IBT Ibex Technologies Inc

IBEX Technologies Inc. (“IBEX” or the “Company”) (TSX Venture: IBT) today reported its financial results for the three months ended October 31, 2020.

“We are pleased that sales increased modestly versus the same quarter year ago, although less than the very strong performance in the immediately preceding quarter, indicating a return to a more normal sales pattern, said Paul Baehr, IBEX President & CEO. “Looking forward, we expect the full year fiscal sales to be somewhat lower than last year, and consequently we anticipate that Fiscal 2021 EBITDA will not reach the same level as F2020”.

Note: All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. The Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended July 31, 2020 and the accompanying notes and the related management’s discussion and analysis can be found on the Company’s website at www.ibex.ca or under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF FISCAL 2021

Revenues for the quarter ended October 31, 2020 totaled $1,164,658 and were up 8% from $1,078,740 in the same period of the prior year.

The company recorded net earnings of $150,066, up $85,603 (vs. $64,463 on a comparable basis in Fiscal 2020) tracing to an increase in revenues of $85,918. Expenses increased by $48,483 (includes an income tax refund of $4,006), but were offset by other gains relating to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) of $48,168.

Expenses before taxes were $1,018,766, up $4,489 vs $1,014,277 in the comparable per year ago, tracing mainly to an increase in personnel costs offset by the CEWS.

As a consequence of the increase in revenues, partially offset by an increase in expenses, the Company recorded EBITDA of $246,430 versus $170,601 in the same period a year ago.

It should be noted that “EBITDA” (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation & Amortization) is not a performance measure defined by IFRS, but we, as well as investors and analysts, consider that this performance measure facilitates the evaluation of our ongoing operations and our ability to generate cash flows to fund our cash requirements, including our capital expenditures program. Note that our definition of this measure may differ from the ones used by other public corporations:

EBITDA for the three months ended
	October 31,2020		October 31,2019
Net earnings (loss)	$150,066		$64,463
Depreciation of property, plant, equipment and intangible assets	$49,968		$58,439
Depreciation of right-of-use assets	$45,928		$42,212
Interest – Net	$4,474		$5,487
Income tax refund	($4,006)		-
Earnings (loss) before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization	$246,430		$170,601

Financial Summary for the three months ended
	October 31,2020		October 31,2019
Revenues	$1,164,658		$1,078,740
Earnings (loss) before interest, tax, depreciation & amortization (EBITDA)	$246,430		$170,601
Depreciation of property, plant, equipment and intangible assets	$49,968		$58,439
Depreciation of right-of-use assets	$45,928		$42,212
Net earnings (loss)	$150,066		$64,463
Earnings (loss) per share	$0.01		$0.00

Cash and cash equivalents increased by $455,625 during the three months ended October 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended July 31, 2020. Net working capital increased by $130,884 during the three months ended October 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended July 31, 2020.

Balance Sheet Summary as at
	October 31,2020	July 31,2020
Cash and cash equivalents	$4,161,142	$3,705,517
Net working capital	$3,935,924	$3,805,040
Outstanding shares at report date (common shares)	24,773,244	24,773,244

LOOKING FORWARD        

As always, the future financial results of the Company are difficult to predict as the Company’s customers have significant variations in their purchasing patterns, as it has been illustrated in the quarterly results over the past few years. The impact of COVID-19 adds further uncertainty to the picture.

We do not foresee Fiscal 2021 to be as profitable as Fiscal 2020 as customers who may have advanced purchases in Fiscal 2020 to protect against supply-chain interruptions may reduce some of their inventory in our Fiscal 2021.

The Company continues to work on a number of new heparinase-containing clinical device projects with its key customers, some of which may result in additional revenues in Fiscal 2021 and beyond. However, as with all developmental projects, we cannot give assurances that any of these customer-driven projects will come to market and produce significant revenues.

ABOUT IBEX

IBEX manufactures and markets proteins for biomedical use through its wholly owned subsidiary IBEX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Montréal, QC). IBEX Pharmaceuticals also manufactures and markets a series of arthritis assays, which are widely used in osteoarthritis research.

For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.ibex.ca.

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

Safe Harbor Statement

All of the statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, are forward-looking statements. Such statements, as they are based on the current assessment or expectations of management, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown. Some examples of known risks are: the impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which IBEX does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation or otherwise. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. IBEX disclaims any intention or obligation to update these statements, except if required by applicable laws.

In addition to the risk factors identified above, IBEX is, and has been in the past, heavily reliant on three products and five customers, the loss of any of which could have a material effect on its profitability.

Contact:

Paul BaehrPresident & CEOIBEX Technologies Inc.514-344-4004 x 143