MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 12, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightbridge Corporation (Nasdaq:LTBR), the leading developer of non-proliferative nuclear fuel technology and provider of comprehensive advisory services for civil nuclear energy programs, today announced earnings results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.
Revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2009 was $2.0 million compared to $6.7 million for the third quarter of 2008. Revenues are derived primarily from the Company's consulting and strategic advisory services business segment by offering services to foreign governments planning to create or expand electricity generation capabilities using nuclear power plants. Revenue in this business segment is generated from the five-year consulting contracts in place in the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"). The consulting contracts are with two entities, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation ("ENEC") and Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation ("FANR"). The variation in revenue for both entities reflects the timing of specific consulting projects received from ENEC and FANR. Revenue declined on the FANR project due to temporary delays in work while obtaining special security clearances, and work with ENEC slowed as the organization focused on prime contractor selection.
Seth Grae, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "As we've indicated previously, our consulting services work with the UAE, while ongoing for the next several years, experiences variations as to the timing of when projects are received. We anticipate our work with FANR will continue into 2010 at the same rate we experienced in 2009, without a drop-off caused recently by security clearances, while our work with ENEC will likely again accelerate when a prime contractor is in place with ENEC to deploy the nuclear power plants." Mr. Grae added, "When we began work in UAE, it became the foundation from which to grow and market our consulting business and secure additional work. This remains true today, as we now have active and substantive discussions for our services and capabilities with governmental and foreign entities that will help build on the scalability of our business."
Operating loss for the three months ended September 30, 2009 was approximately $2.3 million compared to operating income of $809,000 for the comparable period in 2008. Net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2009 was approximately $2.3 million compared to income of $853,000 in the third quarter of 2008. Excluding the impact of non-cash items, adjusted net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2009 would have been $1.1 million compared to adjusted net income of $2.6 million for the same period in 2008 (see "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures" near the end of this release).
As of September 30, 2009, the company had approximately $3.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and approximately $5.5 million of working capital.
During the 2009 third quarter, Lightbridge completed a 1-for-30 reverse split of its common stock, helping to secure the Company's NASDAQ listing in October. The reverse split coincided with the Company's name change to Lightbridge Corporation. With the reverse split, the Company reduced the number of common shares issued from 301.8 million to 10.1 million.
Lightbridge also recently announced the filing of a form S-3 shelf registration statement with the SEC. The added flexibility provided by the shelf registration will help Lightbridge achieve its corporate milestones on the fuel design side of the business, and has put the Company in a better position to close a financing on terms that are favorable over the three-year period during which the S-3 shelf registration will be effective. The proceeds would be used for the development and commercialization of the Company's non-proliferative nuclear fuel technology.
Mr. Grae added, "During the third quarter we made progress on several fronts on the fuel design segment of our business. We completed preliminary analysis for a VVER-1000 fuel assembly design for an 18-month fuel cycle. We entered into a strategic agreement with SOSNY, which now serves as Lightbridge's prime contractor in Russia to manage the research and development activities related to the lead test assembly ("LTA") program for Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors, and we continued to expand our work with Areva. In other developments, we were recently notified by the European Patent Office that our EU patent application filed on December 23, 2008 was published on July 8, 2009, and we presented a technical paper at Global 2009 conference entitled "The Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Sustainable Options & Industrial Perspectives" that was held in Paris, France on September 6-11, 2009. We look forward to continued progress and gaining even greater visibility of our work in this area."
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 September 30, 2009 and September 30, 2008.
Three Months Three Months
Ended 30-Sep-09 Ended 30-Sep-08
--------------- ---------------
GAAP Net Income (Loss) $ -2,287 $ 853
Adjustments:
Expense - non-cash employee
compensation 1,176 1,713
Expense - depreciation 7 9
--------------- ---------------
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) $ -1,104 $ 2,575
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 safe and clean 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. It leverages those broad and integrated capabilities by offering their services to commercial entities and governments with a need to establish or expand nuclear industry capabilities and infrastructure.
The Lightbridge Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6636
Conference Call
Lightbridge Corporation will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. (EST) on Thursday, November 12, 2009. The call will be available on the Company's website at www.ltbridge.com, or by calling (866) 270-1132 for U.S. callers, or +1 (706) 679-8510 for international callers, and entering conference ID: 41098837.
