Q4 2022 Lightbridge Corp Earnings Call

[music].

Okay.

Thank you for standing by and welcome to the lightweight Corporation business update in fiscal year 2022 conference call. Please note that today's conference is being recorded it is now my pleasure to introduce Matthew Epinasty Director of Investor Relations for Light Bridge Corporation. Please go ahead.

Okay.

Thank you Norma and thanks to all of you for joining US today. The company's earnings press release was distributed yesterday and can be viewed on the Investor Relations page of the light bridge website at Www Dot L T Reg Dot com.

Joining us on the call today is Seth Great Chief Executive Officer, along with Larry Goldman Chief Financial Officer, Andre Boucher Cup Executive Vice President for nuclear operations, and Sherry Hollaway controller.

I would like to remind our listeners that any statements on this call that are not historical facts are forward looking statements.

Today's presentation includes forward looking statements about the company's competitive position and product and service offerings.

During today's call words, such as expect anticipate believe and intend will be used in our discussion of goals or events in the future.

Orientation is based on current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ significantly from such estimates.

These and other risks are set forth in more detail in Libra <unk> filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission <unk> does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward looking statements, whether as a result of new developments or otherwise.

With that I would like to turn the call over to our first speaker, Seth Gray Chief Executive Officer of like Bridge Hello, Seth.

Well Hello, and thank you, Matt and thank you all for joining us to discuss <unk> 2022 results.

Since our last conference call, we have achieved significant milestones that were crucial to advancing life Richfield and to meeting our key objectives for the year.

We are proud to have successfully achieved key critical goals, including our strategic partnership project agreement with D O E and Idaho National Laboratory that we announced in December .

Strategic partnership project has an initial duration of seven years, which is due to the different phases of work to be done with regular milestones that we look forward to sharing.

The importance of these agreements and the work ahead for Lionbridge cannot be understated.

These agreements will enable us to conduct irradiation testing of fuel material samples in the advanced test reactor, we won't collect material performance data on uranium zirconium material, which is the same material that we will use in light bridge fuel rods.

The data we collect from this testing will help support the fuel performance model to obtain and secure regulatory approval as well as to share with utilities. So that they can see how our fuel performs inside a reactor.

Data, we collect from these tests.

We'll apply to the licensing of valuation and feasibility of our fuel and various types of commercial reactors such as pressurized heavy water reactors like can do reactors as well as lightwater small modular reactors and large pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactor.

For evaluating the commercial pathway and deployment of our fuel.

We also announced the successful completion of our project at Pacific Northwest National Lab under our second Bowie gained at Voucher Award in February .

This work advances a critical stage in the manufacturing process of light bridge fuel.

By demonstrating a casting process using depleted uranium zirconium material. The total project value was approximately $663000 with three quarters of this amount funded by D. O for the scope performed by T N N L.

I want to thank the teams at light bridge in P&L for their collaborative efforts and then other successful collaboration with a gain office at Doa.

I'll turn the call over to Andrei Musha Kao VP for nuclear operations to review, our ongoing fuel development activities Andre.

Thank you Seth as Seth mentioned, we entered into agreements with Idaho National Laboratory and in collaboration with the U S Department of energy.

<unk> the development of flat bridge fuel.

The framework agreement consists of an umbrella strategic partnership project agreement and an umbrella copper our research and development agreement that creator.

Each with Vitol LNG Alliance.

<unk> operates in contractor for either from National Laboratory was the initial duration of seven years.

Initial phase of for kind of the two agreements will culminate in irradiation testing at the advanced test reactor fuel samples using enriched uranium supply by.

The initial phase of work that has been released aims to generate originations performance data of languages Delta craze.

<unk> requirement alloy relating to various term physical properties. The data will support fueled performance modeling on the regulatory or licensing efforts of the commercial deployment of Lionbridge fuel subsequent phases of work under the umbrella agreements that have not yet been released.

I include post radiation examination of the irradiated fuel samples local radiation testing in the ATR and foster radiation examination of one or more uranium zirconium fuel rod lifts as well as transient experiments in the transient reactor test facility or <unk>.

At Idaho National Laboratory.

Last month, we announced the completion of our work with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for demonstrates languages nuclear fuel cost and process using interplay with uranium is stepping on the fracture and lionbridge fuel cell.

Zero castings, where performance throughout the project and the casting gets were analyzed.

Iterative process to estimate a larger was modified based on the characterization of the results.

Part of the process was a demonstration that youre acceptable results with an in house existing equipment.

There is also this work will help and form our final process suitable for produced fewer material coupons for our upcoming litigation paths and the address SaaS reactor back to yourselves. Thank you Andre.

The benefits of nuclear energy have come into focus over the last year like never before.

Accountability for achieving the zero net zero carbon targets being set by countries and companies worldwide continues to drive the momentum toward more nuclear industry friendly policy decisions.

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine in its second year and with it energy crises experienced in many parts of the world It.

It is only raised the stakes when it comes to energy security.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused countries everywhere to seek to ensure their energy security from now on <unk>.

