VANCOUVER, BC, April 25, 2024 /CNW/ - BQE Water Inc. (TSXV:BQE), a leader in the treatment and management of mine impacted waters, is pleased to release its audited consolidated financial results for the year ended December 31, 2023. "We are extremely pleased with our annual results which reflect the stage of the Company's growth as we establish new streams of recurring revenue from water treatment plant operations," said David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water. "In 2023, we expanded our scope in the Yukon and added an operation in Southwest America which, together, increased operational services revenues by $4.1 million over last year. Our revenues from technical services also increased by 23% year‐over‐year, which helped propel us to new highs in revenues, Adjusted EBITDA and net income, and provides us with good visibility with respect to our future growth potential." FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Achieved record Proportional Revenues of $22.7 million in 2023, a 20% increase from 2022. Recorded historic high revenues under GAAP of $18.1 million in 2023, a 49% increase compared to 2022. Share of income from China joint ventures was $419,000, $1.1 million lower than in 2022. Net income for the year was $2.6 million compared to $1.2 million in 2022, a 128% increase. Adjusted EBITDA was $4.6 million compared to $3.1 million the year prior, a 52% increase. Increased working capital by 47% year-over-year to $10.5 million as at December 31, 2023. Grew net cash and cash equivalents by 27% year-over-year to $7.9 million as of December 31, 2023. Selected financial results for the 3 and 12 months ended December 31, 2023 are as follows: (in '000s) 3 months ended Dec. 31 12 months ended Dec. 31 2023 2022 2023 2022 Revenues under GAAP 5,014 3,465 18,137 12,158 Proportional Revenues 5,431 4,479 22,726 18,879 Net income (loss) 249 (244) 2,654 1,162 Adjusted EBITDA 541 (90) 4,656 3,059 Selected financial results for the last 5 years are as follows: OPERATIONAL SERVICES HIGHLIGHTS Our operational services consist of the operation or technical supervision of water treatment plants, which generate recurring revenues from three main sources: sales of recovered metals, water treatment fees and operations support fees. The Company's operations by source of revenue are as follows: Operations Location Revenue Source JCC-BQE Joint Venture Jiangxi province, China Sales of recovered metals MWT-BQE Joint Venture Shandong province, China Sales of recovered metals Raglan Mine for Glencore Northern Québec, Canada Water treatment fees Minto Mine for Government of Yukon Yukon, Canada Water treatment fees Zhongkuang Metallurgical Facilities for MWT Shandong province, China Operations support fees Zhaojin Metallurgical Facilities for MWT Shandong province, China Operations support fees Power utility ash pond for WesTech Eastern USA Water treatment fees Base metal project for a metal producer Southwestern USA Water treatment fees JCC-BQE Joint Venture Operations Our 50/50 joint venture with partner Jiangxi Copper Company ("JCC") operates three water treatment plants at Dexing Mine and at Yinshan Mine in Jiangxi province of China. The volume of water treated and pounds of copper recovered by the plants fluctuate seasonally depending on precipitation levels in the region. The operating results for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023 are as follows: (in '000s) 2023 2022 Water treated (cubic metres) 19,493 17,704 Copper recovered (pounds) 1,935 2,829 During 2023, all three plants met mechanical availability and process performance set by the Company. While the volume of water treated increased by 10% year-over-year, the mass of copper recovered decreased by 32%. The notable decrease in copper recovery compared to previous year can largely be attributed to the resource depletion in the waste rock dumps. We expect copper production in the coming years to fluctuate around this decreased level based on the lower grade waste rock currently stockpiled. MWT-BQE Joint Venture Operations Our 20% share of MWT-BQE is with our 80% partner Beijing MWT Water Treatment Project Limited Company ("MWT") and together we operate a water treatment plant at a smelter in Shandong province of China. MWT-BQE generates revenues from the sale of zinc and copper recovered from smelter wastewater. The operating results for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023 are as follows: (in '000s pounds) 2023 2022 Zinc recovered 162 527 Copper recovered 49 218 The mass of zinc and copper recovered decreased by 69% and 78% respectively. The smelter operated their production lines with ores from different sources which led to varying concentrations of zinc and copper in the feed composition and a fluctuation in the volume of wastewater treated by the plant. The joint venture has no control in the composition and volume of the feed that flows into the plant. During 2023, the plant was shut down intermittently as the value of zinc and copper in the feed was lower than the recovery cost of the metals. BQE Water Operations The number of operating days contributing to water treatment or support fees for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023 are as follows: (in days) 2023 2022 Raglan Mine water treatment plants 206