VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 30, 2011) -BioteQ Environmental Technologies, Inc. (TSX:BQE), a leader in the treatment of industrial waste water, reports its unaudited financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2011. All figures are in Canadian dollars and are in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), unless otherwise noted.
Operating and financial results highlights for Q1 2011:
BioteQ's first quarter operating and financial results reflect recurring copper revenues from active water treatment operations in China, engineering services revenues for four plants that are owned by customers, and engineering fee revenues for four new projects in development. The Bisbee operation was inactive during the quarter due to plant repairs. Seasonal fee-based operations in Quebec and the Yukon remained inactive during the winter season; operations staff are currently preparing both plants for the 2011 operating season.
Revenues for the period were $1.3 million compared to $2.5 million in 2010. Revenues are typically lower in the first quarter because seasonal operations are inactive. Revenues during the same quarter last year were higher than usual because BioteQ completed construction of a plant for a customer in the Yukon, Canada, generating one-time revenues, and the Dexing plant in China achieved higher than budgeted production in the first quarter 2010.
Operating income for the period was $218,000 compared to $619,000 in 2010.
The comprehensive net loss for the period was $1.3 million compared to $713,000 in 2010.
BioteQ ended the period with $12.3 million in working capital which included $11.7 million in cash and short-term investments. At December 31, 2010, those balances were $13.8 million and $12.6 million respectively. The Company has no debt.
In joint venture with Jiangxi Copper, a third water treatment plant was under construction during the quarter at the Dexing site in China, applying a new ion exchange process to recover cobalt and nickel from mine drainage at the site. The plant is presently in commissioning, and is expected to enter production during the third quarter. The Company has invested a total of $1.4 million in the plant including $635,000 in Q1 2011.
During the quarter, BioteQ expanded its pipeline of active projects in development. Presently, the company is working on 16 projects, including plant feasibility evaluations, design, engineering and construction projects. Projects underway or completed during the quarter include engineering of a 6,500 m3/h zinc recovery plant for a mining customer, engineering of a molybdenum recovery plant for waste smelter dusts with EcoMetales, engineering of a mobile Sulf-IX™ plant for removal of sulphates with Newalta, and preliminary design of two large, multi-stage water treatment plants for a new mine site. In addition, the Company has a further twelve projects in the early stages of development. The timeline for project execution is subject to key project milestones and customer approvals to proceed.
Subsequent to the quarter end, BioteQ signed a contract with Compania Minera Maricunga, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kinross Gold, to provide process review and commissioning services for a 750 m3/h SART plant currently under construction in Chile. BioteQ has successfully designed and commissioned two other SART plants, and currently has several more SART projects in the early design stages. SART is an enabling technology that can improve gold yields, reduce operating costs, and enhance environmental performance at gold mines where the gold is complexed with copper minerals.
The Company held its Annual General Meeting on May 26, 2011. Shareholders re-elected George Poling, Bruce Burton, Kelvin Dushnisky, Clem Pelletier, Ron Sifton, and Chris Fleming as Directors, and added David Kratochvil, BioteQ's President and Chief Operating Officer, to the Board of Directors.
BioteQ's financial statements and the Company's MD&A have been filed on SEDAR, www.sedar.com, and will be available on the BioteQ website at www.bioteq.ca.
A conference call to discuss the financial results is scheduled for Tuesday May 31 at 11:00 am Eastern. Participants can access the call by dialing 416-340-2217, or 1-866-696-5910, reference number 3277435. A playback of the call will be available until June 14 by dialing 905-694-9451. A recording will be available on the BioteQ website within two days of the call.
BioteQ Corporate Profile
BioteQ creates custom water treatment solutions to recover dissolved metals and remove sulphate from water impacted by mining, energy and industrial activities. The company's clean technologies convert wastewater into a useful resource while delivering lower life cycle costs for water treatment. BioteQ has designed and commissioned 14 plants at sites in Canada, the US, Mexico, Australia and China, with additional projects in development.
