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KFX INC. ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END
FISCAL 2005 FINANCIAL RESULTS
Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Buckeye Industrial Mining Co.
Names Robert J. Clark to Board of Directors
DENVER, March 6, 2006 -- KFx Inc. (Amex: KFX) today reported financial results for the fourth
quarter of 2005. The loss from operations for the fourth quarter of 2005 was $11.6 million or $0.17
per diluted share compared with $6.3 million or $0.10 per diluted share in the corresponding 2004
period. The loss from operations for the year ended December 31, 2005 was $23.3 million or
$0.35 per diluted share compared to $10.6 million or $0.18 per diluted share for the same period
ended 2004. Results for both periods reflect higher general and administrative and other expenses
as the company completed construction of its 750,000 TPY K-FuelTM plant and KFx mine project.
Recent Developments
Today, March 6, 2006, KFx announced the appointment of Robert J. Clark to its Board of Directors.
Mr. Clark currently is CEO and President of Bear Cub Energy, LLC a natural gas gathering, treating
and processing company in Denver, Colorado. He previously served on the board of Evergreen
Resources and Patina Oil & Gas. He also has a strong background in the energy industry working
in a variety of management and financial capacities. The appointment of Mr. Clark increases the
size of KFx's Board to 12.
Today, March 6, 2006, KFx entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Keller Group, Inc. to
acquire its wholly owned subsidiary, Buckeye Industrial Mining Co. Buckeye's primary business is to
mine, process and sell coal to power generating facilities and industrial users. The total purchase
price of $37.5 million consists of $35 million in cash and KFx common stock valued at $2.5 million.
The Company currently anticipates completing the transaction in early April 2006.
The acquisition of Buckeye continues KFx's strategy to transform from an energy technology
company into an energy production company. The Company believes the acquisition will add value
through access to Buckeye's established markets, infrastructure, and coal reserves. The expected
benefits of the acquisition include providing operating cash flow and acquiring an experienced coal
marketing and management team.
In January, KFx also signed a memorandum of understanding with a coal producer to access its
mine site location in Louisiana to determine the viability of a K-FuelTM plant at that location.
In February, the Company completed a public offering of 8.05 million shares of its common stock at a
price to the public of $18.75 per share. Net proceeds from the offering, including the exercise of the over-
allotment option, were approximately $144.4 million. KFx plans to use the proceeds from this offering to
fund the acquisition of Buckeye, plant facility construction costs, the purchase of a coal-fired boiler and
general corporate purposes. The Company will use the proceeds to further the development and
construction of new K-FuelTM plants and for any potential future acquisitions.
On December 30, 2005, the Company announced it completed its first two production runs at its 750,000
tons per year commercial scale K-FuelTM plant in Gillette, Wyoming. Initial production results of
approximately 200 tons, utilizing Powder River Basin feedstock coal with less than 8,000 Btu and one
processor with operating conditions at design pressure, temperature and time profiles, were indicative of
a product consistent with K-FuelTM specifications. The resulting coal product specifications were
approximately 11,000 Btu, 8-12% moisture, and mercury reduction of around 70% from the feedstock
coal. The initial product was shipped to two local commercial customers.
The test burn of K-FuelTM at Black Hills Energy's Niel Simpson station commenced a week ago, on
Monday, February 27th. The Black Hills Energy power plant continues to operate using K-FuelTM. The
test burn is scheduled to continue for another three weeks. Initial boiler burn results have verified the
expected quality and consistency of the K-FuelTM product. The K-FuelTM being burned during the test is
also handling better than raw mined coal.
"KFx has had a busy and productive fourth quarter and start to 2006," said Mark Sexton, CEO. "We
began commissioning of our 750,000 TPY plant in Gillette. We have begun product testing and plant
optimization. We also completed a successful $144.4 million equity offering and announced the
acquisition of Buckeye Industrial Mining, a business that will play a vital role in our evolution into an
energy production company. Near-term we are focusing on the ramp-up to full production of our Gillette
facility, with our first unit train shipment still expected for this Spring."
"At the same time, I'd like to welcome Robert Clark to the KFx Board," Mr. Sexton continued. "Bob was a
tremendous asset to the Evergreen board during my tenure as CEO there, and I know the KFx team will
benefit tremendously from his insights and business and financial acumen. Now that we are in the
execution phase of our business plan, we will soon be adding a number of key members to our
management team."
Results of Operations
General and Administrative:
Employee-related costs of $1.4 million constitutes the majority of the
increase for general and administrative expenses in the fourth quarter 2005 compared to $630,000 in
employee-related costs in the fourth quarter 2004. For the year ended December 31, 2005 employee-
related costs were $6.2 million versus $2.2 million for the same period in the prior year. The increases
are primarily related to non-cash expense for equity compensation in the amount of $300,000 and $2.2
million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2005, respectively. Additionally, KFx
recognized higher total salaries and related costs for additional employee hires at the Company's
corporate and plant offices and from the MR&E acquisition that occurred in March 2005.
