Lightbridge Announces 2012 First Quarter Business Update and Financial Results
Live Conference Call and Webcast Scheduled at 11 a.m. EDT Today at: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=86945
MCLEAN, Va., May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ: LTBR), a leading innovator of next generation nuclear fuel designs and provider of nuclear energy consulting services to commercial and governmental organizations, today provided a business update on the progress of its nuclear fuel technology and consulting operations and reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.
"We continue to log steady, incremental progress in our march toward bringing next generation nuclear fuel designs to market," said Seth Grae, Lightbridge President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, our advisory services division is pursuing new consulting opportunities as global interest renews in nuclear energy as a source of long-term, efficient, base-load and carbon-free electric power."
Mr. Grae said ongoing demonstrations of Lightbridge fuel technology continue to support the indicated benefits of meaningful power uprates, longer fuel cycles and increased safety. "During the quarter, we began contract negotiations with Rosatom's entities relating to fabrication of fuel samples for loop irradiation testing in the MIR research reactor in Dimitrovgrad, Russia," he said. "We expect this irradiation experiment to commence next year and generate fuel performance data over the ensuing 2.5 years in a test reactor environment prototypic of operating conditions found in a commercial pressurized water reactor. This fuel performance data is a key milestone necessary for regulatory licensing of our lead test assembly demonstrations in a commercial pressurized water reactor planned to begin in 2017."
Financial Results
Revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 was $1.3 million, compared to $1.6 million for the same period of 2011. Operating loss for the 2012 quarter was $0.8 million, versus an operating loss of $1.6 million in the comparable period a year ago. Lightbridge revenues are derived primarily from 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 continuing development of the Company's nuclear fuel technologies. Revenues were primarily generated from contracts in place with government entities in the United Arab Emirates.
Balance Sheet Overview
At March 31 2012, the Company had approximately $7.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities, and approximately $7.7 million of working capital, with no long term debt. Stockholders' equity was approximately $8.4 million at March 31, 2012 compared with $8.8 million on December 31, 2011. Common shares outstanding at March 31, 2012 totaled 12,464,766.
2012 First Quarter Conference Call
Lightbridge will host a conference call on Thursday, May 10, at 11 a.m. EDT to discuss the Company's 2012 first quarter results and provide an update on recent corporate developments. Seth Grae, President and Chief Executive Officer, will lead the call and additional members of the senior management team will be available to answer questions. Please submit questions for Lightbridge executive management in writing before or during the conference call to [email protected]. All questions will be read aloud and answered during the call.
Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012
Time: 11 a.m. EDT
Domestic Call-In: 1-800-860-2442
International Call-In: 1-412-858-4600
Canada Call-In: 866-605-3852
Live Webcast: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=86945. Approximately one hour after the live event, an archived webcast will be available at this same URL.
Audio Replay: Available one hour after the conference through 9 a.m. May 18, 2012. Domestic call-in: 877-344-7529; international call-in: 412-317-0088. Conference # 10013656.
About Lightbridge Corporation
Lightbridge is a US nuclear energy company based in McLean, Virginia with operations in Abu Dhabi, Moscow and London. The Company develops proprietary, proliferation resistant, next generation nuclear fuel technologies for current and future nuclear reactor systems. The Company also 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 to 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 its services to commercial entities and governments with a need to establish or expand nuclear industry capabilities and infrastructure.
Lightbridge is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @LightbridgeCorp at http://twitter.com/lightbridgecorp.
Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature, including statements regarding the Company's competitive position and product and service offerings. These statements are based on current expectations on the date of this news release and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ significantly from such estimates. The risks include, but are not limited to, the degree of market adoption of the Company's product and service offerings; market competition; dependence on strategic partners; and the Company's ability to manage its business effectively in a rapidly evolving market. Certain of these and other risks are set forth in more detail in Lightbridge's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lightbridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.
