OAK BROOK, IL, Nov. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Primary Energy Recycling Corporation (TSX: PRI), (Primary Energy or the Company), a clean energy company that generates revenue from capturing and recycling recoverable heat and by-product fuels from industrial processes, today announced its financial and operational results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014.
Financial Results (in 000's of US$) Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2014 2013 2014 2013 Revenues (1) $ 10,056 $ 14,050 $ 32,452 $ 42,296 Operations and 9,100 5,081 27,565 14,602 maintenance expense Operating (loss) (5,849) (101) (15,434) 1,108 income Net loss and comprehensive (4,113) (729) (10,414) (1,731) loss EBITDA (2) (2,205) 6,034 (4,861) 20,277 Adjusted 7,177 8,164 21,079 26,106 EBITDA (3) Net cash (used in) provided by (4,105) 7,885 2,039 19,002 operating activities Free Cash (5,392) 5,319 (405) 12,090 Flow (4) Cash and cash 16,084 28,217 - - equivalents Credit facility debt 69,070 72,609 - - balance
Third Quarter Summary
-- Subsequent to quarter end, on October 20, 2014, the Company announced that it entered into an agreement under which Fortistar LLC, the Purchaser will acquire all of the Primary Energy's outstanding Common Shares for cash at a price of US$5.40 or an estimated Cdn$6.13 equivalent per Common Share. Shareholders will be asked to approve the Arrangement Agreement at a special meeting on December 9, 2014. Shareholders of record on October 27, 2014 will be entitled to vote. -- On July 12, 2014, the host completed the reline of the furnace that drives both the North Lake and Harbor projects eight days ahead of the projected completion date. As expected the reline decreased revenue within the quarter. -- For the three months ended September 30, 2014, the Company's facilities had average availability of 95.7% compared to 83.1% for the three months ended September 30, 2013. -- During the last week of September 2014, an unplanned outage occurred at the North Lake facility due to a loss of a 4th stage blade on the low pressure turbine. The unit returned to service after a nine-day outage and will operate with a modest production de-rate until the unit is repaired. The total estimated cost for the outage will range between $1.5 to $2.5 million excluding property and business interruption insurance proceeds. The Company disclosed the outage to the Fortistar LLC consortium prior to the announcement of the sale of the Company; the financial impact of this event has been included in the per share price disclosed to shareholders. -- The Company declared and paid the second quarter of 2014 dividend totaling $0.07 per Common Share to shareholders resulting in a total cash payout of $3.1 million in August 2014. In accordance with the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, the Board of Directors of the Company has determined that the declaration and payment of all future dividends on the Common Shares will be suspended pending completion of the Arrangement Agreement.
"The proposed agreement with Fortistar provides substantial value to our shareholders. Fortistar is an experienced owner of combined heat and power and waste heat to power projects and our business will be in good hands once the transaction closes," said John Prunkl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Primary Energy. "The offer was unanimously approved by the board and has strong shareholder support in addition to the major shareholders that participated in the lock up agreement. We look forward to the shareholder meeting on December 9th."
Operational Highlights Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September September 30, 30, 2014 2013 2014 2013 Total Gross Electric Production 355,865 356,972 951,878 1,036,172 Megawatt Hours (MWh) (5) Total Thermal Energy 762,405 594,696 2,390,869 2,701,274 Delivered (MMBtu) (6) Harbor Coal Utilization 47.8% 54.5% 39.8% 54.9% (%) (7)
Third Quarter 2014 Financial Results
The Company's revenue was $10.1 million for the third quarter of 2014 compared to revenue of $14.1 million for the third quarter of 2013, a decrease of $4.0 million, or 28.4%. $3.0 million of the decrease is the result of deferred revenue being recorded at the Cokenergy facility in accordance with lease accounting requirements. Revenue at the North Lake facility decreased by $0.9 million primarily due to reduced host operating levels which were impacted by the blast furnace reline that was completed in July 2014 and an unplanned outage during the third quarter of 2014. Revenue at the Portside facility decreased by $0.2 million primarily due to a reduction in the tiered pricing of steam which became effective upon exceeding a specified annual volume of production in accordance with the new contract which began on September 1, 2013. Revenue at the Ironside facility increased by $0.1 million primarily due to an unplanned outage beginning in May of 2013 that impacted prior year revenue.
