WATERLOO, ON,
Nov. 2
/CNW/ - ARISE Technologies Corporation ("ARISE" or "the Company") (TSX: APV and Frankfurt: A3T), a leader in high-performance, high-quality, cost-effective solar technology, today announced that its shipments of photovoltaic ("PV") cells in the third quarter ended
September 30, 2009
were approximately 3.5MW, a 21% increase from the 2.9MW shipped in the second quarter, for a total of approximately 8.7MW shipped through the first nine months of the year.
ARISE also reported that in the first month of the fourth quarter, it shipped 2.3MW of PV cells, bringing its year-to-date shipment total to 11MW. For 2009, ARISE expects its total PV cell shipments to external customers to exceed 15MW, compared to 11.2MW in 2008.
"Our 2009 third-quarter shipments, production output, and PV cell manufacturing metrics were a solid improvement over the second quarter of 2009," said
Vern Heinrichs
, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We expect fourth quarter shipments to be about 7MW and that our subsidiary, ARISE Technologies Deutschland GmbH, which operates our PV cell factory in
Germany
will have a positive EBITDA. Preliminary results for October show that the PV cell factory had a positive EBITDA for the month."
Management uses net income (loss) as presented in the consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss as well as EBITDA ("Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization") as measures to access performance of the Company. EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure.
ARISE plans to release its 2009 third-quarter and nine-month financial results after the close of trading on the
Toronto
Stock Exchange on
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
. The Company will hold a conference call and webcast for investors on
November 12, 2009
at
8:30 a.m.
(Eastern).
Third quarter 2009 revenues from PV cells are expected to total approximately
$6.5 million
, compared with
$15.8 million
in the third quarter of 2008, and
$6.6 million
in the second quarter of this year. Total PV cell sales for the first nine months of the year are expected to total approximately
$19.9 million
, compared to
$16.0 million
for the first nine months of 2008.
The Company's focus on tightly managing costs is expected to result in a further reduction in operating expenses during the third quarter of 2009, which should be down from the second quarter of the year.
For the three-months ending
September 30, 2009
, ARISE expects to report total revenue of approximately
$6.6 million
(consisting of PV cells shipments and sales from its Systems Division) and a net loss of approximately
$5.4 million
or between
$0.04
and
$0.05
per basic and diluted common share. This compares to a net loss of
$8.2 million
or
$0.06
per basic and diluted common share on sales of
$15.9 million
, in the third quarter of 2008. In the second quarter of 2009, the Company reported a net loss of
$13.5 million
or
$0.11
per basic and diluted common share on sales of
$6.6 million
. For the nine-months ended
September 30, 2009
, ARISE expects to report total revenue of
$20.4 million
, compared to
$16.8 million
for the same period in 2008.
ARISE expects the amount of inventory write-downs in the third quarter of 2009 to be far less significant than the write-downs in the second quarter of this year. Inventory write-downs in prior quarters were necessitated, in part, by the global decline in pricing for PV cells and silicon that has taken place since the end of 2008. In recent months, PV cell prices have stabilized as the German market showed a significant increase in demand. Until it starts to generate revenue from its Systems Division, which the Company expects to benefit from the recently announced Ontario Green Energy Act feed-in tariff ("FIT") program, ARISE will derive virtually all of its sales from its PV cell operations.
Early in the fourth quarter, some customers identified a yield issue in their module manufacturing process, which was attributable to some ARISE PV cells produced late in the third quarter. ARISE replaced the entire lot and has returned those cells into inventory. The ARISE PV cell process issue was identified and has been resolved. All customers confirmed that they are pleased with the quality of ARISE's ongoing PV cell production. No shipments or sales of the affected cells are included in the Company's third-quarter results. These cells are now included in inventory at a value of
$2.9 million
, net of a
$0.9 million
provision to allow for the possible decreased yield in the module manufacturing process. The Company intends to convert these cells into modules, which are expected to be deployed in ARISE systems in 2010. The provision is included in the cost of goods sold during the third quarter of 2009.
The Company continues to restrict capital investments mainly to those required for its current operations and is carefully managing its available capital. As at
September 30, 2009
, ARISE had cash and cash equivalents of
$460,000
of which
$250,000
was restricted. Restricted cash consists of funds held in escrow for the completion of leasehold improvements for the Kitchener, Ontario silicon plant.
