Gross profit: $1.12 millionTotal revenue (Q2): $3.93 million, +29.6% year-over-yearBacklog: $29.8 million MONTREAL, Aug. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX:PYR) (OTCQX:PYRGF) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company (the "Company" or "PyroGenesis") that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions which are geared to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and address environmental pollutants, is pleased to announce its financial and operational results for the second quarter ended June 30th, 2024. "With Q2's strong earnings, PyroGenesis continues its string of positive results reflecting growing industry momentum and customer interest, together with corporate commitment to optimizing expenditures and processes. After posting a three-year low revenue mark back in Q1 2023, we now have posted 5 consecutive quarters of revenue improvement, with four of those quarters, including this most recent, surpassing the previous quarter's revenue," said P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. "The collection of key receivables whose payment timelines were strategically extended, together with a cost reduction program, and the meeting of significant project milestones, resulted in us posting these results. Second-half trends, including the post-quarter end announcement of a large land-based waste-to-energy system design and potential development contract, provides me with the confidence that PyroGenesis will continue to distinguish itself in the industrial decarbonization and electrification arena well beyond 2024." KEY Q2 2024 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Revenue of $3.93 million, up 29.6% year-over-year vs. Q2 2023 An increase of 13% vs. Q1 2024 3rd best Q2 revenue in Company's history Backlog of signed and/or awarded contracts of $29.8 million as at August 6, 2024 Gross margin of 29% Net income of $1.4 million, earnings per share of $0.01 SUBSEQUENT EVENTS Post quarter end, in July 2024 [news release dated July 22, 2024], the Company announced the closing of a $2.8 million non-brokered private placement consisting of the issuance and sale of 3,505,750 units at a price of $0.80 per unit, for gross proceeds of $2,804,600. Each unit consists if one common share of PyroGenesis, and one common share purchase warrant, entitling the holder to purchase one common share at a price of $1.20 during the twelve months following the closing date of the private placement. Among the subscribers, the CEO and their related parties directly or indirectly purchased in excess of $1 million of this private placement. Post quarter end, in July 2024 [news release dated July 03, 2024], the Company announced that up to 4,107,850 common share purchase warrants will be amended such that the exercise price would be reduced to $0.75 per share provided that if the closing price of the common shares exceeds $0.9375 (such amount being 125% of $0.75) over any 5 consecutive trading days, the Company will be entitled to accelerate the expiry date of the warrants to the date that is 30 days following that notice of such acceleration is provided. Post quarter end, in July, the Company's client, HPQ Silicon Inc., announced [news release dated July 30th] the start of commissioning of the Fumed Silica Reactor (FSR) pilot plant for which the Company has been designing, engineering, and constructing a proprietary technology to convert quartz (SiO2) into fumed silica (also known as pyrogenic silica) in a single and eco-friendly step while eliminating the use of harmful chemicals generated by conventional methods. The FSR, if successful, could provide a groundbreaking contribution to the repatriation of silica production to North America. Fumed silica is a moisture-absorbing white microstructure powder with high surface area and low bulk density. Used most often as a thickening agent, anti-caking agent, and stabilizer to improve the texture and consistency of products, the commercial applications of fumed silica can be found in many industries across thousands of product lines, including – but not limited to – personal care, powdered food, pharmaceuticals, agriculture (food & feed), adhesives, paints, sealants, construction, batteries and automotive. Post quarter end, the Company announced [news release dated July 29, 2024] the signing of a contract for a land-based waste-to-energy system to a European entity, to transform municipal solid waste into both energy and chemical products. The contract was announced as two phased: phase 1 is a signed $2 million contract for a conceptual and preliminary design phase; phase 2 is the construction and delivery of a final system. Phase 1 is expected to be completed in 2025. Phase 2 is dependent on the client obtaining the required financing and the negotiation of terms and conditions. As noted in the news release, the potential value for this contract grew from approximately $25-$30 million to between $120-160 million, with final decision based on the results of the phase one project, which is scheduled for completion in Q3 2025. Q2 2024 PRODUCTION AND SALES HIGHLIGHTS The information below represents highlights from the past quarter for each of the Company's main business verticals. Q2 2024 continued the positive revenue growth trend that began in Q2 2023. Q2 2024 marks the 5th straight quarter of revenue improvement compared to the low revenue mark of Q1 2023, with four of those five quarters – including Q2 2024 – surpassing the previous quarter's revenues. The Company operates within three verticals that align with economic drivers that are key to global heavy industry: Energy Transition & Emission Reduction: fuel switching – utilizing the Company's all-electric plasma torches and biogas upgrading technology to help heavy industry reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions, Commodity Security & Optimization: recovery of viable metals – and optimization of production methods/processes geared to increase output, maximize raw materials and improve availability of critical minerals, Waste Remediation: safe destruction of hazardous materials – and the recovery and valorization of underlying substances such as chemicals and minerals. Within each vertical the Company offers solutions at different stages of commercialization. Energy Transition & Emission Reduction In April, the Company announced a signed letter of intent with global aluminum product manufacturer Constellium for large-scale plasma remelting furnaces, amid an agreement to investigate the potential replacement of fossil fuel burners in Constellium's furnaces, following the previous completion of successful trials with PyroGenesis that occurred during 2023. With the new agreement, the two companies have agreed to implement an industrial scale aluminum remelting furnace using plasma as the heat source. In April, the Company announced a contract with a global mining supply company, with the agreement related to the client's intention to examine the use of plasma in decarbonizing its cast houses. The agreement outlined both a test phase and potential on-site initiative that replaces existing fossil fuel burners with the Company's plasma torches. In April, the Company announced a contract with one of the five largest global steelmakers to assess the applicability of plasma use in primary steel