HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sunnova Energy International Inc. (“Sunnova”) (NYSE: NOVA), a leading U.S. residential solar and storage service provider, announced it has secured a position of 85 megawatts in the recent ISO-New England Forward Capacity Auction (“FCA15”). Sunnova’s aggregated residential solar portfolio will offer competitive renewable energy capacity to help meet the region’s future energy needs. The company expects the complete portfolio to begin participating with the FCA15 commitment year beginning June 2024.

“Our ability to win capacity in a competitively priced auction with the largest aggregation of distributed renewables to date demonstrates our commitment to leading the energy transition in the region,” said William J. (John) Berger, Chief Executive Officer of Sunnova. “More importantly, Sunnova is looking forward to supporting ISO-NE on their path to a clean resilient grid and providing homeowners with the affordable and reliable energy they deserve.”

“Sunnova’s continued high growth in New England, and our strong dealer relationships allowed us to bid tens of thousands of new rooftop solar services into the auction,” said Michael Grasso, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Sunnova. “The participation of Sunnova’s portfolio secures the long-term involvement of our assets in the New England capacity program.”

Overall, Sunnova’s commitment priced at nearly $3/kW-mo across the region. The company expects the first-year value to be approximately $2 million and the gross value across the term to be approximately $38 million¹. The final pricing for FCA15 increased from prior years with systems in the surrounding Boston area (Northeast Massachusetts and Boston, Southeast Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) securing $3.98/kW-mo, Connecticut and Western Massachusetts clearing $2.61/kW-mo, and New Hampshire pricing at $2.48/kW-mo.

ABOUT SUNNOVA

Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE: NOVA) is a leading residential solar and energy storage service provider, with customers across the U.S. and its territories. Sunnova's goal is to be the source of clean, affordable and reliable energy, with a simple mission: to power energy independence so that homeowners have the freedom to live life uninterrupted™.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Sunnova’s future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates,” “going to,” "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern Sunnova’s expectations, strategy, priorities, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations regarding timing of participation in FCA15; statements on the offer of competitive renewable energy and helping to meet New England’s future energy needs; and expectations on the first year and gross values. Sunnova’s expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including risks regarding our ability to forecast our business due to our limited operating history, our competition, fluctuations in the solar and home-building markets, our ability to attract and retain dealers and customers and our dealer and strategic partner relationships. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Sunnova’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Sunnova’s prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on July 26, 2019 and in Sunnova's other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the SEC's website at: www.sec.gov.The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to Sunnova as of the date hereof, and Sunnova disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. 

¹ Sunnova’s portion of the value is net of fees paid for participation in the market that the company may be subject to and assumes the subsequent 19 contracted capacity years are priced at the same average value.

Alina Eprimian
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• Electric vehicle battery manufacturer expected to create nearly 300 jobs
• Project represents an expected investment of $220 million

NASHVILLE, Tenn. & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Microvast, Inc., a leading global provider of next-generation battery technologies for commercial and specialty vehicles ("Microvast" or the "Company"), Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced today that Microvast plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Clarksville.

Microvast plans to invest $220 million and create 287 jobs in Montgomery County.

In 2019, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Microvast began planning the establishment of a Li-ion battery facility in the United States. As part of the project, Microvast plans to renovate and expand a facility located at 780 International Blvd. in Clarksville to manufacture battery cells, modules and packs.

Founded in 2006, Microvast is a leading global provider of next-generation battery technologies for commercial and specialty electric vehicles, a $30 billion total addressable market. It has an established, and industry-leading, portfolio of battery technologies that out-perform its competitors on battery life, charging times, safety and total cost of ownership.

On February 2, 2021 Microvast announced that it signed a definitive merger agreement to merge with Tuscan Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: THCB) that will result in Microvast becoming a publicly listed company. The merger is expected to provide up to $822 million in gross cash proceeds to fund capacity expansion and to position Microvast to capitalize on its signed contracts with total value of over $1.5 billion.

Microvast plans to begin the recruitment process in the fourth quarter of 2021 and into 2022, with employment opportunities available as early as August 2021. Additionally, careers for Microvast will be posted at Clarksvilleishiring.com, a resource provided to community employers by the Aspire Foundation.

Over the last five years, TNECD has supported more than 170 economic development projects in Northern Middle Tennessee, resulting in approximately 34,000 job commitments and $5.6 billion in capital investment.

Quotes

“Tennessee is at the forefront of electric vehicle and charging infrastructure development, and we’re proud that Microvast will continue this important work in Tennessee. Clarksville’s highly-skilled workforce is well-equipped for these additional 287 jobs, and we appreciate this investment from Microvast.” – Gov. Bill Lee

“The electric vehicle industry is thriving in Tennessee. We are the number one state in the Southeast for electric vehicle manufacturing, accounting for nearly 40 percent of electric vehicle jobs and investment. We appreciate Microvast for choosing Tennessee and for adding to the momentum of Tennessee’s electric vehicle evolution.” – TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe

“Microvast is excited to expand our U.S. footprint in Clarksville, Tennessee, where we have access to a talented workforce and a business friendly community. We believe that expanding our operations in Tennessee will support our efforts to advance the electrification revolution.” – Microvast EVP Shane Smith

“We are ecstatic that Microvast has chosen Montgomery County for their site of operation. Their commitment to our community is a multilevel win for us. Utilizing and adding on to an existing site that has been vacant, bringing employment opportunities to our citizens, and having cutting edge technology developed in this County will all provide a tremendous benefit for us. I am looking forward to working with them.” – Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett

“TVA and Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation congratulate Microvast on its decision to locate operations in Clarksville. Helping to attract quality jobs and investment from innovative companies, like Microvast, is at the core of TVA’s mission of service. We are proud to partner with the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to celebrate this announcement and support Microvast’s business success in the region.” – John Bradley, TVA senior vice president of Economic Development

“This latest announcement reaffirms that Clarksville is a robust community for companies to locate. As the need for electric vehicle batteries continues to increase, I am confident Clarksville will be able to provide the resources and workforce needed for Microvast to grow. I congratulate local officials for securing these jobs and appreciate Microvast for putting its confidence in our community.” – Sen. Bill Powers (R–Clarksville)

“Clarksville has a rich reputation as a center for technological innovation. It’s exciting to see a company like Microvast recognize the opportunity and unique capabilities provided by our community and talented workforce. We welcome our newest employer to Montgomery County and wish them success for many years to come.” ­– Rep. Curtis Johnson (R–Clarksville)

About Microvast

Microvast, Inc. is a technology innovator that designs, develops and manufactures lithium-ion battery solutions. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Houston, TX, Microvast is renowned for its cutting-edge cell technology and its vertical integration capabilities which extends from core battery chemistry (cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator) to battery packs. By integrating the process from raw material to system assembly, Microvast has developed a family of products covering a broad breadth of market applications. More information can be found on the corporate website: www.microvast.com.

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies that help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. To grow and strengthen Tennessee, the department seeks to attract new corporate investment to the state and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tnecd.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.

About Tuscan

Tuscan Holdings Corp. is a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Tuscan’s management team is led by Stephen Vogel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Tuscan is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "THCB."

About InterPrivate

InterPrivate Capital is a private investment firm that invests on behalf of a consortium of family offices. The firm’s unique independent co-sponsor structure provides its investors with the deep sector expertise and transaction execution capabilities of veteran deal-makers from the world’s leading private equity and venture capital firms. Affiliates of InterPrivate Capital act as sponsors, co-sponsors and advisors of SPACs, and manage a number of investment vehicles on behalf of its family office co-investors that participate in private and public opportunities, including PIPE investments in support of the firm’s sponsored business combinations. For more information regarding InterPrivate Capital, please visit www.interprivate.com. For more information regarding InterPrivate’s SPAC strategy, please visit www.ipvspac.com.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed transaction (the “Proposed Transaction”) involving Tuscan Holdings Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Tuscan”) and Microvast, Inc. a Delaware corporation (“Microvast”), Tuscan intends to file relevant materials with the SEC, including a proxy statement. This document is not a substitute for the proxy statement. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT MICROVAST, TUSCAN, THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. The proxy statement and other documents relating to the Proposed Transaction (when they are available) can be obtained free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These documents (when they are available) can also be obtained free of charge from Tuscan upon written request to Tuscan at Tuscan Holdings Corp., 135 E. 57th St., 17th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to and shall not constitute a proxy statement or the solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities in respect of the Proposed Transaction and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities or a solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Participants in Solicitation

This communication is not a solicitation of a proxy from any investor or securityholder. However, Tuscan, Microvast, and certain of their directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the Proposed Transaction under the rules of the SEC. Information about Tuscan’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of Tuscan’s securities is set forth in Tuscan’s filings with the SEC, including Tuscan’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, which was filed with the SEC on March 13, 2020. To the extent that holdings of Tuscan’s securities have changed since the amounts included in Tuscan’s Annual Report, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the participants will also be included in the proxy statement, when it becomes available. When available, these documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future financial and operating results, our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and other statements identified by words such as “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimated,” “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “projection,” “outlook” or words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Microvast’s industry and market sizes, future opportunities for Tuscan, Microvast and the combined company, Tuscan’s and Microvast’s estimated future results and the Proposed Transaction, including the implied equity value, the expected transaction and ownership structure and the likelihood and ability of the parties to successfully consummate the Proposed Transaction. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control. Actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

In addition to factors previously disclosed in Tuscan’s reports filed with the SEC and those identified elsewhere in this communication, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results and the timing of events to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: (1) inability to complete the Proposed Transaction or, if Tuscan does not complete the Proposed Transaction, any other business combination; (2) the inability to complete the Proposed Transaction due to the failure to meet the closing conditions to the Proposed Transaction, including the inability to obtain approval of Tuscan’s stockholders, the inability to consummate the contemplated PIPE financing, the failure to achieve the minimum amount of cash available following any redemptions by Tuscan stockholders, the failure to meet the Nasdaq listing standards in connection with the consummation of the Proposed Transaction, or the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the definitive agreement; (3) costs related to the Proposed Transaction; (4) a delay or failure to realize the expected benefits from the Proposed Transaction; (5) risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the Proposed Transaction; (6) the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; (7) changes in the highly competitive market in which Microvast competes, including with respect to its competitive landscape, technology evolution or regulatory changes; (8) changes in the markets that Microvast targets; (9) risk that Microvast may not be able to execute its growth strategies or achieve profitability; (10) the risk that Microvast is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; (11) the risk that Microvast’s customers or third-party suppliers are unable to meet their obligations fully or in a timely manner; (12) the risk that Microvast’s customers will adjust, cancel, or suspend their orders for Microvast’s products; (13) the risk that Microvast will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; (14) the risk of product liability or regulatory lawsuits or proceedings relating to Microvast’s products or services; (15) the risk that Microvast may not be able to develop and maintain effective internal controls; (16) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Tuscan, Microvast or any of their respective directors or officers following the announcement of the Proposed Combination; (17) risks of operations in the People’s Republic of China; and (18) the failure to realize anticipated pro forma results and underlying assumptions, including with respect to estimated stockholder redemptions and purchase price and other adjustments.

Actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially, and potentially adversely, from any projections and forward-looking statements and the assumptions on which those forward-looking statements are based. There can be no assurance that the data contained herein is reflective of future performance to any degree. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a predictor of future performance as projected financial information and other information are based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to various significant risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. All information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof in the case of information about Tuscan and Microvast or the date of such information in the case of information from persons other than Tuscan or Microvast, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication. Forecasts and estimates regarding Microvast’s industry and end markets are based on sources we believe to be reliable, however there can be no assurance these forecasts and estimates will prove accurate in whole or in part. Annualized, pro forma, projected and estimated numbers are used for illustrative purpose only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.

Microvast Investor Relations
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(346) 309-2562

Microvast Public Relations
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TNECD Media Contact
Molly Hair, Public Information Officer
(615) 878-0063
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Tuscan Holdings Corp.
Investor Relations, ICR
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InterPrivate Capital
Charlotte Luer
Investor Relations
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Approximately 3 million Public Warrants remain unexercised as of February 16, 2021

Investors are encouraged to exercise outstanding Public Warrants by March 1, 2021 deadline

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--XL Fleet Corp. (NYSE: XL) (“XL Fleet” or the “Company”), a leader in fleet electrification solutions with over 145 million customer miles driven, today announced that as of February 16, 2021, approximately 4.7 million of the total approximately 7.7 million Public Warrants had been exercised. As previously announced on January 28, 2021, the Company provided notice to the holders of the Public Warrants that their warrants will be redeemed in accordance with the terms of such Public Warrants. Holders of the Public Warrants have until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on March 1, 2021 to exercise their Public Warrants.

As a courtesy, the Company would like to remind any remaining holders of Public Warrants that if the remaining approximately 3.0 million Public Warrants are not exercised by 5:00 p.m. EST on March 1, 2021, the redemption date, the Public Warrants will be void and no longer exercisable, and the holders of those Public Warrants will be entitled to receive $0.01 per Public Warrant.

Questions concerning redemption and exercise of the Public Warrants can be directed to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, New York 10004, Attention: Compliance Department, telephone number (212) 509-4000.

Redemption Details

The 4.7 million total Public Warrants that have been exercised as of February 16, 2021 has resulted in cash proceeds to XL Fleet of approximately $53.6 million, based on an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Following the redemption, and assuming all remaining outstanding Public Warrants are exercised, XL Fleet expects to have up to approximately $420 million of cash on the balance sheet and approximately 139 million shares of Common Stock outstanding.

For additional information related to the redemption of the Public Warrants, please reference the redemption announcement press release issued by the Company on January 28, 2021.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any offer of any of XL Fleet’s securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About XL Fleet Corp.

XL Fleet is a leading provider of vehicle electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets in North America, with more than 145 million miles driven by customers such as The Coca-Cola Company, Verizon, Yale University and the City of Boston. XL Fleet’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric drive systems can increase fuel economy up to 25-50 percent and reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to 20-33 percent, decreasing operating costs and meeting sustainability goals while enhancing fleet operations. XL Fleet’s plug-in hybrid electric drive system was named one of TIME magazine's best inventions of 2019. For additional information, please visit www.xlfleet.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to failure to realize the anticipated benefits from the business combination; the effects of pending and future legislation; the highly competitive nature of the Company’s business and the commercial vehicle electrification market; litigation, complaints, product liability claims and/or adverse publicity; cost increases or shortages in the components or chassis necessary to support the Company’s products and services; the introduction of new technologies; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition, regulatory compliance and customer experience; the potential loss of certain significant customers; privacy and data protection laws, privacy or data breaches, or the loss of data; general economic, financial, legal, political and business conditions and changes in domestic and foreign markets; the inability to convert its sales opportunity pipeline into binding orders; risks related to the rollout of the Company’s business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on the Company’s future business; the availability of capital; and the other risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus filed on December 8, 2020 and other documents that the Company files with the SEC in the future. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Media:
Eric Foellmer, Director of Marketing
(617) 648-8555
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Investor:
Marc Silverberg, Partner (ICR)
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2020 Financial Performance Demonstrates Strength and Resiliency

Company Maintains Disciplined Focus on Cost and Capital Management

Recent ESG Accolades Complement Strong Financial Results

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--$WM--Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) today announced financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020.

