Published on May 13, 2010
Contact:
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Lightbridge
Corporation:
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Ogilvy
Public Relations:
|
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Gerry
Pascale
|
Greg
Jawski
|
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(571)
730-1213
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212-880-5353
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ir@Ltbridge.com
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greg.jawski@ogilvypr.com
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Linda
Byus
(571)
730-1218
lbyus@ltbridge.com
Lightbridge
Corporation Reports 2010 First Quarter Financial Results
MCLEAN,
VA, May 13, 2010 – Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ: LTBR), a developer of
proprietary nuclear fuel technologies and a leading provider of nuclear energy
consulting services to commercial and governmental entities, today
reported revenue of $2.4 million for the three months ended March 31,
2010 compared to $2.9 million in the comparable period a year
ago. Operating loss for the three months ended March 31, 2010
increased slightly to $1.7 million, compared to $1.5 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2009. Excluding the impact of non-cash items,
adjusted net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2010 would have been
$0.8 million compared to
adjusted net income of $0.2 million for the same
period in 2009 (see “About Non-GAAP Financial Measures” near the end of this
release).
Seth
Grae, Lightbridge Chief Executive Officer, commented, “While our revenue
reflects year-to-year variation, we continue to make progress on both sides of
our business. On the nuclear consulting services side, we recently
entered into a new agreement with another foreign government to evaluate the
feasibility of developing and deploying a civil nuclear power
program. Our nuclear fuel development business remains on schedule
and we expect to expand our work with AREVA this year. As we’ve indicated
previously, in 2010 we plan to address what we believe will be the last
significant technical risk until testing and demonstration of fuel bundles in
commercial power reactors with the fabrication of a full-length 3-meter metal
seed rod. We anticipate having results from that study in the second
half of the year.”
Mr. Grae
added, “The level of activity on the legislative front, including the
introduction of the Reid-Hatch legislation in the US Senate earlier this year,
and ongoing dialogue with foreign countries and leading global energy companies
on both sides of our business are key, longer-term developments for
Lightbridge. As these business trends intersect with our fuel
development timeline and a growing demand for nuclear expertise, we believe that
we’re well positioned to capitalize over the longer-term.”
Discussion
of Revenue and Cash Flow
The
Company’s operating revenues are derived primarily from the Company’s consulting and
strategic advisory services for foreign governments planning to create or expand
electricity generation capabilities using nuclear power plants and are used to
help fund the continued development of the Company’s nuclear fuel design
technology. Revenues are primarily generated from the five-year consulting
contracts in place in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) with two separate entities, the Emirates
Nuclear Energy Corporation (“ENEC”) and the Federal Authority for Nuclear
Regulation (“FANR”).
As of
March 31, 2010, the company had approximately $2.0 million of cash and cash
equivalents and approximately $4.4 million of working capital. As of December
31, 2009, the company had approximately $4.5 million of working
capital.
About Non-GAAP Financial
Measures
This
press release contains non-GAAP financial measures for earnings that exclude
non-cash items. Net income excluding non-cash items is not a measure of
performance calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The Company believes the presentation
of net income excluding non-cash expense is relevant and useful by enhancing the
readers’ ability to understand the Company’s operating performance. The
Company’s management utilizes net income excluding non-cash expense as a means
to measure operating performance. The table below reconciles adjusted net income
(loss) excluding non-cash expense, a non-GAAP measure, to GAAP net income (loss)
for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and March 31, 2009 (Expressed in
Thousands of US Dollars).
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Three
Months Ended
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Three
Months Ended
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|||||||
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31-March-10
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31-March
09
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|||||||
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GAAP
Net Income (Loss)
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$
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(1,684)
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$
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(1,522)
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||||
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Adjustments:
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||||||||
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Expense
- non-cash employee compensation
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860
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1,273
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||||||
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Expense
- depreciation
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7
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6
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||||||
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Adjusted
Net Income (Loss)
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$
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(817)
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$
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(243)
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||||
About
Lightbridge Corporation
Lightbridge
is a U.S. nuclear energy company based in McLean, VA with operations in Abu
Dhabi, Moscow and London. The Company develops non-proliferative nuclear fuel
technology and provides comprehensive advisory services for established and
emerging nuclear programs based on a philosophy of transparency,
non-proliferation, safety and operational excellence. Lightbridge's breakthrough
fuel technology is establishing new global standards for peaceful nuclear power
and leading the way towards a sustainable energy future. Lightbridge consultants
provide integrated strategic advice and expertise across a range of disciplines
including regulatory affairs, nuclear reactor procurement and deployment,
reactor and fuel technology and international relations. The Company leverages
those broad and integrated capabilities by offering services to commercial
entities and governments with a need to establish or expand nuclear industry
capabilities and infrastructure.
Conference Call
Lightbridge
Corporation will host a conference call at 10 a.m. (EST) on Thursday, May 13,
2010. The call will be available on the Company’s website at www.Ltbridge.com,
or by calling (877) 892-6834 for U.S. callers, or +1 (702) 643-9738 for
international callers, and entering conference ID: 74619970.
