Eastern Platinum: Revenue of $30.5 million for Q4/23, a 146% increase

Vancouver, British Columbia – Eastern Platinum has reported that it filed its Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Below is a summary of the Company’s financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023 (“Q4 2023”) and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023:

   •   Revenue for Q4 2023 increased to $30.5 million (Restated Q4 2022 – $12.4 million), representing a 146.0% increase. Revenue for FY2023 increased to $106.9 million, a record full year high (Restated FY2022 – $53.9 million), representing a 98.3% increase.

   •   Mine operating income increased by $9.6 million to $7.8 million in Q4 2023 (Restated Q4 2022 mine operating loss – -$1.8 million), resulting in a gross margin of 25.5% in Q4 2023 as compared to -14.5% in Restated Q4 2022. Mine operating income in FY2023 increased by $24.0 million to $31.6 million (Restated FY2022 – $7.6 million), resulting in a gross margin of 29.5% in FY2023 as compared to 14.2% in Restated FY2022.

   •   Operating income was $2.8 million in Q4 2023 compared to an operating loss of -$4.8 million in Restated Q4 2022. Operating income increased by $23.2 million to $18.5 million in FY2023 from an operating loss of -$4.7 million in Restated FY2022, a 493.6% increase in operating income.

   •   Net income attributable to shareholders was $3.3 million ($0.02 earnings per share) in Q4 2023 versus $1.4 million ($0.01 earnings per share) in Restated Q4 2022. The increase in net income was largely attributable to the significant increase in third-party chrome concentrate sales in the period offset by pre-production costs of $2.1 million as the Company initiated the restart of the Zandfontein underground section at the Crocodile River Mine (“CRM”). The Restated Q4 2022 net income was attributable to a restated operating loss offset by other income of $6.6 million, which was mainly related to the change in value of the Company’s loans payable.

   •   Net income attributable to shareholders increased to $13.8 million ($0.08 earnings per share) in FY2023 compared to a net loss attributable to shareholders of -$0.9 million ($0.01 loss per share) in Restated FY2022. The increase in income during FY2023 is mainly attributable to the increased revenue and gross margins generated by remining and processing the Company’s tailings resources at the CRM to produce chrome concentrate and platinum group metals (“PGM”) concentrate, respectively, offset by pre-production costs incurred in Q4 2023 as described in the previous point. The Restated FY2022 net loss was attributable to an operating loss offset by other income of $7.9 million, which mainly related to the change in value of the Company’s loans payable.

   •   The Company had a working capital deficit (current assets less current liabilities) of $15.5 million as at December 31, 2023 (Restated December 31, 2022 – working capital deficit of $37.8 million) and short-term cash resources of $21.3 million (consisting of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments)(Restated December 31, 2022 – $2.4 million).