ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND, April 30, 2020 /GLOBE NEWSWIRE/ — Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX-V: PNG, OTCQB: KRKNF), Canada’s Ocean Company, announced it has filed its financial results for year-ended December 31, 2019. Additional information concerning the Company, including its audited consolidated financial statements and related management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the year-ended December 31, 2019, can be found at www.sedar.com. Unless otherwise stated, all dollar amounts are Canadian dollar denominated.

 

Q4 2019 Financial Highlights

 

  • Revenue for the quarter was $4.6 million compared to $1.4 million in the year ago quarter. Revenue in the quarter was driven by the final delivery of SeaPower™ batteries to Ocean Infinity and the delivery of sensors and associated equipment to multiple customers.
  • Adjusted EBITDA* in the quarter was positive at $0.5 million, an 11.7% Adjusted EBITDA margin* compared to an Adjusted EBITDA* loss of $0.9 million in the year ago quarter.
  • During the quarter Kraken acquired the remaining 25% of Kraken Power GmbH not previously owned for €0.3 million. The acquisition triggered a change of control payment to an arm’s length third-party lender in an amount equal to €0.1 million payable in 2020, which has been recognized in the income statement during the quarter.
  • Net loss in the quarter was $0.2 million compared to a net loss of $0.7 million in the year ago quarter. In addition to the change of control payment, discussed above, Q4 was impacted by share-based compensation expense of $0.3 million compared to $0.1 million in the prior year due to the grant of stock options to employees, officers and directors during the year.
  • Kraken exited the quarter with a cash balance of $2.1 million, as compared to a cash balance of $4.9 million at December 31, 2018 which reflected the bought deal financing that closed in December 2018. Due to increased sales during the year, accounts receivable increased to $5.0 million at year end, compared to $1.7 million at December 31, 2018. Most of these receivables were collected in Q1 and early Q2.
  • Kraken had $2.3 million in previously awarded funding to draw upon from government This amount is not recorded in our financial statements until the cash is received.

 

 

2019 Financial Highlights

 

  • Revenue for 2019 totaled $15.1 million as compared to $6.7 million in the same period of 2018, representing growth of 126%. Revenue in 2019 was highlighted by the delivery of a $9.0 million order for SeaPower™ batteries to Ocean Infinity in the second half of the year; the delivery of a KATFISH™ system in Q2 2019 as well as delivery of sensors to multiple customers.
  • Adjusted EBITDA* for the year was $0.4 million compared to an Adjusted EBITDA* loss of $3.3 million a year ago while adjusted EBITDA over the second half of 2019 was positive $2.1 million.
  • During Q3 2019 we delivered the ThunderFish® Alpha Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to our test partner, Defense Research and Development Canada. As a result of this contract, we recorded a gain on the disposal of assets of $0.6 million.
  • Net loss for the year was $3.0 million compared to a net loss of $2.9 million in the prior year. In addition to the change of control payment that occurred in Q4, we had a gain on the disposal of ThunderFish® Alpha in Q3 of $0.6 million. The year was also impacted by share-based compensation expense of $1.4 million compared to $0.3 million in the prior due to the grant of stock options to employees, officers and directors during the year.

 

CEO Comments

 

  • “2019 was an extremely busy year for Kraken, dominated by the delivery of batteries to Ocean Infinity as well as the delivery of a KATFISH™ system, contributing to the record $15.1 million in revenue. We are delighted to have generated positive Adjusted EBITDA in 2019 and continue to invest in our people and infrastructure to be able to scale our business and execute on some significant contract pursuits that are in our pipeline.” said Karl Kenny, Kraken’s President and CEO. “With the recent delivery of another KATFISH™ and batteries to customers in Q1, we are off to strong start in 2020. We have put in the hard yards on many projects and we are excited about the opportunities ahead of us as our products and services are adopted in the military and commercial markets.”

