Polaris Announces Q2 Sales Volumes and Business Update

VANCOUVER, July 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Polaris Materials Corporation (TSX:PLS) (the "Company", "Polaris" or "we") today reported preliminary sales volumes for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Q2 2016 SALES VOLUMES

Sales volumes in Q2 2016 were 946,000 tons, an increase of 83% over Q1 2016 and 42% over Q2 2015.  YTD sales volumes are 1.46 million tons, an increase of 6% over the same period in 2015.  Q2 sales volumes included 61,000 tons from our Long Beach terminal, bringing sales volumes through Long Beach to 93,000 tons since the start of operations in February.  Shipments in the quarter were 936,000 tons, which was within our expected range of 0.9 to 1.1 million tons.

We currently have a healthy sales pipeline in Long Beach, with a number of significant projects identified with construction starts planned for Q3 and Q4 2016.  In the San Francisco Bay Area, sales volumes continue to track closely to 2015, with modest variations between individual points of sale.  Scheduled maintenance at a customer delivery point in San Francisco has now been completed which will improve shipping flexibility for the remainder of the year.

UPDATE TO OUTLOOK

We are currently expecting shipments in Q3 2016 in the range of 700,000 to 900,000 tons, including up to 2 deliveries to Long Beach.  We believe this to be a relatively conservative forecast for what is traditionally our strongest quarter and have visibility on several opportunities for upside in the coming months.  We continue to work with our customers to reduce costs and improve scheduling, which we expect will result in a more balanced delivery profile.  For the full year, we maintain our expectation of sales volumes within our target range of 3.2 million to 3.5 million tons, biased towards the lower end of the range.

Ken Palko, President and CEO, commented: "As expected, Q2 was a solid quarter, and our best since 2014.  We are on track to achieve our target sales volume range for the year and continue to pursue opportunities for incremental sales in Long Beach, San Francisco and other markets."

About Polaris Materials Corporation:
Polaris Materials Corporation is engaged in the development and operation of construction aggregate quarries in Canada to supply distribution facilities in the United States through coastal shipping. The Company's active construction aggregate interests consist of its Orca Sand and Gravel Quarry in British Columbia and two associated receiving terminals in Richmond and Long Beach, California. The Company also owns the Black Bear Project located in close proximity to the Orca Quarry, and a controlling interest in the Eagle Rock Quarry Project, located on the south coast of Vancouver Island.

For further information, please contact:

Nicholas Van Dyk
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development
Polaris Materials Corporation
Tel: [phone] Ext. 111
[email protected]

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements and information appear in this document and include estimates, forecasts, information and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, the future financial or operating performance of the Company, including increases in gross margins, increases in sales volumes (including in the Long Beach market), shipments and selling prices, costs of production, capital and operating expenditures, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of quarrying operations, environmental risks, reclamation expenses, and title disputes, the Canadian dollar compared to the US dollar, increases in Californian construction activity and US infrastructure funding, statements regarding potential new customers and the development of Black Bear. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "should", "plans", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "budget", and "scheduled" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's continuous disclosure documents which are filed with Canadian regulators on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's Annual Report and under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form. Such factors include, amongst others, the effects of general economic conditions, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government authorities, uncertainties associated with legal proceedings and negotiations, industry supply levels, competitive pricing pressures, mineral resource and reserve estimates and the timing and development of the Black Bear project. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements and information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. All written and oral forward-looking statements and information attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.

SOURCE Polaris Materials Corporation

Nicholas Van Dyk, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development, Polaris Materials Corporation, Tel: [phone] Ext. 111, [email protected]