VANCOUVER - BQE Water Inc. (TSX-V: BQE), a leader in the treatment and management of mine impacted waters, is pleased to release its interim consolidated financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2021.
'Our financial results for the first quarter have always been influenced by difficult-to-time non-recurring project revenues and by climatic conditions on recurring revenues from our existing operations,' stated David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water. 'While the financial results are not those of our record Q1 quarter of last year, our outlook is extremely positive. We anticipate the start-up of new water treatment plants that will provide year-round recurring revenues, projects delayed in Q1 to resume and our balance sheet to remain strong.'
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Adjusted EBITDA for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021 was ($231,000), compared to $91,000 for the same period last year.
Proportional Revenue for Q1 2021 was $1.5 million, an $805,000 or 34% decrease compared to $2.4 million in Q1 2020.
Net loss for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021 was $523,000 compared to a net loss of $18,000 for the same period in 2020.
Working capital increased $810,000 or 36% from $2.3 million as at March 31, 2020 to $3.1 million as at March 31, 2021.
Proportional Cash, which includes our share held in joint ventures, as of March 31, 2021 was $5.0 million compared to $2.9 million at March 31, 2020, an increase of $2.1 million or 70%.
OPERATIONAL SERVICES HIGHLIGHTS
Our operational services consist of the operation of water treatment plants, which generate recurring revenues for the Company from two main sources: sales of recovered metals and water treatment fees.
Revenues from Sales of Recovered Metals
The Company operates four water treatment plants that generate revenues from the sale of recovered metals, three plants from the JCC-BQE Joint Venture ('JCC-BQE') and one plant from the MWT-BQE Joint Venture ('MWT-BQE').
JCC-BQE Joint Venture
Our 50/50 joint venture with partner Jiangxi Copper Company ('JCC') operates water treatment plants at Dexing Mine and at Yinshan Mine in Jiangxi province of China. The volume of water treated and pounds of copper recovered by the plants fluctuate seasonally depending on precipitation levels in the region.
During Q1 2021, all three plants met or exceeded mechanical availability and process performance. However, the volume of water treated and the mass of copper recovered decreased by 11% and 20% respectively over the same period in 2020, a 13-year historic low. Dexing Mine experienced an unusually low volume of precipitation during Q4 2020 to Q1 2021, with approximately 40% of the total rainfall compared to the same period in the year prior. Lower rainfall not only limited the water flowing into the treatment plants but also affected copper leaching from waste rock, reducing the copper concentration in the plant feed. Changes in water volume and feed grade are largely the result of environmental conditions beyond the control of the joint venture and will fluctuate from period to period.
MWT-BQE Joint Venture
Our 20% share of MWT-BQE is with our 80% partner Beijing MWT Water Treatment Project Limited Company ('MWT') and together we operate a water treatment plant at a smelter in Shandong province of China. MWT-BQE generates the majority of its revenues from the sale of zinc recovered from smelter wastewater, along with small traces of copper found in the stream.
About BQE Water
BQE Water is a service provider specializing in water treatment and management for metals mining, smelting and refining. We are helping to transform the way the industry thinks about water in the context of natural resource projects by offering services and expertise which enables more sustainable water management practices and improved overall project performance at reduced risks. BQE Water invests in innovation and has developed unique intellectual property through the commercialization of several new technologies at mine sites around the world for organizations including Glencore, Jiangxi Copper, Freeport-McMoRan and the US EPA. BQE Water is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BQE.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain information contained herein may not be based on historical fact and therefore constitutes 'forward-looking information' under applicable Canadian securities legislation. This includes without limitation statements containing the words 'plan', 'expect', 'project', 'estimate', 'intend', 'believe', 'anticipate', 'may', 'will' and other similar words or expressions. 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, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the Company's dependence on key personnel and contracts, uncertainty with respect to the profitability of the Company's technologies, competition, technology risk, the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property and proprietary information, fluctuations in commodity prices, currency risk, environmental regulation and the Company's ability to manage growth and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators at www.sedar.com (including without limitation the factors described in the section entitled 'Risks and Uncertainties' in the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2020). Given these risks and uncertainties, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking information contained herein is based on management's current expectations and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update such forward-looking information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
Contact:
Tel: +1 604 685 1243
Fax: +1 604 685 7778
Email: info@bqewater.com
BQE WATER INC. 
