SARS, PED, BSE, ASF or similar or unanticipated regulations) affecting the industries in which the Company operates or its value added products; risks associated with the DGD Joint Venture, including possible unanticipated operating disruptions and issues relating to the announced expansion project; failure to close on strategic acquisitions, such as Valley Proteins; risks and uncertainties relating to international sales and operations, including imposition of tariffs, quotas, trade barriers and other trade protections imposed by foreign countries; difficulties or a significant disruption in our information systems or failure to implement new systems and software successfully,  risks relating to possible third party claims of intellectual property infringement; increased contributions to the Company's pension and benefit plans, including multiemployer and employer-sponsored defined benefit pension plans as required by legislation, regulation or other applicable U.S. or foreign law or resulting from a U.S. mass withdrawal event; bad debt write-offs; loss of or failure to obtain necessary permits and registrations; continued or escalated conflict in the Middle East, North Korea, Ukraine or elsewhere; uncertainty regarding the exit of the U.K. from the European Union; and/or unfavorable export or import markets. These factors, coupled with volatile prices for natural gas and diesel fuel, climate conditions, currency exchange fluctuations, general performance of the U.S. and global economies, disturbances in world financial, credit, commodities and stock markets, and any decline in consumer confidence and discretionary spending, including the inability of consumers and companies to obtain credit due to lack of liquidity in the financial markets, among others, could cause actual results to vary materially from the forward looking statements included in this release or negatively impact the Company's results of operations. Among other things, future profitability may be affected by the Company's ability to grow its business, which faces competition from companies that may have substantially greater resources than the Company. The Company's announced share repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time and purchases of shares under the program are subject to market conditions and other factors, which are likely to change from time to time. Other risks and uncertainties regarding Darling Ingredients Inc., its business and the industries in which it operates are referenced from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Darling Ingredients Inc. is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.