CONTACT:
Gary Sharpe
Investor Relations
Lightbridge Corporation
571-730-1213
[email protected]
Lightbridge Corporation |
||||
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets |
||||
March 31, |
||||
2012 |
December 31, |
|||
(Unaudited) |
2011 |
|||
ASSETS |
||||
Current Assets |
||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
1,965,892 |
$ |
3,569,098 |
Marketable securities |
5,297,762 |
5,146,823 |
||
Restricted cash |
552,432 |
551,883 |
||
Accounts receivable - project revenue and reimbursable project costs |
925,254 |
277,211 |
||
Prepaid expenses & other current assets |
377,759 |
269,697 |
||
Total Current Assets |
9,119,099 |
9,814,712 |
||
Property Plant and Equipment -net |
40,348 |
46,514 |
||
Other Assets |
||||
Patent costs - net |
565,104 |
537,075 |
||
Security deposits |
80,324 |
120,486 |
||
Total Other Assets |
645,428 |
657,561 |
||
Total Assets |
$ |
9,804,875 |
$ |
10,518,787 |
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY |
||||
Current Liabilities |
||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
$ |
1,412,311 |
$ |
1,680,433 |
Total Current Liabilities |
1,412,311 |
1,680,433 |
||
Commitments and contingencies |
||||
Stockholders' Equity |
||||
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 50,000,000 authorized shares, no shares issued and outstanding |
- |
- |
||
Common stock, $0.001par value, 500,000,000 authorized, 12,500,360 shares issued, 12,464,766 shares outstanding and 12,476,414 shares issued, 12,427,220 shares outstanding at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively |
12,465 |
12,427 |
||
Additional paid in capital - stock and stock equivalents |
71,329,282 |
70,946,951 |
||
Deficit |
(62,952,308) |
(62,155,774) |
||
Common stock reserved for issuance, 977 shares and 17,120 shares at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively |
3,125 |
34,750 |
||
Total Stockholders' Equity |
8,392,564 |
8,838,354 |
||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity |
$ |
9,804,875 |
$ |
10,518,787 |
Lightbridge Corporation |
||||
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations |
||||
Three Months Ended |
||||
March 31, |
||||
2012 |
2011 |
|||
Revenue: |
||||
Consulting Revenue |
$ |
1,257,521 |
$ |
1,578,094 |
Cost of Consulting Services Provided |
769,685 |
1,093,019 |
||
Gross Margin |
487,836 |
485,075 |
||
Operating Expenses |
||||
General and administrative |
945,362 |
1,727,186 |
||
Research and development expenses |
496,708 |
499,640 |
||
Total Operating Expenses |
1,442,070 |
2,226,826 |
||
(954,234) |
(1,741,751) |
|||
Other Income and (Expenses) |
||||
Investment income |
151,558 |
105,822 |
||
Other income (expenses) |
6,142 |
(2,810) |
||
Total Other Income and Expenses |
157,700 |
103,012 |
||
Net loss before income taxes |
(796,534) |
(1,638,739) |
||
Income taxes |
0 |
0 |
||
Net loss |
$ |
(796,534) |
$ |
(1,638,739) |
Net Loss Per Common Share, Basic and diluted |
$ |
(0.06) |
$ |
(0.13) |
Weighted Average Number of shares outstanding |
12,432,282 |
12,353,251 |
||
Lightbridge Corporation |
||||
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows |
||||
Three Months Ended |
||||
March 31 |
||||
2012 |
2011 |
|||
Operating Activities: |
||||
Net Loss |
$ |
(796,534) |
$ |
(1,638,739) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss from operations to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||
Stock based compensation |
350,745 |
404,377 |
||
Depreciation and amortization |
6,166 |
7,297 |
||
Unrealized (gains) loss on marketable securities |
(87,929) |
37,756 |
||
Changes in non-cash operating working capital items: |
||||
Accounts receivable - fees and reimburseable project costs |
(648,043) |
85,597 |
||
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
(67,901) |
(830,610) |
||
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other current liabilities |
(268,122) |
(188,061) |
||
Deferred revenue |
0 |
837,130 |
||
Net Cash Used In Operating Activities |
(1,511,618) |
(1,285,253) |
||
Investing Activities: |
||||
Proceeds from the sale of marketable securities |
0 |
1,949,893 |
||
Purchase of Marketable securities |
(63,010) |
0 |
||
Property and equipment |
0 |
(1,540) |
||
Patent costs |
(28,029) |
(21,877) |
||
Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Investing Activities |
(91,039) |
1,926,476 |
||
Financing Activities: |
||||
Restricted cash |
(549) |
(283) |
||
Net Cash Used In Financing Activities |
(549) |
(283) |
||
Net Increase (Decrease) In Cash and Cash Equivalents |
(1,603,206) |
640,940 |
||
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Year |
3,569,098 |
2,373,421 |
||
Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Year |
$ |
1,965,892 |
$ |
3,014,361 |
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information: |
||||
Cash paid during the year: |
||||
Interest paid |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
Income taxes paid |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
SOURCE Lightbridge Corporation
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