Lightbridge
Corporation
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets
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March
31,
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December
31,
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|||||||
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2010
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2009
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|||||||
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(Unaudited)
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||||||||
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ASSETS
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||||||||
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Current
Assets
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||||||||
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Cash
and cash equivalents
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$ | 2,000,134 | $ | 3,028,791 | ||||
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Restricted
cash
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652,174 | 652,174 | ||||||
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Accounts
receivable - project revenue and reimbursable project
costs
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2,647,233 | 2,421,088 | ||||||
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Prepaid
expenses & other current assets
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675,523 | 574,095 | ||||||
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Total
Current Assets
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5,975,064 | 6,676,148 | ||||||
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Property
Plant and Equipment -net
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90,608 | 97,559 | ||||||
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Other
Assets
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||||||||
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Patent
costs - net
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241,845 | 241,845 | ||||||
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Security
deposits
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120,487 | 120,486 | ||||||
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Total
Other Assets
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362,332 | 362,331 | ||||||
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Total
Assets
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$ | 6,428,004 | $ | 7,136,038 | ||||
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LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
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||||||||
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Current
Liabilities
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||||||||
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Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
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$ | 1,575,718 | $ | 2,162,221 | ||||
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Total
Liabilities
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1,575,718 | 2,162,221 | ||||||
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Commitments
and contingencies
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||||||||
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Stockholders'
Equity
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||||||||
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Preferred
stock, $0.001 par value, 50,000,000 authorized shares, no shares issued
and outstanding
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- | - | ||||||
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Common
stock, $0.001par value, 500,000,000 authorized, 10,168,412 shares issued and
outstanding at March 31, 2010 and December 31,
2009
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10,168 | 10,168 | ||||||
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Additional
paid in capital - stock and stock equivalents
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54,836,265 | 54,108,685 | ||||||
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Deficit
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(50,407,044 | ) | (48,723,286 | ) | ||||
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Common
stock reserved for issuance, 135,318 and 5,721 shares at March 31, 2010
and 2009, respectively
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1,134,264 | 34,750 | ||||||
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Deferred
stock compensation
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(721,367 | ) | (456,500 | ) | ||||
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Total
Stockholders' Equity
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4,852,286 | 4,973,817 | ||||||
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Total
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
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$ | 6,428,004 | $ | 7,136,038 | ||||
Lightbridge
Corporation
Unaudited
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
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Three
Months Ended
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||||||||
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March,
31
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||||||||
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2010
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2009
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|||||||
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Revenue:
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||||||||
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Consulting
Revenue
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$ | 2,399,132 | $ | 2,944,053 | ||||
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Cost
of Consulting Services Provided
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1,505,490 | 1,748,518 | ||||||
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Gross
Margin
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893,642 | 1,195,535 | ||||||
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Operating
Expenses
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||||||||
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General
and administrative
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2,372,263 | 2,262,681 | ||||||
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Research
and development expenses
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204,743 | 453,805 | ||||||
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Total
Operating Expenses
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2,577,006 | 2,716,486 | ||||||
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Operating
loss
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(1,683,364 | ) | (1,520,951 | ) | ||||
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Other
Income and (Expenses)
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||||||||
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Interest
income
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152 | 3,028 | ||||||
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Other
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(546 | ) | (4,538 | ) | ||||
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Realized
gain on marketable securities
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0 | |||||||
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Total
Other Income and Expenses
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(394 | ) | (1,510 | ) | ||||
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Net loss
before income taxes
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(1,683,758 | ) | (1,522,461 | ) | ||||
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Income
taxes
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0 | 0 | ||||||
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Net loss
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$ | (1,683,758 | ) | $ | (1,522,461 | ) | ||
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Net
Loss Per Common Share, Basic and diluted
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$ | (0.17 | ) | $ | (0.15 | ) | ||
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Weighted
Average Number of shares outstanding for the period used to compute per
share data - (prior reporting period restated to reflect 1 for 30 reverse
stock split)
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10,168,412 | 10,055,580 | ||||||
LIGHTBRIDGE
CORPORATION
UNAUDITED
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
|
Three
Months Ended
|
||||||||
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March
31,
|
||||||||
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2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
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Operating
Activities:
|
||||||||
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Net
Loss
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$ | (1,683,758 | ) | $ | (1,522,461 | ) | ||
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Adjustments
to reconcile net loss from operations to net cash used in operating
activities:
|
||||||||
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Stock
based compensation
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859,576 | 1,272,971 | ||||||
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Depreciation
and amortization
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6,951 | 6,004 | ||||||
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Changes
in non-cash operating working capital items:
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||||||||
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Accounts
receivable - fees and reimburseable project costs
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(226,145 | ) | 1,038,592 | |||||
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Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
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(101,428 | ) | (387,189 | ) | ||||
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Accounts
payable, accrued liabilities and other current liabilities
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116,147 | (1,596,398 | ) | |||||
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Net
Cash Used In Operating Activities
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(1,028,657 | ) | (1,188,481 | ) | ||||
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Investing
Activities:
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||||||||
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Patent
costs
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0 | (16,402 | ) | |||||
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Net
Cash Used In Investing Activities
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0 | (16,402 | ) | |||||
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Financing
Activities:
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||||||||
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Net
Cash Provided by (Used In) Financing Activities
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0 | 0 | ||||||
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Net
Decrease In Cash and Cash Equivalents
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(1,028,657 | ) | (1,204,883 | ) | ||||
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Cash
and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period
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3,028,791 | 5,580,244 | ||||||
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Cash
and Cash Equivalents, End of Period
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$ | 2,000,134 | $ | 4,375,361 | ||||
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Supplemental
Disclosure of Cash Flow Information
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||||||||
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Cash
paid during the year:
|
||||||||
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Interest
paid
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$ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||
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Income
taxes paid
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$ | 0 | $ | 266,000 | ||||
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Non-Cash
Financing Activity
|
||||||||
|
Grant
of Common Stock for Payment of Accrued Liabilities
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$ | 703,651 | $ | 0 | ||||