On
October 2, 2009
, the Company received a receipt for its (final) base shelf prospectus in respect to the potential issuance of up to
$50 million
in ARISE securities. As previously announced, the Company has entered into a
$10 million
Committed Equity Facility Agreement with Haverstock Master Fund, Ltd. ("Haverstock"). The filing of the (final) base shelf prospectus was one prerequisite to the Company being able to drawdown on the Facility. Other requirements include Haverstock's completion of its due diligence process and the obtaining of necessary regulatory exemptive relief and approvals. The Company and Haverstock continue to work towards receiving the necessary regulatory exemptive relief and approvals to allow for the drawdown on the Facility.
On
Oct. 29, 2009
, the Company received an unsecured bridge loan for
$250,000
for its Canadian operations. The bridge loan bears interest of 20% per annum and matures in 60 days. ARISE also expects to file today (
November 2, 2009
) a preliminary prospectus supplement under its base shelf prospectus in respect of a proposed non-brokered offering of units consisting of one share and one share purchase warrant for gross proceeds of up to
$1 million
. Closing of such offering is subject to the approval of the
Toronto
Stock Exchange and the entering into of binding subscription agreements.
The Company continues discussions with Commerzbank AG ("Commerzbank"), with respect to the CAPEX and Working Capital Facility Agreements for the German cell production entity ARISE Technologies Deutschland GmbH. The Company expects these discussions, which are aimed at restructuring the financing to reflect the current market environment, to be finalized by the end of
December 2009
. If ARISE cannot meet certain existing covenants, the bank would be in a position to demand the immediate repayment of its credit facility and enforce on its security. Further, the Company could be required to reclassify its long-term debt as current debt. ARISE is continuing to renegotiate covenants with Commerzbank.
"We are working to address our working capital issues and expect them to be resolved this quarter," stated
Mr. Heinrichs
. "With our focus on producing results in our three divisions, we believe that our various funding plans should result in having the capital to execute on our 2010 plan. Our systems division is also seeing strong interest stemming from the Ontario FIT program. We expect this division to be a source of significant revenue growth in the coming quarters and years."
About ARISE Technologies
ARISE Technologies Corporation, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is dedicated to becoming a leader in high-performance, cost-effective solar technology. The company operates through three divisions. The PV Cell Division manufactures PV (photovoltaic) cells at its first manufacturing plant opened in
April 2008
in Bischofswerda,
Germany
. The division is developing proprietary technology with a target of achieving a step-by-step progression to a high-efficiency level of greater than 20%. The PV Silicon Division is using a proprietary method to produce silicon at 7N+ high-purity (99.99999% purity) for PV cell applications, based on a simplified chemical vapor deposition process. The division is focusing on scaling up its process to provide ARISE with control over its supply, costs, and quality. The PV Systems Division has been providing PV solutions for solar farms and rooftop installations since 1996 throughout
North America
. ARISE is planning to expand its systems business in Ontario under the Ontario FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) program.
The company's shares are listed on the
Toronto
Stock Exchange under the symbol APV and on the
Frankfurt
Open Market Exchange under the symbol A3T. Additional information is available at www.arisetech.com and www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors
Certain statements in this news release may be considered to be forward-looking. Such statements are based on management's current expectations, estimations, and assumptions based on experience, trends, and other factors that are subject to the significant risks and uncertainties described in our regulatory filings. Please refer to these. Such risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic conditions, changing foreign exchange rates, actions by government authorities, the requirement for additional capital, risks associated with manufacturing, industry supply levels, competitive pricing pressures and misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements.
Risk factors relating to ARISE are discussed in the Risk Factors section of ARISE's Annual Information Form and under the headings Liquidity and Capital Resources and Risk and Uncertainties in ARISE's year-end Management's Discussion and Analysis which are or will be available at www.sedar.com. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on ARISE's forward-looking statements. ARISE assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.
%SEDAR: 00017494E
For further information: ARISE Technologies Corporation, 65 Northland Road, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2V 1Y8, Dave Chornaby, Chief Financial Officer, (519) 772-5732, [email protected], www.arisetech.com
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