Alter NRG Reports 2013 Activities and Financial Results

TSX - NRG
OTCQX - ANRGF

CALGARY, March 26, 2014 /CNW/ - (TSX - NRG) (OTCQX - ANRGF) - Alter NRG Corp., ("Alter NRG" or the "Corporation") is pleased to report on its corporate activities and financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.

2013 Highlights

• Sales of $14.4 million are a year to date increase over the same period of the prior year of 5.3%.  This revenue increase reflects the emerging business plan for the Westinghouse Plasma Technology. Revenues include sales income from four separate facilities being constructed or commissioned.  Also included are plasma torch sales to the China market and licensing fees from developers with emerging business plans.  Subsequent to year-end, a fifth facility has been announced and the pipeline continues to grow and mature.
  
  
• Executed on the $21 million purchase order from Air Products, a US based Fortune 500 Company, which had previously announced its intention to build four additional advanced gasification facilities in the United Kingdom in the coming years.  They are finalizing construction of a facility that is using the Westinghouse Plasma Solution to convert 950 tonnes per day of household waste into 50MW of electricity in Northeast England.  The facility has started commissioning and will be the world's largest plasma gasification facility by a significant margin.
  
  
• Air Products has ordered a second Westinghouse Plasma Solution for a 50MW project on adjacent lands in Tees Valley.  The second facility, of the same size and configuration as the first project, has started initial construction efforts.  This sale illustrates Air Products' intention to advance multiple projects in their waste to energy business unit and the confidence in the Westinghouse Plasma Technology.
  
  
• In February 2014, the Company announced a $15 million sale of the Westinghouse Plasma Solution in Bijie China.  The project intends to take 600 tonnes per day of waste and convert it into electricity.  The project has started the detailed engineering and site preparation and the Company expects to begin construction on the equipment in the second quarter of 2014 once final Chinese government approvals are obtained.  The project is being advanced by Green Environmental Solutions, and this is the first of 8 similar projects being advanced by them in Southern China.
  
  
• Supported final construction and commissioning of a hazardous waste destruction facility in Shanghai China being constructed by GTS Energy. In addition, the Company signed a joint development and marketing agreement which provides for worldwide selling and marketing rights for the sale of turn-key waste to energy destruction units.  The facility has completed construction and is currently finalizing its commissioning.  This reference facility complements the incineration market as it turns a hazardous ash into an environmentally friendly slag and provides increased energy production.
  
  
• Signed an agreement to provide $12 million of Westinghouse Plasma Torches to Beijing Huanyu GuanChuan Plasma Technology Ltd.  ("GuanChuan").  During the first quarter of 2013, GuanChuan placed an approximate $1 million order for the first four plasma torches which were delivered in 2013.  GuanChuan is using the plasma torches in industrial furnace applications for the steel and iron industry in China which is a promising growth market.  The first sale represents a reference case for the industry and GuanChuan is expected to order further plasma torches in 2014 and beyond.
  
  
• Advanced business development efforts with SMS Infrastructure ("SMS") on several projects which advanced into formal regulatory process in early 2013.  Previously, SMS constructed two hazardous waste facilities utilizing the Westinghouse Plasma Solution.  SMS is developing and marketing in India and the Middle East for hazardous waste treatment facilities between 30 and 100 tonnes per day.  SMS provides turn-key hazardous waste facilities to the market using the Westinghouse Plasma Solution and has approximately 140 people in their gasification division.  SMS continues to market and sell smaller scale facilities using the Westinghouse Plasma Solution
  
  
• Advanced business development efforts with Waste2Tricity for a 100,000 tonnes per annum project in England, as well as an exclusive license in the Thailand market for $2 million.  Waste2Tricity has been developing several projects in Thailand and the project in England began with the concept design study.  Waste2Tricity has a common shareholder with Alter NRG, Ervington Investments Limited ("Ervington") which is a company that has Roman Abramovich as its ultimate beneficial owner.
  