The Company's revenue was $32.5 million for the first nine months of 2014 compared to revenue of $42.3 million for the first nine months of 2013, a decrease of $9.8 million, or 23.3%. $7.4 million of the revenue decrease is the result of deferred revenue being recorded at the Cokenergy facility in accordance with lease accounting requirements. Revenue at the North Lake facility decreased by $2.2 million primarily due to reduced host operating levels which were impacted by the blast furnace reline that was completed in July 2014, weather and operating challenges occurring earlier in the year and an unplanned outage. Revenue at the Portside facility decreased by $0.5 million primarily due to a reduction in the tiered pricing of steam which became effective in March 2014 upon exceeding a specified annual volume of production in accordance with the new contract which began on September 1, 2013. Revenue at the Ironside facility increased by $0.3 million primarily due to an unplanned outage beginning in May of 2013 that impacted prior year revenue.
Operations and maintenance expense for the third quarter of 2014 was $9.1 million compared to $5.1 million for the third quarter of 2013, an increase of $4.0 million or 79.1%. The Company incurred periodic costs during the third quarter of 2014 of $5.4 million for boiler retubing work, $0.5 of plant refurbishment expenditures and $0.1 million for an unplanned turbine generator repair. Periodic costs for the third quarter of 2013 were $1.7 million, comprised of boiler retubing work and final cost adjustments of the emergency boiler repairs. These increased expenses were offset by a reduction in expenses of $0.2 million related to boiler repair work and $0.1 million of general maintenance.
Operations and maintenance expense for the first nine months of 2014 was $27.6 million compared to $14.6 million for the first nine months of 2013, an increase of $13.0 million or 88.8%. The Company incurred periodic costs for the first nine months of 2014 of $15.0 million for boiler retubing work, $1.9 of plant refurbishment expenditures, $0.5 million of condenser retubing work and $0.1 million for an unplanned turbine generator repair. Periodic costs for the first nine months of 2013 were $4.7 million for boiler retubing work, $0.6 million for an emergency boiler repair and $0.1 million for ductwork repairs. In addition, for the first nine months of 2014 the Company had increased operations and maintenance expenses related to general maintenance of $0.5 million, boiler repair work of $0.2 million and contracted services of $0.2 million.
General and administrative expense for the third quarter of 2014 was $2.4 million compared to $2.1 million for the third quarter of 2013, an increase of $0.3 million or 13.2%. The Company had increased professional fees of $0.2 million (which is the net of $0.4 million of expenses related to the strategic review offset by reduced consulting fees of $0.2 million) and other general and administrative expenses of $0.1 million.
General and administrative expense for the first nine months of 2014 was $7.0 million compared to $6.0 million for the first nine months of 2013, an increase of $1.0 million or 15.6%. The Company had increased professional fees of $1.0 million (of which $0.9 million was related to the strategic review) and other general and administrative expenses of $0.2 million. These increased expenses were offset by a reduction in IT expenses of $0.1 million and reduced accrued property taxes of $0.1 million.
Employee benefits expense for the third quarter of 2014 was $2.0 million compared to $1.9 million for the third quarter of 2013, an increase of $0.1 million. The increase is due to $0.2 million of employee cost offset by a reduction in stock based compensation of $0.1 million.
Employee benefits expense for the first nine months of 2014 was $5.5 million compared to $5.0 million for the first nine months of 2013, an increase of $0.5 million. The increase of $0.5 million is due to employee costs of $0.3 million and stock based compensation of $0.2 million.
