Leading Edge Materials Reports Quarterly Results to
Leading Edge Materials Reports Quarterly Results to
January 31st 2019
VANCOUVER
,
March 28, 2019
/CNW/ -
Leading Edge Materials Corp.
("
Leading Edge Materials
" or the
"Company
") (
TSXV:
LEM
) (
OTCQB: LEMIF
) (
Nasdaq First North: LEMSE
) announces first quarter results for the period ending
January 31, 2019
.
All amounts in this release are in Canadian dollars.
Leading Edge Materials activities during the reporting period were in line with the Board's strategic roadmap to support and
benefit from the rapid roll out of transportation electrification in Europe.
Of note, Leading Edge Materials completed additional purification and spheronisation test work on graphite from the Woxna mine
in Sweden. Process data is now of a quality to progress to a demonstration plant, the engineering and design for which is now
being completed. This demonstration plant will allow engagement with customers by providing volumes of anode materials that
are adequate to be used within lithium ion battery customer test circuits. The Woxna mine and processing facility currently has
all environmental, permitting, legal, title and sociopolitical approvals in place and is production ready.
In 2018 Leading Edge Materials initiated an Exploration Alliance (the "
Exploration Alliance
") in
Romania
focused on the
discovery and development of lithium ion battery raw materials. Following technical and commercial due diligence, Leading Edge
Materials established a local branch company ("
LEM
Romania
") of which it is the majority shareholder with the right to earn a
90% interest. LEM Romania is owner of the 25.5 sq km (2,550 ha) Bihor Sud Prospecting Permit in central western Romania.
Bihor Sud lies within the same intrusive belt and less than 400km north of the Timok copper-gold project in Serbia. Other notable
deposits in the West Tethyan Metallogenic Belt include Skouries, Chelopech, Bor and Majdanpek.
Staff and consultants to LEM Romania were active at Bihor Sud during the reporting period, compiling historic data, sampling
historic mine waste dumps, completing preliminary ground geophysics and soil sampling. Review of progress and results to date
are considered highly encouraging, and it is anticipated that LEM Romania shall proceed to Exploration License application across
prospective areas.
The Company continues to be an active participant in the EU Battery Alliance, a forum comprised of more than 50 of
Europe's
strongest corporate voices within the emerging lithium ion battery sector, plus numerous support and government agencies.
As announced
on
January 23, 2019
, Mr
Blair Way
resigned as CEO, President and Director of Leading Edge Materials and its
subsidiaries effective
January 31
, 2019. Mr
Mark Saxon
, Director, has been named interim CEO and President.
Selected Financial Data
The following selected financial information is derived from the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements of
the Company prepared in accordance with IFRS.
Fiscal 2019
Fiscal 2018
Fiscal 2017
Three Months Ended
January 31,
2019
$
October 31,
2018
$
July 31,
2018
$
April 30,
2018
$
January 31,
2018
$
October 31,
2017
$
July 31,
2017
$
April 30,
2017
$
Operations
Expenses
(850,681)
(1,151,305)
(697,426)
(665,364)
(1,976,066)
(843,952)
(598,339)
(661,022)
Other items
1,602
39,448
(7,721)
32,508
39,641
75,938
(85,392)
(59,749)
Comprehensive loss
(849,079)
(1,111,857)
(705,147)
(632,856)
(1,936,425)
(768,014)
(683,731)
(720,771)
Basic and diluted
loss per share
(0.01)
(0.01)
(0.01)
(0.01)
(0.02)
(0.00)
(0.01)
(0.01)
Financial Position
Working capital
1,438,895
960,707
1,369,748
2,041,550
2,698,150
3,490,760
4,430,469
3,980,145
Total assets
35,766,406
35,075,446
36,132,517
36,139,745
36,902,593
37,915,728
39,267,743
38,320,958
Total non-current liabilities
(8,515,027)
(8,306,212)
(8,902,310)
(8,157,203)
(8,204,190)
(8,330,321)
(9,557,984)
(8,967,308)
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended
January 31, 2019
Compared to Three Months Ended
October 31, 2018
During the three months ended
January 31, 2019
(the "Q1/2019") the Company reported a net loss of
$849,079
compared to a
net loss of
$1,111,857
for the prior three months ended
October 31, 2018
(the "Q4/2018"), for a decrease in loss of
$262,778
.