Countries seem to be waking up to the realization that they can't meet their national security energy or climate goals without a significant increase in nuclear power as part of their energy mix.

And now we're seeing this is starting to happen.

Rick Warren Ukraine has amplified the fact that energy security and energy infrastructure must be meaningful priorities.

Only nuclear power can expand the availability of clean and reliable base load electricity without carbon emissions in a responsible way weaning countries off dependency on fossil fuels from countries a threat and their national security.

Throughout the North America, and EU and Asian Nations countries have taken steps to REIT, new plant licenses and restart nuclear reactors and build new reactors. The recently enacted U S inflation reduction act provide nuclear production tax credits to help preserve the <unk>.

<unk> fleet of U S nuclear plants and significant money for advanced reactors occur.

According to the nuclear Energy Institute 90, nuclear power reactors arent order or are being planned around the world and more than 300 reactors are at the proposal stages.

In addition to commercial nuclear power plants more than 200 research reactors are operating in more than 50 countries.

Fostering innovation across the industry, including <unk>.

Overall sentiment and public acceptance for nuclear power is improving with positive developments coming from the government academia municipalities electric utilities and now the capital markets.

Nuclear power vendor companies have traditionally been government owned private or a relatively small part of a much larger publicly traded company.

Today investors can have liquidity and investments and a diversified portfolio of companies along the nuclear supply chain with more to come.

This greater interest in nuclear energy helps propel light bridge to aggressively pursue our fuel development to meet the goals of the marketplace.

<unk> presents a unique opportunity in the nuclear industry.

Our fuel behind marks the only truly new fuel design for existing reactors since the dawn of light water reactors in the nuclear industry.

These are significant changes that will bring major safety economic and non proliferation benefits for existing and new reactors.

This is an exciting time for light bridge and I look forward to updating investors on our work at <unk> and elsewhere. As we begin this important chapter for our company now I will turn the call over to Larry Goldman Chief Financial Officer to summarize the company's financial our financial results.

Thank you Seth and good afternoon, everyone for further information regarding our fiscal year 2022 financial results and disclosures. Please refer to our earnings release that we filed yesterday and our Form 10-K that we will file with the SEC later today.

The company's working capital position at December 31, 2022 was $28 $7 million.

<unk> to $24 $7 million at December 31, 2021.

Total assets were $29 5 million and total liabilities were <unk> 4 million at December 31, 2022.

Total cash used in operating activities totaled $6 7 million a decrease of $4 3 million in 2022 as compared to 2021.

This decrease was primarily due to an arbitration settlement payment of $4 2 million in 2021, and a decrease of zero point $1 million and net loss adjusted for noncash charges and changes in operating assets and liabilities in 2022 operating cash flows reflected our reported net loss of $7 five.

$5 million adjusted for noncash charges, including stock based compensation expense of 0.9 million and a net increase in our operating assets and liabilities of zero point $1 million.

Total cash provided by financing activities totaled $10 9 million a decrease of $3 3 million in 2022 as compared to $14 2 million in 2021 <unk>.

This decrease was due to a decrease in cash provided by our ATM facility of $3 8 million a decrease in cash provided by the exercise of stock options of 0.2 million offset by a decrease in net share settlement of equity awards for a payment of withholding taxes of zero point $7 million.

In support of our long term business and future financing requirements with respect to our fuel development. We expect to continue to seek government funding in the future along with new strategic alliances and main contained cost sharing contributions and additional funding from others in order to help fund our future.

R&D milestones.

Leading to the commercialization of light bridge fuel.

We expect to invest six $5 million and research and development over the next 12 to 15 months.

I will now turn the call over to Sherri and haul away our controller, who will go over our P&L financial information for fiscal 2022 sharing.

Thank you Larry.

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2022, with $7 $5 million compared to $7 8 million for 2021.

Total R&D expenses amounted to $7 million for the year ended December 31 2022.

Compared to $1 4 million for the year ended December 31 2021.

Decrease of <unk> $7 million.

This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in outside R&D expenses of <unk> three.

$3 million, a decrease in allocated employee compensation and employee benefit.

$1 million and a decrease in other R&D expenses of $3 million.

Total G&A expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022, or $7 5 million compared to $7 1 million for the prior year an increase of <unk>.

$4 million.

There was an increase in directors' fees of $2 million, an increase in dues and subscriptions of <unk> $1 million.

An increase in patent expenses.

$2 million.

And an increase in insurance expense promotion and travel expenses of <unk> 3 million.

These increases were offset.

Decrease in professional fees of <unk> $4 million.

Net other operating income was <unk> $4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to other operating income.

$6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $2 million.

There was a decrease of <unk> 1 million in the distribution and the prior joint venture.

The contributed services research and development generated from the game program were <unk> 4 million and $5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

<unk> recorded as contributed services research and development with a corresponding charge to R&D expenses.

Now over to use at all.

Thank you Sherry and I want to thank everybody for participating in today's call.

We look forward to providing additional updates in the near future and in the meantime, we can be reached at IR at <unk> Dot com stay safe and well goodbye.

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation you may now disconnect everyone have a wonderful day.

Okay.

[music].

Okay.

[music].