Equity in earnings of the Harbor Coal joint venture for the third quarter of 2014 was $0.1 million compared to $0.2 million for the third quarter of 2013, a decrease of $0.1 million. Blast furnace operations during the third quarter of 2014 negatively impacted revenue generated by the joint venture primarily due to the effects of the blast furnace reline (completed in July 2014) and the subsequent production ramp up process.
Equity in earnings of the Harbor Coal joint venture for the first nine months of 2014 was $(0.1) million compared to $0.7 million for the first nine months of 2013, a decrease of $0.8 million. Blast furnace operations during the year negatively impacted revenue generated by the joint venture primarily due to the effects of the blast furnace reline that was completed in July 2014 and the subsequent production ramp up process.
Operating loss for the third quarter of 2014 was $5.8 million compared to $0.1 million for the third quarter of 2013, a difference of $5.7 million. Operating loss for the first nine months of 2014 was $15.4 million compared to operating income of $1.1 million for the first nine months of 2013, a difference of $16.5 million.
Net loss and comprehensive loss for the third quarter of 2014 was $4.1 million compared to $0.7 million for the third quarter of 2013, an increase of $3.4 million. Net loss and comprehensive loss for the first nine months of 2014 was $10.4 million compared to $1.7 million for the first nine months of 2013, an increase of $8.7 million.
Conference Call and Webcast
A telephone conference call hosted by management to discuss the financial results will be held Friday, November 14, 2014 at 10 am ET. The telephone numbers for the conference call are: (888) 231-8191 /or (647) 427-7450.
A digital conference call replay will be available until midnight on Friday, November 28, 2014 (ET) by calling (855) 859-2056 or (416) 849-0833. Please enter the password 22072527 when instructed. A webcast replay will be available for 365 days by accessing a link through the Events section at www.primaryenergyrecycling.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
When used in this news release, the words "intend", "likely", "anticipate", "expect", "project", "believe", "estimate", "forecast", "outlook" and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, including statements regarding maintenance and capital expenditures. Such statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions pertaining, but not limited, to recovery in the steel industry, continued strong performance from the mills we serve consistent with historical patterns, timely renewal of contracts at the Company's facilities, no protracted outages (planned or unplanned) for any of our facilities, operating and maintenance costs and general and administrative costs being similar to recent years except as described in this press release, regulatory parameters, weather and economic conditions and other factors discussed in the Company's public filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known or that are currently deemed to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect the Company's business operations and outlook. Any of the matters highlighted in the Company's risk factor disclosure could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations, business prospects and outlook, financial condition or cash flow, in which case, the market price or value of the Company's Common Shares could be adversely affected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by applicable securities laws.
About Primary Energy Recycling Corporation
Primary Energy Recycling Corporation, headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, owns and operates four recycled energy projects and a 50 percent interest in a pulverized coal facility (collectively, the "Projects"). The Projects have a combined electrical generating capacity of 298 megawatts and a combined steam generating capacity of 1.8M lbs/hour. Primary Energy Recycling Corporation creates value for its customers by capturing and recycling waste energy from industrial and electric generation processes and converting it into reliable and economical electricity and thermal energy for resale back to its customers. For more information, please see www.primaryenergy.com.
(1)Revenue for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2014 is not reflective of $3.0 million and $7.4 million, respectively, of deferred revenue recorded at the Cokenergy facility in accordance with lease accounting requirements.
(2)As used herein, EBITDA means earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is reconciled to net loss and comprehensive loss in the table below. EBITDA is not a recognized measure under IFRS and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Therefore, EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and may differ materially.
(3)As used herein, references to Adjusted EBITDA are to EBITDA as adjusted for the change in deferred revenue, certain adjustments for major maintenance expenses, professional fees related to the strategic review, loss on derecognition, realized and unrealized gain or loss on derivative contracts and stock-based compensation that represent recorded expenses based on specific circumstances and are not considered by management to reflect the underlying operating performance of the Company. The Company adjusts for these amounts as they may be non-cash, unusual in nature and are not used by management for evaluating the operating performance of the Company on a consistent basis from period to period. Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to net loss and comprehensive loss in the table below. Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measure under IFRS and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Therefore, Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and may differ materially.
