IBEX Reports Results for the Year Ended July 31, 2022

Article content

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — IBEX Technologies Inc. (“IBEX” or the “Company”) (TSX Venture: IBT) today reported its financial results for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2022.

“IBEX had an impressive year, with EBITDA reaching a record level”, said Mr. Baehr, IBEX President & CEO. “The strong financial performance resulted from record revenues driven by strong sales of heparinase-based products, and by customers increasing their inventories to protect against supply-chain interruptions.”

Article content

Article content

He further stated: “With customers normalizing their inventories, and with reduced COVID hospitalizations, we expect to see 2023 revenues well below F2022 levels, but greater than seen in F2021.

^{Note: All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. The Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended July 31, 2022 and the accompanying notes and the related management’s discussion and analysis is 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 FOURTH QUARTER OF FISCAL 2022

Revenues for the quarter ended July 31, 2022 totaled $2,070,014, increasing by $709,065 (52%) from $1,360,949 in the same period last year.

Article content

Expenses before taxes totaled $1,323,022 up by $199,221 vs same quarter a year ago, relates mainly to a foreign exchange negative impact versus last year for the same quarter as well as an increase in cost of sales and R&D expenses offset by R&D tax credits claimed for FY2022.

The company recorded earnings before tax for the quarter of $746,992 up $509,844 versus earnings before tax of $237,148 on a comparable basis in Fiscal 2021.

The increase in profit for the quarter, led the Company to record an EBITDA of $815,219 versus $343,000 in the same period year ago.

Article content

^{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.}

FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR

Revenues for the year ended July 31, 2022 totaled $7,892,487 compared to $5,306,187 in the prior year, an increase of 49%.

Expenses before taxes totaled $5,505,864, an increase of $1,164,997, due mainly to the higher cost of sales, an increase in R&D expenses due to the DiaMaze^® and other development projects, as well as an increase in compensation costs due to the Profit Sharing Plan accrual and the issuance of stock options.

Article content

As a result, the Company recorded net earnings of $1,674,395 compared to net earnings in FY2021 of $761,503, an increase of $912,982.

The company recorded EBITDA of $2,760,885 versus $1,369,638 EBITDA in the same period last year, an increase of $1,391,247.

Article content

Cash and cash equivalents increased by $3,207,151 during the year ended July 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended July 31, 2021. Net working capital increased by $2,586,974 during the year ended July 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended July 31, 2021.

NCIB

On July 29, 2022, the Company announced that the Toronto Stock Venture Exchange approved its notice of intention to launch a Normal Course Issuer Bid (“2023 NCIB”). Under the terms of the 2023 NCIB, the Company may purchase for cancellation up to 1,800,000 common shares of the Company, which represented 10% of its public float as at July 29, 2022. The 2023 NCIB commenced on August 5, 2022 and will end on the earlier of August 4, 2023 or when the Company completes its maximum purchases under the NCIB. After year-end and as of the date of the financial statements, 39,000 shares were repurchased and cancelled for a total of $17,305.

Article content

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 can be seen from our quarterly results over the past few years. The impact of COVID-19 has added further uncertainty to the picture, as not only has the COVID-related use of heparinase increased sales, customers have also built up inventories to protect against supply chain interruptions.

The Company continues to work on a number of new heparinase-containing clinical device projects with its key customers. 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.

Article content

We continue development work on our enzyme diamine oxidase (DiaMaze^®). Diamine oxidase is an enzyme targeted to persons suffering from histamine intolerance and will be marketed as a nutraceutical. While we continue to make progress, development of this product relies on a number of third-party suppliers whose deliverables have been slower than desired due to COVID-19 constraints.

We are approaching an inflection point in the development of DiaMaze where, if we continue, expenses for research and production of food-grade finished product will significantly increase and will have a negative impact on profitability.

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.

Article content

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 Baehr
President & CEO
IBEX Technologies Inc.
514-344-4004 x 143