par Loop Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOOP)
Loop Industries Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2023 Results
Loop Management to hold update call: 11:00am et, on Friday January 13th, 2023
MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / January 12, 2023 / Loop Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOOP) (the "Company" or "Loop"), a clean technology company whose mission is to accelerate a circular plastics economy by manufacturing 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate ("PET") plastic and polyester fiber, today provided an update on its activities and reported its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.
Agreement to Sell Bécancour Site and Cost Reduction Measures to Ensure Ongoing Liquidity
On December 22, 2022, Loop announced it had entered into an agreement to sell all of its remaining property in Bécancour, Quebec for CDN $18.5 million (US $13.9 million). The sale transaction is expected to close on February 24, 2023, subject to final due diligence and fulfillment of certain customary closing conditions.
Loop announced on the same day that it has reduced the hours of operation at its Terrebonne, Quebec production facility in order to reduce operating costs. This facility was constructed primarily to demonstrate that Loop's breakthrough depolymerization technology was scalable and to produce commercial quantities of virgin quality PET resin and polyester fiber for global brands. The technology is now proven at scale. The Company will continue to fulfill its existing sales contracts.
The proceeds of the land sale combined with the cost reduction measures are expected to ensure Loop's ongoing liquidity to finance its current activities as the Company advances towards the commercialization of its technology.
Company to Focus Current Commercialization Efforts on SK Geo Centric "SKGC" Partnership
In conjunction with the agreement to sell its Bécancour property, Loop also announced on December 22, 2022 that the Company will for now focus its commercialization strategy on its planned projects with SKGC in Asia and Europe. These joint venture projects have a lower requirement for Loop equity investment and higher return on capital, provide Loop with an annual technology licensing fee and leverage SKGC's expertise in plant operations and maintenance. Loop and SKGC are also collaborating closely with SK ecoengineering "SKEE," a subsidiary of the SK Group, on providing the engineering related to the construction of the planned Infinite Loop™ manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea. SKEE is an experienced EPC contractor with a proven track record in the construction of large scale projects internationally.
SKGC is committed to commercializing Loop's technology as the underpinning of its sustainable plastics strategy. The manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea, is expected to break ground in 2023. Loop is working collaboratively with SKGC to put in place a financing plan for the construction of this facility.
Corporate Update Call
Senior Management of Loop Industries, will host a corporate update call, followed by a question-and-answer session, which can be accessed via the dial-in numbers below.
Date: Friday January 13, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time
Participant joining details (by Telephone):
Canada (Toll Free): 1 833 950 0062
Canada (Local): 1 226 828 7575
United States (Toll Free): 1 833 927 1758
United States: 1 844 200 6205
United States (Local): 1 646 904 5544
United Kingdom (Toll Free): 44 808 189 6484
All other locations: +1 929 526 1599
Access code: 757317
Press *1 to ask a question, *2 to withdraw your question, or *0 for operator assistance.
Accessing the telephone replay
A recording will be available until Friday, January 27 2023
UK (Local): 0204 525 0658
US (Local): 1 929 458 6194
US Toll Free: 1 866 813 9403
Canada: 1 226 828 7578
All other locations: +44 204 525 0658
Access Code: 130471
Third Quarter Fiscal 2023 Financial Results
The following table summarizes our operating results for the three-month periods ended November 30, 2022 and 2021, in U.S. Dollars.
| Three months ended November 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | ||||||||||
Revenues | $ | 24,924 | $ | - | $ | 24,924 | ||||||
Expenses | ||||||||||||
Research and development | ||||||||||||
Machinery and equipment expenditures | 1,059,266 | 2,599,758 | (1,540,492 | ) | ||||||||
External engineering | 707,113 | 1,585,512 | (878,399 | ) | ||||||||
Employee compensation | 1,539,581 | 1,424,330 | 115,251 | |||||||||
Stock-based compensation | 455,013 | 362,435 | 92,578 | |||||||||
Plant and laboratory operating expenses | 915,951 | 665,893 | 250,058 | |||||||||
Tax credits | (299,793 | ) | 97,480 | (397,273 | ) | |||||||
Other | 204,421 | 99,896 | 104,525 | |||||||||
Total research and development | 4,581,552 | 6,835,304 | (2,253,752 | ) | ||||||||
General and administrative | ||||||||||||
Professional fees | 1,278,478 | 650,164 | 628,314 | |||||||||
Employee compensation | 492,178 | 748,668 | (256,490 | ) | ||||||||
Stock-based compensation | 419,153 | 279,574 | 139,579 | |||||||||
Insurance | 709,952 | 1,193,554 | (483,602 | ) | ||||||||
Other | 283,166 | 219,295 | 63,871 | |||||||||
Total general and administrative | 3,182,927 | 3,091,255 | 91,672 | |||||||||
Gain on disposition of assets | (6,703,558 | ) | - | (6,703,558 | ) | |||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 133,902 | 135,035 | (1,133 | ) | ||||||||
Interest and other financial expenses | 54,402 | 49,655 | 4,747 | |||||||||
Interest income | (13,315 | ) | (23,654 | ) | 10,339 | |||||||
Foreign exchange loss (gain) | (197,913 | ) | 10,648 | (208,561 | ) | |||||||
Total expenses | 1,037,997 | 10,098,243 | (9,060,246 | ) | ||||||||
Net loss | $ | (1,013,073 | ) | $ | (10,098,243 | ) | $ | 9,085,170 | ||||
Revenues
Revenues for the three-month period ended November 30, 2022 were $0.02 million. For the same period in 2021, there were no revenues. The revenues resulted from the delivery of initial volumes to customers of Loop™ PET resin produced using monomers manufactured at the Terrebonne Facility.