(4)As used herein, Free Cash Flow means net cash provided by operating activities as adjusted for capital expenditures. Free Cash Flow is not a recognized measure under IFRS and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Therefore, Free Cash Flow may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and may differ materially.
(5)Total Gross Electric Production means the aggregate amount of electricity produced by all of the Company's facilities during the period. The amount is gross generation and is not reduced by internal electric usage of the facilities' auxiliary equipment. The unit of measure is megawatt hours (MWh). Due to the fixed and variable nature of customer contracts, MWh production cannot be directly tied to financial performance.
(6)Total Thermal Energy Delivered means the aggregate amount of heat energy contained in the steam and heated water delivered to customers by all of the Company's facilities during the period. The unit of measure is million of British Thermal Units (MMBTU). Due to the fixed and variable nature of customer contracts, MMBTU production cannot be directly tied to financial performance.
(7)Harbor Coal Utilization is a factor that incorporates the production level of a blast furnace and the amount of coal utilization per unit of blast furnace production as compared to a reference blast furnace production level and coal utilization rate per unit of blast furnace production. The measurement unit is a ratio expressed as a percentage.
Management believes that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, Total Gross Electric Production, Total Thermal Energy Delivered and Harbor Coal Utilization provide useful supplemental information regarding the performance of the Company, facilitate comparisons of historical periods and are indicative of the Company's operating results. Note however, that these items are performance measures only, and do not provide any measure of the Company's cash flow or liquidity, and are not a substitute for IFRS financial measures.
Use of Non-IFRS Measures
Management believes that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are important measures in evaluating the underlying performance of the Company's business and allow for comparison of operating performance to historical results.
EBITDA
EBITDA is a non-IFRS metric used by many investors to compare companies
on the basis of ability to generate cash from operations. EBITDA
represents the Company's capacity to generate income from operations
before taking into account management's financing decisions and costs
of consuming tangible capital assets and intangible assets which vary
according to asset type and management's estimate of useful lives. The
Company also uses this calculation as a metric to evaluate cash
generation as compared to the amount of dividends paid by Company.
Additionally EBITDA is a key metric used in the Company's debt covenant
computations and provides insight into liquidity of the business.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is used to assess operating performance based on results
from the Company's recurring business operations without the effects of
(as applicable): depreciation and amortization expense, interest
expense, loss on derecognition, realized and unrealized gain or loss on
derivative contracts, income tax expense as well as net change in
deferred revenue and other items that are viewed as expenses based on
specific circumstances and are not considered by management to reflect
the underlying operating performance of the Company (major maintenance
expense, professional fees related to the strategic review and non-cash
stock-based compensation expense). The Company adjusts for these
factors as they may be non-cash, unusual in nature and are not factors
used by management for evaluating the operating performance of the
Company on a consistent basis from period to period. The Company
believes that presentation of this measure enhances an investor's
understanding of the Company's operating performance on a normalized
basis that allows for comparison to historical periods. Additionally,
management and its board use Adjusted EBITDA as a metric in making
determinations about future business activity of the Company. Adjusted
EBITDA is not intended to be representative of cash provided by
operating activities or results of operations determined in accordance
with IFRS.
Free Cash Flow
Management uses Free Cash Flow to evaluate the Company's cash flow from
operations after capital expenditures in order to evaluate cash
available for other purposes, such as additional capital expenditures,
debt repayment, common stock distributions, or other corporate
purposes.
Non-IFRS Measures
The Company reports its financial results in accordance with IFRS. The Company's management also evaluates and makes operating decisions using various other measures. Three such measures are EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow, which are non-IFRS financial measures. We believe these measures provide useful supplemental information regarding the performance of Company's business.
