TSX - NRG
OTCQX - ANRGF
CALGARY, March 18, 2015 /CNW/ - (TSX - NRG; OTCQX - ANRGF) - Alter NRG Corp., ("Alter NRG" or the "Company") is pleased to report on its corporate activities and financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. Walter Howard, CEO of Alter NRG, will host a conference call on Thursday March 19th at 9:00am MT (11:00 AM ET) to discuss fourth quarter financial results.
The conference call will include a brief presentation about Alter NRG's fourth quarter 2014 financial results and then a question and answer period with management.
Investors can access the call by dialing the following numbers:
Participants, International Toll Free: 201-689-8349
Participants, US/CAN Toll free: 877-407-8293
Conference ID: Alter NRG Corp. Earnings Call
Live web cast link: http://public.viavid.com/player/index.php?id=113616
The live call can also be accessed through Alter NRG Investor Relations section of its website at http://www.alternrg.com. A replay of the call will also become available on the Alter NRG's website following the live call.
2014 was a record year for Alter NRG in terms of sales, minimizing the operational cash burn, and increasing the pipeline of opportunities. For the year, Alter NRG increased sales to $24.3 million which is an increase of 68% over the prior year and the largest annual revenues in the Company's history. This revenue increase reflects the maturing business plan of Westinghouse Plasma Corporation. 2014 ended with a strong fourth quarter which achieved gross margins of 63%. Currently there are five separate facilities being constructed or recently commissioned with over $1 billion of total capital spending with the Westinghouse Plasma Solution as the core enabling technology. The Westinghouse Plasma Technology continues to be the market leader in terms of reference facilities and commercial experience in next generation waste-to-energy solutions.
2014 HIGHLIGHTS
- Supported commissioning efforts for the first Tees Valley project being developed by Air Products, a Fortune 500 Company, which has completed final construction and began commissioning in 2014. Air Products expects the first plant to go into commercial operation in 2015. Once operational, the facility will generate approximately 49 MW of electricity from non-recyclable waste and produce enough reliable, controllable and renewable electricity to power up to 50,000 homes.
- Continued equipment fabrication for the US$21 million purchase ordered by Air Products for the second facility in Tees Valley, England. The second facility is on adjacent lands and of a similar size and configuration as the first facility. Alter NRG is approximately 94% done the fabrication efforts with major pieces of our gasification solution being delivered by the end of 2014, on-time and on-budget.
- In February 2014, the Company announced a US$15 million sale of the Westinghouse Plasma Solution in Bijie, China. The project is anticipated to take 600 tonnes per day of waste and convert it into electricity and slag by-products. The project ran into a regulatory delay, however received final approvals in late Q4, 2014. The project is currently in the engineering phase and the site is being prepared for construction. The scope of supply is being finalized and we expect this will be followed by commencement of fabrication of the Westinghouse Plasma Gasifier. This project is being advanced by Green Environmental Solutions, and this is the first of many similar projects being advanced by them in Southern China.
- Supported the commissioning of a hazardous waste destruction facility in Shanghai China being operated by GTS Energy. This reference facility handles 30 tonnes per day and complements the incineration market as it turns medical waste and hazardous incinerator fly-ash into an environmentally friendly slag and provides increased energy production. In the first quarter 2014, the Company signed a joint development and marketing agreement which provides for worldwide selling and marketing rights for the sale of turnkey waste-to-energy destruction units. Alter NRG is finalizing product specifications and marketing materials for this product. Once successfully commissioned, potential customers began touring the facility. In November 2014, the Company and GTS Energy co-hosted an open house with over 75 potential customers in attendance.
- Announced that our technology has been selected by China Everbright International Ltd. ("Everbright") for a proposed project in Nanjing, China. Everbright is a leading alternative energy organization with waste-to-energy projects and assets of approximately US$6 billion. The project is being designed to process 500 tonnes of waste per day, of which a portion will be gasified using the Westinghouse Plasma Technology. The project began engineering in late 2014 and we expect construction to begin in the latter half of 2015.
