Thermal Energy International Announces Annual Financial Results

Record Custom Equipment orders and revenue, and record Turn-key Project development indicate strong, growing demand from customers. Annual results reflect residual pandemic impact on the longer sales cycle Turn-key Project orders.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO – September 28, 2022 – Thermal Energy International Inc. (“Thermal Energy” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: TMG, OTCQB: TMGEF), an innovative cleantech company and global provider of proprietary energy and carbon emissions reduction solutions to some of the world’s largest corporations, has announced its financial results for the year ended May 31, 2022. All figures are in Canadian dollars.

Year-End Highlights:

• Revenue: $15.9 million for the year and $4.4 million for the quarter, a 19% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• EBITDA[1]: $(758) thousand for the year, $203 thousand for the quarter
• Net loss of $(1,838) thousand for the year, $(149) thousand for the quarter
• Cash and working capital balances is at $2.6 million and $2.8 million respectively
• Order backlog[2]: $4.9 million as at May 31, 2022 and $10.3 million as at September 27, 2022

Overview

“These results - while disappointing - are not unexpected as we ride through the tail end of the global pandemic. We anticipate that the final wave of the disruptions will continue until the impact of recent order intake and Turn-key Project development filters through” said William Crossland, CEO of Thermal Energy.

“There is however much to be positive about. Not only did Custom Equipment sales persevere throughout the pandemic, but since FY20 Custom Equipment order intake has consistently broken its own records year on year and continues to be at record levels, approximately 39% ahead of pre-pandemic levels.”

 “Custom Equipment sales have a much shorter sales cycle than our large Turn-key Projects. Turn-key Projects also require significant site attendance and therefore were more heavily impacted by the pandemic and the effects are inevitably being felt for longer. However, an indicator for future Turn-key Project orders is often the number of Turn-key Projects in paid development which has now reached record levels and is more than twice the pre-pandemic level.”

 “Our growing success with Custom Equipment orders and Turn-key Project development can be attributed in part to our comprehensive product portfolio that is well aligned with the market‘s goals and objectives. The International Energy Agency last week reminded organizations yet again that energy efficiency is one of the quickest and most cost-effective CO₂ mitigation options while lowering energy bills and strengthening energy security.”

“The bleak impact of the Russian gas disruption, greater pressure for climate action and rising global energy prices contributes to unwavering demand from our multinational customers who look for both short and long-term opportunities to stabilize volatile energy costs and achieve their carbon reduction goals. Thermal Energy provides both, and our key customers continue to return to us time and again to deliver more products and projects at more of their production sites.”

“We have an unwavering belief in Thermal Energy’s capabilities to capitalize on market conditions, which is why investment in the capabilities and future growth of the Company continued throughout the pandemic. Our retained staff have the knowledge and experience necessary to now fulfil the backlog of orders, support the significant growth of Custom Equipment orders and deliver the record pipeline of Turn-key Projects in development.”

Summary Financial Results

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2022 Financial Review

Quarterly revenue was $4.5 million, up 18.5% from last year. The increase is due to an 83% increase in revenues from Custom Equipment orders. Gross profit for the quarter was $1.9 million as compared to $1.4 million from the prior year. The company increased its prices where warranted and continues to evaluate where price increases are appropriate and can be implemented. This resulted in a gross margin of 43%, compared to 36% for the same quarter the prior year. Operating expenses incurred for the quarter amounted to $1.9 million which was increased mainly due to the reduction in covid related government wage subsidies of $224 thousand. A net loss of $149 thousand was incurred for the fourth quarter and EBITDA was $203 thousand.

Twelve months revenue was $15.9 million, up 3.6% from last year mainly due to a 27% increase in revenue from Custom Equipment sales offset by the decrease of revenues from Turn-key heat recovery solutions.

Gross profit for the year was $6.7 million as compared to $6.8 million last year. The decrease was mainly due to labour shortages and raw material price increases. This resulted in a gross margin of 42%, compared to 44% for prior year. Operating expenses incurred for the year amounted to $8.2 million which was increased mainly due to a reduction in government wage subsidies of $903 thousand, an increase in acquisition cost of the technology from Sofame Technologies Inc. of $166 thousand, and increases in other operating expenses of $1,394 thousand because of lifting temporary cost control measures, investment in the growth of European sales team, increased travel and business development costs, and increases to staff salary in order to catch up with the significantly increased annual inflation rate and to ensure we remain competitive and are able to effectively execute the projects in our pipeline and capitalize on the current market opportunity. These cost increases were offset by the increase in foreign exchange gains of $782 thousand compared to prior year. A net loss of $1,838 thousand was incurred for the year, and EBITDA was $(758) thousand.

The Company’s cash position was $2.6 million as at May 31, 2022, compared to $4.2 million as at May 31, 2021. The decrease was due to cash used in operating activities of $1,640 thousand, investing activities of $352 thousand (primarily the acquisition of the Sofame assets), offset by the cash provided by financing activities of $358 thousand (primarily the issuance of long-term debt of $1,300 thousand offset by repayment of long-term debt of $729 thousand and lease obligations of $217 thousand).

Working capital decreased by $1 million to $2.8 million on May 31, 2022, compared to $3.8 million on May 31, 2021. The decrease in working capital was mainly due to the decrease in cash and cash equivalents as a result of the loss incurred in fiscal year 2022.

Business Outlook and Order Summary

Orders received during this fiscal year are 37% lower than orders received during last year. However, orders for Custom Equipment, primarily GEM^TM and Heatsponge, are 3.8% ahead of last year, and 39% greater than the pre-Covid levels. The Company ended the year with a total order backlog of $4.9 million, down 37% from the $7.8 million last year, and with the Custom Equipment order backlog 3% higher than last year.

The Company defines its order backlog as the value of projects for which purchase orders have been received, but that has not yet been fully reflected as revenue in the Company’s published financial statements.

The Company has received $5.4 million in new orders subsequent to the May 31, 2022 year-end bringing the current order backlog to $10.3 million as of September 27, 2022. A selection of recent order highlights includes:

1. $800,000 order for a Turn-key heat recovery project from a leading European meat producer, announced September 7, 2022. This is the second project for this specific application where the technology has been applied to a new innovative heat source.
   
   
2. $350,000 order from a leading textile manufacturer for a wastewater heat recovery system, and GEM ^TM steam traps taking the total for this customer to $900,000. Announced September 13, 2022 this is the first RBT system outside North America and illustrates a milestone in our Sofame acquisition strategy.
   
   
3. During the first three and half months of the current fiscal year (FY23), GEM^TM orders are more than double the amount received during the same period last year with more than $1.5 million GEM^TM steam trap orders received in only a few weeks.

Full financial results including Management’s Discussion and Analysis and accompanying notes to the financial results are available on www.SEDAR.com and https://investors-thermalenergy.com/en/financial-overview

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[1] EBITDA represents earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortization, impairment of intangible assets, and share-based compensation expense.

[2] Order backlog represents any purchase orders that have been received by the Company but have not yet been reflected as revenue in the Company’s published financial statements.

iii Custom equipment refers to indirect contact heat recovery solutions (HEATSPONGE and SIDEKICK), and condensate return system solutions (GEMTM steam traps). Turn-key solution refers to direct contact heat recovery solutions (e.g., FLU-ACE®).

 ENDS