The Company’s fourth quarter results continued the positive momentum from the third quarter, as organic revenue growth in the collection and disposal business was nearly flat year-over-year and improved 250 basis points sequentially and 890 basis points from the low in the second quarter. Additionally, the Company maintained its disciplined focus on cost and capital management. As a result, fourth quarter adjusted operating EBITDA increased 4.1% year-over-year when normalized to exclude the acquisition of Advanced Disposal as well as timing differences in the government approvals of alternative fuel tax credits.^(a) This growth was achieved despite macroeconomic challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am extremely proud of how our team worked through the challenges during 2020 to provide reliable, high quality service, and continued to do so as we welcomed new customers and team members following our acquisition of Advanced Disposal,” said Jim Fish, Waste Management’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus on operational execution and efficiency allowed us to match the highest full-year adjusted operating EBITDA margin we have ever achieved at 28.4%.^(a) So, in a year where many companies suffered significant financial impacts from the pandemic and resulting economic crisis, Waste Management delivered full-year 2020 results within 1.5% of our record-high 2019 adjusted operating EBITDA.^(a)

“Complementing our strong financial performance is the recognition that we continue to receive for leading the way to a more sustainable future. Fortune magazine recently named Waste Management to its 2021 World’s Most Admired Companies List, and for the fifth consecutive year, CDP included Waste Management on its ‘A List’ for climate leadership. We remain committed not only to managing waste responsibly but also investing in recycling infrastructure and renewable energy projects and collaborating with our stakeholders to create new, sustainable environmental solutions.”

KEY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND THE FULL YEAR 2020

Revenue

• In the fourth quarter of 2020, revenue increased $185 million in the Company’s collection and disposal business compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily driven by $202 million in acquisition revenue and $79 million of growth from yield partially offset by $93 million in volume declines. For the full year, revenue decreased $141 million in the Company’s collection and disposal business compared to 2019, primarily driven by $669 million in volume declines partially offset by $299 million of growth from yield and $244 million in acquisition revenue.
• Core price for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 3.2% compared to 4.3% in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, core price was 2.9% for 2020 compared to 4.2% in 2019.^(d)
• Collection and disposal yield was 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, collection and disposal yield was 2.2% in 2020 compared to 2.8% in 2019.
• The Company’s 2020 pricing results were muted relative to historical results due to deliberate customer-centric steps taken during the second quarter to temporarily suspend price increases and certain fees for customers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company remains firmly committed to its pricing programs as evidenced by the Company’s strong post-collection and residential yield.
• Total Company volumes declined 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to a decline of 5.1% in the third quarter of 2020 and a decline of 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, total Company volumes declined 4.5% in 2020 compared to growth of 2.3% in 2019.

Cost Management

• Total Company operating expenses were 61.5% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 60.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily driven by an unfavorable comparison for alternative fuel tax credits of 150 basis points. For the full year, total Company operating expenses were 61.4% of revenue in both 2020 and 2019.
• SG&A expenses were 12.5% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 11.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019. On an adjusted basis, SG&A expenses were 10.4% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to 10.7% in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, SG&A expenses were 11.4% of revenue in 2020 compared to 10.6% in 2019. On an adjusted basis, SG&A expenses were 10.2% of revenue in 2020 compared to 10.3% in 2019.^(a)
• The recently-closed Advanced Disposal acquisition increased operating expenses as a percentage of revenue by 40 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2020 and had an immaterial impact on adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Profitability

• Total Company operating EBITDA was $1.09 billion, or 26.8% of revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to $1.05 billion, or 27.3% of revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2019. On an adjusted basis, total Company operating EBITDA was $1.14 billion, or 28.1% of revenue, for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to adjusted operating EBITDA of $1.12 billion, or 29.1% of revenue, for the same period in 2019.^(a) The margin decreases were driven by an unfavorable comparison for alternative fuel tax credits of 150 basis points.
• For the full year, total Company operating EBITDA was $4.11 billion, or 27.0% of revenue, for 2020 compared to $4.28 billion, or 27.7% of revenue, for 2019. On an adjusted basis, total Company operating EBITDA was $4.32 billion for 2020 compared to adjusted operating EBITDA of $4.38 billion for 2019. Adjusted operating EBITDA was 28.4% of revenue in both years, demonstrating the Company’s strong focus on controlling costs in the lower volume environment.^(a)
• The recently-closed Advanced Disposal acquisition had a negative 50 basis point impact on adjusted operating EBITDA as a percentage of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company realized between $10 and $15 million of annualized run-rate synergies from the acquisition of Advanced Disposal.

Free Cash Flow & Capital Allocation

• In the fourth quarter of 2020, net cash provided by operating activities was $753 million compared to $1.02 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, net cash provided by operating activities was $3.40 billion in 2020 compared to $3.87 billion in 2019. The year-over-year comparisons were impacted by an increase in cash taxes, which was due in large part to the tax gain realized on the sale of assets and businesses to GFL Environmental.
• During the second and third quarters of 2020, the Company deferred payment of payroll taxes as provided for by the CARES Act. In light of the Company's strong financial performance and operating cash flow, management elected to pay the previously deferred 2020 payroll taxes in the fourth quarter. While there is no impact of this decision on the comparison of 2020 and 2019 cash flow from operations, this decision decreased fourth quarter and full year 2020 cash flow by approximately $120 million from prior outlook.
• In the fourth quarter of 2020, capital expenditures were $394 million compared to $286 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, capital expenditures were $1.63 billion in 2020 compared to $1.82 billion in 2019 as the Company took prudent steps to reduce and defer certain aspects of capital spending.
• In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company closed on the sale to GFL Environmental of the assets required to be divested by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the Advanced Disposal acquisition. Proceeds from divestures were $865 million during the fourth quarter of 2020, with $856 million of this related to the divestitures to GFL Environmental. For the full year, proceeds from divestures were $885 million in 2020 compared to $49 million in 2019.
• In the fourth quarter of 2020, free cash flow was $1.22 billion compared to $756 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, free cash flow was $2.66 billion in 2020 compared to $2.11 billion in 2019.^(a)
• During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company paid $231 million of dividends to shareholders.

2021 OUTLOOK

Revenue Growth

• Total Company revenue growth is expected to be between 10.75% and 11.25%. Combined internal revenue growth from yield and volume in the collection and disposal business is expected to be between 4% and 4.5%, primarily driven by the Company’s disciplined pricing programs which are expected to result in core price of 4.0% or greater and yield of approximately 2.5%.

Profitability

• Adjusted operating EBITDA is expected to be between $4.75 and $4.9 billion for the full year.^(a)
• Synergies from the completed acquisition of Advanced Disposal are included in this measure and are expected to be between $50 million and $60 million in 2021.

Free Cash Flow & Capital Allocation

• Free cash flow is projected to be between $2.25 and $2.35 billion.^(a)
• Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $1.78 to $1.88 billion.
• The Company is committed to returning its leverage ratio, as defined in its revolving credit facility financial covenant, to its targeted long-term range of between 2.5 and 3-to-1 during 2021.
• The Board of Directors has indicated its intention to increase the dividend by $0.12 per share to $2.30 on an annual basis for an approximate annual cost of $975 million. This represents the 18^th consecutive year of increases in the Company’s per share dividend. The Board of Directors must separately approve and declare each dividend.
• In December 2020, the Board of Directors refreshed the Company’s share repurchase authorization, allowing for the repurchase of up to $1.35 billion of the Company’s common stock, signaling confidence in the cash flow outlook.

Fish concluded, “In 2020, we quickly and successfully learned to operate our business with a lower cost structure while maintaining our focus on exceptional customer service. We also completed the acquisition of Advanced Disposal and accelerated our customer service digitalization investments, all while matching our highest adjusted operating EBITDA margin and generating strong cash flow. In 2021, we will continue to make investments in technology that transform our business and integrate the Advanced Disposal business, and we are well-positioned to generate strong returns.”

The Company will host a conference call at 10 a.m. (Eastern) today to discuss the fourth quarter and full year results. Information contained within this press release will be referenced and should be considered in conjunction with the call.

The conference call will be webcast live from the Investors section of Waste Management’s website www.wm.com. To access the conference call by telephone, please dial (877) 710-6139 approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. If you are calling from outside of the United States or Canada, please dial (706) 643-7398. Please utilize conference ID number 1965816 when prompted by the conference call operator.

A replay of the conference call will be available on the Company’s website www.wm.com and by telephone from approximately 1:00 p.m. (Eastern) today through 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, March 4, 2021. To access the replay telephonically, please dial (855) 859-2056, or from outside of the United States or Canada dial (404) 537-3406 and use the replay conference ID number 1965816.

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management environmental services in North America, providing services throughout the United States and Canada. Through its subsidiaries, the Company provides collection, transfer, disposal services, and recycling and resource recovery. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The Company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management, visit www.wm.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The Company, from time to time, provides estimates of financial and other data, comments on expectations relating to future periods and makes statements of opinion, view or belief about current and future events. This press release contains a number of such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, all statements under the heading “2021 Outlook”, as well as all statements regarding future performance or financial results of our business; future investments and results from investments; cost structure or efficiencies; integration of, and benefits from, the acquisition of Advanced Disposal Services, Inc. (“Advanced Disposal”); future leverage ratio; future share repurchases and future sustainability efforts. You should view these statements with caution. They are based on the facts and circumstances known to the Company as of the date the statements are made. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from those set forth in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to failure to implement our optimization, growth, and cost savings initiatives and overall business strategy; failure to identify acquisition targets and negotiate attractive terms; failure to consummate or integrate acquisitions; failure to obtain the results anticipated from acquisitions; failure to successfully integrate the acquisition of Advanced Disposal, realize anticipated synergies or obtain the results anticipated from such acquisition; environmental and other regulations, including developments related to emerging contaminants, gas emissions and renewable fuel; significant environmental, safety or other incidents resulting in liabilities or brand damage; failure to obtain and maintain necessary permits; failure to attract, hire and retain key team members and a high quality workforce; labor disruptions and wage-related regulations; significant storms and destructive events influenced by climate change; public health risk and other impacts of COVID-19 or similar pandemic conditions, including increased costs, social and commercial disruption and service reductions; increased competition; pricing actions; commodity price fluctuations; international trade restrictions; disposal alternatives and waste diversion; declining waste volumes; weakness in general economic conditions and capital markets; adoption of new tax legislation; fuel shortages; failure to develop and protect new technology; failure of technology to perform as expected, including implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system; failure to prevent, detect and address cybersecurity incidents or comply with privacy regulations; negative outcomes of litigation or governmental proceedings; and decisions or developments that result in impairment charges. Please also see the Company’s filings with the SEC, including Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K as updated by our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, for additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties applicable to its business. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, including financial estimates and forecasts, whether as a result of future events, circumstances or developments or otherwise.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

To supplement its financial information, the Company has presented, and/or may discuss on the conference call, adjusted earnings per diluted share, adjusted net income, adjusted income from operations, adjusted SG&A expenses, adjusted operating EBITDA, adjusted operating EBITDA margin, and free cash flow, as well as projections of adjusted operating EBITDA and free cash flow for 2021. All of these items are non-GAAP financial measures, as defined in Regulation G of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company reports its financial results in compliance with GAAP but believes that also discussing non-GAAP measures provides investors with (i) financial measures the Company uses in the management of its business and (ii) additional, meaningful comparisons of current results to prior periods’ results by excluding items that the Company does not believe reflect its fundamental business performance and are not representative or indicative of its results of operations.

In addition, the Company’s projected full year 2021 adjusted operating EBITDA is anticipated to exclude the effects of other events or circumstances in 2021 that are not representative or indicative of the Company’s results of operations. Such excluded items are not currently determinable, but may be significant, such as asset impairments and one-time items, charges, gains or losses from divestitures or litigation, and other items. Due to the uncertainty of the likelihood, amount and timing of any such items, the Company does not have information available to provide a quantitative reconciliation of such projection to the comparable GAAP measure.

The Company discusses free cash flow and provides a projection of free cash flow because the Company believes that it is indicative of its ability to pay its quarterly dividends, repurchase common stock, fund acquisitions and other investments and, in the absence of refinancings, to repay its debt obligations. Free cash flow is not intended to replace “Net cash provided by operating activities,” which is the most comparable GAAP measure. The Company believes free cash flow gives investors useful insight into how the Company views its liquidity, but the use of free cash flow as a liquidity measure has material limitations because it excludes certain expenditures that are required or that the Company has committed to, such as declared dividend payments and debt service requirements. The Company defines free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities, less capital expenditures, plus proceeds from divestitures of businesses and other assets (net of cash divested); this definition may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures reported by other companies.

The quantitative reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are included in the accompanying schedules, with the exception of projected adjusted operating EBITDA. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP.

Web site
www.wm.com

Analysts
Ed Egl
713.265.1656
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Media
Janette Micelli
602.579.6152
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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Waste-to-Energy (WtE) Market - Global Industry Analysis (2017-2020). Growth Trends and Market Forecast (2021-2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global demand for waste-to-energy (WtE) market is expected to witness high surge in demand as governments across the globe invest in developing sustainable solutions for generating energy from waste.

This is being encouraged by improved awareness amongst consumers about the depletion of the non-renewable energy resources and soaring levels of pollution across land, water and air. Collectively, these factors have contributed to rise in demand for the incineration process and public waste-to-energy expenditure.

The positive approach to waste-to-energy technologies has led to its widespread acceptance in various countries. The need to cater to the rising demand of electricity consumption is also triggering the demand for these alternative technologies. Government bodies are increasingly implementing several federal laws and regulations to control usage of non-renewable energy resources. Countries are moving towards achieving the zero emission sources, bolstering the demand for the global waste-to-energy market.

However, there are certain restraints affecting the growth of the global market such as environmental hazards associated with the incineration process.

The type segment in the waste-to-energy market is segregated into thermal and biological. The thermal segment is further segmented into incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification. Among these, the incineration segment is expected to lead the global waste-to-energy market by registering a rising CAGR over the forecast period. There has been a rise in waste generation across the globe leading to increased demand for incineration process globally. This process is increasingly rising in demand as it can treat multiple types of wastes.

North America is expected to lead the global waste-to-energy market as this region has high potential due to developed economies in this region. North America has high potential for growth with steady installations of waste to energy plants. The government policies in this region are strict, adhering to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, hence bolstering demand for better alternatives of non renewable energy sources.

Europe is also expected to rise in demand during the forecast period as this region is heavily focusing on an energy system that depends lesser on fossil fuels.

Key players in the market are actively focusing on strategies such as mergers and acquisitions. There has been a rise in investment for research and development activities as investors are actively seeking reliable sources of energy conversion to create lucrative market growth opportunities.

The key players operating in the global waste-to-energy market are Covanta Energy Corporation, Veolia, Seuz Environment, China Everbright International Limited, EDF, AVR, EQT AB, Wheelabrator, Hitachi Zosen Inova AG, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S, Viridor, Ramboll Group and GCL Poly.

