In October, the Company announced (Press Release dated October 11, 2023) a successful “pour” of silicon from the PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reaction (QRR), successfully validated 100% of the project's critical milestones.
In November, the Company announced (Press Release dated November 9, 2023) a successful third-party validation of fumed silica, from the FSR project, from lab-scale production. Separately, the Company announced that production of the fumed silica pilot plant was underway, which was announced as intended to be in operation in Q2 of 2024.
In December, the Company announced (Press Release dated December 18, 2023) the successful receipt of a U.S. patent for its innovative NEXGEN Plasma Atomization metal powder production technology for use in additive manufacturing and 3D printing.
Waste Remediation
In October, the Company announced (Press Release dated October 24, 2023) receipt of a $360,000 initial contract from a European engineering services firm undertaking the discovery and safe destruction of chemical warfare agents within the European Union. Under this agreement, as part of a potential three-phase project, PyroGenesis will first provide a lab-scale size plasma arc chemical warfare agent destruction system (the “PACWADS”) as part of a multi-partner project aimed at identifying, extracting, and disposing of chemical munitions and chemical warfare agents residing in active marine passageways and corridors. The second phase will consist of testing the system to validate efficiency, performance and capacity. The eventual goal is to develop a full-scale system once results from the lab-scale system are reviewed.
Q4 Financial Highlights
In November, the Company confirmed receipt (Press Release dated November 20, 2023) of a production milestone payment of $520,000 associated with the plasma torch contract with a U.S. corporation for Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) destruction (Press Release dated September 12, 2023).
In December, the Company announced (Press Release dated December 20, 2023) closing of a $1,250,000 non-brokered private placement of a convertible loan in the amount of $1.25 million with Fiducie de Crédit Mellon Trust, a related party.
Status as a Dual-Listed Publicly Traded Company
As part of the Company’s proactive risk management strategy, the Company announced in its Q2 news release (Press Release dated August 10, 2023) that it was evaluating the costs and benefits of maintaining a dual listing on both Nasdaq and the TSX. That evaluation entailed an analysis of several key factors, including (i) the financial costs associated with being on each exchange, such as insurance costs, regulatory compliance costs, legal fees, and accounting fees, (ii) the volume of trading on both exchanges, and (iii) the regulatory and compliance requirements of each exchange.
On October 27, 2023, after careful consideration by the Board of Director, the Company announced it would be voluntarily delisting from the Nasdaq exchange.
The Company’s shares were subsequently delisted from Nasdaq and shares ceased trading on November 16, 2023. On the same day, the Company’s shares began trading on the OTCQX Best Market, under the symbol “PYRGF”.
None of these activities had any bearing on the Company’s main listing on the TSX, where the Company’s stock continued to trade uninterrupted under the symbol “PYR”. The Company also trades on the Frankfurt Exchange, under the symbol "8PY”.
Financial Summary
Revenues
PyroGenesis recorded revenue of $3.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 (“Q4, 2023”), representing a decrease of $0.3 million compared with $3.3 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022 (“Q4, 2022”). Revenue for fiscal 2023 was $12.3 million, a decrease of $6.7 million over revenue of $19 million compared to fiscal 2022.
Revenues recorded in fiscal 2023 were generated primarily from:
- PUREVAP™ related sales of $1,660,928 (2022 - $6,272,697)
- DROSRITE™ related sales of $535,868 (2022 - $1,912,807)
- support services related to systems supplied to the US Navy $3,245,618 (2022 - $1,288,356)
- torch related sales of $3,396,458 (2022 - $5,558,210)
- Refrigerant destruction sales of $605,962 (2022 - $Nil)
- biogas upgrading & pollution controls of $1,713,810 (2022 - $3,347,443)
- other sales and services $1,186,437 (2022 - $633,990)
Q4, 2023 revenues decreased by $0.3 million, mainly as a result of:
- PUREVAP™ related sales decreased by $0.6 million due to the completion of the project and the Company announcing the successful silicon “pour” validating all critical milestones and with this achievement, the stage is set for discussions in transitioning to commercial production,
- DROSRITE™ related sales decreased by $0.3 million due to customer delays in funding for the construction of the onsite facility,
- Support services related to systems supplied for the US Navy increased by $1.5 million due to the completion of several milestones and the increase in awarded contracts. In addition, in 2022 a revision in the cost budget affected the revenue recognized by percentage completion. At that time, the customer had yet to provide us with a firm purchase order for the change of scope,
- Torch-related products and services decreased by $1.4 million, due to the completion of the project, with the Company currently providing continuous onsite support,
- SPARC™ related sales increased by $0.2 million due to the advancement of the project, and,
- Biogas upgrading and pollution controls related sales increased by $0.2 million specifically due to the project advancement of our regenerative thermal oxidizer system.
Fiscal 2023 revenues decreased by $6.7 million, mainly as a result of:
