Pure Cycle Reports First Quarter Results
“Fiscal 2020 was a transformational year for Pure Cycle and we are continuing to execute on our initiatives in fiscal 2021,” commented Mark W. Harding, President of Pure Cycle. “We have delivered all of the finished lots in the first phase at Sky Ranch and will break ground on the next phase in January 2021. Our team is dedicated to executing on our business plans in both our land and water resource development segments with the same focus, attention to detail, and success as the initial phase, using lessons learned to increase efficiencies and produce solid financial results.” continued Mr. Harding.
Highlights
Revenues of $4.9 million for the three months ended November 30, 2020
Initial development phase at Sky Ranch is nearing completion, with the remaining $1.3 million expected to be spent in fiscal 2021
337 or 66% of lots in the initial phase of Sky Ranch have purchased water and wastewater taps, totaling $9.9 million in tap fees to date
Next development phase scheduled to break ground January 2021, expected to include 895 lots, of which 789 have been contracted to home builders
Denver, Colorado, January 4, 2021 – Pure Cycle Corporation (NASDAQ Capital Market: PCYO) is reporting net income of $0.8 million for the three months ended November 30, 2020, on revenues of $4.9 million. As Pure Cycle continues to expand its land segment and water systems to provide services to customers, investments in water and water rights increased to $55.2 million as of November 30, 2020.
“As we step into the next phases at Sky Ranch, I want to reiterate that our 30% increase in lot prices in the next phase provides a testament to our strong performance in the initial Filing of Sky Ranch. We continue to carry forward more than $21 million of total reimbursable costs from the initial development and with our next phase at nearly twice the size of our initial phase, we will see a significant increase in tap fee revenues, annual water connections for our water and wastewater resource development segment, lot revenues, and public improvement reimbursables,” commented Mr. Harding. “The strategic complement between our land development activities and our water and wastewater activities is unleashing the immense untapped value of our long-held assets.” concluded Mr. Harding.
Financial Summary
Revenue – Metered water usage from municipal customers increased over the prior year due to the success of Sky Ranch. Total revenues decreased for Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020, primarily due to timing of the recognition of lot sales as we completed the first development phase at Sky Ranch nearly two years ahead of schedule resulting in earlier recognition than anticipated. In addition, due to COVID-19 delaying the permitting process at the county, the timing of lot sales in the next phase of development were not lined up with the completion of the initial development phase as we anticipated, resulting in a decline in recognized lot sale revenue. But as we bring the next phase of development to the market, lot sale revenue will again be recognized throughout the development timeline.
Profitability – We remained profitable despite the drop in lot sale revenue noted above, which is a testament to our ability to scale operational expenses to match revenue, and our ability to operate our water system in an efficient manner. The results posted in Q1 2020 were also materially improved by the reimbursement of public improvements. Timing of reimbursements for the remaining $21.1 million in total reimbursable costs are dependent upon the Sky Ranch Districts and Community Authority Board having sufficient tax revenues or issuing municipal bonds to be able to repay Pure Cycle.
Working Capital – As of November 30, 2020, our working capital was $19.9 million, which includes cash of $21.3 million.
“We are actively growing our balance sheet and remain focused on using both our land and water assets in a cohesive and strategic manner,” commented Kevin B. McNeill, Pure Cycle’s CFO. “We strive to create value for our stakeholders through this growth in assets. As we move into the second development phase at Sky Ranch, our land development activities will increase as we deliver lots to our home builder customers.” continued Mr. McNeill.