Key Highlights

• Rise in demand for sustainable energy sources to boost the demand for the global market.
• Stricter government laws and regulations are forcing the key players to invest in alternative sources of energy generation.
• The incineration segment expected to rise, owing to its ability to treat multiple types of wastes.
• Players to focus on investing in research and development activities to stay at the top of the game.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

1.1. Global Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Snapshot

1.2. Future Projections

1.3. Key Market Trends

1.4. Analyst Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Definitions and Segmentations

2.2. Market Dynamics

2.2.1. Drivers

2.2.2. Restraints

2.2.3. Market Opportunities

2.3. Value Chain Analysis

2.4. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

2.5. COVID-19 Impact Analysis

2.5.1. Supply Chain

2.5.2. Demand

2.6. Economic Overview

2.6.1. Microeconomic Trends

2.6.2. Macroeconomic Trends

2.7. Raw Materials Impact Analysis

3. Price Trends Analysis and Future Projects, 2017-2025

3.1. Key Highlights

3.2. By Technology/By Application

3.3. By Region

4. Global Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, 2017-2025

4.1. Global Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, by Technology, Volume (Million Tons) and Value (US$ Mn), 2017-2025

4.1.1. Key Highlights

4.1.1.1. Thermal

4.1.1.1.1. Incineration

4.1.1.1.2. Pyrolysis

4.1.1.1.3. Gasification

4.1.1.2. Biological

4.1.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

4.2. Global Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, by Application, Volume (Million Tons) and Value (US$ Mn), 2017-2025

4.2.1. Key Highlights

4.2.1.1. Electricity Generation

4.2.1.2. Steam Exports

4.2.1.3. Combined Heat & Power (CHP)

4.2.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

4.3. Global Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, by Region, Volume (Million Tons) and Value (US$ Mn), 2017-2025

4.3.1. Key Highlights

4.3.1.1. North America

4.3.1.2. Europe

4.3.1.3. Asia Pacific

4.3.1.4. Rest of the World (RoW)

4.3.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

5. North America Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, 2017-2025

6. Europe Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, 2017-2025

7. Asia Pacific Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, 2017-2025

8. Rest of the World (RoW)Waste to Energy (WtE) Market Outlook, 2017-2025

9. Competitive Landscape

9.1. Company Market Share Analysis, 2019

9.2. Product Heatmap

9.3. Strategic Collaborations

9.4. Company Profiles

• AVR
• Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.
• China Everbright Environment Group Limited
• Covanta Energy Corporation
• EQT AB
• Hitachi Zosen Inova AG
• Ramboll Group
• Sembcorp Industries
• Seuz
• Veolia
• Viridor
• Wheelabrator Technologies Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2jlivw

ResearchAndMarkets.com
Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager
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For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630
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TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Superior Plus Corp. (“Superior”) (TSX:SPB) announced today that its subsidiary, Superior Plus LP, has entered into a definitive agreement with Birch Hill Equity Partners (“Birch Hill”) to sell its Specialty Chemicals business (“Specialty Chemicals”) for total consideration of $725 million (the “Transaction”). Under the terms of the Transaction, Superior will receive $600 million in cash proceeds from Birch Hill, and $125 million in the form of a 6% unsecured note (“Note”) issued by an affiliated entity of Birch Hill that is acquiring Specialty Chemicals.

The sale of Superior’s Specialty Chemicals business represents the final step in Superior’s long-term portfolio transformation into a pure-play energy distribution company. With this sale, Superior is reinforcing its focus on growing its industry-leading North American retail propane distribution platform and delivering long-term shareholder value. Proceeds from the Transaction will improve Superior’s financial flexibility and allow the company to accelerate its growth through acquisitions of retail propane distribution businesses. In 2020, Superior acquired more than $285 million of energy distribution assets, and Superior has already completed three acquisitions in the U.S. and Canada in 2021. Superior has a robust pipeline of acquisition opportunities and anticipates more than doubling the U.S. Propane Distribution EBITDA from operations over the next five years.

“We are excited to enter into this transaction with Birch Hill,” said Luc Desjardins, President and CEO of Superior. “The sale of Specialty Chemicals is an important component of our strategic plan and provides us with additional capital to further accelerate our accretive growth strategy in the U.S. propane market.”

Superior is committed to maintaining a resilient balance sheet, growing the business through acquisitions and returning capital to shareholders. Superior’s Energy Distribution business generates significant free cash flow to support the company’s existing dividend. Superior plans to use the net proceeds from the Transaction initially to reduce debt, including paying down the outstanding balance on its revolving credit facility. As a result of the Transaction, Superior’s lease liabilities are expected to decrease $104.0 million, further reducing Superior’s Total Debt. Superior’s Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA leverage is expected to be 2.8x⁽¹⁾ pro forma the completion of the Transaction.

Superior will be holding an Investor Day in the coming months to outline our new long-term business plan and strategy.

Key terms of the Note:

• Principal amount of the Note and accrued and unpaid interest due 5½ years from close of the Transaction;
• The Note bears interest at a rate of 6% compounded annually, which interest may be accrued and paid on maturity;

Purchase Price Adjustment Mechanism

• The purchase price is subject to adjustment. If the average EBITDA from operations of the Specialty Chemicals business for the three, consecutive twelve-month periods following the closing date of the Transaction (“Average EBITDA”) is between $100 million and $115 million, the purchase price will not be adjusted and the amount due on maturity of the Note, including interest, will be $172.3 million.
• If the Average EBITDA is more than $115 million, the purchase price will be increased (effective and with accrued interest as of the closing date) by the amount of the difference multiplied by 4.5 up to a maximum of $84 million and the buyer will issue an additional Note in such amount to the seller.
• If the Average EBITDA is less than $100 million, the purchase price will be reduced (effective and with accrued interest as of the closing date) by the amount of the difference multiplied by 4.5 up to a maximum of $84 million and the seller will issue a Note to the buyer in such amount.

Luc Desjardins further stated, “Through the transaction structure, we have increased our financial flexibility, focused our business portfolio on energy distribution, and preserved an ability to share in the potential upside in the chemicals business over the next three years.”

The Transaction, which has been approved by Superior’s Board of Directors, is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first or second quarter of 2021.

All dollar amounts in this press release are in Canadian dollars.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is acting as legal counsel to Superior on the Transaction. Barclays acted as financial advisor to Superior.

1. Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA is based on Total Debt, Cash and Cash Equivalents as of September 30, 2020 and Adjusted EBITDA on a trailing twelve months basis ended September 30, 2020 adjusted to reflect completion of the Transaction and the anticipated immediate use of proceeds to repay outstanding debt. See “Non-GAAP Measures”)

About the Corporation

Superior consists of two primary operating businesses: Energy Distribution includes the distribution of propane and distillates, and Specialty Chemicals includes the production and distribution of specialty chemicals products.

For further information about Superior, please visit our website at: www.superiorplus.com or contact: Beth Summers, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Tel: (416) 340-6015, or Rob Dorran, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer, Tel: (416) 340-6003, E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Toll Free: 1-866-490-PLUS (7587).

Forward Looking Information

Certain information included herein is forward-looking, within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Such information is typically identified by words such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "plan", "intend", "forecast", "future", "guidance", "may", "predict", "project", "should", "strategy", "target", "will" or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes. Forward-looking information in this news release includes forward looking information relating to the completion and timing of, and the use of proceeds from, the Transaction, Superior's expected leverage after completion of the Transaction, anticipates more than doubling the U.S. Propane Distribution EBITDA from operations over the next five years and expectations the Energy Distribution business will support the annualized dividend of $0.72 per common share. Superior believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such information should not be unduly relied upon.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance. By its very nature, forward-looking information involves inherent assumptions, risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking information will not be achieved, including risks relating to satisfaction of the conditions to, and completion of, the Transaction, risks relating to the operating and financial performance of the Energy Distribution business which are described in Superior’s third quarter management discussion and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2020 and in Superior current annual information form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and risks relating to the availability of and ability to execute sufficient energy distribution acquisitions on attractive terms over the next five years. Key assumptions or risk factors to the anticipated value of acquisitions to be completed in the next five years include, but are not limited to, financial market conditions, Superior’s future debt levels, Superior’s ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet its current and future obligations, access to, and terms of, future sources of funding for Superior’s capital expenditures and acquisitions, the integration of businesses into Superior’s operations, competitive action by other companies, availability and timing of acquisition targets, actions by governmental authorities including increases in taxes and changes in environmental and other regulations, general economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory framework that governs the operations of Superior’s business and industry capacity. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions described above prove incorrect, Superior's actual performance and results in future periods may differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on this information as a number of important factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations and anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information contained in this news release is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's goals, plans and range of expectations for the future and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any forward-looking information is made as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, Superior does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise such information to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Measures

Throughout this release, Superior has used the following terms that are not defined by International Financial Reporting Standards (“Non-GAAP Financial Measures”), but are used by management to evaluate the performance of Superior and its business: Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), EBITDA from operations, Average EBITDA, Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio. These measures may also provide additional useful information to and be used by investors, financial institutions and credit rating agencies to assess Superior’s performance and ability to service debt. Non-GAAP financial measures do not have standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies as they may calculate them differently from Superior. Securities regulations require that Non-GAAP financial measures are clearly defined, qualified and reconciled to their most comparable GAAP financial measures.

Non-GAAP financial measures should not, therefore, be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors should be cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA from operations and Average EBITDA should not be construed as alternatives to net earnings, cash flow from operating activities or other measures of financial results determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of Superior’s performance. Non-GAAP financial measures are identified and defined as follows:

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, losses (gains) on disposal of assets, finance expense, restructuring costs, transaction and other costs, and unrealized gains (losses) on derivative financial instruments.

Adjusted EBITDA is used by Superior and investors to assess its consolidated results and ability to service debt. Adjusted EBITDA is a significant performance measure used by management and investors to evaluate Superior’s ongoing performance of its businesses.

EBITDA from operations

EBITDA from operations is defined as Adjusted EBITDA excluding costs that are not considered representative of Superior’s underlying core operating performance, including gains and losses on foreign currency hedging contracts, corporate costs and transaction and other costs, and excludes the impact of IFRS 16. Management uses EBITDA from operations to set targets for Superior (including annual guidance and variable compensation targets).

Average EBITDA

Average EBITDA is defined as the average EBITDA from operations of the Specialty Chemicals business for the three years following the closing date of the Transaction.

Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio

Adjusted EBITDA for the Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio is defined as Adjusted EBITDA calculated on a 12-month trailing basis giving pro forma effect to acquisitions and dispositions adjusted to the first day of the calculation period (“Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA”). Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA is used by Superior to calculate its Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio.

Total Debt is the sum of borrowings before deferred financing fees and lease liabilities and Net Debt is Total Debt minus cash and cash equivalents. To calculate the Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio divide Net Debt by Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA.

Management believes that Net Debt to Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure to monitor leverage and evaluate the balance sheet.

Beth Summers, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (416) 340-6015

Rob Dorran, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer
Tel: (416) 340-6003

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Toll Free: 1-866-490-PLUS (7587)

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Global VOC Gas Monitor Market 2021-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The VOC gas monitor market is poised to grow by $50.05 million during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of 5% during the forecast period. The report on VOC gas monitor market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as key vendor analysis.

The market is driven by the increasing awareness of low-cost gas sensor technology among end-users and regulatory compliance increasing the adoption of VOC monitoring equipment.

The study identifies growth in the water and wastewater treatment industry as another prime reason driving VOC gas monitor market growth during the next few years.

The VOC gas monitor market analysis includes the end-user segment and geographical landscapes.

The robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading VOC gas monitor market vendors that include Aeroqual Ltd., Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Endee Engineers Pvt. Ltd., FLIR Systems Inc., Halma Plc, Honeywell International Inc., KWJ Engineering Inc., Siemens AG, Teledyne Technologies Inc., and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Also, the VOC gas monitor market analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage on all forthcoming growth opportunities.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

• Market Overview

Market Landscape

• Market ecosystem
• Market characteristics
• Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

• Market definition
• Market segment analysis
• Market size 2020
• Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

• Five forces summary
• Bargaining power of buyers
• Bargaining power of suppliers
• Threat of new entrants
• Threat of substitutes
• Threat of rivalry
• Market condition

Market Segmentation by End-user

• Market segments
• Comparison by End-user
• Paints and coatings - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• Chemical - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• Petroleum - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• Pharmaceuticals - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• Market opportunity by End-user

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

• Geographic segmentation
• Geographic comparison
• North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025
• Key leading countries
• Market opportunity by geography
• Market drivers
• Market challenges
• Market trends

Vendor Landscape

• Competitive scenario
• Vendor landscape
• Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

• Aeroqual Ltd.
• Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
• Endee Engineers Pvt. Ltd.
• FLIR Systems Inc.
• Halma Plc
• Honeywell International Inc.
• KWJ Engineering Inc.
• Siemens AG
• Teledyne Technologies Inc.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/h9log

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

ResearchAndMarkets.com
Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager
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For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470
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MILPITAS, Calif. & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#CFII--View, the market leader in smart glass, announced that View Smart Windows are being installed at St. John’s Terminal, the 12-story, 1.3-million-square-foot, cutting-edge commercial office under development by Oxford Properties Group. This landmark Manhattan asset encompasses two entire city blocks along the Hudson River and will be the center of Google’s Hudson Square campus.

View Smart Windows use artificial intelligence to optimize natural light and views of the outdoors while minimizing heat and glare and provide a more comfortable and healthier environment for people. In addition, smart windows reduce energy consumption by reducing cooling requirements.

Designed by the sustainable architecture firm COOKFOX and with more than 400 linear feet of floor-to-ceiling smart windows from View, St. John’s Terminal will offer occupants unobstructed, west-facing views of the Hudson River and the widest sunset in New York City.

“Our vision is to transform this historic waterfront site in the busiest city in North America into a space that is regenerative for people’s health and restores their connection to nature,” said Rick Cook, a founding partner of COOKFOX Architects. “Natural light and views of the outdoors are key to human wellness. View Smart Windows are integral to our design for one of the healthiest buildings in New York City.”

Smart glass offers significant health advantages by reducing the incidence of eyestrain and headaches by over 50%. In a recent study, employees working next to View Smart Windows improved their sleep by 37 minutes per night and cognitive function by 42 percent. These findings are particularly important today as users are focused on health, wellness, and re-entering the workplace with confidence.

“At Oxford, we believe in building healthier, greener, and more intelligent buildings, and View will help us to achieve all three of these goals,” said Dean Shapiro, Head of US Development at Oxford Properties. “St. John’s Terminal will set a new standard for the future of buildings that benefit people, communities and the environment.”

“It’s clear the future of real estate is smarter, healthier, highly experiential, more sustainable buildings,” said Dr. Rao Mulpuri, Chairman and CEO of View. “Industry leaders incorporating View Smart Windows in iconic, large-scale projects like St. John’s Terminal demonstrates that the future is here now.”

About View

View is a technology company creating smart and connected buildings to improve people’s health and wellness, while simultaneously reducing energy consumption. View is the market leader in smart windows that let in natural light and views and enhance mental and physical well-being by reducing headaches, eyestrain, and drowsiness. Every View installation includes a smart building platform that consists of power, network, and communication infrastructure. For more information, please visit: www.view.com

On Nov 30, View announced plans to become a publicly listed company through a merger with CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II (Nasdaq: CFII), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald. For more information, see: Smart-Windows-Press-Release.pdf (view.com).

For Investors:
Samuel Meehan
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
408-493-1358

For Media:
Tom Nolan, Great Ink
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908-392-0333

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Genesis Energy, L.P. (NYSE: GEL) today announced its fourth quarter results.

We generated the following financial results for the fourth quarter of 2020:

• Net Loss Attributable to Genesis Energy, L.P. of $85.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to Net Income Attributable to Genesis Energy, L.P. of $22.4 million for the same period in 2019.
  
