Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. ("Altair") (NASDAQ: ALTI), today
reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30,
2012.
Altair reported revenues of $0.5 million for the second quarter,
essentially flat compared to the same period in 2011. The gross
loss was $620,000 reflecting an increase of $399,000 in inventory
reserves. Operating expenses increased to $4.4 million primarily
due to investments in research and development, compared to $3.8
million for the same quarter in 2011.
"The second quarter marked an important turning point for our
company," said Alexander Lee, Altair's Chief Executive Officer. "We
completed a series of agreements in China that will create a unique
point of entry into the Chinese market; we took actions to
consolidate our operations and reduce our cost structure; and, we
focused on the completion and delivery of four turnkey energy
storage system projects that will allow us to recognize revenue in
the third and fourth quarters of this year."
Recent Highlights and Subsequent Events
- On April 1, 2012, Altair board members Alexander Lee and Liming
Zou (a/k/a Albert Zou) were respectively named as Chief Executive
Officer and President of the Company.
- On April 19, 2012, Altair entered into economic development
agreements with the Cities of Handan and Wu'an in the People's
Republic of China ("PRC"). Under these agreements, the two cities
shall provide Altair Nanotechnologies (China) Co., Ltd. ("Altair
China") with a package of economic incentives, including a land use
rights grant, which shall be used for Altair's new manufacturing
facilities.
- On May 15, 2012, Altair entered into a new supply agreement
with Proterra to supply its nano lithium titanate ("nLTO") battery
modules for use in their rapid-charging EV buses. On June 19, 2012,
Proterra released its first purchase order under the agreement for
deliveries in the first quarter of 2013.
- On May 15, 2012, Altair completed the domestication of its
Canadian corporate entity into the United States as a Delaware
corporation. We believe that the change will reduce certain
administrative costs and regulatory reporting complexity.
- On June 28, 2012, Altair received an order from the Hawaiian
Natural Energy Institute ("HNEI") for the development of advanced
system control algorithms, which will be used to integrate wind and
solar resources for the two Altair energy storage systems, which
will be delivered to HNEI later this year.
- On July 6, 2012, Altair's Board of Directors approved a plan to
repatriate funds from its wholly-owned subsidiary, Altair China, to
support and fund Altair's ongoing U.S. operations.
- On July 9 2012, the Company shipped a 1.2 MW energy storage
system to a European renewable energy customer, who will utilize
the system in a wind farm application. We anticipate that the
system will be installed and commissioned in the fourth quarter of
2012.
- On July 27, 2012, Altair completed a reduction in force in its
Reno facility to further consolidate its U.S. operations and reduce
the Company's operating costs. Total U.S. headcount (regular and
temporary employees) dropped from 95 on March 31, 2012 to 68 on
August 2, 2012.
- On Aug. 1, 2012, Altair China received an initial down payment
of $1.9 million (12 million Chinese RMB) from the city of Wu'an for
its first EV bus order under its April 2012 economic development
agreement with Wu'an. Altair China shall deliver 50 electric buses
to Wu'an by the end of 2012.
- On Aug. 8, 2012, the company entered into a $1 million loan
agreement to provide general working capital to fund the company's
operations.
The net loss for the second quarter was $4.9 million, or $0.07
per share, compared to a net loss of $3.0 million, or $0.10 per
share, for the second quarter of 2011. The basic and diluted
weighted average shares outstanding for the quarter were 69.5
million, compared to 30.4 million for the same period in 2011. The
net loss increase was primarily due to the change in the market
value of previously issued warrants, increases in research and
development expense associated with our next generation LTO
chemistry and LTO cells, as well as an increase in inventory
reserves.
Altair's cash and cash equivalents decreased by $11.2 million,
from $46.5 million at Dec. 31, 2011 to $35.3 million at June 30,
2012. This is primarily due to the $10.8 million of cash used in
operating activities during the first half of 2012. The bulk of the
cash used in operations went to cover normal compensation and
non-labor expenses, and the build-up of work in process inventory
related to the fulfillment of customer sales backlog.
Second Quarter 2012 Conference Call Altair
will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2012
results on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012 at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
(EDT). Shareholders and members of the investment community are
invited to participate in the conference call. The dial-in number
for both U.S. and international callers is +1 678-224-7719. Please
dial in to the conference 5 minutes before the call is scheduled to
begin. Ask the operator for the Altair Nanotechnologies call.
Post call, a phone-based audio replay will be available from 2
p.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012 until Midnight EDT, Aug. 16, 2012.
It can be accessed by dialing +1 404-537-3406 and entering the
conference number 13762442. Additionally, the conference call and
replay will be available online, and can be accessed by visiting
Altair's website, www.altairnano.com.
About Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc.