production, specifically during the production of direct reduced iron for use in electric arc furnaces. In May, the Company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pyro Green-Gas, had signed contracts with a global steel company based in India, for the development and supply of technology to desulphurize and clean the gas that is released during the creation of metallurgical coke from coal. Under the terms of these contracts, Pyro Green-Gas will provide engineering and mechanical solutions that will aid in the removal of hydrogen sulfide from coke oven gas during the coking process. The cleaned gas would then be converted into high value reusable hydrogen. In June, the Company announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pyro Green-Gas, had signed a contract for the engineering, design, and fabrication of a thermal swing adsorption system for the dehydration of pure oxygen produced from electrolyzers at the Varennes Carbon Recycling Plant – a large biofuel production project currently under construction in Varennes, Quebec. Commodity Security & Optimization In April, the Company announced the positive results of laboratory tests for its green cement project with client Progressive Planet, whereby the cement additive product known as PozPyro achieved compressive strength tests at the 7-day mark that were 45% above the target for green cement additive products. The goal of the project is to create a replacement for fly ash, used in cement as an additive, but which is in diminishing supply due to the ongoing reduction in coal-fired power plants that create fly ash. PozPyro is made using quartz silica, an abundant material. In April, the Company announced a contract to supply a Spanish aerospace entity with titanium metal powder produced by the Company's NexGen™ plasma atomization system. The client is engaged in the development of advanced aeronautics technologies for the European aerospace industry, and will use the titanium powder for additive manufacturing purposes. This contract represents the first contract under the Company's new European distribution strategy that supplies the Company's powder direct to customers rather than via third party distributors. In May, the Company announced additional positive results of laboratory tests for its green cement project with client Progressive Planet, whereby the cement additive product known as PozPyro achieved compressive strength tests at the 28-day mark that were up to 99.56% above the target for green cement additive products. In June, the Company announced that it had cleared the final requirement to becoming an approved supplier of its titanium metal powder to a global aerospace original equipment manufacturer. The Company's "course" cut Ti64 metal powder had met all of the necessary requirements to be added to the client's approved supplier list, and the formal process for adding the Company to the approved supplier list has begun. The Company has been engaged in an extensive qualification process with the client lasting several years leading to this announcement. In June, the company announced that it had received a second signed contract with a Spanish aerospace entity for titanium metal powder produced by the Company's NexGen™ plasma atomization system. The client is engaged in the development of advanced aeronautics technologies for the European aerospace industry, and has indicated that the Company may qualify for a long-term contract following the successful completion of this contract. Q2 2024 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS In April, the company announced a block sale of HPQ Silicon Inc. shares to the Company's President and CEO, Photis Peter Pascali, for an aggregate purchase price of $661,447.50, representing a per share price of $0.175. As noted in the news release by the Company's CFO, Andre Mainella: "This sale will bring PyroGenesis an influx of cash on favourable terms." In April, the Company announced receipt of two separate milestone payments totaling $970,000 for the sale of a plasma torch system to a U.S. corporation developing a system geared to destroy perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"). In May, the Company announced receipt of $1.5 million as settlement in legal proceedings between the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Pyro Green-Gas and certain related persons and Gas RNG Systems Inc. and certain persons. The settlement was concluded on a no-fault basis, with all parties to the proceedings providing full and final releases. In June, the Company announced receipt of $4.1 million under the Drosrite™ contract with Drosrite International and its client Radian Oil and Gas, as part of an outstanding receivable under the Company's existing $25 million Drosrite™ contract. Q2 2024 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS In April, the Company announced the appointment of Mr. Paul Rajchgod to the Board of Directors as an independent member of the board. In May, the Company announced that it notified HPQ Silicon Inc. of its intent to exercise its option to convert its annual royalty rights into a 50% ownership of HPQ Silica Polvere Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of HPQ Silicon Inc. HPQ Polvere's primary initiative is the Fumed Silica Reactor (FSR) project, for which the Company has been designing, engineering, and constructing a proprietary technology to convert quartz (SiO2) into fumed silica (also known as pyrogenic silica) in a single and eco-friendly step while eliminating the use of harmful chemicals generated by conventional methods. The FSR, if successful, could provide a groundbreaking contribution to the repatriation of silica production to North America. Fumed silica is a moisture-absorbing white microstructure powder with high surface area and low bulk density. Used most often as a thickening agent, anti-caking agent, and stabilizer to improve the texture and consistency of products, the commercial applications of fumed silica can be found in many industries across thousands of product lines, including – but not limited to – personal care, powdered food, pharmaceuticals, agriculture (food & feed), adhesives, paints, sealants, construction, batteries and automotive. FINANCIAL SUMMARY 1. Revenues PyroGenesis recorded revenue of $3.9 million in the second quarter of 2024 ("Q2, 2024"), representing an increase of $0.9 million compared with $3.0 million recorded in the second quarter of 2023 ("Q2, 2023"). Revenue for the six-month period ended June 30, 2024, was $7.4 million, an increase of $1.8 million over revenue of $5.6 million in the same period of 2023. Revenues recorded in the three and six-months ended June 30, 2024, were generated primarily from:     Three months ended June 30 Variation   Six months ended June 30 Variation     2024 2023 2024 vs 2023   2024 2023 2024 vs 2023 High purity metallurgical grade silicon & solar grade silicon from quartz (PUREVAP™)   101,790   445,840   (344,050 )   496,234   973,439   (477,205 ) Aluminium and zinc dross recovery (DROSRITE™)   327,503   115,325   212,178     990,688   205,552   785,136   Development and support related to systems supplied to the U.S. Navy   237,175   813,125   (575,950 )   1,281,609   1,165,228   116,381   Torch-related products and services   2,792,009   561,942   2,230,067     3,669,057   1,732,690