  
• Cash Flows from Operating Activities of $1.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to $50.6 million for the same period in 2019.
  
  
• Total Segment Margin in the fourth quarter of 2020 of $137.0 million.
  
  
• Available Cash before Reserves to common unitholders of $52.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, which provided 2.85X coverage for the quarterly distribution of $0.15 per common unit attributable to the fourth quarter.
  
  
• We declared cash distributions on our preferred units of $0.7374 for each preferred unit, which equates to a cash distribution of approximately $18.7 million and is reflected as a reduction to Available Cash before Reserves to common unitholders.
  
  
• Adjusted EBITDA of $134.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
  
  
• Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA of $602.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and a bank leverage ratio of 5.57X, both calculated in accordance with our credit agreement and are discussed further in this release.

Grant Sims, CEO of Genesis Energy, said, “2020 was understandably a challenging year for our businesses due to the Covid-19 related demand destruction, lower refinery utilization and crude differentials as well as an unprecedented hurricane season. Despite these challenges, we were able to generate approximately $602 million of Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA, as calculated under our senior secured credit facility, hitting the mid-point of our previously announced guidance. In fact, we were able to reduce Total Adjusted Debt by approximately $62 million despite having to pay approximately $45 million of financing fees associated with two unsecured re-financings and $50 million from the fourth quarter of 2019 common unit distributions that was actually paid in the first quarter of 2020.

To better position the partnership for long term success, we took several proactive steps during the year, including significantly reducing our common distribution, implementing significant cost cutting measures and opportunistically refinancing two of our near term unsecured maturities. While we expect 2021 to be somewhat a year of transition as our base businesses continue to recover and we move ever closer to the significant contribution from several contracted offshore projects, we are increasingly confident in the long-term fundamentals of our businesses and our significant operating leverage to the upside as the global economy continues to improve.

Our offshore pipeline transportation segment was challenged in 2020 from an unprecedented hurricane season, but the outlook remains strong. Over the last ten years through 2019, Genesis had never experienced more than 13 days of named storm downtime in a single year. This past year, we experienced approximately 28 days of named storm downtime and minor structural damage to one of our platforms. This downtime and the non-recurring costs associated with platform inspections and repairs, negatively impacted 2020 Segment Margin by some $40 million. That being said, the CHOPS pipeline was up and running as of February 4^th and the first quarter of 2021 remains on track to generate a more normalized earnings profile of approximately $85 million per quarter from our industry critical infrastructure assets in the central Gulf of Mexico.

In regards to the new administration’s most recent Executive Order, which directs the Department of the Interior to temporarily pause new oil and natural gas leasing on federal lands, it is very important to note the targeted pause by the Department of Interior “does not impact existing operations or permits for valid, existing leases, which are continuing to be reviewed and approved.” From January 21^st to February 16^th, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued 63 new permits, including 38 revised new well permits and 4 new well permits.

In fact, each of the operators of our larger, contracted offshore projects, Argos and King’s Quay, has just recently publicly confirmed that both projects remain on track for first oil in 2022. We anticipate that these two fields, when fully ramped up, will generate in excess of $25 million a quarter, or over $100 million a year, in additional segment margin. Also, we remain in active discussions with three separate new stand-alone deepwater production hubs, in various stages of sanctioning and with first oil starting in the late 2024-2025 time frame totaling more than 220,000 barrels a day of potential new Gulf of Mexico production.

If the temporary ban on new leases were to be extended or become permanent, which we believe would require a change in the law, we have the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of acres that are dedicated to our offshore pipeline systems under life of lease dedications, all of which are existing, valid leases under primary term, previously granted extensions of their primary term or held by production in perpetuity, alone or in recognized units. We believe there is a tremendous inventory of incremental drilling and sub-sea tie back opportunities on these existing, valid leases that can keep our base production levels flat to slightly growing for many years, if not decades, to come.

Our soda ash business continues to improve from one of the most challenging operating environments in recent history with soda ash sales volumes down approximately 23% year over year. To put it in perspective, this was the first year since 2010 that we did not run at 100% utilization. Global demand for soda ash continues to recover but total demand remains below pre-pandemic levels driven by the wide ranging impact on demand from Covid-19. As a result, we expect both domestic and export prices in 2021 will be marginally lower than those we experienced this past year.

That being said, we were sold out in the fourth quarter and currently expect to be sold out of 100% of our production from our Westvaco facility in 2021. This incremental volume over 2020 will drive a growth in Segment Margin contribution and allow for greater fixed cost absorption and an improved cost structure. We believe all natural producers globally are in a similar situation. As we progress through this year and demand continues to recover, the incremental tons must be supplied with synthetic production, which in general is twice as expensive to make as natural soda. This dynamic is why we believe prices will rise as we go through the year and the market will continue to tighten, especially towards the end of the year when we would otherwise re-determine most of our contract prices for the majority of our sales in 2022.

Our legacy refinery services business continued to improve during the quarter, as we have moved past certain supply disruptions in our supply chain caused by the active hurricane season along the Gulf Coast. Demand for NaHS has returned almost all the way to pre-pandemic levels, driven in large part by pulp and paper as well as our mining customer’s production levels returning to pre-pandemic levels driven by the recent dramatic run up in copper prices, which we think is driven by rapid economic recoveries in the world’s economies.

Our onshore facilities and transportation segment was challenged in 2020 from lower upstream activity around our legacy systems, unfavorable crude-by-rail economics and lower refinery utilization. Looking forward, we continue to see steady crude-by-rail volumes at our scenic station as the differential between WCS and the Gulf Coast continues to support rail movements. While we do not expect any financial impact to us in the first half of 2021 as our main customer works through pre-paid credits, if the current market conditions persist we could see incremental margin contribution from these activities in late 2021 and potentially on into 2022.

Despite a relatively strong first half of 2020, our marine transportation segment continues to be negatively impacted by lower refinery utilization in the Midwest and Gulf Coast which has pressured both rates and utilization within our brown water fleet. The tight supply and demand dynamic that drove our improved results in the first half of the year could return as refineries return to more normalized run rates in the second half of 2021 and more intermediate products need to be moved from location to location. The pace of this recovery could potentially be aided by the equipment retirements that took place in 2020 along with the limited number of new builds over the past few years. As we have mentioned in the past, 2020 was also a challenging contracting environment for the American Phoenix, and we contracted her at a lower rate during the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. More recently, we were able to re-contract her at a higher rate starting in the second quarter of 2021 through the first quarter of 2022 with an investment grade refining company.

In addition to the successful refinancing of our 2022 notes earlier in the year, in December 2020 we successfully accessed the unsecured bond market and completed an upsized $750 million note offering to fully call and redeem our 2023 notes. The remaining proceeds were used to pay down our senior secured credit facility by approximately $350 million, leaving us with ample capacity heading into 2021. Our nearest unsecured maturity is now June of 2024. Our senior credit facility matures in May of 2022, and we anticipate extending it during the first half of this year.

Our reported leverage ratio increased in the quarter primarily due to the $40 million in weather related impacts we incurred in the second half of the year in the Gulf of Mexico. If only we had experienced a more “normalized” hurricane season, our total leverage ratio at the end of 2020 would have been closer to 5.22X versus the reported 5.57X.

Looking forward to 2021, we would reasonably expect to generate Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA in 2021, as calculated under our senior secured credit facility, between $630 and $660 million¹, which includes some $30 to $40 million of pro forma adjustments. We currently expect cash obligations for 2021 totaling approximately $500 million, which includes all, among others, cash taxes, interest on bank debt and bonds, all maintenance capital spent, growth capital spent, asset retirement obligations, financing fees, estimated changes in working capital, preferred cash distributions and common distributions at the current $0.15 per unit quarterly payout. At this point, we have budgeted approximately $40 million of growth capital outside of the Granger expansion, which dollars are expected to be paid via the redeemable preferred structure at the soda ash operational level. This minimal growth capital is predominantly allocated to the offshore segment for additional upgrades to our existing system for anticipated future volumes. Importantly, we expect to generate free cash flow after these identified cash obligations of $80 to $110 million which we intend to use to repay debt.

Turning to the increasingly important topic of the energy transition, while we are highly confident that crude oil will have a significant role to play for the foreseeable future, we continue to look at ways to position ourselves to operate and participate in a lower carbon world. The Gulf of Mexico is already one of the most highly regulated upstream basins in North America, with no fracking or flaring, and has some of the lowest carbon intensity on a per barrel basis of any production in the world. Our soda ash business should increasingly participate in multiple renewable energy themes moving forward including the production of new LEED certified glass windows to retro-fit older buildings, manufacturing of glass for solar panels and the production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, some of the building blocks of lithium ion/phosphate batteries used in both the electrification of vehicles and long-term battery storage. Our refinery service business continues to help its host refineries lower their emissions by processing their sour gas stream using our proprietary, closed-loop, non-combustion technology to remove sulfur from their H2S stream. In addition, we sell both produced soda ash and sodium hydrosulfide from our sulfur removal services into certain downstream applications that help reduce customer’s carbon footprints. We are also pleased to announce that we are very near to launching our ESG web site which will greatly increase our disclosures and illustrate to investors that we are committed to operating our business in an ESG responsible manner.

In summary, we are highly encouraged by the rebound in our businesses, and we still believe we have a clear line of sight to $700 million¹ plus in annual Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA in the coming years. Just a return to 2018-2019 soda ash pricing combined with the incremental contribution margin from our contracted offshore volumes, would add upwards of $100 million of additional Segment Margin to the 2021 guidance described above. With this accelerating ability to pay down debt and with relatively de minimus capital requirements to realize the financial benefits of these improving business conditions, we remain steadfast in our commitment to achieving our long-term target leverage ratio of 4.0X.

I would like to once again recognize our entire workforce, and especially our miners, mariners and offshore personnel who live and work in close quarters during this time of social distancing. I am extremely proud to say we have safely operated our assets under our own Covid-19 safety procedures and protocols with no impact to our business partners and customers. As always, we intend to be prudent, diligent and intelligent and focus on delivering long-term value for everyone in our capital structure without ever losing our commitment to safe, reliable and responsible operations."

¹Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of the forward-looking Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA projections contained in this press release to its respective most directly comparable GAAP financial measure because the information necessary for quantitative reconciliations of the Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA measures to its respective most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is not available to us without unreasonable efforts. The probable significance of providing these forward-looking Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA measures without directly comparable GAAP financial measures may be materially different from the corresponding GAAP financial measures.

Financial Results

Segment Margin

Variances between the fourth quarter of 2020 (the “2020 Quarter”) and the fourth quarter of 2019 (the “2019 Quarter”) in these components are explained below.

Segment Margin results for the 2020 Quarter and 2019 Quarter were as follows:

Offshore pipeline transportation Segment Margin for the 2020 Quarter decreased $33.7 million, or 39%, from the 2019 Quarter, primarily due to lower overall volumes on our crude oil and natural gas pipeline systems and a relative increase in operating costs. During the 2020 Quarter, our Gulf of Mexico assets continued to experience unplanned maintenance downtime from certain fields connected to our assets and the continued interruption from weather events, including Hurricanes Delta and Zeta, as a result of producers shutting in during the storm and us taking the necessary precautions to remove all personnel from the platform assets that we operate and maintain. In addition to the majority of our assets being shut in for approximately 15 days, our 100% owned CHOPS pipeline, although not damaged, has been out of service since August 26, 2020 due to damage at a junction platform that the CHOPS system goes up and over. During the 2020 Quarter, we were able to successfully divert all CHOPS barrels to our 64% owned and operated Poseidon oil pipeline system, but continued to incur our fixed costs associated with the CHOPS pipeline. On February 4, 2021, we placed the CHOPS pipeline back into service upon the installation of a bypass that allows our pipeline to operate around the junction platform. We expect volumes on our other offshore pipeline transportation assets to return to normal pre-hurricane levels in the first quarter of 2021.

Sodium minerals and sulfur services Segment Margin for the 2020 Quarter decreased $11.6 million, or 22% from the 2019 Quarter, primarily due to lower volumes and pricing in our Alkali Business and lower NaHS volumes in our refinery services business. During the 2020 Quarter, we experienced lower ANSAC and domestic sales volumes of soda ash relative to the 2019 Quarter primarily due to the absence of production volumes from our Granger facility, which was put in cold standby earlier in 2020 due to the demand destruction from the Covid-19 pandemic. We began to see an uptick in demand both domestically and on ANSAC volumes relative to the proceeding two quarters as certain regions of the world began to re-open their economies and we expect continued demand recovery as we enter 2021. We sold 100% of the production from our Westvaco facility in the 2020 Quarter and expect to do so in 2021. These lower volumes were coupled with lower export pricing due to supply and demand imbalances that existed at the time of our re-contracting phase for 2020 volumes in December 2019 and January 2020. In our refinery services business, we experienced lower NaHS volumes during the 2020 Quarter due to lower demand from our mining customers, primarily in Peru. We have begun to see some recovery in demand from previous customer shut-ins amidst the spread of Covid-19 and we expect these volumes to continue recovering to their normal levels as we enter 2021.

Onshore facilities and transportation Segment Margin for the 2020 Quarter increased by $11.6 million, or 46%, from the 2019 Quarter. On October 30, 2020, we reached an agreement with a subsidiary of Denbury Inc. to transfer to them the ownership of our remaining CO2 assets, including the NEJD and Free State pipelines. As a part of the agreement, we received $22.5 million in cash proceeds for the Free State pipeline (which is included in segment margin during the 2020 Quarter) and will receive $70 million in equal installments during each quarter of 2021 for the remaining principal payments associated with NEJD. This increase of $22.5 million to segment margin was partially offset by lower principal payments received in the 2020 Quarter from NEJD as we did not receive any in the 2020 Quarter compared to $5.2 million received during the 2019 Quarter. Additionally, we had lower volumes throughout our onshore facilities and transportation asset base, primarily in Louisiana at our Baton Rouge corridor assets and our Raceland rail facility. The volumes at our Baton Rouge facilities were below our minimum take-or-pay levels and we were only able to recognize our minimum volume commitment in segment margin during the 2020 Quarter. Additionally, the volumes on our Texas pipeline were lower during the 2020 Quarter as a result of less receipts originating from the Gulf of Mexico, primarily due to our CHOPS pipeline being out of service.

Marine transportation Segment Margin for the 2020 Quarter decreased $9.0 million, or 55%, from the 2019 Quarter, primarily due to lower utilization and day rates in our inland business. We continued to face pressure on our utilization and spot rates in our inland business as refinery utilization remained low due to weakened demand from Covid-19 and hurricanes impacting the Gulf Coast during the 2020 Quarter. Additionally, we re-contracted our M/T American Phoenix tanker beginning in the fourth quarter of 2020 at a lower rate and shorter term than the previous five year contractual term. We have continued to enter into short term contracts (less than a year) in both the inland and offshore (including the M/T American Phoenix) markets because we believe the day rates currently being offered by the market have yet to fully recover from their cyclical lows.