Headquartered in Reno, Nev. with manufacturing in Anderson, Ind.,
Altair is a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean,
efficient power and energy management. Altair's lithium-titanate
based battery systems are among the highest performing and most
scalable, with applications that include complete energy storage
systems for use in providing frequency regulation and renewables
integration for the electric grid, and battery modules and systems
for transportation and industrial applications. For more
information please visit Altair at www.altairnano.com.
Forward-Looking Statements This report may
contain forward-looking statements as well as historical
information. Forward-looking statements, which are included in
accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause Altair's actual
results and performance in future periods to be materially
different from any future results or performance suggested by the
forward-looking statements in this report. These risks include the
risk that the government entities with which the Company has
contracted will be unable to fulfill their commitment due to legal
limitations, including certain procedures required in connection
with land use grants and major product purchases; that the
government entities will not fulfill their commitments for
political or other discretionary reasons, in which case the Company
will have no, or limited, remedies; that the Company will run into
regulatory, finance or other obstacles as it attempts to expand its
operations into China; that the Company interest may be harmed by
the absence from the Agreement of terms and conditions that are
customary in contracts under U.S. law; that the Company will be
unable to expand capacity (or contract with third parties) in order
to meet the demand of product orders, particularly products like
electric vehicles which the Company does not itself manufacture;
that the Company will not experience expected costs savings as a
result of its expansion into China and that the Company will not
experience an increase in sales volume or, even if it experiences
such an increase, that the Company will experience low (or
negative) gross margins and not operate profitably in China. Other
risks are identified in Altair's most recent Annual Report on Form
10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. Such
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
release. Altair expressly disclaims any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any
changes in Altair expectations or results or any change in
events.
ALTAIR NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Expressed in thousands of United States Dollars, except shares)
(Unaudited)
June 30, December 31,
2012 2011
------------- -------------
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 35,275 $ 46,519
Restricted cash 293
Accounts receivable, net 576 333
Product inventories, net 9,860 7,220
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 2,022 2,240
------------- -------------
Total current assets 48,026 56,312
Property, plant and equipment, net 6,297 6,870
Patents, net 312 350
------------- -------------
Total Assets $ 54,635 $ 63,532
============= =============
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current Liabilities
Trade accounts payable $ 6,225 $ 5,870
Accrued salaries and benefits 928 1,132
Accrued warranty 383 354
Accrued liabilities 438 421
Deferred revenues 2,561 1,616
Warrant liabilities 475 654
Capital lease obligation 21 12
------------- -------------
Total current liabilities 11,031 10,059
Total Liabilities 11,031 10,059
------------- -------------
Stockholders' equity
Common stock, no par value, unlimited shares
authorized; 69,452,487 shares issued and
outstanding at June 30, 2012 and December
31, 2011 245,617 245,617
Additional paid in capital 12,276 12,279
Accumulated deficit (214,157) (204,423)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (132)
------------- -------------
Total stockholders' equity 43,604 53,473
Total Liabilities and Stockholders'
Equity $ 54,635 $ 63,532
============= =============
ALTAIR NANOTECHNOLOGIES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Expressed in thousands of United States Dollars, except shares and per
share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
----------------------- -----------------------
2012 2011 2012 2011
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Revenues
Product sales $ 376 $ 174 $ 573 $ 2,540
License fees 60 60 120 120
Commercial collaborations 18 78 18 80
Contracts and grants 164 287
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total revenues 454 476 711 3,027
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Cost of goods sold
Product 613 314 1,019 2,925
Commercial collaborations 197 197
Contracts and grants 168 296
Warranty and inventory
reserves 461 12 475 58
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total cost of goods sold 1,074 691 1,494 3,476
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Gross loss (620) (215) (783) (449)
Operating expenses
Research and development 1,789 1,284 3,622 3,340
Sales and marketing 925 913 1,845 1,964
General and administrative 1,425 1,204 3,174 3,376
Depreciation and
amortization 250 379 519 754
Loss on disposal of assets 16
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total operating expenses 4,389 3,780 9,160 9,450
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Loss from operations (5,009) (3,995) (9,943) (9,899)
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Other (expense) income
Interest income (expense),
net 32 (52) 30 (59)
Change in market value of
warrants 102 1,022 179 1,022
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total other income, net 134 970 209 963
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net loss $ (4,875)$ (3,025)$ (9,734)$ (8,936)
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Loss per common share -
basic and diluted $ (0.07)$ (0.10)$ (0.14)$ (0.31)
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Weighted average shares -
basic and diluted 69,452,487 30,424,730 69,452,487 28,644,546
=========== =========== =========== ===========
For Additional Information: Investors Tony Luo
tluo@altairnano.com 775.858.3726