OTTAWA, Feb. 28, 2018 /CNW/ - BluMetric Environmental
Inc. (TSXV: BLM) is pleased to announce revenue of $7.6 million and net income of $101,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2018,
ended December 31, 2017.
Financial Highlights
- Revenue for the quarter is $7.6
million, a decrease of 9% compared to $8.3 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.
- Gross margin increased to 22% compared to 20% in the
same quarter the previous year. The Company delivered on new
contracts for wastewater treatment systems in the first quarter of
2018, whereas in the prior year, there was less activity in these
higher-margin projects.
- Operating costs increased to $1.4
million from $1.3 million in
the same quarter prior year. The increase in the quarter is driven
largely by the Company's severance payment obligations of
$250,000, less withholdings, in
respect of salary, bonus, and vacation to the Company's former
CEO. The full amount was included in operating costs during
the quarter. This was offset slightly by a reduction in bad
debts.
- Net income was $101,000,
compared to a net income of $228,000
in the same quarter the previous year.
- EBITDA (see Note 1 definition below) decreased to
$301,000 from $515,000 in the same quarter the previous
year.
- BluMetric was not in compliance with two of its covenants
related to its demand credit facility as at December 31, 2017. This situation has created a
technical cross-default with the Company's five-year term-loan
agreement. Although the Company has received a waiver from its
term-loan lender with respect to this cross-default, IFRS
nonetheless requires the Company to re-classify the five-year term
loan at December 31, 2017 to current
liabilities.
Operational Highlights
In light of its ongoing integration of services and products,
BluMetric continues to focus on key markets and key clients to
support its growth. The Mining, Government, Food &
Beverage, Military, Industrial Wastewater, and Commercial/Land
Development sectors are expanding, and the Company is active in all
with steady successes this quarter.
- Mining: The mining industry as a whole has continued to be
increasingly active, and BluMetric's expanded services and
solutions have proven very attractive. The Company secured and
completed a range of contracts with some of the largest players in
the mining industry. These contracts included site assessment,
pilot testing, and discharge water treatment.
- Food & Beverage: Current projects include a wastewater
treatment system for a major food processing company in
El Salvador and the first contract
for the design, supply, and installation of a wastewater treatment
system at a craft brewery in Ontario.
- Government: BluMetric secured a sizable provincial government
contract for the Assessment of Water Resources with reference to
water quantity management, and signed significant contracts in
Canada's Arctic for training and
building capacity in local labour forces for the reduction of
environmental liabilities.
- Military: BluMetric continues to supply, refurbish, and repair
fresh water and wastewater treatment systems.
- Development: BluMetric is increasingly being asked to design
and supply wastewater treatment systems, an evolution from its
traditional site assessment and analysis roles.
- BluMetric is seeing new opportunities in waste management, as
it was contracted by one of the largest solid waste disposal
facilities in North America to
design and construct a landfill leachate pilot system for one of
their landfills in eastern Ontario. The pilot system has been
constructed and will be commissioned in the spring of
2018.
- BluMetric was awarded a US patent for the Membrane Ammonia
Removal System (MARS), which is a proprietary ammonia removal
system for the mining, industrial, and municipal sectors.
Outlook
BluMetric is in a good position to achieve organic growth with
its established clients and substantial new growth in targeted
sectors. Providing solutions that are both innovative and
dependable for existing clients while using new technology to
address emerging contaminants and secure new clients will drive the
business forward.
"During the first quarter we began re-tasking the organization
on two key initiatives," said Dan
Scroggins, Interim CEO and Senior Vice President, Research
& Innovation of BluMetric. "First, we concentrated a
substantial portion of our efforts in areas such as government and
mining, where we have been successful in the past. Second, we
refocused our remaining resources on sectors with the greatest
growth potential: industrial, commercial, and food and
beverage. Scott MacFabe, our new CEO as of March 1, 2018, will add strength to these
initiatives and we feel that BluMetric now has the tools and is
well-positioned for significant client-centred
growth."
|
Financial
Summary
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
December 31, 2017
|
Three Months
Ended
December 31, 2016
|
|
($000)
|
($000)
|
|
Revenue
|
7,560
|
8,288
|
|
Gross
profit
|
1,671
|
1,697
|
|
Gross margin
%
|
22%
|
20%
|
|
Operating
expenses
|
1,422
|
1,280
|
|
EBITDA1
|
301
|
515
|
|
Adjusted
EBITDA2
|
303
|
480
|
|
Net
earnings
|
101
|
228
|
|
Earnings per share
–basic
|
0.00
|
0.01
|
|
Earnings per share
–diluted
|
0.00
|
0.01
|
|
|
Note 1: EBITDA is a
non-IFRS measure and is calculated as net income before interest
expense, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
|
|
Note 2: Adjusted
EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure and is calculated as EBITDA, gain or
loss on foreign exchange, stock-based compensation, gain or loss on
sale of property plant and equipment, gain or loss on debt
conversion, unrealized gains on investments held for sale, and
impairment of goodwill.
|
The full results are available at www.sedar.com.
About BluMetric Environmental Inc.
BluMetric
Environmental Inc. is a publicly traded cleantech company with a
portfolio of industry-leading products, processes, and services in
the environment sciences and engineering sectors. BluMetric takes
pride in its strong record of providing sustainable solutions to
the world's environmental challenges. Headquartered in
Ottawa, Ontario, BluMetric's team
of industry experts serves clients in Canada, the United
States, and Central America.
For more information, visit www.blumetric.ca
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the
statements in this press release, including those relating to the
Company's quarterly and annual results, future products,
opportunities and cost initiatives, strategies, and other
statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer
to future events or conditions, or that include words such as
"expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes",
"estimates", or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of securities laws. Forward-looking statements
include, without limitation, the information concerning possible or
assumed future results of operations of the Company. These
statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the
Company's expectations, estimates, and projections regarding future
events. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or
release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as
required by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release
SOURCE BluMetric Environmental Inc.