Lightbridge Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
September 30, December 31,
2009 2008
(Unaudited)
------------------------
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 3,872,046 $ 5,580,244
Restricted cash 651,409 650,000
Accounts receivable - project revenue and
reimbursable project costs 2,070,121 5,357,804
Prepaid expenses & other current assets 865,283 394,315
----------- -----------
Total Current Assets 7,458,859 11,982,363
----------- -----------
Property Plant and Equipment -net 101,139 108,121
----------- -----------
Other Assets
Patent costs 241,845 217,875
Security deposits 125,548 138,418
----------- -----------
Total Other Assets 367,393 356,293
----------- -----------
Total Assets $ 7,927,391 $12,446,777
=========== ===========
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
Current Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 2,081,323 $ 5,138,979
----------- -----------
Total Liabilities 2,081,323 5,138,979
----------- -----------
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' Equity
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 50,000,000
authorized shares, no shares issued and
outstanding -- --
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 500,000,000
authorized, 10,154,168 shares issued and
outstanding at September 30, 2009 and
10,049,769 shares (restated for reverse
stock split of 1 to 30) issued and
outstanding at December 31, 2008 10,154 10,050
Additional paid in capital - stock and
stock equivalents 52,996,913 48,898,894
Accumulated Deficit (46,646,308) (41,489,974)
Common stock reserved for issuance, 3,869
shares and 16,135 shares (restated for
reverse stock split of 1 to 30) at
September 30, 2009 and December 31, 2008,
respectively 34,250 114,787
Deferred stock compensation (548,941) (225,959)
----------- -----------
Total Stockholders' Equity 5,846,068 7,307,798
----------- -----------
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 7,927,391 $12,446,777
=========== ===========
Lightbridge Corporation
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and
Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
------------------------ ------------------------
2009 2008 2009 2008
------------------------ ------------------------
Revenue:
Consulting Revenue $ 2,009,548 $ 6,746,500 $ 8,384,086 $14,863,125
Cost of Consulting
Services Provided 1,289,552 1,862,309 4,926,916 5,246,875
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Gross Margin 719,996 4,884,191 3,457,170 9,616,250
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Operating Expenses
General and
administrative 1,550,994 2,478,894 3,624,462 5,595,881
Research and
development
expenses 325,044 211,779 1,337,961 497,228
General and
administrative -
stock-based
compensation 1,135,171 1,384,828 3,666,964 4,172,007
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total Operating
Expenses 3,011,209 4,075,501 8,629,387 10,265,116
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Operating income
(loss) (2,291,213) 808,690 (5,172,217) (648,866)
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Other Income and
(Expenses)
Realized loss on
marketable
securities 0 0 0 (438,750)
Interest income 5,197 19,113 21,717 162,293
Foreign currency
transaction loss (907) 0 (5,834) 0
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total Other Income
and Expenses 4,290 19,113 15,883 (276,457)
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net income (loss)
before income
taxes (2,286,923) 827,803 (5,156,334) (925,323)
Income taxes 0 (24,799) 0 7,140
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net income (loss) (2,286,923) 852,602 (5,156,334) (932,463)
Other Comprehensive
Income (Loss)
Unrealized gain on
marketable
securities 0 437,234 0 433,719
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total Comprehensive
Income (Loss) $(2,286,923) $ 1,289,836 $(5,156,334) $ (498,744)
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Net Income(Loss)
Per Common Share,
Basic and diluted $ (0.23) $ 0.09 $ (0.51) $ (0.09)
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Weighted Average
Number of shares
outstanding for
the period used to
compute per share
data - (prior
reporting periods
restated to
reflect 1 to 30
reverse stock
split) 10,140,767 9,987,178 10,085,913 10,013,543
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Lightbridge Corporation
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Nine months ended
September 30,
------------------------
2009 2008
------------------------
Operating Activities:
Net Loss $(5,156,334) $ (932,463)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss from
operations to net cash used in operating
activities:
Stock-based compensation 3,694,604 4,500,411
Depreciation and amortization 20,084 11,593
Loss on marketable securities - available
for sale 0 433,719
Changes in non-cash operating working
capital items:
Accounts receivable - fees and reimburseable
project costs 3,287,683 (759,929)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (470,968) 88,449
Security deposits 12,870 (138,418)
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and
other current liabilities (3,057,656) (319,406)
Deferred revenue 0 (523,125)
Deferred project costs - net 0 371,631
----------- -----------
Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Operating
Activities (1,669,717) 2,732,462
----------- -----------
Investing Activities:
Property and equipment (13,102) (192,198)
Patent costs (23,970) 0
----------- -----------
Net Cash Used In Investing Activities (37,072) (192,198)
----------- -----------
Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issue of common shares 0 49,975
Payments on notes payable and other 0 (10,433)
Increase in restricted cash (1,409) 0
----------- -----------
Net Cash Provided by (Used In) Financing
Activities (1,409) 39,542
----------- -----------
Net Increase (Decrease) In Cash and
Cash Equivalents (1,708,198) 2,579,806
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning
of Period 5,580,244 9,907,691
Reclassification of cash equivalents to
marketable securities - available for sale 0 (2,127,429)
----------- -----------
Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Period $ 3,872,046 $10,360,068
=========== ===========
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow
Information
Cash paid during the year:
Interest paid $ 0 $ 40
=========== ===========
Income taxes paid $ 266,000 $ 31,939
=========== ===========