SEAIR REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS
Edmonton, Alberta, July 28, 2008. Seair Inc. (SDS:TSX Venture Exchange) today released its unaudited financial statements for the quarter and nine months ending May 31, 2008.
Revenue for the quarter ending May 31, 2008 was $783,121, or 11% higher than in the corresponding quarter in fiscal 2007 and 67% lower than the immediately preceding quarter. Rental revenue from Septic's portable waste water treatment units provided approximately 89% of total revenue in the quarter. The revenue increase relative to fiscal 2007 is a result of Seair's expanded fleet of portable waste water treatment units and the decline from the quarter ending February 29, 2008 is due to the normal seasonal shut-down in the western Canadian oil and gas sector, upon which Seair Septic relies for the vast majority of its revenue. The impact of the larger fleet is partially offset by decreased rental day rates for the portable waste water treatment business. Fiscal 2008 day rates were approximately 25% lower than the rates realized in fiscal 2007.
Seair continues to conduct business development activities in a variety of end-use applications other than portable waste water treatment. Priority markets include municipal water and waste treatment, golf course soil and water treatment, food processing and aeration pond treatment at pulp and paper mills and similar manufacturing facilities. The municipal treatment and aeration pond applications are being handled directly by Seair whereas the golf course and food processing initiatives are generally being addressed through third party distributors.
Complete turnkey municipal water and waste treatment uses essentially the same technologies and processes as used in Septic's portable units, although on a much larger scale. In addition, Seair's products can be used at various stages of existing conventional municipal waste water treatment to increase the effectiveness of the overall process. Research and development studies are underway to prove the effectiveness and economic viability of Seair's various means to augment conventional municipal systems. However, penetrating the municipal treatment market, either with full Seair systems or selectively enhancing existing conventional treatment plants, will require additional third party verification of the sustained effectiveness and unique capabilities of Seair's solutions.
Construction has begun on a turn-key end-to-end Seair wastewater treatment plant at the Village at Wolf Creek. As of the date of this document Seair has completed and progress billed approximately 10% of the project work, with most of the remaining work slated for fall 2008.
A Seair diffusion unit was installed in Airdrie, Alberta in spring 2008 to dissolve pure oxygen into the wastewater stream as it enters the 18 kilometer force main to Calgary's municipal wastewater treatment system. This unit is part of a new lift station in Airdrie that was scheduled to commence operations in May 2008 but start-up has been delayed for reasons not connected to Seair's unit. Start-up is now scheduled for August 2008. The objective in diffusing pure oxygen into the wastewater stream is to reduce H 2 S levels, eliminate the need for other chemical treatment and enable an aerobic state in the force main as the wastewater travels to Calgary for further treatment.
Aeration pond applications involve larger-scale Seair diffusion towers to better and more efficiently manage the dissolved oxygen level in large industrial-use ponds. The objective is to displace large inefficient blowers with Seair units that achieve superior end results with reduced operating costs, including energy consumption and maintenance. The large Seair diffusion towers are currently being field tested at commercial pulp and paper mills in British Columbia and Alberta.
Seair's golf course solutions have been successfully implemented at a number of courses throughout western Canada. The next stage of growth in this segment is to target the larger year-round U.S. markets, particularly in areas where chronic water shortages dictate that effluent be the primary source of irrigation water. A distributor network is being established in these target markets and Seair has designed and manufactured a golf-course specific diffusion product. In addition, several customers with existing Seair golf course installations are upgrading their equipment to include ozone treatment, as it has been shown to have a powerful impact on pond cleaning and soil treatment.
A small Seair ozone diffusion system was successfully tested and subsequently purchased by a California customer using it to ensure spinach is free of contaminants such as E. coli. Ozonated water is applied to the spinach as it is being packaged, as well as sprayed on the packaging equipment itself.
Gross profit for the quarter ending May 31, 2008 was $678,750 (87% of revenue) compared to $1,594,714 (73% of revenue) in the quarter ending February 29, 2008 and $594,280 (87% of revenue) for the quarter ending May 31, 2007. The portable waste water treatment rental model provides Seair with strong gross profit percentages, although amortization of the rental units is not included in cost of sales (it is included in amortization expense).
Total operating expenses declined by $217,164 to $1,442,414 from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008. Of this decrease, $1,095,000 was due to non-cash stock-based compensation recorded in connection with incentive stock options granted during the quarter ending May 31, 2007. This was offset by $187,556, $99,213, $99,480 and $40,314 increases in interest on convertible debentures, amortization, research and development and accretion of debenture issue costs, respectively. Operating costs were $1,214,921 lower than for the quarter ending February 29, 2008, stemming primarily from the inclusion of $1,296,000 of non-cash stock-based compensation expense in the second quarter of fiscal 2008.