BioteQ continues to diversify its technology offering to address challenging water treatment problems in mining, oil and gas, and power generation. The Company is actively marketing its new Sulf-IX™ technology to address tightening regulations for sulphate discharge. The Company's portfolio of metal recovery technologies has expanded to include specialty applications of ion exchange to recover valuable metals. In addition, BioteQ maintains an active research and development program to develop new treatment technologies for emerging water treatment concerns.
BioteQ's sustainable water treatment solutions have been recognized with national and international awards for innovation and sustainability. BioteQ is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and trades on the TSX under the symbol BQE. For additional information, please go to www.bioteq.ca.
BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
Unaudited
| Mar 31 2011 | Dec 31 2010 | Jan 1 2010 | |
| $ | $ | $ | |
| Assets | |||
| Current assets | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 6,149,693 | 4,653,465 | 2,491,302 |
| Short-term investments | 5,572,677 | 7,957,391 | 2,849,244 |
| Trade receivables | 1,780,445 | 1,676,963 | 2,169,978 |
| Receivable from joint venture partners | 129,532 | 180,204 | 47,288 |
| Current portion of loan receivable (note 6) | - | - | 468,424 |
| Net insurance proceeds receivable (note 8) | 609,734 | 618,248 | - |
| Taxes recoverable | - | 15,469 | 76,597 |
| Inventory (note 9) | 56,319 | 54,723 | 673,617 |
| Prepaid expenses | 158,541 | 241,089 | 223,009 |
| 14,456,941 | 15,397,552 | 8,999,459 | |
| Non-current assets | |||
| Loan receivable (note 6) | - | - | 10,339,235 |
| Property, plant and equipment (note 10) | 6,985,438 | 6,671,046 | 10,273,858 |
| Intangible asset | 92,911 | 100,654 | 131,626 |
| Total assets | 21,535,290 | 22,169,252 | 29,744,178 |
| Liabilities | |||
| Current liabilities | |||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 1,999,085 | 1,544,901 | 1,295,759 |
| Taxes payable | 111,538 | - | - |
| Deferred lease inducement | 40,257 | 47,362 | - |
| 2,150,880 | 1,592,263 | 1,295,759 | |
| Non-current liabilities | |||
| Long-term liabilities | 43,145 | 46,884 | - |
| Total liabilities | 2,194,025 | 1,639,147 | 1,295,759 |
| Shareholders' Equity | |||
| Capital stock and warrants (note 11) | 55,222,401 | 55,182,229 | 51,148,380 |
| Contributed surplus (note 11) | 8,074,386 | 8,045,826 | 7,586,362 |
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (1,425,065) | (1,482,945) | - |
| Deficit | (42,530,457) | (41,215,005) | (30,286,323) |
| Total shareholders' equity | 19,341,265 | 20,530,105 | 28,448,419 |
| Total liabilities and shareholders' equity | 21,535,290 | 22,169,252 | 29,744,178 |
| Subsequent event (note 18) |
For a complete set of consolidated financial statements including accompanying notes, go to www.bioteq.ca
BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
For the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010
Unaudited
| 2011 | 2010 | |
| $ | $ | |
| Revenue | 1,323,930 | 2,537,905 |
| Plant and other operating costs other than depreciation | 1,106,038 | 1,918,969 |
| 217,892 | 618,936 | |
| General and administration | 936,405 | 719,586 |
| Marketing and development | 123,008 | 305,810 |
| Stock-based compensation (note 11) | 42,500 | 129,538 |
| Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (note 10) | 148,647 | 207,002 |
| Amortization of intangible asset | 7,743 | 7,743 |
| Loss before the under-noted | (1,040,411) | (750,743) |
| Interest income | 26,998 | 4,887 |
| Other income | - | 39,362 |
| Lease fee income | - | 238,771 |
| Foreign exchange loss | (205,344) | (93,055) |
| Loss before income taxes | (1,218,757) | (560,778) |
| Income taxes (note 12) | 96,695 | 87,456 |
| Net loss for the period | (1,315,452) | (648,234) |
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | ||
| Cumulative translation adjustment | 57,880 | (64,441) |
| Comprehensive loss for the period | (1,257,572) | (712,675) |
| Net loss per share | ||
| Basic | 0.02 | 0.01 |
| Diluted | 0.02 | 0.01 |
| Weighted average number of shares outstanding | ||
| Basic | 69,905,968 | 66,859,449 |
| Diluted | 79,485,333 | 76,488,814 |
For a complete set of consolidated financial statements including accompanying notes, go to www.bioteq.ca
BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc.