- Advanced business development efforts with Waste2Tricity supporting activities in England and Thailand. Last year, the Company granted them an exclusive license in the Thailand market for US$2 million. Waste2Tricity has been developing several projects in Thailand, which are expected to enter into the engineering phase in 2015. There is also a project in England which has advanced to a concept design study. Waste2Tricity has a common shareholder with Alter NRG, Ervington Investments Limited which is a company that has Roman Abramovich as its ultimate beneficial owner.
- Sunshine Kaidi New Energy Group Co., Ltd ("Kaidi") completed construction of its demonstration facility in China and the Westinghouse Plasma Solution was commissioned in 2012. The facility processes 100 tonnes per day of biomass waste and converts it into liquid fuels. Recently, Kaidi announced that it had 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, engineering support and equipment purchase agreements with Kaidi.
- Supported business development efforts for a project in Barbados which is expected to take approximately 600 tonnes per day of the island's waste and convert it to electricity. Cahill Energy signed an agreement with the Government of Barbados on March 15, 2014 to build and operate a leading edge clean energy plant on the Caribbean island. Established to finance, build, own and operate utility-scale waste-to-energy plants in key markets, Cahill Energy plans to utilize the Westinghouse Plasma Technology to transform all kinds of waste on Barbados into clean, renewable energy. The project is currently looking for its development financing and upon success is expected to enter into engineering in 2015.
- Announced the Marc 4.5 Westinghouse Plasma torch which provides up to 40% greater overall torch efficiency when utilized in the large scale 1,000 tonnes per day Westinghouse G65 Plasma Gasifier. In addition to supporting Westinghouse Plasma waste-to-energy facilities, the newly designed torch satisfies a market demand for an efficient and clean heat source for metallurgical recycling, blast-furnaces, foundry cupolas, iron making and other industries using coal, coke, or higher cost fuels. These torches have been delivered to the Tees Valley site for commissioning.
- Continued due diligence and financing efforts related to the Company's investment options in current projects, as well as supporting developers in the late stages of development. These relationships allow for participation in the annuity cashflow of projects through a partnership structure. These relationships are favorable 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. Alter NRG is also working as a minority partner in several projects, including one in the United Kingdom which has a permitted site and is currently working towards securing key contracts.
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 undertaking engineering and are 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 February of 2014, the Company closed a financing of common shares for $5 million at a price of $2.56 per common share. The strengthened balance sheet has put the Company in a stronger financial position.
- Announced the implementation of a Strategic Advisory Group which includes industry experts for various market segments including conversion of syngas to liquids fuels, waste to energy facilities in Europe, and the use of plasma torches for industrial and metallurgical applications.
- Announced the appointment of Scott Whitney to the Board of Directors. Scott was previously the President of Covanta, Europe and brings a wealth of contacts and industry knowledge in the waste-to-energy market.
CEO'S MESSAGE
As an engineer, I am very pleased that we have delivered the equipment for the second Tees Valley project on-time and on-budget. In fact, after all is said and done, we may very well end up with better margins than we predicted. However, the key underlying fact is that Alter NRG has very quickly built a skill set to be able to execute on the complex international procurement, fabrication and construction of the Westinghouse Plasma gasification equipment. With 83 separate pieces of equipment sourced from 12 countries, this is a major achievement and this skill set is a further competitive advantage for the future. The stability of our management team and engineering talent speaks volumes about our ability to satisfy, and to exceed, our customers' needs.
This year our technology has emerged front and center in the worldwide waste-to-energy markets as a viable alternative. Evidence of this includes:
- Co-presenting at the Abu Dhabi Power Gen conference with GE. This has led to further co-marketing efforts where the syngas we create from waste products can be used to replace LNG, or natural gas currently being used in GE turbines in areas of the world with high fuel costs, such as natural gas in the European Union, and LNG in Southeast Asia.
- Landing another major customer by having China Everbright select our technology for their project in Nanjing, China. This is SE Asia's largest waste-to-energy company and having their endorsement has attracted attention from other major waste companies in that region.
- Presenting at the industry recognized Gasification Technologies Council on the opening day of the U.S. conference with other industry leaders like Siemens, GE, CB&I, ThyssenKrupp, and Shell. It was only a few years ago we were relegated to the last day! It is gratifying to be presenting on Day 1 with the other industry leaders.