Interest and bank charges have increased as a result of interest owing to convertible debenture holders. The debentures bear interest at 8% per annum, resulting in $200,000 of interest expense per quarter. As result of conversions at the request of the debenture holders there were $8,849,000 of debentures outstanding at May 31, 2008. This reduces the quarterly interest burden to $176,980.
Amortization increased by $99,213 from the prior year due to the change in accounting policy with respect to amortization of the portable wastewater treatment plants and growth in the amount of depreciable assets. These assets were previously amortized on a diminishing balance basis at rates of between 4% and 8% per annum. Effective the quarter ending February 29, 2008 the amortization policy and rate has been changed to straight-line over a 10 year lifespan.
Salaries and benefits increased by $154,351 as Seair expands to accommodate its growing and diversifying business and makes compensation adjustments to ensure quality personnel are retained in the highly competitive Alberta labour market. For example, Seair has added research and development personnel to advance applications outside of portable wastewater treatment.
Research and development costs of $99,480 (nil in fiscal 2007) pertain to the establishment of a research department. Several studies are presently underway in conjunction with the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence as well as in-house research being conducted by Seair's research and development team. Areas of research include municipal wastewater treatment applications, pulp and paper applications and eradication of complex chemicals from municipal and industrial water supplies.
In addition, research and development expense includes costs associated with development of a ballast water treatment system. Pending legislation in the United States and internationally will require ships to install ballast water treatment systems to prevent the spread of non-native invasive species. Seair is developing a commercial ballast water treatment system in conjunction with a number of partners.
Net loss for the quarter ending May 31, 2008 was $759,434.
Working capital at May 31, 2008 was $1,617,024, down from $7,090,428 at August 31, 2007 and $3,267,152 at February 29, 2008. The decrease in working capital is a result of using a portion of the funds raised in June 2007 to increase the portable wastewater treatment unit fleet size.
Accounts receivable at February 29, 2008 was $2,054,878, up $1,535,510 from August 31, 2007 and down $807,863 from February 29, 2008. These fluctuations are considered a normal part of Septic's business cycle.
Accounts payable was $2,542,941 at May 31, 2008. This $1,695,496 increase from August 31, 2007 is due to costs incurred in manufacturing additional portable waste water treatment units.
Debenture holders converted 1,000, or 10% of the total issue, convertible debentures into common shares during the quarter ending May 31, 2008. These conversions resulted in 364,000 common shares being issued. Total year-to-date conversions are 1,151 debentures (resulting in 418,964 common shares being issued), or approximately 11% of the total debenture issue. There were 8,849 debentures outstanding at May 31, 2008 which, if fully converted, represents potential dilution of 3,221,036 common shares.
Total capital expenditures for the quarter ending May 31, 2008 were $1,139,921 (compared to $3,420,178 for the quarter ending February 29, 2008 and $11,059 for the quarter ending May 31, 2007), virtually all of which was related to increasing the number of portable waste water treatment units. Year-to-date capital expenditures are $5,219,217.
The complete financial statements are available at www.sedar.com .
About Seair Inc.
Seair is a leading developer of patent-protected diffusion and sterilization technologies, which allow for the efficient diffusion of gases into liquids, thereby facilitating numerous applications in a wide variety of industries, including wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, food processing, aquaculture, agriculture/horticulture, sterilization, golf course irrigation and pond treatment, animal enhancement and oil and gas. Seair's primary focus is developing and selling equipment that diffuses gases, such as oxygen, ozone or carbon dioxide, into a liquid, resulting in a supersaturated solution. The major difference between Seair's and others' diffusion technologies is Seair's ability to achieve extremely small bubble size, which in turn allows for the mass transfer of gas to fluid. The result is a stable condition, where gases remain in solution for extended periods of time, leading to increased productivity and lower operating costs. Seair provides diffusion-enhanced portable wastewater treatment plants through its subsidiary, Seair Septic.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Seair Inc. with respect to its performance, business or future events, and in particular with respect to the anticipated creation of Seair Marine Inc. and the probably market for ballast water treatment units. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including but not limited to the ability of the parties to negotiate and enter into a mutually agreeable definitive agreement or agreements, the ability of Seair Inc. and Seair Marine Inc., if incorporated, to receive required governmental and regulatory approvals for the proposed transactions and the wastewater treatment units, and changes in national and international governmental policies relating to the installation of ballast water treatment units. Actual results and events may vary.
Parties interested in obtaining further information or receiving news releases and corporate documents from Seair may email such requests to seair@telus.net or visit the Seair website at www.seair.ca.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Harold Kinasewich
Seair Inc.
T: 780 477 7188
F: 780 477 6622
E: seair@telus.net
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