 

Subsequent Highlights Since December 31, 2019

 

  • Formally signed the Ocean Supercluster contract for the OceanVision™ This $18.8 million project will see the development of new sensor and underwater vehicle technologies as well as services such as Robotics as a Service and Data Analytics as a Service.
  • Announced that the Company is the first to achieve a practical resolution of 2 cm with a commercial Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS). Kraken’s Ultra High Definition (UHD) software improves the AquaPix® SAS image resolution from 3.0 x 3.3 cm (across along track) to an industry-leading 1.9 x 2.1 cm and maintains constant UHD resolution across the entire swath.
  • Announced an 8-year framework agreement with a leading international defense contractor for our Acoustic Signal Processing Group to provide development, maintenance, and training to enhance and modernize an anti-submarine warfare sonar product.
  • Announced that the Company has been awarded a $0.5 million contract with the Government of Canada for our SeaVision® 3D laser scanner platform to be working with Parks Canada’s Underwater Archeology Team as a continuation of the Franklin Expedition in the Canadian Arctic.
  • Announced $2.8 million in orders from four US companies and one Canadian company that will be fulfilled during the first half of 2020.
  • Announced a Partnership Agreement with Greensea Systems, Inc., creator of OPENSEA, an open architecture robotic platform. This partnership will expand upon the collaborative efforts already undertaken between the two companies to rapidly advance the capabilities of marine robotics.

 

Forward Looking Guidance

  • While we are not currently experiencing major impacts from the recent oil price collapse and Coronavirus pandemic, we are aware that this could affect our supply chain, customers, employees, and operations. This could impact the number of contracts we close, sales cycle lengths, and our ability to deliver product and services in a timely manner. We will continue to prudently monitor the situation and manage our business accordingly.
  • Based on deliveries already made, we are forecasting consolidated Q1 2020 revenue of $6.0 – $6.5 million compared to $1.4 million in Q1 2019. Gross margins in the quarter are expected to be in line with our consolidated gross margin for 2019.

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Kraken Issues Options to an Employee

 

The Board of Directors has approved the issuance of 75,000 stock options to an employee. These options have a three-year term, with vesting in three equal instalments consisting of the date of grant and on the one and two-year anniversaries of the initial grant. The exercise price on the options will be based on the closing price on May 1, 2020.

*Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin do not have standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other issuers.   We define Adjusted EBITDA as revenue less costs of sales, administrative expenses, research and development costs plus investment tax credits plus the gain on the sale of Thunderfish® Alpha. We define Adjusted EBITDA margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenues.

 

ABOUT KRAKEN ROBOTICS INC.

Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX.V:PNG) (OTCQB: KRKNF) is a marine technology company dedicated to the production and sale of software-centric sensors, subsea batteries and thrusters, and underwater robotic systems. The company is headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland with offices in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Toronto, Ontario; Bremen & Rostock, Germany; and Boston, Massachusetts. Kraken is ranked as a Top 100 marine technology company by Marine Technology Reporter. For more information, please visit www.krakenrobotics.com, www.krakenrobotik.de, www.krakenpower.de. Find us on social media on Twitter (@krakenrobotics), Facebook (@krakenroboticsinc) and LinkedIn.

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “seek”, “propose”, “estimate”, “expect”, and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to, among other things, business objectives, expected growth, results of operations, performance, business projects and opportunities and financial results. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events based on certain material factors and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, changes in market, competition, governmental or regulatory developments, general economic conditions and other factors set out in the Company’s public disclosure documents. Many factors could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to vary from those described in this news release, including without limitation those listed above. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this news release and such forward-looking statements included in, or incorporated by reference in this news release, should not be unduly relied upon. Such statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provide (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release, and the OTCQB has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

 

For further information, please contact:

Joe MacKay, Chief Financial Officer

(416) 303-0605

jmackay@krakenrobotics.com

 

Greg Reid, Chief Operating Officer

(416) 818-9822

greid@krakenrobotics.com

 

Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations

(647) 955-1274

sean@sophiccapital.com

 

Shauna Cotie, Marketing Manager

(709) 757-5757 x 241

scotie@krakenrobotics.com