  
• Wuhan Kaidi ("Kaidi") completed construction of its demonstration facility in China and the Westinghouse Plasma Solution was commissioned during the first quarter of 2013.  The facility is expected to take 100 tonnes per day of biomass waste and convert it into liquid fuels.  Recently, Kaidi purchased the Rentech liquids conversion technology to convert the syngas into liquid fuels which is a promising step forward for the demonstration project.  Alter NRG is currently advancing technology licensing and further equipment purchasing arrangements with Kaidi.
  
  
• Supported a project in Barbados for an approximate 600 tonnes per day project that is expected to use the Westinghouse Plasma Technology.  The project is anticipated to provide up to 25% of the electricity for the island and replace the use of expensive fossil fuels currently used.
  
  
• Continued due diligence and financing efforts related to the Company's investment options in current projects.  These options allow for participation in the annuity cashflow of projects through a partnership structure with Alter NRG as the general partner.  Alter NRG has options to invest with key customers, including Air Products, which allow the Company to elect on the option after the project receives regulatory approval but without any promoted costs.  This is a favorable option for the Company as it does not have to deploy the risky development capital but can participate in the project level annuity cashflow after the project has been de-risked.

In addition to the highlights above, customers around the globe continue to advance their business development efforts using the Westinghouse Plasma Solution.  This includes exclusive license agreements for territories that are in advanced negotiations as well as projects which are doing engineering and in regulatory approval processes.  The project pipeline continues to grow and hit commercial milestones, however many of the projects in the pipeline still require additional milestones to be achieved and face risks outlined in the Company's Annual Information Form (available on SEDAR).

CORPORATE

• In January of 2013, the Company closed a financing of common shares with a strategic shareholder,  Ervington Investments Limited ("Ervington"), which is a company that has Roman Abramovich, a successful entrepreneur, as its ultimate beneficial owner. Ervington has complementary investments in the waste-to-energy space and has the potential to be part of a larger group that will consider participating in waste-to-energy projects. The financing, led by Ervington, was for 34.2 million shares at a price of $0.325 for a total investment of $11.1 million.
  
  
• In February of 2014, the Company closed a financing of common shares for $5 million at a price of $0.64 per common share.  The strengthened balance sheet in conjunction with the orders in late 2013 and early 2014 put the Company in a strong financial position.

For more information on the Corporation's activities please visit www.alternrg.com or www.sedar.com  to view Alter NRG's 2013 Annual Report.

CEO'S MESSAGE

In our last annual report, I talked about hitting the "tipping point" as Westinghouse Plasma Technology has become the dominant and recognized leader in next generation waste treatment solutions and continues to set the standard for the industry. I have been involved in many technology companies and after hitting the tipping point, the market penetration accelerates. Our case is no different, and 2013 has been a successful year of market penetration with follow-on orders, new customers, and new market applications unfolding. With an industry leading technology, a large pipeline and a dedicated team, the commercial momentum continues to accelerate.

When I took the helm at Alter NRG about two years ago, the Company was just announcing their first large-scale facility order. Currently, there are 5 facilities in construction or commissioning which illustrates the market acceptance and industry leadership position of our technology. This is in addition to our commercial pipeline which continues to mature with several other projects in the environmental approvals process, and later stage development. Each new project is another reference facility that enhances our market penetration strategy. The addressable market is immense; what is important at this stage is to penetrate key arenas. The market penetration strategy is magnified as there are multiple business plans that are advancing projects of many different sizes, feedstocks and outputs.

It is sometimes understated how many market applications our technology has. The ability to convert most waste into syngas allows for further conversion downstream into liquid fuels, electricity, or to replacing fuel oil or LNG. This technology is broadly applicable to energy markets. With reference facilities taking biomass to diesel fuel, large-scale household waste to electricity, smaller-scale hazardous waste to electricity, auto-shredder residue to steam, we have many applications already completed and more being finalized. However, the importance of scale-up of our technology to 1,000 tonnes per day cannot be underestimated as this is the size that is meaningful to larger and very capable customers as it provides significant economies of scale.

