MONTREAL, May 14, 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 first quarter ended March 31st, 2024. "Q1 continues to confirm our contention that we have successfully rebounded off the low revenue mark of Q1 2023 and that our cost controls and project optimization efforts are having the impact we expected," said P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. "We now have 4 straight quarters comfortably exceeding that three-year low point, with this recent quarter being 34% clear. As we stated in our last earnings call, we had anticipated the upward revenue momentum of the last few quarters to continue, and while we remain cautious, we are every encouraged that the overall trend continues to be positive and upward." "I am pleased with this quarter," said Mr. Pascali. "We achieved some notable milestones, both in terms of (i) existing projects such as the fumed silica reactor project on behalf of our client HPQ Silicon, and (ii) with regard to new market entry, as evidenced by new contracts signed, and advance negotiations underway, with several clients in industries as diverse as green cement to steelmaking to aerospace manufacturing. The company's flagship technologies are now being assessed, tested, or in use across a much wider array of major heavy industry categories, in more primary jurisdictions globally, than even we once thought possible. In so many ways, we are just getting started." Mr. Pascali added, "We have more work to do as we continue our optimization efforts, but this is a good start, and with our backlog of projects holding strong above $28 million, and our sales pipeline growing, we become better positioned with each passing quarter to succeed in our stated goal of becoming a leader in heavy industry decarbonization technology solutions." KEY Q1 2024 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Revenue of $3.5 million, up 34.5% year-over-year vs. Q1 2023 Revenue was up 16.2% vs. Q4 2023 3rd best Q1 revenue in Company's history Backlog of signed and/or awarded contracts of $28.1 million as at May 14, 2024 Margin of 21.7% EPS loss of $0.02 SUBSEQUENT EVENTS Post quarter end, in April 2024, the company announced a letter of intent for large-scale plasma remelting furnaces, with Constellium, one of the world's largest aluminum transformation and recycling companies. The project's phases include feasibility studies and implementing a demonstrator plasma-heated furnace system in one of Constellium's aluminum casthouses. Post quarter end, in April 2024, the Company announced the signing of a contract with one of the top 5 largest steelmakers globally, to assess the applicability of PyroGenesis' electric plasma torches for use in the client's manufacturing facilities as a primary heat source in the steelmaking process, specifically during the production of direct reduced iron in electric arc furnaces. Post quarter end, in April 2024, the Company announced the signing of a contract with one of the world's largest manufacturers of products that serve the mining and defense industries, to assess the applicability and examine the use of PyroGenesis' plasma in their cast furnaces. Post quarter end, in April 2024, the Company announced a contract with an aerospace entity in Spain for the sale of PyroGenesis' titanium metal powder with a particle size range of 15-63µm, for use in additive manufacturing, with the contract representing the Company's initial commercial metal powder order direct from a European client – a significant milestone under the Company's new direct distribution strategy. Subsequent to March 31, 2024, the Company sold 3,779,700 shares of HPQ Silicon Inc. to P. Peter Pascali, the Company's president and CEO, for proceeds of $661,448, representing a share price of $0.175. In May 2024, P. Peter Pascali provided a $1 million loan to the Company with a maximum term of twelve months. The loan bears interest at 10% provided that if the loan is repaid within 45 days of the loan date, no interest shall be owing. Q1 PRODUCTION AND SALES HIGHLIGHTS The information below represents highlights from the past quarter for each of the Company's main business verticals. Q1 2024 continued the positive revenue growth trend that began in Q2 2023, through deployment of material and components received, after-sales support of previously delivered projects, and an overall progression against the project backlog. The Company operates within three verticals that align with economic drivers that are key to global heavy industry: 1.  Energy Transition & Emission Reduction: fuel switching – utilizing the Company's electric-powered plasma torches and biogas upgrading technology to help heavy industry reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions, 2.  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, 3.  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 a selection of solutions at different stages of commercialization. Energy Transition & Emission Reduction In January, the Company announced the receipt of a $667,000 non-refundable down payment under a master agreement for a potential multi-year plasma torch order with a US-based technology company, as part of negotiation related to a potential contract valued at over $10 million. In March, the Company announced a $450,000 contract for the sale of a plasma torch and furnace system for use in the development of "green" cement, to a U.S. structural materials entity engaged in the development of advanced cement materials. The project is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy. Commodity Security & Optimization In January, the Company announced the results of a study showing improved economics for its fumed silica reactor (FSR) project, an initiative to convert quartz into fumed silica in a single step using a plasma reactor. The study results included potential EBITDA margins three times higher than the industry average of 20% and a capital investment 93% less than that required for building a conventional fumed silica plant. In February, the Company announced production milestones met for its FSR project, including the conclusion of engineering design and major fabrication, and the placement of orders for all additional periphery materials. In March, the Company announced accelerated construction of the pilot plant for its FSR project, having