OUTLOOK
Consistent with the Company’s past practice, and in view of the early stage of market adoption of our core lines of business, the Company is not providing specific revenue or net income (loss) guidance for 2024.
The following is an outline of the many factors that impact the Company’s strategy and future success, plus key developments that are expected to impact subsequent quarters.
Overall Strategy
PyroGenesis provides technology solutions to heavy industry that leverage the Company’s expertise in ultra-high temperature processes. The Company has evolved from its early beginnings as a specialty-engineering firm to being a provider of a robust technology eco-system for heavy industry that helps address key strategic goals.
The Company believes its strategy to be timely, as multiple heavy industries are committing to major carbon and waste reduction programs at the same time as many governments are increasingly supportive – from both a policy and financial perspective – of environmental technologies and infrastructure projects. Additionally, both industry and government are developing strategies to ensure the availability of critical minerals during the coming decades of
increased output demand.
While there can be no guarantees, the Company believes the evolution of its strategy beyond greenhouse gas emission reduction, to an expanded focus that encapsulates the key verticals listed in the section “Q3 2024 Production and Sales Highlights”, both (i) improves the Company’s chances for success while (ii) also providing a clearer picture of how the Company’s wide array of offerings work in tandem to support heavy industry goals.
PyroGenesis’ market opportunity is significant, as major industries such as aluminum, steelmaking, manufacturing, cement, chemicals, defense, aeronautics, and government seek factory-ready, technology-based solutions to help steer through the challenging landscape of increasing demand, tightening regulations, and material availability.
As more of the Company’s offerings reach full commercialization, PyroGenesis will remain focused on attracting influential customers in broad markets while at the same time ensuring that operating expenses are controlled to achieve profitable growth.
Key Performance Indicators
The Company uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor, analyze, and optimize organizational output and performance, with KPIs specific to different parts of its production and manufacturing (such as cycle time, capacity utilization, yield, changeover time, and scrap), plus a different set of KPIs designed to evaluate the broader corporate results and uptake, identify trends affecting the business, and make strategic decisions. This latter category of KPIs includes:
Industry Depth: number of customers within an industry and/or amount and % of revenue from that industry. To date, the Company’s greatest depth has been with the aluminum, military, and government industries.
New Industry Engagement: as the energy transition and carbon/GHG-reduction trends grow, more industries are realizing the benefit of using PyroGenesis’ technology. Over the past five years the Company has begun to penetrate the mining and metal, iron ore, aerospace, automotive, general parts manufacturing, steel, materials (especially silica and silicon), chemical, and cement industries, among others.
Customer Depth: the number of projects with a single customer and/or amount of revenue from that customer. The Company treats most customer identities as confidential unless otherwise approved or suggested by the customer.
New Customer Engagement: as a relatively small company with technology that is potentially of interest across thousands of companies in many different industries, the Company takes a cautious approach when engaging with new customers. Primarily, the Company evaluates the potential customer’s access to capital, operational history, and reputation when weighing engagement. With regard to net new technology ideas or start-up customers, PyroGenesis considers the long-term commercialization potential of the idea, the possibility of revenue sharing or royalties, and access to capital. Aligning to the Company’s three tier business model is imperative, though exceptions can be made.
Studies Undertaken: scientific and engineering studies have been a key part of new customer acquisition for much of the Company’s history. A study such as a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study is often the first phase requirement for a potential customer in investigating the potential future use of the Company’s technology. Since transitioning from a legacy fossil fuel-based system to the Company’s all-electric plasma can be a transformative and often expensive proposition, a study allows a potential new client to better understand the future technological fit and prospective budgetary requirements, while also gaining an understanding of the high-quality working relationship with the Company. The wide array of different specs, uses, industries, and in-factory customization of furnace, heating, and melting machinery, mandates ground-up studies for most new initiatives. The Company’s experience conducting studies and its exposure to more and different types of systems, especially over the last 5 years, has allowed the Company to further streamline and perfect its study process as a route to new business. The number, type, and duration of studies undertaken during each quarter varies.
Monthly Recurring Revenue: ongoing, repeating revenue is a major goal for the Company. To date, after-sale parts and components (such as those related to consumable aspects of plasma torches) have represented the largest revenue and growth potential on a recurring basis. As the energy transition trend grows and more plasma systems are sold, recurring revenue is expected to represent a much larger percentage of overall revenue. Other areas targeted for recurring revenue include sales of titanium metal powders, revenue from tolling contracts in areas such as aluminum dross treatment and metal recovery, and co-venture/royalty agreements such as those related to waste remediation.
Revenue Mix: PyroGenesis has established a technology eco-system comprised of a number of inter-related solutions, often referred to in previous Company communications as a “multi-legged stool”. This type of diversification offers a measure of protection to the Company in both difficult and rapidly changing economic environments. As such, the Company targets a wide versus a narrow mix of revenue sources.
Growth Mix: new revenue is currently driven by existing customers. A key goal for the Company is to develop an optimal mix of existing and new customers.
Cost Controls and Efficiencies
PyroGenesis has been, and continues to, scrutinize both potential and existing projects to ensure that the utilization of labour and financial resources are optimized. The Company continues to only engage in projects that reflect significant benefits to PyroGenesis and the risks of which are defined. The Company intends to intensify its focus on project and budgetary clarity during this period of elevated inflationary pressures, by identifying alternative suppliers while constantly adjusting project resources. The early-stage project assessment process has also been refined to allow for faster “go / no-go” decisions on project viability.
Enhanced Sales and Marketing
Against the backdrop of its 3-tiered strategy, the Company continues to increase sales, marketing, and R&D efforts in-line with – and in some cases ahead of – the growth curve for industrial change related to greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
Macroeconomic Conditions
With some continued uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, including ambiguity in the banking sector with regard to interest rate adjustments, and the continued inflationary pressures causing shifting demand dynamics across various industries at different times, it may be difficult to assess the future impact these events and conditions will have on our customer base, the end markets we serve, and the resulting effect on our business and operations, both in the short term and in the long term.
Despite these uncertainties, we continue to believe there is an accelerated need for PyroGenesis’ solutions in the industries we serve as heavy industry continues to decarbonize / transition their energy sources, manufacture utilizing both lighter metals (such as aluminum) and additive manufacturing, and deal with tighter hazardous waste regulations.
While we expect these uncertainties and other macroeconomic conditions to continue to impact the variability in our quarter-to-quarter revenue, we believe our diversity in both customer base and solution set will continue to be a strong mitigating factor to these challenges. Additionally, the Company’s ongoing efforts to reduce costs through various measures including the sourcing of more high quality, cost-competitive suppliers, further bolsters the Company against cost fluctuations.