Research and Development
Research and development expense for the three-month period ended November 30, 2022 decreased $2.25 million to $4.58 million, as compared to $6.84 million for the same period in 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $1.54 million decrease in purchases of machinery and equipment used at the Terrebonne facility, a $0.88 million decrease in external engineering costs for ongoing design work for our Infinite Loop™ manufacturing process, and a $0.40 million increase in tax credits recorded as a reduction of research and development expenses.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses for the three-month period ended November 30, 2022 increased $0.09 million to $3.18 million, as compared to $3.09 million for the same period in 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to a $0.63 million increase in expenses for legal and professional fees due to costs principally associated with the SEC investigation and class action suits described in "Part II, Item 1. Legal Proceedings" of our 10-Q and the Company's commercialization plans, and a $0.14 million increase in stock-based compensation expenses. These increases were partially offset by a $0.48 million decrease in insurance costs, and a $0.26 million decrease in employee compensation costs.
Net Loss
The net loss for the three-month period ended November 30, 2022 decreased $9.09 million to $1.01 million, as compared to $10.10 million for the same period in 2021. The decrease is primarily due to a gain on disposition of assets of $6.70 million recorded in the three-month period ended November 30, 2022 related to the Company's sale of land in Bécancour, Québec, and the decreased research and development expenses of $2.25 million, partially offset by the increased general and administrative expenses of $0.09 million.
Nine Months Ended November 30, 2022 and 2021
The following table summarizes our operating results for the nine-month periods ended November 30, 2022 and 2021, in U.S. Dollars.
| Nine months ended November 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | ||||||||||
Revenues | $ | 160,352 | $ | - | $ | 160,352 | ||||||
Expenses | ||||||||||||
Research and development | ||||||||||||
Machinery and equipment expenditures | 4,132,575 | 7,707,882 | (3,575,307 | ) | ||||||||
External engineering | 2,913,567 | 5,040,342 | (2,126,775 | ) | ||||||||
Employee compensation | 5,179,105 | 4,213,075 | 966,030 | |||||||||
Stock-based compensation | 1,170,554 | 1,512,506 | 18,048 | |||||||||
Plant and laboratory operating expenses | 2,365,643 | 2,064,403 | 301,240 | |||||||||
Tax credits | (1,207,415 | ) | (54,911 | ) | (1,152,504 | ) | ||||||
Other | 579,162 | 634,640 | (55,478 | ) | ||||||||
Total research and development | 15,133,191 | 20,757,937 | (5,624,746 | ) | ||||||||
General and administrative | ||||||||||||
Professional fees | 3,840,844 | 3,138,611 | 702,233 | |||||||||
Employee compensation | 1,929,581 | 2,148,533 | (218,952 | ) | ||||||||
Stock-based compensation | 8,798,601 | 209,236 | 8,589,365 | |||||||||
Insurance | 2,883,333 | 3,121,353 | (238,020 | ) | ||||||||
Other | 777,896 | 750,319 | 27,577 | |||||||||
Total general and administrative | 18,230,255 | 9,368,052 | 8,862,203 | |||||||||
Gain on disposition of assets | (6,703,558 | ) | - | (6,703,558 | ) | |||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 410,544 | 407,806 | 2,738 | |||||||||
Interest and other financial expenses | 138,962 | 113,344 | 25,618 | |||||||||
Interest income | (35,842 | ) | (41,828 | ) | 5,986 | |||||||
Foreign exchange loss (gain) | (289,022 | ) | 42,712 | (331,734 | ) | |||||||
Total expenses | 26,884,530 | 30,648,023 | (3,763,493 | ) | ||||||||
Net loss | $ | (26,724,178 | ) | $ | (30,648,023 | ) | $ | 3,923,845 | ||||
Revenues
Revenues for the nine-month period ended November 30, 2022 were $0.16 million. For the same period in 2021, there were no revenues. The revenues resulted from the delivery of initial volumes to customers of Loop™ PET resin produced using monomers manufactured at the Terrebonne Facility.
Research and Development
Research and development expense for the nine-month period ended November 30, 2022 decreased $5.62 million to $15.13 million, as compared to $20.76 million for the same period in 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $3.58 million decrease in purchases of machinery and equipment used at the Terrebonne facility, a $2.13 million decrease in external engineering expenses for ongoing design work for our Infinite Loop™ manufacturing process, and a $1.15 million increase in tax credits recorded as a reduction of research and development expenses. These decreases were partially offset by a $0.97 million increase in employee compensation expenses related increased headcount in our in-house engineering and commercial project teams.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses for the nine-month period ended November 30, 2022 increased $8.86 to $18.23 million, as compared to $9.37 million for the same period in 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to an increased stock-based compensation expense of $8.59 million, of which $7.74 million was related to the achievement of a performance milestone for 1,000,000 RSUs following the execution of a supply agreement with a customer and $0.94 million was attributable to RSU forfeitures in the same period in 2021 accounted for as a reversal of stock-based compensation, and increased professional fees of $0.70 million, mainly related to legal fees principally associated with the SEC investigation and class action suits described in "Part II, Item 1. Legal Proceedings" of our 10-Q and the Company's commercialization plans. These increases were partially offset by decreased insurance costs of $0.24 million, and a $0.22 million decrease in employee compensation costs.
Net Loss
The net loss for the nine-month period ended November 30, 2022 decreased $3.92 million to $26.72 million, as compared to $30.65 million for the same period in 2021. The decrease is primarily due to a gain on dispo