Other Components of Net Income

In the 2020 Quarter, we recorded Net Loss Attributable to Genesis Energy, L.P. of $85.2 million compared to Net Income Attributable to Genesis Energy, L.P. of $22.4 million in the 2019 Quarter. Net Loss Attributable to Genesis Energy, L.P. in the 2020 Quarter was impacted, relative to the 2019 Quarter, by: (i) lower Segment Margin of $42.8 million, which is inclusive of the $22.5 million in cash receipts associated with the sale of our Free State pipeline received in the 2020 Quarter; (ii) a loss on sale of assets of $22.0 million; (iii) an unrealized loss of $18.3 million on the valuation of the embedded derivative associated with our Class A Convertible Preferred Units recorded in other expense, net, compared to an unrealized loss of $9.3 million recorded during the 2019 Quarter; (iv) lower non-cash revenues of $9.3 million within our offshore pipeline transportation and onshore facilities and transportation segments as a result of how we recognize revenue in accordance with GAAP on certain contracts; and (v) a loss of $8.2 million associated with the tender of certain of our 2023 Notes during the 2020 Quarter recorded in other expense, net. These decreases were partially offset by (i) lower depreciation, depletion and amortization expense of $6.2 million during the 2020 Quarter due to lower depreciation expense on our rail logistics assets as they were impaired during the second quarter of 2020; and (ii) cancellation of debt income of $6.8 million associated with the repurchase of certain of our senior unsecured notes on the open market during the 2020 Quarter.

Earnings Conference Call

We will broadcast our Earnings Conference Call on Thursday, February 18, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. Central time (9:30 a.m. Eastern time). This call can be accessed at www.genesisenergy.com. Choose the Investor Relations button. For those unable to attend the live broadcast, a replay will be available beginning approximately one hour after the event and remain available on our website for 30 days. There is no charge to access the event.

Genesis Energy, L.P. is a diversified midstream energy master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, Texas. Genesis’ operations include offshore pipeline transportation, sodium minerals and sulfur services, onshore facilities and transportation and marine transportation. Genesis’ operations are primarily located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Wyoming and the Gulf of Mexico.

Genesis Energy, L.P.
Ryan Sims
SVP - Finance and Corporate Development
(713) 860-2521

THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ECOSPRAY AND RELAYR WILL ENABLE THE CREATION OF NEW INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF MARITIME EMISSION CONTROL EQUIPMENT.

MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ecospray, a company specializing in the research and development of cutting-edge systems for controlling air and gas emissions in industrial applications for the Maritime industry, has chosen relayr, a leading industrial IoT company based in Berlin, to create new IoT-based desulphurization solutions, driving the sector towards an increasingly digital, efficient and environmentally sustainable future.

The Maritime Industry has been one of the latest in addressing the need to reduce its environmental impact. Now, with the introduction of IMO regulations aimed at reducing sulphur oxide emissions - which came into force in January 2020 - the industry is facing a rising pressure to comply with more stringent environmental regulations, as well as the need of containing costs and improve efficiency in an increasingly competitive and unpredictable market.

In this context, fleets can resort to various solutions, including the installation of scrubbers to remove SOx emissions, or using alternative fuels such as very-low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) but with significantly higher costs compared to bunker fuel.

To meet these market challenges while aiming at developing new solutions capable of radically renewing the entire maritime transport sector, Ecospray has chosen to collaborate with relayr, a company specializing in IoT solutions oriented for business outcomes. The partnership between the two companies will allow the creation of a new generation of emission control equipment: smart scrubbers managed using artificial intelligence, a completely new solution for the market.

Ecospray, market leader in marine emission purification systems (EGCS), has always been committed to developing technological solutions for the maritime sector that can make the processes of reducing the pollutants in the gases produced by ships more efficient. The integrated technologies offered by Ecospray aim at reducing emissions and saving fuel, leading ship owners on the path towards decarbonization of the sector and encouraging the use of clean energy. Part of Carnival Group since 2013, the Italian company has continued to grow in recent years by increasingly specializing in offerings for the marine segment.

"Being part of Carnival Corporation has given us the opportunity to implement high-performance and reliable technological solutions in record time. We were enabled to gain experience across the entire fleet and unparalleled sailing experience, which has allowed us to build robust and use case specific innovations at speed," said Stefano Di Santo, CEO of Ecospray.

The new IMO-compliant devices are not only an innovation that drives an environmentally intensive industry towards a more sustainable future but also an investment that will significantly reduce equipment-running costs for shipbuilders.

The integration of relayr’s IIoT and AI offering tailored to the devices allows to guarantee constant compliance with IMO regulations for the containment of air pollution in the maritime environment. Moreover, it allows significant savings in terms of performance and maintenance through remote monitoring and advanced life cycle analysis. The ability to constantly monitor and analyze the scrubbers’ performance ensures longer equipment life and fuel savings by optimizing pumping operations while also allowing a significant reduction in operating costs.

"We are delighted to collaborate with a company like Ecospray, igniting together the digital transformation of the marine industry," says Josef Brunner, CEO of relayr. "This partnership allows us to enter a new market – bringing high added value with IIoT solutions, helping to exploit the full potential of the control systems machines, and ultimately contributing to the reduction of harmful gas emissions."

“In the maritime industry, a fleet could include hundreds of ships, so the opportunities to build smart machines on such a large scale are literally endless," commented Stefano Di Santo, CEO of Ecospray. "The partnership with relayr allows us to confidently face the challenge of bringing the best of 4.0 technologies to the naval sector. The constant motivation that this project offers us on a daily basis requires a totally different and creative approach to problem solving. I am certain of one thing: together we will never stop improving. Ecospray and relayr: disrupting innovations across the oceans."

The process of digitalization of equipment for gas emission control is only a first step towards a broader business transformation process for the Alessandria-based Ecospray. The visionary approach in collaboration with relayr ultimately envisages the adoption of the Equipment as a Service (EaaS) model. Unlike the traditional asset purchase model, EaaS is based on a pay-per-use offering, in which equipment is no longer purchased but provided in exchange for a usage fee.

Thanks to relayr's experience in implementing the EaaS model, Ecospray will be able to create even more value for its customers, diversifying its revenue streams by offering new services and emerging in the current market scenario.

About Ecospray
From research to development, Ecospray Technologies is specialized in integrated solutions for the green conversion of the maritime and land industries as well as the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels. Founded in 2005 and part of Carnival Group since 2013, Ecospray operates at global level, offering systems aimed at making industrial processes more sustainable through the purification and treatment of pollutants, from emission removal to fuel saving and water filtration. Ecospray's technological solutions leverage three distinctive factors – technology delivered as a service, analysis and use of relevant data, and finance – to facilitate access to innovation and significantly advance the energy transition towards decarbonization and the creation of clean energy.

About relayr
Relayr is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) powerhouse delivering the most complete solutions for risk-free digital transformations. We unleash data insights from existing equipment, machines and production lines to improve our customers’ business outcomes. We enable industrial companies to shift from CAPEX to OPEX-based offerings on their respective markets, providing a unique combination of first-class IIoT technology and its delivery with powerful financial and insurance offerings – all from a single source trusted by hundreds of companies worldwide. With relayr, manufacturers, operators, and service companies for industrial equipment are empowered to implement fully interoperable IIoT solutions guaranteed to achieve their target business outcomes.

Ecospray
Eleonora Castiglione
Marketing & Communications Manager
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

relayr
David Petrikat
Senior Vice President Marketing & Portfolio
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA) reported fourth quarter 2020 net income attributable to IDACORP of $37.5 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, compared with $47.1 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2019. IDACORP reported 2020 net income attributable to IDACORP of $237.4 million, or $4.69 per diluted share, compared with $232.9 million, or $4.61 per diluted share, in 2019.

“I am proud to announce IDACORP has achieved its 13th straight year of growth in earnings per share," said IDACORP President and Chief Executive Officer Lisa Grow. “Continued robust customer growth of 2.7% over the previous year for Idaho Power was a significant driver of this accomplishment. This growth, combined with lower operating and maintenance expenses, led to IDACORP's success amidst a year of challenges and unpredictable customer usage resulting from COVID-19. As Idaho Power earned a nearly 10% return on year-end equity in its Idaho jurisdiction, this also means we have once again preserved the full $45 million of additional tax credits for future earnings support.

"I want to thank our employees for the incredible job they did during unprecedented circumstances last year. We look forward to the projected continued economic growth in our service area and believe we are in a strong position heading into 2021."

IDACORP is initiating its full-year 2021 earnings guidance in the range of $4.60 to $4.80 per diluted share, and Idaho Power does not expect to use any of the additional accumulated deferred investment tax credits available under the Idaho regulatory stipulation. This guidance assumes normal weather conditions over the balance of the year and includes customer usage returning closer to pre-COVID-19 levels as we progress through the year.

Performance Summary

A summary of financial highlights for the periods ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):

The table below provides a reconciliation of net income attributable to IDACORP for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020, from the same period in 2019 (items are in millions and are before related income tax impact unless otherwise noted).

Net Income - Fourth Quarter 2020

IDACORP's net income decreased $9.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily due to lower net income at Idaho Power and at IDACORP Financial Services, Inc. (IFS).

Customer growth increased operating income by $3.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, as the number of Idaho Power customers grew by 2.7 percent during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. Higher sales volumes on a per-customer basis increased operating income by $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily related to higher usage per residential customer, offset partially by decreased usage per commercial customer. Residential customers used more energy due to spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, which increased usage per residential customer by 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. A decrease of 2 percent in usage per commercial customer in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019 was largely due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis. The increase in sales volumes per residential customer was partially offset by the FCA mechanism (applicable to residential and small general service customers), which decreased revenues in the fourth quarter of 2020 by $0.9 million as compared with the fourth quarter of 2019.

The net increase in retail revenues per MWh increased operating income by $1.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. This increase was largely driven by changes in the customer sales mix, as volumes sold to residential customers in the fourth quarter of 2020 made up a greater portion of the customer sales mix compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. Residential customers generally pay a higher per-MWh rate than other customers.

Other O&M expenses were $3.6 million higher in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, partially due to the effects of the COVID-19 public health crisis, which includes higher bad debt costs.

Income tax expense was $5.0 million higher during the fourth quarter of 2020 when compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. Amortization of vintage investment tax credits that became available in 2019 lowered income tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2019, which did not recur in the fourth quarter of 2020.

At IFS, a decrease in distributions from the sale of low-income housing properties led to $3.0 million lower net income at IDACORP in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the fourth quarter of 2019.

Net Income - Full-Year 2020

IDACORP's net income increased $4.5 million for 2020 compared with 2019, due to higher net income at Idaho Power, offset partially by lower net income at IFS.

Idaho Power's customer growth of 2.7 percent added $14.0 million to Idaho Power's operating income compared with 2019. Higher sales volumes on a per-customer basis increased operating income by $0.9 million in 2020 compared with 2019, as higher usage per residential and irrigation customers was mostly offset by decreased usage per commercial and industrial customer. Residential customers used more energy due to spending more time at home during the COVID-19 public health crisis combined with weather variations that caused residential customers to use more energy at home for cooling, and offset by reduced usage for heating, which increased usage per residential customer by an estimated 1 percent in 2020 compared with 2019. Also, less precipitation in Idaho Power's service area during the spring and early summer of 2020 compared with the same time period in 2019 led to an 11 percent increase in usage per irrigation customer in 2020. A decrease of 4 percent in usage per commercial customer and 1 percent per industrial customer in 2020 compared with 2019 was largely due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis. The increase in sales volumes per residential customer was partially offset by the FCA mechanism (applicable to residential and small general service customers), which decreased revenues in 2020 by $1.0 million as compared with 2019.

The net decrease in retail revenues per MWh reduced operating income by $2.6 million in 2020 compared with 2019. The Idaho-jurisdiction PCA mechanism includes a cost or benefit ratio that allocates the deviations in certain net power supply expenses between customers (95 percent) and Idaho Power (5 percent). In 2019, net power supply expenses were reduced by significant wholesale energy sales. Higher wholesale energy prices during 2019 led to greater wholesale energy sales by Idaho Power, of which 95 percent benefited customers and 5 percent benefited Idaho Power under the PCA mechanism and were the primary cause of the variance in net retail revenues per MWh between the comparison periods.

During 2020, transmission wheeling-related revenues decreased $2.2 million compared with 2019, due mostly to Idaho Power's open access transmission tariff (OATT) rates decreasing approximately 13 percent during the period from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020, as compared with the rates in effect from October 1, 2018, to September 30, 2019, and to a lesser extent due to lower transmission loss settlement rates in 2020 compared with 2019. These rate decreases were offset partially by an increase in wheeling volumes as warmer weather in the southwest United States and California in the summer of 2020 led to higher wholesale energy prices in those areas, which increased wholesale energy market activity in 2020. Also, Idaho Power’s OATT increased 10 percent in October 2020.

Other O&M expenses were $3.7 million lower in 2020 compared with 2019, primarily due to lower costs related to discretionary maintenance projects at Idaho Power's jointly-owned thermal generation plants. Also, other O&M expenses decreased in 2020 compared with 2019 as a result of Idaho Power's December 2019 exit from participation in unit 1 of its North Valmy plant and a decrease in labor-related costs from lower performance-based variable compensation accruals.

Based on its return on year-end equity in the Idaho jurisdiction, Idaho Power recorded no additional accumulated deferred investment tax credit (ADITC) amortization or provision against revenues for sharing of earnings with customers in 2020 or 2019 under the regulatory settlement stipulations in Idaho.

The $2.1 million increase in Idaho Power income tax expense in 2020 compared with 2019 was primarily due to higher pre-tax earnings.

At IFS, a decrease in distributions from the sale of low-income housing properties led to an offsetting decrease to IDACORP net income in 2020 compared with 2019.

2021 Annual Earnings Guidance and Key Operating and Financial Metrics

IDACORP is initiating its earnings guidance estimate for 2021. The 2021 guidance incorporates all of the key operating and financial assumptions listed in the table that follows (in millions, except per share amounts):

To-date, Idaho Power has not experienced significant disruption to its business operations, critical supply chain shortages, or major declines in customer usage related to COVID-19, with the exception of decreases in commercial and industrial customer usage. Authorities have implemented various measures to reduce the spread of the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, and other restrictive orders and mandates (including those in effect in Idaho Power's service are in the states of Idaho and Oregon), as well as business and government shutdowns. While governmental authorities have eased some restrictions, it is possible that an increase in COVID-19 cases could prompt a return to tighter restrictions. Idaho Power has taken a number of actions to protect its employees, customers, operations, financial condition and liquidity in light of COVID-19. However, if circumstances associated with COVID-19 were to deteriorate in the company’s service area or nationally, resulting in increased or prolonged adverse economic impacts on our customers or important suppliers, Idaho Power could experience more substantial load declines, increases in uncollectible accounts, and supply chain challenges, which could affect financial projections and results and could require Idaho Power to use additional tax credits available under its Idaho earnings support mechanism to achieve earnings in the range set forth above. Although it is difficult to predict the long-term impact of weakened and evolving economic conditions due to the pandemic on Idaho Power's customers, and the associated potential impact to the earnings guidance range, as of today Idaho Power does not expect to utilize any of the additional tax credits in 2021.

More detailed information on Idaho Power’s actions in response to COVID-19, as well as operational and financial risks associated with COVID-19, are described in IDACORP’s and Idaho Power’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is also available for review on IDACORP’s website at www.idacorpinc.com.