Sales are paramount but we also have to back that up with a quality product. I am pleased to say that we are also executing effectively. During the year, we delivered our portion of the Tees Valley 1 project, which will take 950 tonnes per day of waste and convert it into 50MW of renewable energy. This is a major milestone and now we look to focus on the successful commissioning and start-up of that facility.

One unique application highlighted in the Annual Report (available at www.alternrg.com) is an incinerator "turbo charger" a facility is being commissioned in China that will eliminate the hazardous ash from incinerators and increase their revenue and output. I am excited to see multiple markets and applications for our technology by multiple customers as it increases the pace of the commercial roll-out of this industry- leading technology.

The reality of our marketplace is that industry events focused on the technical aspects of the Westinghouse Plasma Technology recognize our strategic and commercial value, garnering attention from leading multi-national companies. Recognition of that value amongst investors must naturally follow that in due course. Our technology has significant value and we will continue efforts to ensure this gets reflected in our stock price, and through increased revenues and cashflow.

We appreciate the support from our investors as we continue our journey past the tipping point, and continue to develop commercial momentum through increased market penetration. I believe 2014 will be an exciting year as our momentum continues to increase and our growth is supported by a strong management and technical team and a recently strengthened balance sheet. The best is yet to come.

SELECT FINANCIAL RESULTS ($)
		December 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
Total assets		$56,944,155		$57,566,565
Total liabilities		21,099,322		23,430,697
Total equity		35,844,833		34,135,868
		For the Year Ended		For the Year Ended
		December 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
Sales		$14,436,395		$13,699,743
Gross profit		2,967,774		1,666,547
Loss from continuing operations		(10,934,774)		(10,711,029)
Net loss from discontinued operations		-		(395,997)
Basic and diluted loss per share - continuing operations		(0.11)		(0.16)
Basic and diluted loss per share - discontinued operations		-		(0.01)

For more information on the Corporation's financial results please visit www.alternrg.com or www.sedar.com to view Alter NRG's 2013 Annual Report.

The Toronto Stock Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Advisory Respecting Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends", "confident", "might" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains forward-looking information and statements pertaining to the following: availability and cost of key materials and labour and availability of funds with respect to the amount of capital expenditures and scheduled commencement of operations; timing of regulatory approval including various permits from the applicable government authorities; the assessment of capital markets including the availability of debt and equity in current market conditions; commodity prices for electricity, natural gas, coal and other resources that impact the Corporation's operations directly and indirectly; extent of investment by government authorities in infrastructure projects; the financial and operational health of key partners in various projects; the continued development of the Corporation's technology and its use in various applications and other expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives, assumptions, information and statements about possible future events, conditions, results of operations or performance. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release.

The forward-looking information and statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and assumptions, based on information currently available to management. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. Among the material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are: that the information is of a preliminary nature and may be subject to further adjustment; unforeseen environmental effects; the completion of strategic partner's projects; arrangements with key suppliers; potential product liability and other claims; other business risks outlined in this news release, including risks associated with the proprietary technology; the possible unavailability of financing at competitive rates and the related effect on development activities; the effect of energy price fluctuations; changes in government regulation, including changes to environmental regulations; the effects of competition; the dependence on senior management and key personnel, and fluctuations in currency exchange rates and interest rates, as well as those factors discussed in or referred to under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's Annual Information Form dated March 28, 2013 available at www.sedar.com.  Such information and statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information or statements.

The Corporation cautions that the foregoing list of assumptions, risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. The forward-looking information and statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release, and the Corporation assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required pursuant to applicable securities laws.

 

SOURCE: Alter NRG Corp.

Walter Howard, Chief Executive Officer
[phone] [email protected]

Daniel Hay, Chief Financial Officer
[phone]  [email protected]