The decrease in loss was primarily attributed to general exploration work associated with the exploration alliance in
Romania
in
Q4/2018 and the recognition of the initial common shares issued, at an ascribed amount of
$173,410
, under the share purchase
agreement
.
Financial Condition / Capital Resources
The Company maintains its Woxna Graphite Mine on a "production-ready" basis to minimize costs. The Company currently has
no significant budget allocated for the Norra Kärr or Bergby projects. Although the Company has sufficient funding to meet
anticipated levels of corporate administration and overheads for the ensuing twelve months, it anticipates that it will need
additional capital to maintain current levels of research and development, recommence operations at the Woxna Graphite Mine
and/or upgrade the plant to produce value added production. There is no assurance such additional capital will be available to the
Company on acceptable terms or at all. In the longer term the recoverability of the carrying value of the Company's long-lived
assets is dependent upon the Company's ability to preserve its interest in the underlying mineral property interests, the discovery
of economically recoverable reserves, the achievement of profitable operations and the ability of the Company to obtain financing
to support its ongoing exploration programs and mining operations. Whether the Company can generate positive cash flow and,
ultimately, achieve profitability is uncertain. These uncertainties may cast significant doubt upon the Company's ability to continue
as a going concern.
Financings
During the 2019 period the Company completed a private placement financing of 6,027,855 units at
$0.28
per unit for gross
proceeds of
$1,687,800
. The net proceeds from this financing will be used for general corporate requirements.
Summary and Outlook
Despite weak investor sentiment in resource markets, Leading Edge Materials successfully completed a modest financing during
the quarter, and progressed development and discovery activities on a number of high merit projects.
To position the Company for the future, Leading Edge Materials' commissioned an internal Strategic Review in
January 2019
, to
compare corporate alternatives to enable accelerated project execution and enhance project portfolio value. The Strategic
Review has thus far highlighted that the Company's combination of discovery-stage and development-stage assets may present
competing requirements with regard to operational structure, capital needs and investor preferences. The Board therefore
resolved to compare opportunities for assets, including the potential to transition Woxna graphite mine into a freestanding
European company.
The Board emphasizes that any recommendation is predicated on Leading Edge Materials continuing to hold significant exposure
to the success of the Woxna graphite mine as a future anode supplier, while enabling resources to be allocated to progress
discovery at other projects within the portfolio. The Company will disclose future developments with respect to the Strategic
Review process, and the Board cautions there is no assurance or guarantee that any potential transaction identified by the
Strategic Review will be pursued.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Leading Edge Materials Corp.
Mr.
Mark Saxon
, Interim CEO
About Leading Edge Materials
Leading Edge Materials is a Canadian public company focused on production of high value critical raw materials for the European
market, with an operating base in the Nordic region, a region well recognized for its promotion and investment in innovation.
LEM's flagship asset is the Woxna Graphite production facility located in central
Sweden
targeting the supply of specialty
materials for lithium ion battery production.
Additional Information
The Company's condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended
January 31, 2019
and related
management's discussion and analysis are available on the Company's website at
www.leadingedgematerials.com
or under its
profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com
.
Leading Edge Materials is listed on the TSXV under the symbol "LEM" and Nasdaq First North Stockholm under the symbol
"LEMSE". Mangold Fondkommission AB is the Company's CA on Nasdaq First North and may be contacted at +46 (0) 8 5030
1550.
This information was submitted by Leading Edge Materials for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out
above, on
March 28, 2019
at
1:30 p.m. Pacific time
.
Reader Advisory
This news release may contain
statements which constitute "
forward-looking information
", including statements regarding the
plans, intentions, beliefs and
current expectations
of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future
business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate",
"expect" and similar expressions,
as
they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-
looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future
business
activities and
involve risks
and
uncertainties
,
and that
the Company's future business activities
may
differ
materially from those
in the forward-looking
statements
as a result of various factors, including,
but not limited to,
fluctuations in market prices,
successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or
business
conditions
. There can be no assurances that such
information
will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised
to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume
any obligation to update any forward-
looking information except as required
under the applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
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For further information:
please contact the Company at: 1.604.685.9316, [email protected],
www.leadingedgematerials.com
CO: Leading Edge Materials
CNW 16:30e 28-MAR-19