Web Cast / Conference Call

IDACORP will hold an analyst conference call today at 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time). All parties interested in listening may do so through a live webcast on IDACORP’s website (www.idacorpinc.com), or by calling (833) 759-1159 for listen-only mode. The passcode for the call is 8561488. The conference call logistics are also posted on IDACORP’s website and will be included in IDACORP's earnings news release. Slides will be included during the conference call. To access the slide deck, register for the event just prior to the call at www.idacorpinc.com/investor-relations/earnings-center/default.aspx. A replay of the conference call will be available on the company's website for a period of 12 months and will be available shortly after the call.

Background Information

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA), Boise, Idaho-based and formed in 1998, is a holding company comprised of Idaho Power, a regulated electric utility; IDACORP Financial, a holder of affordable housing projects and other real estate investments; and Ida-West Energy, an operator of small hydroelectric generation projects that satisfy the requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. Idaho Power began operations in 1916 and employs approximately 2,000 people to serve a 24,000-square-mile service area in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Idaho Power’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2045 builds on its long history as a clean-energy leader providing reliable service at affordable prices. With 17 low-cost hydropower projects at the core of its diverse energy mix, Idaho Power’s more than 580,000 residential, business, and agricultural customers pay among the nation's lowest prices for electricity. To learn more about IDACORP or Idaho Power, visit www.idacorpinc.com or www.idahopower.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to the historical information contained in this press release, this press release contains (and oral communications made by IDACORP, Inc. and Idaho Power Company may contain) statements, including, without limitation, earnings guidance and estimated key operating and financial metrics, that relate to future events and expectations and, as such, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, outlook, assumptions, or future events or performance, often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "anticipates," "believes," "continues," "could," "estimates," "expects," "guidance," "intends," "potential," "plans," "predicts," "projects or projected," "targets," or similar expressions, are not statements of historical facts and may be forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve estimates, assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Actual results, performance, or outcomes may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. In addition to any assumptions and other factors and matters referred to specifically in connection with such forward-looking statements, factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements include the following: (a) the effect of decisions by the Idaho and Oregon public utilities commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that impact Idaho Power's ability to recover costs and earn a return on investments; (b) changes to or the elimination of Idaho Power's regulatory cost recovery mechanisms; (c) the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global and regional economy and on Idaho Power's employees, customers, contractors, and suppliers, including on loads and revenues, uncollectible accounts, transmission revenues, and other aspects of the economy and the companies' business; (d) changes in residential, commercial, and industrial growth and demographic patterns within Idaho Power's service area, the loss or change in the business of significant customers, or the addition of new customers, and their associated impacts on loads and load growth, and the availability of regulatory mechanisms that allow for timely cost recovery through customer rates in the event of those changes; (e) abnormal or severe weather conditions, including conditions and events associated with climate change, wildfires, droughts, earthquakes, and other natural phenomena and natural disasters, which affect customer sales, hydropower generation levels, repair costs, service interruptions, liability for damage caused by utility property, and the availability and cost of fuel for generation plants or purchased power to serve customers; (f) advancement of self-generation, energy storage, energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, and other technologies that may affect Idaho Power's sale or delivery of electric power or introduce operational or cyber-security vulnerability to the power grid; (g) acts or threats of terrorist incidents, acts of war, social unrest, cyber-attacks, the companies' failure to secure data or to comply with privacy laws or regulations, physical security breaches, or the disruption or damage to the companies' business, operations, or reputation resulting from such events; (h) the expense and risks associated with capital expenditures for, and the permitting and construction of, utility infrastructure that Idaho Power may be unable to complete or may not be deemed prudent by regulators; (i) variable hydrological conditions and over-appropriation of surface and groundwater in the Snake River basin, which may impact the amount of power generated by Idaho Power's hydropower facilities; (j) the ability of Idaho Power to acquire fuel, power, and transmission capacity on reasonable terms, particularly in the event of unanticipated power demands, price volatility, lack of physical availability, transportation constraints, climate change, or a credit downgrade; (k) disruptions or outages of Idaho Power's generation or transmission systems or of any interconnected transmission systems may constrain resources or cause Idaho Power to incur repair costs and purchase replacement power or lease transmission at increased costs; (l) accidents, terrorist acts, fires (either affecting or caused by Idaho Power facilities or infrastructure), explosions, mechanical breakdowns, and other unplanned events that may occur while operating and maintaining assets, which can cause unplanned outages, reduce generating output, damage company assets, operations, or reputation, subject Idaho Power to third-party claims for property damage, personal injury, or loss of life, or result in the imposition of civil, criminal, and regulatory fines and penalties for which Idaho Power may have inadequate insurance coverage; (m) the increased purchased power costs and operational challenges associated with purchasing and integrating intermittent renewable energy sources into Idaho Power's resource portfolio; (n) failure to comply with state and federal laws, regulations, and orders, including new interpretations and enforcement initiatives by regulatory and oversight bodies, which may result in penalties and fines and increase the cost of compliance, and remediation; (o) changes in tax laws or related regulations or new interpretations of applicable laws by federal, state, or local taxing jurisdictions, and the availability of tax credits, and the tax rates payable by IDACORP shareholders on common stock dividends; (p) adoption of, changes in, and costs of compliance with laws, regulations, and policies relating to the environment, natural resources, and threatened and endangered species, and the ability to recover associated increased costs through rates; (q) the inability to obtain or cost of obtaining and complying with required governmental permits and approvals, licenses, rights-of-way, and siting for transmission and generation projects and hydropower facilities; (r) failure to comply with mandatory reliability and security requirements, which may result in penalties, reputational harm, and operational changes; (s) the impacts of economic conditions, including inflation, interest rates, supply costs, population growth or decline in Idaho Power's service area, changes in customer demand for electricity, revenue from sales of excess power, credit quality of counterparties and suppliers, and the collection of receivables; (t) the ability to obtain debt and equity financing or refinance existing debt when necessary and on favorable terms, which can be affected by factors such as credit ratings, volatility or disruptions in the financial markets, interest rate fluctuations, decisions by the Idaho or Oregon public utility commissions, and the companies' past or projected financial performance; (u) changes in the method for determining LIBOR and the potential replacement of LIBOR and the impact on interest rates for IDACORP's and Idaho Power's credit facilities; (v) the ability to enter into financial and physical commodity hedges with creditworthy counterparties to manage price and commodity risk for fuel, power, and transmission, and the failure of any such risk management and hedging strategies to work as intended; (w) changes in actuarial assumptions, changes in interest rates, increasing healthcare costs, and the actual and projected return on plan assets for pension and other post-retirement plans, which can affect future pension and other postretirement plan funding obligations, costs, and liabilities and the companies' cash flows; (x) the assumptions underlying the coal mine reclamation obligations at Bridger Coal Company and related funding and collateral requirements, and the remediation costs associated with planned exits from participation in Idaho Power's co-owned coal plants; (y) the ability to continue to pay dividends and target payout ratio based on financial performance and in light of credit rating considerations, contractual covenants and restrictions, and regulatory limitations; (z) Idaho Power's concentration in one industry and one region and the lack of diversification, and the resulting exposure to regional economic conditions and regional legislation and regulation; (aa) employee workforce factors, including the operational and financial costs of unionization or the attempt to unionize all or part of the companies' workforce, the impact of an aging workforce and retirements, the cost and ability to attract and retain skilled workers and third-party vendors, and the ability to adjust the labor cost structure when necessary; and (bb) adoption of or changes in accounting policies and principles, changes in accounting estimates, and new U.

Investor and Analyst Contact
Justin S. Forsberg
Director of Investor Relations & Treasury
Phone: (208) 388-2728
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Media Contact
Jordan Rodriguez
Corporate Communications
Phone: (208) 388-2460
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~Greenlane to supply biogas upgrading equipment for RNG projects in the U.S. Midwest and Brazil~

VANCOUVER, British Columbia,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--$GRN #GRN--Greenlane Renewables Inc. (“Greenlane”) (TSX: GRN / FSE: 52G) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Greenlane Biogas North America Ltd., has signed two contracts together worth $3.6 million (US$2.8 million) for new renewable natural gas (“RNG”) projects. The first contract involves a project in the Midwest United States for upgrading biogas to RNG from dairy operations. The Brazilian contract win marks the fifth contract for Greenlane for the supply of biogas upgrading equipment in the country. For competitive reasons, further contract details have not been disclosed at this time.

“The transition to renewable natural gas as an essential solution to decarbonize transportation and the natural gas grid continues to build momentum,” said Brad Douville, President & CEO of Greenlane. “We’re seeing new opportunities progress through our sales pipeline at an increased pace and we’re seeing results from the investments we made in product development, marketing and sales over the last 12 to 18 months. These two new contract wins demonstrate continued success in sectors where we see additional upside potential and a unique position in the market for Greenlane.”

About Greenlane Renewables

Greenlane Renewables is a leading global provider of biogas upgrading systems that are helping decarbonize natural gas. Our systems produce clean, low-carbon renewable natural gas from organic waste sources including landfills, wastewater treatment plants, dairy farms, and food waste, suitable for either injection into the natural gas grid or for direct use as vehicle fuel. Greenlane is the only biogas upgrading company offering the three main technologies: water wash, pressure swing adsorption, and membrane separation. With over 30 years industry experience, patented proprietary technology, and over 110 biogas upgrading systems supplied into 18 countries worldwide, including the world’s largest biogas upgrading facility, Greenlane is inspired by a commitment to helping waste producers, gas utilities or project developers turn a low-value product into a high-value low-carbon renewable resource. For further information, please visit www.greenlanerenewables.com.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION – This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not historical in nature contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “expect”, “likely”, “should”, “would”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “proposed”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this press release and is based on assumptions management believed to be reasonable at the time such statements were made, including management's perceptions of future growth and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, there is no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. By their nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this press release. Such factors include, without limitation, risks identified in the Company's annual information form, base shelf prospectus and prospectus supplement, which have been filed under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Incite Capital Markets
Eric Negraeff / Darren Seed
Ph: 604.493.2004
Brad Douville, President & CEO, Greenlane Renewables
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GALESBURG, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#automotivesuppliers--Power management company Eaton today announced its Vehicle Group is developing gearing solutions for electrified vehicles (EVs). Leveraging its expertise in producing transmissions and contract manufactured gear-sets for passenger and commercial vehicles, the Vehicle Group aims to be a leader in the global design, development and supply of EV reduction gearing. The new technology complements Eaton’s eMobility power electronics portfolio in the electrified vehicle powertrain market.

Eaton meets electrified vehicle challenges

Automakers face many challenges when developing an electrified vehicle, such as optimizing efficiency, weight, noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), and dealing with packaging constraints. Eaton can help manufacturers meet these challenges by applying its many years of experience and ​in-house capability in design, validation and manufacturing of high-precision, high-quality gearing systems for transmissions and powertrains.

“We are partnering with OEM customers to leverage our expertise in simulation, design and manufacturing​ to optimize the efficiency, NVH and weight of high-precision gearing systems ​tailored to specific customer needs,” said Anthony Cronin, director, EV gearing, Eaton’s Vehicle Group.

Whether a large-scale industrialization project or a niche-market application, Eaton can partner with customers on joint-development programs or serve as a single service provider of EV reduction gearing components or systems. Eaton’s expertise in both design and manufacturing allows us to optimize solutions from a technical, commercial and production aspect, reducing the risk of multi-iteration design and enabling shortened development times.

Eaton transmission experience drives efficiency

Eaton conducts a total system analysis, using state-of-the-art tools and in-house expertise, to design EV gearing solutions that are optimized for efficiency and reliability, with low noise and manufacturing costs. A full-system approach is essential when tailoring a design to a specific customer need, as several factors influence the ​development of gearing solutions. Chief among those factors are the gears, bearings and lubrication system. To achieve optimization in these three areas, Eaton applies a series of in-house design and manufacturing techniques, including:

• Gear root geometry optimization for maximum strength. ​

• Micro and macro gear geometry modelling to improve NVH, efficiency and reliability.

• Thrust load and bearing loss minimization​ to improve reliability and simplify or downsize bearings.

• Simulation and selection of lubrication solutions for full-system reliability and efficiency.

Optimized transmission lowers development costs

Eaton engineers evaluate existing layouts or develop “clean-sheet” solutions that work within a customer’s packaging constraint. The Eaton team also provides solutions for scaling the EV gearing layout for platforms with multiple torque requirements.

By combining system design expertise and manufacturing know-how in high-quality precision gears, Eaton has identified opportunities to improve gearing system efficiency by up to 1 percent, reduce weight by up to 20 percent and size by up to 10 percent. These benefits can be applied to both light-duty and commercial electrified vehicles.

Additionally, by applying its manufacturing expertise, including power honing, power skiving, grinding and superfinishing, Eaton can manage the relative production cost of high-quality precision gears. With electrified vehicles, even small efficiency improvements provide vehicle manufacturers new opportunities to manage vehicle range or improve cost and weight.

“The development of EVs is pushing the boundaries of EV gearing. Reliable, efficient and quiet gearing systems are critical to high-speed motor adoption in electric drives​,” said Cronin.

Learn more about Eaton’s Vehicle Group EV Gearing solutions.

Eaton’s mission is to improve the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. We provide sustainable solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power – more safely, more efficiently, and more reliably. Eaton’s 2020 revenues were $17.9 billion, and we sell products to customers in more than 175 countries. We have approximately 92,000 employees. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.

Thomas Nellenbach
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(216) 333-2876 (cell)

• ARMS Reliability brings a broad range of industrial asset management solutions and expertise to build on Baker Hughes’ portfolio and service capabilities
• Acquisition reinforces Baker Hughes’ commitment to accelerate the digital transformation of industrial assets, expanding reach in sectors including mining, power, manufacturing, and utilities

HOUSTON & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) has announced it is acquiring ARMS Reliability, a leading global provider of reliability solutions to some of the world’s largest industrial companies across a wide range of industries including mining, oil and gas, power, manufacturing, and utilities. The acquisition deepens Baker Hughes’ industrial asset performance management (APM) capabilities and will expand the company’s industrial asset management offerings.

APM solutions leverage data capture, integration, visualization, and analytics to improve the reliability and availability of physical assets. ARMS Reliability’s asset strategy management, asset reliability services, and consultancy experience, along with its OnePM software offering, will integrate into Bently Nevada’s System 1 software platform from Baker Hughes, which provides critical plant-wide asset health monitoring and protection. The combined offering will provide Baker Hughes customers with a full spectrum of APM services to enhance industrial operational efficiencies, extend asset lifecycles, and reduce non-productive downtime.

The acquisition is another step forward for Baker Hughes’ strategy to provide an industrial software platform at scale to deliver outcome-based solutions for highly engineered critical equipment. Baker Hughes will have access to ARMS Reliability's substantial presence in a broad range of industrial sectors including mining, power, manufacturing, and utility companies. ARMS Reliability's global customer base has strong adoption in the U.S. and Australia, and the agreement is expected to drive strong growth in APM adoption in other geographic markets, as well as enabling synergies from a broader combined offering with Bently Nevada.

“The acquisition of ARMS Reliability emphasizes Baker Hughes’ commitment to empower the digital transformation of our customers’ industrial assets and strategically invest for growth in industrial asset management,” said Rami Qasem, executive vice president of Digital Solutions at Baker Hughes. “This is another exciting step forward as we look to be the partner of choice and offer our customers a complete set of services across the entire industrial asset lifecycle.”