Reconcilation of Net Loss and Comprehensive Loss to Adjusted EBITDA (in 000's of Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended US$) September 30, September 30, 2014 2013 2014 2013 Net loss and comprehensive loss $ (4,113) $ (729) $ (10,414) $ (1,731) Adjustment to net loss and comprehensive loss: Depreciation and amortization 2,571 5,304 7,678 16,062 Depreciation and amortization included in equity in earnings of Harbor Coal joint venture 1,009 1,009 3,027 3,027 Interest expense 1,019 1,243 2,633 3,763 Income tax benefit (2,691) (793) (7,785) (844) EBITDA (2) $ (2,205) $ 6,034 $ (4,861) $ 20,277 Adjustments to EBITDA: Major maintenance (1) 5,955 1,699 17,405 5,358 Change in deferred revenue 3,048 - 7,421 - Professional fees related to the strategic review 425 - 857 - Loss on derecognition - - - 117 Realized and unrealized loss (gain) on derivative contracts (64) 178 132 (80) Stock-based compensation 18 253 125 434 Adjusted EBITDA (2) $ 7,177 $ 8,164 $ 21,079 $ 26,106
1) Represents major maintenance expenditures for such items as boiler retubing work, plant refurbishment and other related maintenance expenditures and ductwork repairs. 2) Comparative periods have been adjusted to reflect updated EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA definitions.
Reconcilation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow (in 000's of Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended US$) September 30, September 30, 2014 2013 2014 2013 Net cash (used in) provided by $ (4,105) $ 7,885 $ 2,039 $ 19,002 operating activities Less: Capital (1,287) (2,566) (2,444) (6,912) expenditures Free Cash $ (5,392) $ 5,319 $ (405) $ 12,090 Flow
Primary Energy Recycling Corporation CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (In thousands of U.S. dollars) ASSETS September 30, 2014 December 31, 2013 Current assets: Cash and cash $ 16,084 $ 21,226 equivalents Accounts 7,752 8,120 receivable Inventory, net 2,121 1,455 Tax receivable 112 118 Prepaid expenses 1,402 1,200 Total current assets 27,471 32,119 Non-current assets: Property, plant 177,480 183,249 and equipment, net Intangible assets, 2,849 3,101 net Restricted cash 3,175 3,175 Interest rate cap 45 105 Deferred tax 7,175 - asset, net Investment in Harbor Coal joint 51,295 54,615 venture Total assets $ 269,490 $ 276,364 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 2,859 $ 1,195 Short-term debt 11,681 7,624 Accrued property 1,087 1,522 taxes Accrued expenses 6,308 6,892 Current portion of 825 - deferred revenue Total current 22,760 17,233 liabilities Non-current liabilities: Long-term debt 54,565 54,684 Deferred income - 979 tax liability, net Interest rate 32 76 swap Long-term portion 6,596 - of deferred revenue Asset retirement 3,496 2,938 obligations Total liabilities 87,449 75,910 Equity Common stock: no par value, unlimited shares authorized; 44,707,553 issued and outstanding at September 30, 2014 and 44,706,186 issued and 274,486 274,479 outstanding at December 31, 2013 Contributed surplus 38,211 37,723 Accumulated shareholders' (130,656) (111,748) deficit Total equity 182,041 200,454 Total liabilities $ 269,490 $ 276,364 and equity
