Clear Blue Technologies Reports Record Third Quarter 2023 Revenue and Adjusted EBTIDA

TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clear Blue Technologies International Inc. (TSXV: CBLU) (FRANKFURT: OYA) (OTCQB: CBUTF) announces its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 ("Q3 F2023"). A complete set of Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") has been filed at www.sedarplus.ca. All dollar amounts are denominated in Canadian dollars.

Q3 F2023 Financial Highlights:

• Revenue was $2,273,377, a 404% increase from $451,421 for the quarter ended September 30, 2022 ("Q3 2022"), and up 202% from $752,325 in the prior quarter ("Q2 2023"). Revenue was in-line with the Company's October 5th, 2023 pre-announcement.
• Q3 revenue represents a record level of quarterly revenue since Q1 2021, notwithstanding the seasonality in the Company's business.
• Recurring revenue was $195,315, a 37% increase from $142,940 in Q3 2022.
• Gross Margin was 37%, up from 30% in Q3 2022.
• Gross Profit for Q3 2023 was $850,588 compared to $135,575 for Q3 2022, a 527% increase.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $33,187 versus $(987,427) in Q3 2022, a 103% improvement from Q3 2022, and a record in the Company's entire operating history.
• As of September 30, 2023, bookings were $2,914,882, an increase of 46%, when compared to $1,991,275 as of December 31, 2022, with delivery anticipated over the next three years in the case of Illumience/EaaS and typically in the next four to six months in the case of production orders. Additionally, the Company booked another $417,739 of sales in Q3 2023 that were also delivered in Q3 2023.
• Cash at September 30, 2023 was $1,086,050 versus $853,330 at December 31, 2022.
• As of September 30, 2023, the Company has $3,900,304 millions of available government funding, with $3,337,057 million receivables in government grants, and $563,247 million receivables in the form of a 10-year interest free loan to fund its plans going forward over the next 3 years.
  

The third quarter of 2023 saw the Company's quarterly performance return to its pre-COVID trajectory of a seasonally stronger second half," said Miriam Tuerk, CEO of Clear Blue. "These results were in line with our October 5 pre-announcement and we reported our first quarter of positive EBITDA. We see similar demand building in Q4 2023 and beyond and we have the balance sheet to continue our growth resumption."

Trailing Four Quarter ("TFQ") Financial Highlights:

• TFQ revenue was $3,466,183, a 15% decrease from $4,090,017 in the corresponding previous period. The current period was impacted by the economic downturn triggered by the macro-economic events of early 2022.
• TFQ recurring revenue was $751,351, a 2% increase from $736,969 in the corresponding previous period.
• TFQ Gross Profit increased 7% to $1,321,021 from $1,238,245 in the comparable period.
• Gross margin percentage increased to 38%, compared to 30 % in the same TFQ period of 2022.
• TFQ Adjusted EBITDA was $(2,618,881), a 31% reduction from $(3,792,410) in the previous period.
  

Q3 F2023 Operational Highlights

• In the quarter the Company shipped 920 power control devices across 18 orders, a quarterly record for units shipped;
• Further to its September 20, 2023 news release, Clear Blue has completed its previously announced amendments to certain of its unsecured convertible debentures in the aggregate principal amount of $4,334,000 and additionally completed its shares for debt transaction with an arm's length lender;
• Opened a new manufacturing facility in Sweden for our Esite product;
  

Subsequent Events

• On November 21, 2023, the Company announced an alliance partnership with Watt Renewable. As part of this alliance, Clear Blue received an initial order for 160 systems for a total purchase price of $1.58 million. This order is expected to ship in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024.
  

Outlook

Management expects Q4 2023 revenue to be between $1.8 million to $2 million, with the low end of this range occurring in the event that some suppliers slip their scheduled shipments from Q4 2023 into Q1 2024. Gross Margin, expenses, and net income will generally be in line with previous quarters.

Heading into 2024, the Company sees several exciting market trends that support continuing strength in the Company's sales funnel. Some of our existing partners have solid volumes forecasted for next year with supportive financing ? which bodes well for our forecasted sales volumes of our Nano-Grid product in 2024. Supporting our strongest ever sales funnel is management's cash-centric focus. Revenue growth, net-zero cash burn and positive EBITDA are still our objectives for the rest of the year.

Of the $2,914,882 in bookings as at the end of Q3, we expect to recognize 76% as revenue over the next 12 months. The large order announced with Watt Renewable will now be mostly delivered in Q1 2024 due to timelines of supply chain and the Christmas shutdown. Some of the order will also be delivered in Q4 2023.

Operationally, our product line has never been more robust due to the eSite acquisition as well as bringing to market three new products in the last 12 months, which significantly expands our addressable market. The sales funnel shows strength in all markets, with all our products, and we expect this to contribute to the Company's revenue for the remainder of 2023 and for 2024. Our Illumient lighting product is seeing solid demand and growth. CBT regularly undertakes detailed design and engineering prior to orders being received, and while annual budgets need to be confirmed by the buyers, the slate of projects for 2024 is quite strong, giving us comfort that we will see strong growth for the product next year.

Esite-Micro is also going to strongly contribute in 2024 and could contribute over 50% of our total revenue for the year. We have 8 large customers who have adopted the new Esite-Micro product which integrates Esite's unparalleled power electronics with Clear Blue's industry leading Smart Power management services. As the telecom industry aggressively moves their install base away from diesel generators and towards solar, investments being made are significant and Clear Blue's leadership in Smart Power solar and hybrid systems allows us to deliver unparalleled performance for these migrations. Indeed, there are some large conversion programs being planned for 2024 within the market and Clear Blue is in a strong position to win a good portion of this business. While nothing is assured at this point, the opportunity is maturing in our sales funnel and could have a large impact on 2024 and 2025 revenue.

In summary, management is pleased with our progress since the start of fiscal 2023. The remainder of 2023 is expected to deliver solid results, and we look forward to showing strong growth into 2024.

Conference Call

Clear Blue will host a conference call Thursday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to review the Company's performance and answer questions. Those interested can register here.

For more information, contact:

Miriam Tuerk, Co-Founder and CEO
+1 416 433 3952
[email protected]

www.clearbluetechnologies.com/en/investors

Nikhil Thadani, Sophic Capital
+1 437 836 9669
[email protected]

About Clear Blue Technologies International 

Clear Blue Technologies International, the Smart Off-Gridtm company, was founded on a vision of delivering clean, managed, "wireless power" to meet the global need for reliable, low-cost, solar and hybrid power for lighting, telecom, security, Internet of Things devices, and other mission-critical systems. Today, Clear Blue has thousands of systems under management across 37 countries, including the U.S. and Canada. (TSXV: CBLU) (FRA: 0YA) (OTCQB: CBUTF)  

Legal Disclaimer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.  

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.

Forward-Looking Statement 

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" and/or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Clear Blue's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Clear Blue's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information contained herein may include, but is not limited to, information concerning financial results and future upcoming contracts. 

By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Clear Blue is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Clear Blue to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. 

An investment in securities of Clear Blue is speculative and subject to several risks including, without limitation, the risks discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Clear Blue's listing application dated July 12, 2018. Although Clear Blue has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 

In connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Clear Blue has made certain assumptions. Although Clear Blue believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking information and statements attributable to Clear Blue or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice." 

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.