APM services are deployed in some of the world’s most complex industrial sectors and can deliver up to a 30% reduction in maintenance cost, up to a 75% decrease in machine breakdowns, and up to a 45% reduction in downtime, according to the Asset Performance Management Market Global Forecast to 2025. Baker Hughes’ Bently Nevada business is an industry leader in condition monitoring and asset protection with over 60 years of expertise and over 6 million sensors installed globally. The addition of ARMS Reliability to the world-class Bently Nevada portfolio will provide centralized, connected APM solutions to customers.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021 and will be integrated into the Bently Nevada product line within Baker Hughes’ Digital Solutions segment.

About Baker Hughes:

Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions for energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and with operations in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

Media Relations
Helen Roberts
+44 (7557) 812474
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Investor Relations:
Jud Bailey
+1 281-809-9088
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New article series highlights growing adoption of data-driven strategies by leading utilities to accelerate personalization, digitalization and clean energy initiatives

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Wall Street Journal, in collaboration with Bidgely, today introduced an article series showcasing how data and applied artificial intelligence (AI) are powering the clean energy future. Featuring real-world examples from utilities like Duke Energy, Duquesne Light Company, Ameren and Hydro Ottawa, the articles showcase how these progressive energy providers are prioritizing data-driven solutions that both create personalized energy experiences for customers as well as new opportunities to accelerate electrification, decarbonization and energy efficiency initiatives. The new Biden Administration’s unprecedented net-zero emissions goals for the U.S. are regarded as an accelerator in the article series, prompting energy providers to more actively embrace AI technologies that leverage customer data to advance energy and digital transformation.

“Transitioning to a clean energy economy will require every consumer to consciously re-evaluate their personal energy consumption and make changes. Utilities are in a unique position to help customers understand their current impact on the environment, and then motivate, challenge and guide those customers to take the next step,” said Abhay Gupta, CEO of Bidgely. “Smart meters are already collecting a tremendous amount of valuable customer information, and through AI, utilities can transform this usage data into actionable insights that advance net-zero goals for every consumer.”

The article, Green Innovation Starts With Data, emphasizes the ways in which energy providers are leveraging their investments in smart meter, or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), technologies. Duke Energy and Duquesne Light Company are featured for their innovative use of customer data to become trusted energy advisors and to drive smart energy decisions with their customers. Such data-driven approaches are giving energy providers new insights into the way electrification and clean energy technologies are impacting the grid, aiding in their load forecasting, rate designs and overall approach to achieving aggressive net-zero emissions targets.

In the article Leading With Intelligence, evolving consumer demands are explained as a driving force among utilities to implement machine learning and AI techniques to their AMI data, fostering a customer-centric, data-driven culture within their organizations. Ameren and Hydro Ottawa explain how the smart grid is the center of value creation for customers, giving them more choice, convenience and control over their energy as competition for customers to generate their own energy is increasing. The article also shows how utilities can develop new solutions based on hard data, greatly improving their ability to innovate for future initiatives.

Read each Wall Street Journal article in its entirety at: Green Innovation Starts With Data and Leading With Intelligence. To learn more about how Bidgely is bolstering green energy innovation in partnership with utilities, visit www.bidgely.com/utilityai.

About Bidgely

Bidgely is an AI-powered SaaS Company accelerating a clean energy future by enabling energy companies and consumers to make data-driven energy-related decisions. Powered by our unique patented technology, Bidgely's UtilityAI™ Platform transforms multiple dimensions of customer data - such as energy consumption, demographic, and interactions - into deeply accurate and actionable consumer energy insights. We leverage these insights to empower each customer with personalized recommendations, tailored to their individual personality and lifestyle, usage attributes, behavioral patterns, purchase propensity, and beyond. From a Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and Grid Edge perspective, whether it is smart thermostats to EV chargers, solar PVs to TOU rate designs and tariffs; UtilityAI™ energy analytics provides deep visibility into generation, consumption for better peak load shaping and grid planning, and delivers targeted recommendations for new value-added products and services. With roots in Silicon Valley, Bidgely has over 17 energy patents, $50M+ in funding, retains 30+ data scientists, and brings a passion for AI to utilities serving residential and commercial customers around the world. For more information, please visit www.bidgely.com or the Bidgely blog at bidgely.com/blog.

Christine Bennett
Bidgely
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The LoRaWAN protocol tracks and improves the transportation of fresh goods from Spain to Canary Islands

CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), a leading supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, announced that WITRAC, a company developing solutions with real-time location and telemetry capabilities, has integrated the LoRaWAN® protocol and LoRa® 2.4GHz into its global track and trace platform to provide customers with full control and traceability of assets in the supply chain.

“Semtech’s LoRa devices have been instrumental in supporting WITRAC’s mission to re-evolve and digitize Industry 4.0 through visibility, traceability, control, and efficiency,” said Javier Ferrer, CEO of WITRAC. “Our customers and their stakeholders have the ability to guarantee delivery times and maintain appropriate temperature conditions of fresh food transport inside refrigeration units throughout the entire cold chain by leveraging the long range, low power capabilities of LoRaWAN networks and the global reach of LoRa 2.4GHz.”

A partnership of Boluda Corporación Marítima, a leading global maritime services provider, has selected WITRAC’s platform to monitor and ensure quality of cold chain transport in real-time (24 hours) for Boluda’s new Daily Canarias line, providing the citizens of the Canary Islands with the first daily transportation of goods from the peninsula. Location and temperature status of fresh goods and medicines are tracked on seven container vessels traveling the maritime corridor linking the Port of Cádiz to the island ports of Las Palmas and Tenerife. Tracking and monitoring continue uninterrupted while unloading goods from ships to land transport reefer containers that also use IoT controllers to automatically keep food and medicines within a pre-determined temperature range when traveling to the food retail (i.e., fresh food) and pharmaceutical (i.e., COVID-19 vaccine) industries.

“Our collaboration with WITRAC replaces antiquated manual processes with sensors integrated with Semtech’s LoRa devices to provide customers with real-time temperature data to maintain a consistent temperature and help meet regulatory food safety requirements,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT Product Marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “The ease of deployment, scalability and cost-savings capabilities of the LoRaWAN protocol make it the LPWAN connectivity of choice for the smart supply chain and logistics IoT market.”

To learn more about Semtech’s IoT solutions, visit the website.

About Semtech’s LoRa® Platform

Semtech’s LoRa device-to-Cloud platform is a globally adopted long range, low power solution for IoT applications, enabling the rapid development and deployment of ultra-low power, cost efficient and long range IoT networks, gateways, sensors, module products, and IoT services worldwide. Semtech’s LoRa devices provide the communication layer for the LoRaWAN® protocol, which is maintained by the LoRa Alliance®, an open IoT alliance for Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) applications that has been used to deploy IoT networks in over 100 countries. Semtech is a founding member of the LoRa Alliance. To learn more about how LoRa enables IoT, visit Semtech’s LoRa site.

About WITRAC

WITRAC helps companies be more efficient and competitive thanks to innovative technological solutions that connect and give visibility to the value chain of its clients. Able to identify, locate, measure, and control wirelessly and in real time, any asset, anywhere, WITRAC fabricates its own hardware and software based on the IoT and AI technology, in order to satisfy the industry's tracing needs. Its digitalization and automatization solutions combine multiple connectivity devices and protocols with a management platform, in order to generate data and transform it into useful information and valuable insights. Please visit www.witrac.es.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation is a leading supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms for infrastructure, high-end consumer and industrial equipment. Products are designed to benefit the engineering community as well as the global community. The Company is dedicated to reducing the impact it, and its products, have on the environment. Internal green programs seek to reduce waste through material and manufacturing control, use of green technology and designing for resource reduction. Publicly traded since 1967, Semtech is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol SMTC. For more information, visit www.semtech.com.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements that use the words “designed to” or other similar words or expressions, that describe Semtech Corporation’s or its management’s future plans, objectives or goals are “forward-looking statements” and are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of Semtech Corporation to be materially different from the historical results and/or from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors are further addressed in Semtech Corporation’s annual and quarterly reports, and in other documents or reports, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov) including, without limitation, information under the captions “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors.” Semtech Corporation assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Semtech, the Semtech logo and LoRa are registered trademarks or service marks of Semtech Corporation or its affiliates.

SMTC-P

Linh Dinh
Semtech Corporation
(805) 250-1263
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BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#KKRGrants--Axius Water, the leading water quality solutions platform created by KKR and XPV Water Partners to address pressing water quality challenges across the globe, today unveiled its new corporate name and announced the appointment of Gretchen McClain and Debra Coy to the Company’s Board as Independent Directors.

Axius Water is the new name for the platform established by KKR’s Global Impact Fund and XPV Water Partners in December 2019 with the foundational acquisitions of Nexom and Environmental Operating Solutions, Inc (EOSi), and the subsequent acquisition of Environmental Dynamics International (EDI) in June 2020. The platform is led by veteran executive Chris McIntire who joined Axius Water as CEO in August 2020. Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Nexom, Pocasset, Massachusetts-based EOSi and Columbia, Missouri-based EDI will continue to trade under their existing names and brands as part of Axius Water’s growing portfolio.

“We are delighted to unveil the new platform name and to welcome Debra and Gretchen to the board of Axius Water,” said Robert Antablin of KKR Global Impact and David Henderson of XPV Water Partners. “We believe the addition of two highly accomplished industry experts to our board will support our continued ambitions to bring together world-class water quality products and services to create a leading end-to-end solutions platform.”

“We want the Axius Water name to represent the very best in nutrient management,” said Chris McIntire, CEO of Axius Water. “With Gretchen and Debra on our board of directors, we have added well-known industry experts who have the experience and wisdom to support that mission.”

Gretchen W. McClain Biography:

Ms. McClain has had an illustrious career in the water industry and more broadly in the industrial and transportation sectors. She previously served as the founding President and CEO of Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), a global water technology company with over $5 billion of revenue, where she oversaw the successful spin-off of Xylem from ITT Corporation to become a standalone company. Prior to Xylem, Ms. McClain was Senior Vice President at ITT Corporation and President of ITT Fluid Motion & Control, a $4.5 billion diversified manufacturer of highly engineered technology and equipment, where she led the organization to double-digit revenue growth.

Earlier in her career, Ms. McClain held a number of executive positions at Honeywell Aerospace (formerly AlliedSignal), including Vice President & General Manager of the Business, General Aviation and Helicopters Electronics Systems. Prior to that, Ms. McClain spent nine years with NASA, including serving in the top management position responsible for NASA’s International Space Station (ISS). In this capacity, she played a pivotal leadership role in the successful development and launch of the ISS program and Shuttle/Mir missions. Ms. McClain received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for her service.

Ms. McClain holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah and is a member of the University of Utah Engineering National Advisory Council. She is currently an Operating Executive at The Carlyle Group and serves on the boards of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE: AME), Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) and J.M. Huber Corporation.

Debra Coy Biography:

Ms. Coy is a capital markets expert and leading advisor to water industry companies. She currently serves as Executive-in-Residence with XPV Water Partners and has served as an advisor to XPV Capital since 2010. Ms. Coy began her career on Wall Street and worked as an equity research analyst for approximately 20 years, developing a leading franchise and expertise in covering the global water sector for investors at firms including Janney Montgomery Scott, Schwab Capital Markets, and HSBC Securities. She was named a Financial Times/Starmine “Best Brokerage Analyst” in 2008 and 2009 and a Forbes “Best Brokerage Analyst” in 2010 for water utilities coverage.

Ms. Coy is a regular speaker and columnist on water industry finance and innovation and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Global Water Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: GWRS) and Willdan Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WLDN). She previously served on the Board of Directors for AquaVenture Holdings before it was acquired by Culligan in early 2020. Ms. Coy received an M.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland.

About Axius Water

Axius Water was founded in 2019 by KKR, in partnership with XPV Water Partners. This wastewater treatment platform aims to become the leading provider of nutrient management solutions for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. Through the foundational acquisitions of EOSi and Nexom, and the subsequent acquisition of EDI (Environmental Dynamics International) the platform aims to address nutrient contamination of water globally by building a diversified and growing portfolio of leading solutions. For additional information about Axius Water, please visit www.axiuswater.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About XPV Water Partners

XPV Water Partners is comprised of experienced water entrepreneurs, operators, and investment professionals dedicated to make a difference in the water industry. They invest in and actively supports water-focused companies to enable them to grow and deliver value for all stakeholders. Over $400 million USD are managed by XPV in investment capital from institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information about XPV Water Partners, please visit www.xpvwaterpartners.com.

Media Contacts
Axius Water
Philip Wiebe
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KKR
Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
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XPV Water Partners
Esther Doss
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Firm Event to Feature Interactive Discussions with More Than Two Dozen Industry Participants

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BTIG announced today that “BTIG Energy Transition/Electric Vehicle Day” will take place virtually on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. The firm expects to host over two dozen energy transition and electric vehicle (EV)-focused companies throughout the day. The event, hosted by Greg Lewis, CFA, Managing Director and BTIG Energy Transition Analyst, will include thematic panels, fireside chats and one-on-one meetings.

The thematic panel discussions and fireside chats will be led by Mr. Lewis as well as Ole Slorer, Managing Director and Head of BTIG Energy Investment Banking, Dean O’Connor, Managing Director, BTIG Energy Investment Banking, and Richard Alderman, Managing Director and BTIG Renewables, Utilities and Energy Sales Specialist. Discussion topics will include electric vehicles, OEMS, charging, mining, batteries and more.

“EV, clean energy and sustainability are becoming increasingly dominant topics of discussion as investors, consumers and governments begin to shift behaviors and adopt more environmentally-friendly products and mindsets. I look forward to hosting several industry-leading companies as we discuss their plans for the future,” said Mr. Lewis.

“Energy transition is an active sector for our institutional and corporate clients. We are excited to host a lineup of industry experts, who are disrupting their respective spaces, challenging conventional thinking and designing innovative products worldwide,” noted Dan Wychulis, Managing Director and Head of U.S. Strategy and Franchise Sales at BTIG.

For more information about the conference, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please note that participants must be pre-registered to attend. To access BTIG insights, contact a BTIG representative or log in to www.btigresearch.com.

The conference is being produced by BTIG’s Corporate Access program which hosts client events across the consumer, energy, financials, healthcare, real estate, shipping as well as technology, media, and telecommunications sectors.

About BTIG
BTIG is a global financial services firm specializing in institutional trading, investment banking, research and related brokerage services. With an extensive global footprint and more than 650 employees, BTIG, LLC and its affiliates operate out of 18 cities throughout the U.S., and in Europe, Asia and Australia. BTIG offers execution, expertise and insights for equities, equity derivatives, ETFs and fixed income, currency and commodities (futures, interest rates, credit, and convertible and preferred securities). The firm’s core capabilities include global execution, portfolio, electronic and outsource trading, transition management, investment banking, prime brokerage, capital introduction, corporate access, research and strategy, commission management and more. Disclaimer: https://www.btig.com/disclaimer.

To learn more about BTIG, visit www.btig.com.

Jill Gordon
443.668.2055
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Amanda Gold
212.738.6134
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Strong production performance and cost discipline drive substantial free cash flow

CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seven Generations Energy Ltd. (TSX: VII)

FOURTH QUARTER & FULL-YEAR 2020 HIGHLIGHTS

• Quarterly sales volumes averaged 190.1 Mboe/d (43% natural gas, 35% condensate, 22% other NGLs), delivering full-year volumes of 183.9 Mboe/d (43% natural gas, 35% condensate, 22% other NGLs) in-line with the company’s revised full-year 2020 budget.