Mine and plant expenses:
Mine and plant costs were $600,000 and $1.9 million for the three months
and year ended December 31, 2005. Mine expenses include costs associated with security, Mine Safety
and Health Association ("MSHA") regulatory compliance, property taxes, reclamation obligation accretion
expense and other costs necessary to maintain an open-pit coalmine. Additionally, these expenses
include payments associated with the potential for utilizing KFx's coal mine to provide feedstock to the K-
FuelTM plant such as: maintenance to the pit roads, coal testing, and other feasibility study costs. Plant
expenses include pre-operating costs incurred to prepare the 750,000-ton per year plant for operations,
such as: costs incurred to hire and train personnel for the operation of the plant, establish health and
safety plans, develop environmental compliance plans, define operating manual procedures and other
administrative costs. Plant expenses also include administrative personnel, office supplies, utilities,
vehicle maintenance and other insignificant purchases.
Research and Development:
Research and development costs in the fourth quarter ended 2005 were
$475,000 compared to $251,000 for the fourth quarter ended 2004. For the year ended December 31,
2005, research and development costs were $1.6 million versus $696,000 for the year ended December
31, 2004. The majority of the increase for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2005 was
attributed to new technology development, feasibility studies for future large-scale K-FuelTM plant sites,
and an increase in the number of employees and related overhead in our laboratory facilities at our
Wyoming and Ohio locations.
Depreciation and Amortization:
Depreciation and amortization expense was $231,000 for the fourth
quarter ended 2005 compared to $124,000 during the same period ended 2004. For the year ended
December 31, 2005 depreciation and amortization expenses were $773,000 compared to $420,000 for
the year ended December 31, 2004. The increase from 2004 is primarily attributable to new assets
placed into service during 2005, including MR&E assets acquired in March 2005 and Landrica assets
acquired in May 2004.
Bad Debt Expense:
There was no bad debt expense during the fourth quarter ended 2005. For the year
ended December 31, 2005, management established a reserve on the note receivable from Pegasus in
the amount of $1.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted share. The $1.3 million impairment in 2004 was primarily
related to certain site-specific and plant site-specific costs incurred associated with evaluating three other
locations for our 750,000-ton plant.
Revenue:
The majority of the revenue increase quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year is attributed to
recognition of revenue of $768,000 received in 2005 from the $7.5 million up-front non-refundable license
fee received in December 2004 from Cook Inlet Coal.
Other Income:
Other income was $412,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2005 as
compared to $244,000 for the same period ended in the prior year. For the year ended December 31,
2005, other income was $1.9 million as compared to $792,000 for the same period ended in the prior
year. The majority of the increase is attributed to interest income. Our average cash balance was
significantly higher for the year ended 2005 compared to the same period ended 2004.
750,000 TPY K-FuelTM Plant and KFx Mine Project Update
Through the end of 2005, the total cumulative expenditures on the 750,000 TPY K-FuelTM plant and KFx
mine project have been $71.6 million. We anticipate spending an additional $8.4 million to complete the
project consistent with our previously announced estimate of $80.0 million, not including the expected
expenditures to convert the plant's steam supply to a coal-fired boiler. With a cash balance of $28.8
million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2005 and the proceeds from our recent equity offering of
$144.4 million, we believe our cash on hand is sufficient to cover the remaining project costs as well as
fund payments of key long-lead items related to future potential plant sites at the Coal Creek and
Buckskin mines.
The first unit train from our 750,000 TPY K-FuelTM plant and KFx mine project in the PRB, in Gillette,
Wyoming remain on target for spring 2006.
Estimated Project Costs by Item
(in millions)
| 750,000-ton plant and operating equipment |
$ |
69.0 |
| Train loadout silo |
4.3 |
| Mine and site improvements |
4.1 |
| Start up and other costs |
2.6 |
| Total estimated project costs |
$ |
80.0 |
Conference Call
KFx will host a conference call tomorrow, Tuesday, March 7 at 9:30 a.m. MST (11:30 a.m. EST) with
investors, analysts and other interested parties. Investors can access the conference call via a live
webcast on the company's website, www.kfx.com, or by dialing 1-877-234-1973 - Access code is
7075134 or KFx Inc. Conference Call. Investors calling from international locations should dial 973-582-
2700.
An on-line archive of the call will be available at www.kfx.com for thirty days. Additionally, a replay of the
call will be available by dialing 877-519-4471 (domestic) or 973-341-3080 (International), passcode
7075134, through March 15, 2006.
About KFx
KFx Inc. offers combined energy, environmental and economic solutions to coal-fired power generating
facilities and industrial coal users in the United States and internationally. Our proprietary K-FuelTM
process uses heat and pressure to physically and chemically transform high moisture, low-Btu coals, such
as subbituminous coal and lignite, into a more energy efficient, lower-emission fuel. A co-benefit of the K-
FuelTM process is the removal of significant amounts of impurities, including mercury, and the reduction of
emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
Please visit www.kfx.com for more information.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this news release that relate to future plans or projected results of KFx are 'forward-looking
statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended by the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended by the PSLRA, and all such statements fall under the 'safe harbor' provisions of the
PSLRA. Our actual results may vary materially from those described in any 'forward-looking statement'
due to, among other possible reasons, the realization of any one or more of the risk factors described in
our Annual Report on Form 10-K, or in any of our other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, all of which filings any reader of this news release is encouraged to study. Readers of this
news release are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Contact:
KFx Inc., Denver, CO
Analyst Contact: Andreas Vietor, 303-293-2992
or
Brainerd Communicators, Inc.
Media Contact: Brian Schaffer, 212-986-6667
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