received all major equipment and components. The FSR pilot plant is being constructed within a dedicated space inside PyroGenesis' facilities, with a 4,000 sq ft custom-designed infrastructure that meets the pilot plant's unique ventilation, safety, and access requirements. In March, the Company announced the acquisition of intellectual property rights related to the PUREVAP™ nano-silicon reactor (NSiR) – on a no-cost bases – from HPQ Nano Silicon Powders Inc. ("HPQ Nano"), which had previously announced it would no longer be pursuing the commercial development of said technology in order to focus on other initiatives. Under the terms of a 2020 Development and Purchase Agreement between PyroGenesis and HPQ Nano, all rights in the PUREVAP NSiR process (including any intellectual property rights) were assigned to HPQ Nano on condition that should HPQ Nano choose not to commercialize the technology, PyroGenesis would have the option to have the ownership of this technology revert back to it at no additional cost. The PUREVAP™ NSiR is a proprietary process, originally designed and developed by PyroGenesis on behalf of HPQ Nano, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HPQ Silicon Inc., that can use different purities of silicon (Si) as feedstock to make a wide range of spherical silicon nano- and micro-powders and wires, for potential use across various applications including as a potential replacement metal in lithium-ion batteries. FINANCIAL SUMMARY Revenues  PyroGenesis recorded revenue of $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2024 ("Q1, 2024"), representing an increase of $0.9 million compared with $2.6 million recorded in the first quarter of 2023 ("Q1, 2023").  Revenues recorded in the three-months ended March 31, 2024, were generated primarily from: PUREVAP™ related sales of $394,444 (Q1, 2023 - $527,600)  DROSRITE™ related sales of $663,185 (Q1, 2023 - $90,226)  support services related to systems supplied to the US Navy $1,044,434 (Q1, 2023 - $352,103)  torch related sales of $877,048 (Q1, 2023 - $1,170,748)  Refrigerant destruction sales of $102,718 (Q1, 2023 - $67,847)  biogas upgrading & pollution controls of $32,049 (Q1, 2023 - $32,895)  other sales and services $372,519 (Q1, 2023 - $350,203)  Q1, 2024 revenues increased by $0.9 million, mainly as a result of:  PUREVAP™ related sales decreased by $0.1 million due to the completion of the project, with the Company previously announcing the successful silicon "pour" validating all critical milestones and with this achievement, the stage had been set for discussions in transitioning to commercial production, DROSRITE™ related sales increased by $0.6 million due to the increase in spare parts orders from existing clients and the increase in storage revenue and other ancillary revenue related to the DROSRITE units, at the request of the client,  Support services related to systems supplied for the US Navy increased by $0.7 million due to the increase in awarded contracts for spare parts and engineering services from clients that are third-party suppliers of the US Navy,  Torch-related products and services decreased by $0.3 million, due to the completion of the project, with the Company currently providing continuous 24/7 onsite support.  As of May 14, 2024, revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to backlog of signed and/or awarded contracts is $28.1 million. Revenue will be recognized as the Company satisfies its performance obligations under long-term contracts, which is expected to occur over a maximum period of approximately 3 years.  Cost of Sales and Services and Gross Margins  Cost of sales and services was $2.7 million in Q1 2024, representing an increase of $0.7 million compared with $2.1 million in Q1 2023, primarily due to an increase of $0.2 million in employee compensation, and an increase in direct materials of $0.6 million, due to an increase of on-going projects, offset by the decrease in amortization of intangible assets of $0.1 million compared with $0.2 million for Q1, 2023. This expense variation relates mainly to the intangible assets in connection with the Pyro Green-Gas acquisition, which have been fully amortized by January 2024. These expenses are non-cash items, and the remaining intangible assets are composed of patents and deferred development costs that will be amortized over the expected useful lives.  The gross margin for Q1, 2024 was $0.8 million or 22% of revenue compared to a gross margin of $0.5 million or 20% of revenue for Q1 2023, the increase in gross margin was mainly attributable to the increase in spare parts sales which yield high profit margins by the added benefits from a vast in-house inventory of over 1000 unique items and approximately 40,000 parts, allowing the Company to avoid long lead times on parts, which ultimately, enables the Company to process additional orders in a shorter period of time. As a result of the type of contracts being executed, the nature of the project activity, as well as the composition of the cost of sales and services, as the mix between labour, materials and subcontracts may be significantly different. In addition, due to the nature of these long-term contracts, the Company has not necessarily passed on to the customer the increased cost of sales which was attributable to inflation, if any. The costs and sales and services are in line with management's expectations and with the nature of the revenue.  Selling, General and Administrative Expenses  Included within Selling, General and Administrative expenses ("SG&A") are costs associated with corporate administration, business development, project proposals, operations administration, investor relations and employee training. SG&A expenses for Q1, 2024 were $4.5 million, representing a decrease of $3.0 million compared to $7.6 million for Q1, 2023. The decrease is a result of a $0.4 million decrease in employee compensation, decreasing to $2.2 million (Q1, 2023 - $2.6 million), share-based expenses decreased by $0.5 million to $0.5 million (Q1, 2023 - $1.0 million), which is a non-cash item and relates mainly to 2022 and 2023 grants not repeated in 2024, professional fees decreased by $0.7 million to $0.6 million (Q1, 2023 - $1.2 million) mainly related to the decrease of $0.4 million of legal fees incurred ...