MONTREAL, May 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (
http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX: PYR) (NASDAQ: PYR) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company (hereinafter referred to as the “Company” or “PyroGenesis”), that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions which are geared to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG), is pleased to announce today its financial and operational results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2022.
“We are happy to be announcing our Q1 2022 financial results. We have posted quarterly revenues of $4.2MM,” said Mr. P. Peter Pascali, CEO and Chair of PyroGenesis. “Our backlog remains very large, above $41MM, and despite gross reported revenue being impacted this quarter slightly by accounting procedures related to international logistical and shipping challenges, our factories continue to produce at a rapid rate, both against the backlog and in anticipation for new business throughout the year.
Perhaps even more exciting, our new business development efforts have grown dramatically, with a pipeline of pitched projects within the aluminum business line alone now over several hundred million dollars.
2022 continues to build on the foundation set by the previous two years. With the successful execution and delivery of the backlog of signed contracts, the benefit of the biogas upgrading projects from Pyro Green-Gas, and exploding interest across seemingly every aspect of the aluminum industry, 2022 is scaling up to be another great year for the company.
The board and I see continued production and sales success in the months ahead; as our iron ore pelletization torches enter into on-site client install and testing, 3D powder qualification with the global aerospace company moves to the finish line, and some of our potential aluminum projects in negotiations reach a signing point, we expect the backlog to race past the $50MM mark and beyond,” concluded Mr. Pascali.
Q1 2022 results reflect the following highlights:
- Revenues of $4,206,762,
- Gross margin profit of $1,051,723 or 25% of revenue,
- Cash, cash equivalents and publicly traded shares at March 31, 2022 of $18.5MM
- Backlog of signed and/or awarded contracts of $41.2MM
- Milestone new market entry sales, including for the destruction of polyfluoroalkyl substances
OUTLOOK
With 2021 having achieved many important accomplishments and milestones, 2022 has begun by maintaining the accelerated business momentum of the previous two years.
Despite the continuing challenges of the global marketplace due to Covid, plus new challenges resulting from conflict in Ukraine, as well as energy supply shortages in Europe and China impacting both the cost and output of aluminum and steel, opportunities for PyroGenesis continue to expand across the board. Led by unprecedented awareness of the Company’s capabilities across the aluminum industry after the successful commissioning of its DROSRITETM metal recovery systems at a leading Middle Eastern primary aluminum producer; along with the discovery, pursuit, and active engagement of new market prospects both upstream and downstream from the Company’s DROSRITETM systems; and major new developments within primary, secondary (recycled) and tertiary (manufacturers’ in-house casting facilities) aluminum producers who are engaging the Company in a variety of discussions and negotiations regarding metal recovery, furnace retro-fitting, and comprehensive fuel-switching initiatives. These factors, bolstered by the quickening global push towards fossil fuel reduction at both industry and government levels that further showcases the PyroGenesis advantage, allows management to expect that tailwinds into an already strong pipeline will continue throughout 2022 and beyond.
Overall Strategy
Continuing to build on its strategy to offer technology solutions that provide benefits from greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions reduction,
While we had previously considered our strategy to be timely, as many governments are stimulating their respective economies by promoting and funding both environmental technologies and infrastructure projects; and after 2021 proved an even greater affirmation of this approach as major industries and organizations targeted by the Company not only recommitted to their targets, but in some cases raised them significantly, 2022 has brought about more circumstances that highlight how technology solutions like those from PyroGenesis will be in even greater demand.
In particular, the conflict in Ukraine has showed once again how geopolitical influences will continue to impact the supply of metals that are already under extraordinary market demand. As the war in the Ukraine drove supply chain issues and additional sanctions on Russia, aluminum spot-prices spiked as high as 60% year over year in March 2022 – up to $3,487 a tonne, a 30-year high – on worries about supply reductions from aluminum powerhouse Rusal.
The conflict also more fully exposed the vulnerability of aluminum producers to power availability and energy price uncertainty, as current energy supply challenges being experienced by European and Asian metal producers were exacerbated during the war.
All of these factors show that with global metal demand only growing (anticipated to grow by 80% by 2050), and industry carbon-reduction targets not yet on track to meet their goals, producers must find ways to improve their efficiency, and increase their yield of high-quality metal from current production – all while lowering their carbon footprint. PyroGenesis’ range of technology solutions provide just such an opportunity, with the Company’s DROSRITETM systems providing industry-leading dross recovery rates of high-quality aluminum, inline and on-site, with a lower operating expenses and lower carbon footprint than all competing technologies; meanwhile, the Company’s mainstay plasma torch offering provides another technology-driven solution for metal producers looking to reduce their reliance on a volatile natural gas supply chain (or any fossil fuel, for that matter) within any aspect of their operations that require metal melting or heating.
These same or similar pressures are affecting the global steelmaking industry, into which the Company has already sold initial torches for final pre-order trials; the Company expects similar positive outcomes as a result of these additional pressures.
For clarity, as stated many times, most of PyroGenesis’ product lines do not depend on environmental incentives (tax credits GHG certificates, environmental subsidies, etc.) to be economically viable; with the increased commitments by industry to carbon reduction, it is anticipated that the Company’s growth drivers will expand, and shareholders will see increased value.
The Company is not immune to the negative impact that COVID-19 and other external factors brought on businesses, specifically related to the work force and, more importantly, the supply chain. However, Management believes that the Company is better situated than most, and through various mitigation measures these challenges continue to be dealt with in an effective manner. The Company expects even greater improvements as the impact of COVID-19 and other external factors continues to recede after Q2 2022.
Organic Growth
Organic growth will be spurred on by (i) the natural growth of our existing offerings, which continue to be accelerated given our strong balance sheet (ii) leveraging off our insider “Golden Ticket” advantage that because of, for example, the fact that the inline, hot dross-enabled DROSRITETM system in installed inside a customer’s facility (vs. the legacy cold-dross Rotary Salt Furnace approach that is installed off-site), this allows us to see first-hand some of the additional and peripheral needs of our customers, and (iii) exploring new ways scientifically (and corresponding markets laterally) to provide unique solutions and value that helps industries deal with some of the most pressing environmental, engineering, and energy problems.
A “Golden Ticket” provides the opportunity to either, (i) cross sell other products or, ideally, (ii) identify new areas of concern that can be addressed uniquely by PyroGenesis.
Over the past several years, PyroGenesis has successfully positioned each of its business lines for rapid growth by strategically partnering with multi-billion-dollar entities. These entities have identified PyroGenesis’ offerings to be unique, in demand, and of such a commercial nature as to warrant such unique relationships. We expect that these relationships are now positioned to transition into significant revenue streams.
Aluminum Industry Process Improvement