Primary Energy Recycling Corporation CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (In thousands of U.S. dollars, except share and per share amounts) Three Months Ended September Nine Months Ended September 30, 30, 2014 2013 2014 2013 Revenue: Capacity $ 6,257 $ 9,018 $ 20,493 $ 27,054 Energy 3,799 5,032 11,959 15,242 service 10,056 14,050 32,452 42,296 Expenses: Operations and 9,100 5,081 27,565 14,602 maintenance General and 2,402 2,121 6,985 6,041 administrative Employee 1,955 1,871 5,551 5,019 benefits Depreciation and 2,571 5,304 7,678 16,062 amortization Loss on - - - 117 derecognition Total operating 16,028 14,377 47,779 41,841 expenses Equity in earnings of 123 226 (107) 653 Harbor Coal joint venture Operating (5,849) (101) (15,434) 1,108 (loss) income Other expense Interest (1,019) (1,243) (2,633) (3,763) expense Realized and unrealized (loss) gain on derivative contracts 64 (178) (132) 80 Loss before (6,804) (1,522) (18,199) (2,575) income taxes Income tax 2,691 793 7,785 844 benefit Net loss and comprehensive $ (4,113) $ (729) $ (10,414) $ (1,731) loss Net loss per share: Weighted average number of shares 44,706,216 44,706,186 44,706,196 44,706,186 outstanding - basic Weighted average number of shares 44,706,216 44,706,186 44,706,196 44,706,186 outstanding - diluted Basic and diluted net $ (0.09) $ (0.02) $ (0.23) $ (0.04) loss per share
Primary Energy Recycling Corporation CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY (In thousands of U.S. dollars) Common Contributed Accumulated stock surplus deficit Total Balance - January 1, $ 274,479 $ 37,466 $ (100,903) $ 211,042 2013 Net loss and comprehensive loss for the nine months ended - - (1,731) (1,731) September 30, 2013 Dividends on - - (6,705) (6,705) Common Shares Stock-based - 184 - 184 compensation Balance - September 30, $ 274,479 $ 37,650 $ (109,339) $ 202,790 2013 Balance - January 1, $ 274,479 $ 37,723 $ (111,748) $ 200,454 2014 Net loss and comprehensive loss for the nine months ended - - (10,414) (10,414) September 30, 2014 Dividends on Common - - (8,494) (8,494) Shares Stock-based compensation, 7 488 - 495 net of tax Balance - September 30, $ 274,486 $ 38,211 $ (130,656) $ 182,041 2014
Primary Energy Recycling Corporation CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (In thousands of U.S. dollars) Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30, September 30, 2014 2013 2014 2013 CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: Net loss and comprehensive $ (4,113) $ (729) $ (10,414) $ (1,731) loss for the period Adjustments for: Depreciation and 2,571 5,304 7,678 16,062 amortization Loss on - - - 117 derecognition Unrealized loss (gain) (84) 117 65 (171) on derivative contracts Equity in earnings of (123) (226) 107 (653) Harbor Coal joint venture Distributions from investment in 601 901 3,213 3,869 Harbor Coal joint venture Non-cash interest 294 410 516 1,213 expense Non-cash stock-based 18 54 125 184 compensation Income tax (2,691) (718) (7,785) (744) (3,527) 5,113 (6,495) 18,146 Net change in non-cash working (3,626) 2,772 1,113 856 capital balances Change in deferred 3,048 - 7,421 - revenue Net cash (used in) provided by (4,105) 7,885 2,039 19,002 operating activities CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Change in restricted - - - 170 cash Capital (1,287) (2,566) (2,444) (6,912) expenditures Net cash used in (1,287) (2,566) (2,444) (6,742) investing activities CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Proceeds from issuance of 5,000 - 8,000 - debt Payments of deferred - - (98) - financing costs Repayment of (836) (3,333) (4,145) (7,439) debt Dividends on (3,129) (2,235) (8,494) (6,705) Common Shares Net cash used in 1,035 (5,568) (4,737) (14,144) financing activities Net decrease (4,357) (249) (5,142) (1,884) in cash Cash and cash equivalents - 20,441 28,466 21,226 30,101 beginning of period Cash and cash equivalents - $ 16,084 $ 28,217 $ 16,084 $ 28,217 end of period Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: Cash paid during the $ 760 $ 903 $ 2,257 $ 2,665 period for interest Cash paid during the $ - $ - $ - $ 12 period for income taxes
SOURCE Primary Energy Recycling Corporation