MONTREAL, June 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR) (OTCQB: PYRNF) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company, (the "Company", the “Corporation” or "PyroGenesis") that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma atomized metal powder, plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch systems, is pleased to announce today its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

“The irony of issuing these 2019 financials knowing full well what has transpired since December 31^st, 2019 has not been lost on the writer, as I hope it will not be lost on the reader as well.  These statements definitely do not represent the current state of affairs at the Company, specifics of which can be gleamed from press releases issued by the Company in 2020.” said P. Peter Pascali, CEO of PyroGenesis Canada Inc. “To date, in 2020 we have not only received significant payments under existing contracts, but have retired the $3MM convertible debenture in full, bought back approximately 1.2 million shares, increased our investment in HPQ, and further benefited from early conversions of warrants maturing in 2021 of over $2MM.  Of note, as of December 31^st, 2019 we have approximately $10MM of in-the-money warrants and options expiring in 2020 and 2021 alone. The Company also has over $50MM in tax loss carryforwards (roughly evenly distributed between federal and provincial tax regimes) which is not reflected as an asset on the balance sheet. Given recent events, and the structuring that took place in 2019, the Company is undeniably well positioned to execute on, and build upon, the backlog of signed contracts which currently stands in excess of $30MM.  With the eagerly anticipated US Navy contract in hand backlog of signed contracts will be in excess of $40MM.  2020 has the potential to be a barn burner by almost any yardstick.”

2019 was a year in which PyroGenesis posted:

• Backlog of signed contracts as of the date of this writing is $30.27MM;
• Revenues of $4,813,978, a decrease of 4% from $5,030,116 year over year;
• Gross margin of 27% an increase of 5% from 22.1% year over year;
• Increase of $197,157 in capitalized patents;
• An Adjusted EBITDA loss of $4.5MM compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.2MM year over year;
• Cash on hand on December 31, 2019 was $34K (December 31, 2018: $645K);

Financial Summary

Revenues

PyroGenesis recorded revenues of $4,813,978 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of 4% compared to $5,030,116 recorded in 2018.

Revenues recorded in fiscal 2019 were generated primarily from:

1. PUREVAP™ related sales of $525,556 (2018 - $1,781,009)
2. DROSRITE™ related sales of $560,916 (2018 - $1,237,740)
3. support services related to systems supplied to the US Military $637,841
   (2018 - $1,451,998)
4. torch related sales of $2,323,351 (2018 - $Nil)
5. other sales and services $766,314 (2018 - $559,369)

Cost of Sales and Services and Gross Margins

Cost of sales and services before amortization of intangible assets was $3,459,753 in 2019, representing a decrease of 9% compared to $3,860,493 in 2018, primarily due to a decrease in employee compensation, a decrease in subcontracting expenses and a decrease in manufacturing overhead and other.

In 2019, employee compensation, subcontracting, manufacturing overhead and other decreased to $2,397,743 (2018 - $2,829,198) while direct materials increased to $1,303,844 (2018- $1,125,645). The gross margin for 2019 was $1,298,092 or 27% of revenue compared to a gross margin of $1,109,297 or 22.1% of revenue for 2018. As a result of the type of contracts being executed, the nature of the project activity had a significant impact on the gross margin and the overall level of cost of sales and services reported in a period, as well as the composition of the cost of sales and services, as the mix between labor, materials and subcontracts may be significantly different. The cost of sales and services for 2019 and 2018 are in line with management’s expectations

Investment tax credits recorded against cost of sales are related to projects that qualify for tax credits from the provincial government of Quebec. Qualifying tax credits increased to $179,670 in 2019, compared to $158,948 in 2018. This represents an increase of 13% year-over-year. The Company continues to make investments in research and development projects involving strategic partners and government bodies.  In total, the Company earned investment tax credits of $354,241 in 2019.

The amortization of intangible assets of $20,133 in 2019 and $60,326 for 2018 relates to patents and deferred development costs. Of note, these expenses are non-cash items and will be amortized over the duration of the patent lives.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Included within Selling, General and Administrative expenses (“SG&A”) are costs associated with corporate administration, business development, project proposals, operations administration, investor relations and employee training.

SG&A expenses for 2019 excluding the costs associated with share-based compensation (a non-cash item in which options vest principally over a four-year period), were $6,017,091, representing an increase of 3% compared to $5,864,528 reported for 2018. 

The increase in SG&A expenses in 2019 over the same period in 2018 is mainly attributable to the net effect of:

1. a decrease of 0.1% in employee compensation due to changes in staffing,
2. a decrease of 10% for professional fees, primarily due to a decrease in consulting fees, legal fees and investor relation expenses,
3. a decrease of 42% in office and general expenses, is primarily due to the adoption of IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective method on January 1, 2019. In 2019 rent included in office and general expenses was $Nil compared to $278,458 in 2018,
4. travel costs increased by 12%, due to an increase in travel abroad,
5. depreciation on property and equipment decreased by 21% due to lower amounts of property and equipment being depreciated. In 2019, depreciation was not taken on the Plasma atomization system (previously asset under development) as it was written off,
6. investment tax credits decreased by 3%, due to a decrease in qualifying projects,
7. government grants increased by 23%, due to a non-refundable government grant contribution for a maximum amount of $350,000 for the period 2018-2020,
8. other expenses decreased by 25%, primarily due to a decrease in subcontracting and advertising expenses,
9. tax assessment represents the amount due from a taxation audit for the period of 2008 to 2011. The Company paid royalties for the use of intangible property prior to the purchase of the asset. The royalties were subject to a 25% withholding tax that was not deducted or withheld by the Company at that time.

Separately, share based payments decreased by 74% in 2019 over the same period in 2018 as a result of the vesting structure of the stock option plan including the stock options granted in 2019.

Research and Development (“R&D”) Costs

The Company incurred $851,512 of R&D costs, net of government grants, on internal projects in 2019, a decrease of 5% compared to $892,045 in 2018. The decrease in 2019 is primarily related to an increase in investment tax credits and government grants recognized.

In addition to internally funded R&D projects, the Company also incurred R&D expenditures during the execution of client funded projects. These expenses are eligible for Scientific Research and Experimental Development (“SR&ED”) tax credits. SR&ED tax credits on client funded projects are applied against cost of sales and services (see “Cost of Sales” above).

Net Finance Costs

Finance costs for 2019 totaled $1,061,267 as compared with $1,525,275 for 2018, representing a decrease of 30% year-over-year. The decrease in finance costs in 2019, is primarily attributable to the adjustment in fair value of investments resulting in a gain of $176,237 compared to a loss in the amount of $919,463 in 2018, offset by an amount of $275,183 in 2019 for the interest and penalty amount due related to the tax assessment from a taxation audit for the period of 2008 to 2011 and further to the adoption of IFRS 16, as mentioned above, the finance costs increased by $258,288 related to the interest calculated on the lease liabilities during the year 2019.