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010
Unaudited
| Share capital and warrants | Contributed surplus | Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | Deficit | Total | |
| $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |
| Balance - January 1, 2011 | 55,182,229 | 8,045,826 | (1,482,945) | (41,215,005) | 20,530,105 |
| Issuance of capital stock and warrants (note 11) | - | - | - | - | - |
| Stock-based compensation | - | 42,500 | - | - | 42,500 |
| Exercise of options (note 11) | 40,172 | (13,940) | - | - | 26,232 |
| Net loss for the period | - | - | - | (1,315,452) | (1,315,452) |
| Other comprehensive income for the period | - | - | 57,880 | - | 57,880 |
| Balance - March 31, 2011 | 55,222,401 | 8,074,386 | (1,425,065) | (42,530,457) | 19,341,265 |
| Balance - January 1, 2010 | 51,148,380 | 7,586,362 | - | (30,286,323) | 28,448,419 |
| Issuance of capital stock and warrants (note 11) | 4,000,000 | - | - | - | 4,000,000 |
| Stock-based compensation | - | 129,538 | - | - | 129,538 |
| Exercise of options (note 11) | 22,075 | (7,575) | - | - | 14,500 |
| Net loss for the period | - | - | - | (648,234) | (648,234) |
| Other comprehensive loss for the period | - | - | (64,441) | - | (64,441) |
| Balance - March 31, 2010 | 55,170,455 | 7,708,325 | (64,441) | (30,934,557) | 31,879,782 |
For a complete set of consolidated financial statements including accompanying notes, go to www.bioteq.ca
BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc.
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow
For the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010
Unaudited
| 2011 | 2010 | ||
| $ | $ | ||
| Cash flow provided by (used in) | |||
| Operating activities | |||
| Net loss for the period | (1,315,452) | (648,234) | |
| Items not affecting cash: | |||
| Depreciation of property, plant and equipment | 148,647 | 207,002 | |
| Amortization of intangible asset | 7,743 | 7,743 | |
| Amortization of deferred lease inducement | (7,105) | - | |
| Unrealized foreign exchange loss | 199,525 | 11,049 | |
| Interest income | (26,998) | (4,887) | |
| Stock-based compensation charge (note 11) | 42,500 | 129,538 | |
| (951,140) | (297,789) | ||
| Change in non-cash working capital items (note 13) | 608,620 | 148,926 | |
| Net cash used in operating activities | (342,520) | (148,863) | |
| Investing activities | |||
| Purchase of property, plant and equipment | (535,624) | (4,733) | |
| Purchase of short-term investments | (2,392,972) | (6,045,025) | |
| Proceeds from sale of short-term investments | 4,783,208 | 2,847,301 | |
| Interest received from short-term investments | 21,476 | 5,527 | |
| Repayment of loan receivable | - | 150,000 | |
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 1,876,088 | (3,046,930) | |
| Financing activities | |||
| Proceeds from exercise of options | 26,232 | 14,500 | |
| Proceeds from issuance of capital stock and warrants | - | 4,000,000 | |
| Decrease in long-term liabilities | (3,739) | - | |
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 22,493 | 4,014,500 | |
| 1,556,061 | 818,707 | ||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (59,833) | 9,462 | |
| Increase in cash and cash equivalents | 1,496,228 | 828,169 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | |||
| Beginning of period | 4,653,465 | 2,491,302 | |
| End of period | 6,149,693 | 3,319,471 | |
For a complete set of consolidated financial statements including accompanying notes, go to www.bioteq.ca
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Brad Marchant
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "might" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the development, construction and operation of water treatment plants, variations in water quality, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future and other factors described in the section entitled "Risks" in the Company's Annual Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2010. Circumstances or management's estimates or opinions could change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this release.
Contact Information:
Tanja McQueen
Corporate Development
604-685-1243 or 1-800-537-3073
604-685-7778 (FAX)
investor@bioteq.ca
www.bioteq.ca