- As the industry leader, we have been invited to chair conferences, and present, in Australia, Central Europe, India, China, Central America and South Africa.
During 2014, we introduced a new product offering with the commissioning of the hazardous waste destruction facility in Shanghai, China. This facility built upon the commercial success of our plant in Pune, India which has been in operation since 2008 and has processed over 500 different types of hazardous waste materials. The China facility is a modular construction approach which has lowered the capital cost of our solution and also made it readily transportable to be delivered around the world. Even better, outside of China, we now offer a turnkey product under our complete control. This turnkey product has a shorter permitting cycle as it is normally located at an existing site and therefore only requires permit amendments in most cases rather than a brand new permit. I believe that this product line will be a major part of our continued revenue growth in 2015 and 2016.
An event which we have all been eagerly anticipating the first Tees Valley Renewable Energy facility is now finished construction and is in commissioning. This facility is truly a next generation facility which is taking 950 tonnes per day of household waste and converting it into 49 MW of electricity. This is an efficiency that the incumbent technology of incineration cannot equal. Not only does it have superior efficiency but has better environmental performance including lower CO2 emissions per kilowatt generated, significantly lower emissions of harmful gases like dioxins and furans, and a slag that can be used as construction aggregate instead of a harmful ash left behind by incineration. This project, owned by the widely-respected Air Products, has many potential customers watching it and we expect that this will lead to some new customers, and increased sales velocity moving forward. There simply is no competitive product in terms of economical scale and performance. That fact continues to bring us opportunities for advantageous co-investment in the projects themselves, which will bring us long-term predictable cashflows.
Tremendous progress has been made in 2014 in terms of execution, reference facilities, and getting the notice of the industry leaders. This has resulted in substantial increases in the number of projects in our pipeline as well as the quality of those customers. Large-scale projects like those our customers pursue can be frustratingly slow, but be assured we are pushing our agenda as aggressively as possible. I can emphatically say not only that progress is significant, but also that we are poised to disrupt the industry with next generation technology that is more energy efficient as well as environmentally sustainable.
SELECT FINANCIAL RESULTS ($)
Balance Sheet |
December 31, 2014 |
December 31, 2013 |
Total assets |
$ 58,234,486 |
$ 56,944,155 |
Total liabilities |
23,068,580 |
21,099,322 |
Total equity |
35,165,906 |
35,844,833 |
For the Year Ended |
For the Year Ended |
|||
Sales |
$24,253,604 |
$14,436,395 |
||
Gross Profit |
6,712,040 |
2,967,774 |
||
Loss from operations |
8,558,089 |
10,934,774 |
||
Basic and diluted loss per share |
0.31 |
0.43 |
||
Total comprehensive income |
6,478,478 |
10,013,722 |
||
For more information on the Company's financial results please visit www.alternrg.com or www.sedar.com to view Alter NRG's 2014 Annual Report.
The Toronto Stock Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
ABOUT ALTER NRG
Alter NRG provides alternative energy solutions to meet the growing demand for environmentally responsible and economically viable energy in world markets. Alter NRG's primary objective is to further commercialize the Westinghouse Plasma Gasification Technology, through its wholly owned subsidiary, to provide renewable and clean energy solutions from a wide variety of feedstocks, and provide a wide variety of energy outputs - including liquid fuels like ethanol and diesel, electrical power, and syngas.
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", "objective", "may", "will", "believe", "intends", "hope", 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 Company'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; environmental performance including, but not limited to, emissions of CO2, harmful gases and slag; margins associated with projects; the technology used in the alternative energy industry; the amount of electricity that will be generated by projects; the amount of waste that will be converted by projects; the cost to complete the construction of phases of projects and entire projects; the timing to complete phases of projects and entire projects; future business opportunities; the anticipated actions of counterparties and potential clients; the continued development of the Company'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 Company. 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 Company's Annual Information Form dated March 27, 2014 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 Company 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 Company 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.
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Walter Howard, Chief Executive Officer, (403) 806-3877, [email protected]; Daniel Hay, Chief Financial Officer, (403) 214-4235, [email protected]
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