CASTLE ROCK, Colo.,
May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) ("Riot"
or the "Company"), one of the few Nasdaq listed public
cryptocurrency mining companies in the United States, reported
financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020. The financial statements are
available on Riot's website and here.
Riot continues to make substantial progress. During the
quarter ended March 31, 2020, Riot
announced the termination of the SEC investigation and the full
deployment of upgraded mining equipment at its OKC facility.
As compared to the same period last year, during the quarter ended
March 31, 2020, Riot announced
increased revenues, and decreased SG&A expenses excluding
stock-based compensation. As compared to December 31, 2019, the Company has substantially
improved its liquidity position and increased total stockholder's
equity.
Recent legal highlights
- Received notice of the termination of the SEC's investigation
of Riot on January 29, 2020.
- Granted motions to dismiss the securities class action suit,
resulting in the dismissal of all claims without prejudice on
April 30, 2020, pending the lead
plaintiff seeking to file another amended complaint.
Recent operational highlights
- 4,000 Bitmain S17 Pro Antminers acquired in late 2019 were
fully deployed and operational during Q1 2020 at the Company's
Oklahoma City mining facility,
resulting in an 146% overall increase in Riot's fully owned hashing
power capacity to approximately 248 petahash per second
("PH/s").
- Purchased 2,040 next generation Bitmain S19 Antminers in
April 2020, which is expected to
increase the Company's current aggregate operating hash rate by 84%
to approximately 457 PH/s pending receipt and deployment in Q3
2020.
- During April 2020, entered into a
co-location mining agreement with Coinmint, which is expected to
improve the Company's operational efficiency, and completed the
migration of an initial batch of miners to Coinmint's facilities in
Massena, New York for
testing.
Recent financial highlights
- Produced 281 newly minted bitcoins (BTC) during the first
quarter of 2020 and increased bitcoin inventory 60% to 821 BTC from
December 31, 2019 to March 31, 2020.
- Improved working capital at March 31,
2020 to $17.0 million from
$9.3 million as of December 31, 2019 and decreased total liabilities
to $3.8 million from $4.1 million during the same period.
- Increased total stockholders' equity to $33.2 million as of March
31, 2020 from $26.2 million at
December 31, 2019.
First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
Total mining revenue increased 68% to $2.4 million as compared to $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2019.
Mining margin, computed as mining revenues in excess of cost of
revenues (excluding depreciation and amortization which is
separately stated), was $955,000
(40.0% of total revenue), which compares to a loss of $65,000 in the same year-ago period. The
improvements in revenue and gross profit were primarily due to
changes in cryptocurrency prices, combined with the higher
efficiencies of the new generation miners in place in 2020, net of
increases in the difficulty index associated with solving mining
algorithms.
Selling, general, and administrative ("SG&A") expenses
increased 18% to $3.7 million as
compared to $3.2 million reported in
the first quarter of 2019. The increase in SG&A expenses was
primarily due to an increase in stock-based compensation expense.
Excluding the stock-based compensation expense, SG&A decreased
to $1.8 million as compared to
$2.9 million reported in the first
quarter of 2019 primarily due to cost reduction efforts and
decreases in legal fees.
Net loss for the quarter ended March 31,
2020 was $4.3 million, or
$(0.15) per share, compared to net
loss of $13.8 million, or
$(0.94) per share, in the same period
last year.
At March 31, 2020, the Company had
$19.2 million in cash and
cryptocurrencies, as compared to $11.3
million at December 31,
2019.
COVID-19 Update: As published in its previous
disclosures, Riot is continuing to closely monitor COVID-19 and its
potential impact on the Company's workforce, operations, finance,
and liquidity. To date, the impact has remained minimal.
About Riot Blockchain
Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) specializes in cryptocurrency
mining with a focus on bitcoin. Riot also holds non-controlling
investments in blockchain technology companies. Riot is
headquartered in Castle Rock,
Colorado, and the Company's primary mining facility is
located in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. For more information, visit
www.RiotBlockchain.com.
Safe Harbor
The information provided in this press release may include
forward-looking statements relating to future events or the future
financial performance of the Company. Because such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Words such as "anticipates," "plans," "expects,"
"intends," "will," "potential," "hope" and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations of
the Company and involve assumptions that may never materialize or
may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such
forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and
uncertainties. Detailed information regarding factors that may
cause actual results to differ materially from the results
expressed or implied by statements in this press release relating
to the Company may be found in the Company's periodic filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the factors
described in the sections entitled "Risk Factors," copies of which
may be obtained from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The Company
does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking
statements contained in this press release.
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SOURCE Riot Blockchain, Inc.