• Fourth quarter funds flow of $275 million and capital investments of $126 million resulted in free cash flow of $149 million, which was allocated toward net debt reduction. Full-year capital expenditures of $626 million were 3.7% below the $650 million revised budget established in May 2020. Despite the challenging commodity environment throughout 2020, the company generated total free cash flow of $229 million for the year.

• The company’s net debt position at year-end was $1.94 billion, with the net debt reduction driven by 7G’s free cash flow profile and a strengthening Canadian dollar. Since the third quarter of 2020, the company has reduced its net debt by 11%.

• Operating expenses were $3.52/boe for the fourth quarter, a record-low, and full-year operating expenses of $4.36/boe were below full-year guidance of $4.50-$4.75/boe.

• At $475 per metre, fourth quarter 2020 drilling costs represent an incremental 2.5% improvement relative to the third quarter and a 10% reduction to the per-metre drill costs achieved during the fourth quarter of 2019.

• Completion costs in the fourth quarter of 2020 averaged $563 per tonne, a 47% reduction in costs relative to the same period in 2019.

• The company advanced its goal of economically reducing Scope 1 emissions with its first fully electrified pad, which is expected to materially reduce emissions on-site, setting the stage for future pad electrifications.

2020 RESERVES

• Gross proved plus probable (“2P”) reserves totaled 1.54 billion boe with a before-tax net present value of $10.5 billion. 2020 reserves reflect a moderated pace of future development.

• Proved developed producing (“PDP”) finding, development and acquisition (“FD&A”) costs of $9.49/boe represent the lowest cost of reserves development in the history of the company. 2020’s PDP FD&A represents a 28% improvement relative to 2019.

• Despite the challenges of global commodity pricing, 2020 PDP operating netback recycle ratios held stable relative to 2019 at 1.6x.

OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

OPERATIONS AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Seven Generations’ balanced activity levels progressed through the fourth quarter of 2020 and are forecast to remain stable throughout 2021. Fourth quarter drilling costs were lower than forecast despite average lateral lengths measuring 3,159 metres, or 13% longer than the company’s standard design of 2,800 metres. At $475 per metre, fourth quarter 2020 drilling costs represent a 10% reduction to the per-metre drill costs achieved during the fourth quarter of 2019.

Completion costs in the fourth quarter averaged $563 per tonne, a 47% reduction in costs relative to the same period in 2019. Reductions in completion costs reflect the combination of limited entry techniques, enhanced water management and newly negotiated contract pricing. The company continues to evaluate potential cost optimization initiatives across its supply chain.

Operating costs of $3.52/boe for the quarter and $4.36/boe for the year were lower than updated guidance and represent a record-low for the company. Fourth quarter 2020 operating costs were lower than the third quarter due to 7G’s September 2020 turnaround expenditures and higher volume throughput. Full-year 2021 guidance of $4.50-$4.75/boe reflects the impact of planned compressor maintenance and minor pad turnarounds anticipated throughout the year.

2020 YEAR-END RESERVES

The following table summarizes 7G’s reserves, based upon reports prepared by McDaniel, as at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020 (the “McDaniel Reports”), using the forecast price and cost assumptions in effect at the applicable effective reserve evaluation dates.

Changes to the company’s 1P reserves in 2020 primarily reflect a moderated pace of future development. This is due to the current energy price and market environment and the resulting delay in development activities beyond the time horizon constraints established by the Canadian Oil & Gas Evaluators Handbook. Reductions in the pre-tax net present value of reserves reflect the combination of reduced evaluator price expectations year-over-year and the deferral of activity due to the pace of development, offset by improving future development costs.

PDP FD&A costs of $9.49/boe represent the lowest cost of reserves development in the history of the company. 2020’s PDP FD&A represents a 27% improvement relative to 2019. Despite the challenges of global commodity pricing, 2020 PDP operating netback recycle ratios held stable relative to 2019 at 1.6x.

2021 OUTLOOK

Subject to the completion of the Merger Transaction described below, the company reiterates prior full-year guidance expectations, with production expected to average between 180-185 Mboe/d and capital investments expected to be approximately $650 million. Other detailed assumptions remain unchanged and are available in the company’s latest corporate presentation.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Seven Generations continues to execute its consistent hedging program that is designed to manage commodity price risk, support returns on invested capital, and ensure a minimum level of cash flow despite fluctuating commodity prices. Details of the company’s liquids and natural gas hedges at the end of the fourth quarter are shown below:

ESG UPDATE

Aligned to its goal of economically reducing its emissions profile, 7G is pleased to announce its first fully electrified pad. The 13-10 pad is the first of its kind for the company, with entirely electric instrumentation, compression and pumps. The electrification of the pad is also anticipated to modestly improve the overall pad economics with electrification costs being more than offset by a reduction in consumed natural gas input costs and lower future maintenance expenses. Moving forward, the company anticipates adding additional electric-powered pads.

In keeping with its commitment to safe operations, Seven Generations also achieved a record low total recordable incident frequency (“TRIF”) during the fourth quarter, at just 0.08, with a full-year TRIF of 0.42. December was the first month in the history of the company with zero recordable injuries, and the company continues to advance initiatives targeting ongoing improvements in safe operations.

Seven Generations and Sustainitech have entered into an agreement to construct and operate a modular Controlled Environment Agriculture (“CEA”) farm on five acres of land directly adjacent to 7G’s Gold Creek Plant. 7G will hold a 20% equity stake in the project, that will be funded through the company’s 7G Sustainability Fund (“7GSF”). The CEA farm is the first of its kind co-located on an industrial site and will be powered by waste heat and electricity pulled off of 7G’s Gold Creek facility. Once operational, this project is anticipated to generate approximately 4,800 metric tonnes of carbon credits to 7G on an annual basis. Overall, this innovative project will enable approximately 15,000 metric tonnes of CO²e emissions avoidance annually, while creating employment opportunities and sustainable food production in the region. The 7GSF has been funded through 7G’s responsible natural gas supply agreements, with additional commercial agreements remaining a priority for the company.

7G was also recently included in the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (“GEI”) with companies from a variety of industries, including automotive, banking, consumer services, engineering and construction, and retail. The GEI brings transparency to gender-related practices and policies at publicly listed companies increasing the breadth of environmental, social and governance data available to investors. The comprehensive, transparent GEI scoring methodology allows investors to assess company performance and compare across industry peer groups. 7G was included in this year’s index for scoring at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect a high level of disclosure and overall performance across the framework’s five pillars.

ARC RESOURCES AND SEVEN GENERATIONS STRATEGIC MONTNEY COMBINATION

On February 10, 2021, Seven Generations and ARC Resources Ltd. (“ARC”) announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-share transaction valued at approximately $8.1 billion, inclusive of net debt (the “Merger Transaction”). Under the terms of the agreement, if the Merger Transaction is completed, Seven Generations shareholders will receive 1.108 common shares of ARC for each common share of Seven Generations. Following the close of the Merger Transaction, ARC shareholders will own approximately 49 per cent of total shares outstanding of the combined company, and Seven Generations shareholders will own approximately 51 per cent, on a fully diluted basis. The combined company will operate as ARC Resources Ltd. and remain headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.

The Merger Transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of Seven Generations and ARC and is structured through a plan of arrangement in respect of the securities of Seven Generations under the Canada Business Corporations Act, and is subject to the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by holders of Seven Generations common shares. The issuance of ARC common shares is subject to the approval of the majority of votes cast by holders of ARC common shares. The transaction is also subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. The press release and investor presentation for the Merger Transaction are available online at www.7genergy.com.

The announcement of the Merger Transaction created a requirement to perform an impairment review, and should the Merger Transaction be completed, ARC will be acquiring 7G’s shares. In the impairment review, the IFRS fair value hierarchy prioritizes observable market-based valuations over discounted cash flow models. The implied deal value of this equity-based exchange indicated that the net book value of the Company’s Property Plant and Equipment (PP&E) exceeded its fair market value. The recoverable value of the Kakwa River Project as at December 31, 2020 was primarily based on the value of consideration anticipated to be received by the Company, which was determined to be 110.8% of ARC’s estimated share price at the date of closing for each of Seven Generations’ outstanding common shares and dilutive share-based compensation units. The results of the impairment test indicated that the net book value of the Company's PP&E exceeded its recoverable value and Seven Generations recognized a non-cash impairment loss of $1.413 billion.

Seven Generations is a low supply-cost energy producer dedicated to stakeholder service, responsible development and generating strong returns from its liquids-rich Kakwa River Project in northwest Alberta. 7G’s corporate office is in Calgary, its operations headquarters is in Grande Prairie and its shares trade on the TSX under the symbol VII. Further information is available on the company’s website: www.7genergy.com.

Reader Advisory

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release includes certain terms or performance measures commonly used in the oil and natural gas industry that are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), including “operating netback”, “funds flow per boe”, “funds flow per diluted share”, “marketing income per boe”, “adjusted net income”, “adjusted net income per diluted share”, “free cash flow”, “CROIC”, “ROCE”, “available funding” and “adjusted working capital."

The data presented is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Such non-GAAP measures should be read in conjunction with the company’s consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 and the accompanying notes. Readers are cautioned that the non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning and should not be used to make comparisons between the company and other companies without also taking into account any differences in the way the calculations were prepared. For additional information about these measures, please see “Advisories and Guidance – Non-GAAP measures” in Management’s Discussion and Analysis dated February 17, 2021, for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

“Net debt” has been included in Note 16 - Capital Management in the company’s consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 and “funds flow” has been presented in the consolidated cash flow statement. Accordingly, these performance measures are additional GAAP measures and are not considered non-GAAP measures. Readers are cautioned that these additional GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning and should not be used to make comparisons between Seven Generations and other companies without also taking into account any differences in the methods by which the calculations are prepared. For additional information about these measures, please see “Advisories and Guidance – GAAP measures” in Management’s Discussion and Analysis dated February 17, 2021, for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Forward-looking information advisory

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements that involve various risks, uncertainties and other factors. The use of any of the words “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “believe”, “plans”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking information or statements. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, this document contains forward-looking information and statements pertaining to the following: the expectation that pad-electrification will materially reduce emissions, lower costs and improve overall pad economics; plans to add additional electric powered pads; the objectives of the Company’s hedging program; the disclosure under the heading “2021 Outlook”, including expected production and capital investments for 2021 (if the Merger Transaction is not completed); plans to power the Sustainitech CEA farm with waste heat and electricity from 7G’ Gold Creek Facility and the expected carbon credits to be generated on an annual basis from that project. In addition to the foregoing, information and statements in this news release relating to reserves and the net present value of future net revenue from reserves are deemed to be forward looking statements as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the reserves described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated and that they can be profitably produced and/or sold based upon certain forecast prices and costs, as evaluated by the Company’s qualified independent reserves evaluator.

With respect to the Merger Transaction that has been announced, this document contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the following: the focus and business strategies of Seven Generations and ARC in connection with the Merger Transaction; the estimated value of the transaction; the acquisition of each of the issued and outstanding Seven Generations common shares by ARC in exchange for 1.108 common shares of ARC; the percentage of the shares of the combined company that will be held by ARC’s shareholders and Seven Generations’ shareholders, respectively. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as the combined company's actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied.

With respect to forward-looking information contained in this document, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: future oil, NGLs and natural gas prices being consistent with current commodity price forecasts after factoring in quality adjustments at the Company’s points of sale; the Company’s continued ability to obtain qualified staff and equipment in a timely and cost-efficient manner; drilling and completion techniques; infrastructure and facility design concepts that have been successfully applied by the Company elsewhere in its Kakwa River Project may be successfully applied to other properties within the Kakwa River Project; the consistency of the regulatory regime and framework governing royalties, taxes and environmental matters in the jurisdictions in which the Company conducts its business and any other jurisdictions in which the Company may conduct its business in the future; the Company’s ability to market production of oil, NGLs and natural gas successfully to customers; the Company’s future production levels and amount of future capital investment will be consistent with the Company’s current development plans and budget; new technologies for recovery and production of the Company’s reserves and resources may improve capital and operational efficiencies in the future; the recoverability of the Company’s reserves and resources; sustained future capital investment by the Company; future cash flows from production; taxes and royalties will remain consistent with the Company's calculated rates; the future sources of funding for the Company’s capital program; the Company’s future debt levels; geological and engineering estimates in respect of the Company’s reserves and resources; the geography of the areas in which the Company is conducting exploration and development activities, and the access, economic, regulatory and physical limitations to which the Company may be subject from time to time; the impact of competition on the Company; and the Company’s ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms.

Investor & Analyst Inquiries

Brian Newmarch
Vice President, Capital Markets & Stakeholder Engagement
Phone: 403-718-0700
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Ryan Galloway
Director, Investor Relations
Phone: 403-718-0709
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Media Inquiries

Taryn Bolder
Manager, Communications
Phone: 403-718-0715
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DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of GEDCO Drilling & Coring, Inc. to Innovative Environmental Technologies, Inc. The acquisition closed January 6, 2021.

Located in Irving, Texas, GEDCO Drilling & Coring (GEDCO) is an independent drilling contractor founded in 2000 and has established itself as a premier drilling contractor in Texas as well as neighboring states. GEDCO's founder, Cliff L. Rigby, a Licensed Driller with over 30 years of environmental and geotechnical drilling experience, will continue to manage the division. GEDCO performs Geotechnical, Environmental, Forensic and Offshore drilling. GEDCO owns various types of specialty drill rigs, trucks, support equipment and barges capable of performing a variety of drilling methods.

Innovative Environmental Technologies (IET) located in Pipersville, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1998 and is the oldest and most respected remedial contractor providing patented and licensed in-situ injection services in the United States. IET provides turn-key design and implementation services to environmental consulting companies as well as providing environmental drilling and geotechnical services.

"We are delighted by the opportunity to integrate our personnel and equipment into IET and the opportunities this will offer to our customers. The synergies of our companies were immediately apparent as soon as we began acquisition discussions," said Clifford Rigby, the founder of GEDCO.

"The GEDCO acquisition expands the reach of IET's drilling services into Texas and surrounding states," said Michael Scalzi, President of IET. "GEDCO shares our values of safety, client services and technical excellence. GEDCO is known for their creative approach to complex environmental and geotechnical drilling projects."

Generational Equity Executive Managing Director of M&A - Central Region, Michael Goss and his team, led by Managing Director Mergers & Acquisitions, Cory Strickland, with support from Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions, Jacob Mangalath successfully closed the transaction. Executive Managing Director Bill Kushnir established the initial relationship with GEDCO.

“I was thrilled to be able to help a legend in the drilling business with his goal to not only retire but to leave his business in the hands of a buyer that will definitely take the company to the next level as a proven leader in the environmental remedial and drilling business,” said Strickland.

About Generational Equity

Generational Equity, Generational Capital Markets (member FINRA/SIPC), Generational Wealth Advisors, Generational Consulting Group, and DealForce are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America.

With over 250 professionals located throughout North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing growth consulting, merger, acquisition, and wealth management services. Their six-step approach features strategic and tactical growth consulting, exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, M&A transactional services, and wealth management.

The M&A Advisor named the company the 2017 and 2018 Investment Banking Firm of the Year and Valuation Firm of the Year in 2020. For more information, visit https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

Carl Doerksen
972-232-1125
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