VANCOUVER, B.C.– BioteQ Environmental Technologies, Inc. (TSX: BQE), a leader in the treatment of industrial wastewater, today released its third quarter operating and financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010. All figures are in Canadian dollars and are in accordance with Canadian GAAP, unless otherwise noted.
Operating and Financial Highlights for Q3 2010
- BioteQ treated approximately 5.8 billion litres of water during the first nine months of 2010. The Company’s water treatment plants removed approximately 910,000 kilograms (2 million pounds) of metal contaminants from the environment.
- During the quarter, BioteQ had active water treatment operations at Raglan, Bisbee, Dexing, and Wellington Oro, and commenced new water treatment operations at the Minto site. In addition, the Company initiated construction of a new plant in China, entered into a joint development agreement with EcoMetales, and provided engineering and pilot plant operations for several new customers.
- The Company generated net income of $593,000 during the quarter, compared to a loss of $262,000 for the same period in 2009.
- BioteQ’s revenues from water treatment operations were $2,749,000, compared to revenues of $2,280,000 in the same quarter last year, an increase of 21%. In the first nine months of the year, revenues totaled $7,236,000, an increase of 64% compared to the previous year revenues of $4,417,000. In addition to revenue from operations, BioteQ reported lease-fee income from the Lluvia de Oro project in Mexico of $255,000 for the quarter and $742,000 year to date.
- The Company has reported positive cash flow of $973,000 from operations, before changes in working capital, for the quarter.
- The Company received $3.8 million from NWM Mining Corp. as full repayment on its loan. The terms of the lease agreement for the plant at the Lluvia de Oro site remain in place.
- Working capital at September 30, 2010 was $15.8 million compared to $8.4 million at September 30, 2009 and $7.7 million at December 31, 2009. The Company has no debt.
- BioteQ continues to stabilize revenues by expanding fee-based contracts and reducing exposure to commodity price fluctuations, and balancing the mix of recurring revenues and one-time project revenues. Fee-based revenues now account for 55% of total revenues, compared to 42% of revenues in the same period of 2009.
- BioteQ continues to maintain an active development and marketing program to expand the Company’s water treatment technologies into new market sectors. New contracts commenced during the quarter for engineering studies and pilot demonstration plants for new customers that could lead to larger commercial scale facilities in the future. The Company has met its project development goals for 2010.
- The Mt Gordon site continues to remain inactive. BioteQ has been unable to negotiate an acceptable contract with the site owner to resume water treatment operations.
Brad Marchant, BioteQ’s Chief Executive Officer stated, “We are optimistic about BioteQ’s growth potential for the coming year. We have added four new international mining customers to our customer base in 2010, we are expanding our portfolio of water treatment technologies which will enable us to serve new markets, and we are continuing to diversify our markets with strategic alliance partners. We believe our current growth rate will continue, which will deliver strong operating and financial results for our shareholders.”
BioteQ’s financial statements and the Company’s MD&A have been filed on SEDAR, www.sedar.com, and will be available on the BioteQ website at www.bqewater.com.
A conference call to discuss the financial results is scheduled for Thursday November 4 at 11:00 am Eastern. Participants may call 416-695-7806 or 1-888-789-9572 and enter reference number 1462188. A replay of the call will be available until November 18 by calling 416-695-5800 or 1-800-408-3053, reference number 8544540. A recording will be available within two days of the call on the BioteQ website at www.bqewater.com.
BioteQ Corporate Profile
BioteQ is a water treatment company that applies innovative technologies and operating expertise to solve challenging water treatment problems, reducing environmental liabilities while delivering lower life cycle costs for water treatment. The Company’s commercially proven technologies treat industrial wastewater contaminated with dissolved heavy metals and sulphate, producing saleable by-products and clean water that can be discharged safely to the environment. BioteQ has built 10 plants at sites in Canada, the US, China, Australia and Mexico, with additional projects in design and construction.
BioteQ’s sustainable water treatment solutions have been recognized with the CIM/Syncrude Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development, the Canada Export Achievement Award, the Jantzi/Maclean’s Most Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada, the Globe Award for Environmental Excellence, the PDAC Award for Environmental and Social Responsibility, the China Mining Environmental Protection Award, and the Mines & Money Sustainable Development Award. BioteQ is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and trades on the TSX under the symbol BQE. For additional information, please go to www.bqewater.com.
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On behalf of the Board of Directors
Brad Marchant