Mississauga, Ontario and Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - August 30, 2022) - Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE: BEE) (the "Company" or "BVT") is pleased to announce highlights on the progress of its business in the third quarter of 2022 (Q3 FY22).
"The Company has made significant progress during Q3 in growing US revenues, diversifying our revenue base beyond the Georgia blueberry market, and improved profitability," said Ashish Malik, CEO of BVT. "We also accomplished key milestones related to market expansion and development of new revenue streams. The Company is well positioned to deliver on our business strategy as we expand the target market and bring our unique technologies to farmers around the world."
Q3 and YTD FY22 Highlights
Financial
- Revenue increased by 118% to approximately $120,000 USD during the three months ending June 30, 2022, compared to $55,000 USD for the same period in 2021
- Revenue increased by 20% to $378,000 USD during the nine months ending June 30, 2022 compared to $314,000 USD for the same period in 2021
- Gross margins for 9 months ending Jun 30 expanded by 16% from 39% in FY21 to 55% in FY22
- Subsequent to Q3 the Company secured institutional financing to support its growth and commercialization strategy
US Commercialization
- Doubled sales in US markets outside the Georgia blueberry market
- Tripled sales in the Pacific Northwest
- Announced first California sales commitment, with revenue to be reflected in Q4 FY22
- Successfully completed year 1 of 2 year trials with Rutgers University in New Jersey
- Built strong relationship with Michigan Blueberry Growers - a leading grower cooperative and partner in Naturipe, the world's leading fresh blueberry marketer
Geographic Expansion
- Completed submission and filed for approval with Mexican regulatory authorities
- Signed Memorandum of Understanding with development and commercial partner for Turkey
- Filed for import permit and official trial approval with authorities in Peru
Portfolio Expansion
- Implemented second year of trials for soybean seed treatment following successful results from 2021
- Foliar/soil-applied project underway
"BVT's successful penetration of multiple US markets provides the Company with significant growth opportunities, and this diversification makes revenues (results) less susceptible to variability from the kinds of external conditions we saw in Georgia during the 2022 growing season," said Ashish Malik, CEO of BVT.
In Georgia, BVT's largest market, growers faced severe weather and hard freezes during the blueberry bloom period, causing partial or complete crop loss. This was on top of increasing supply costs: fertilizer prices doubled while fuel and other chemical farming products increased by up to 40%. But while many agriculture suppliers saw significant decreases in sales orders, BVT maintained the same sales levels for the Southeast, despite these challenges.
"Offsetting the relatively flat sales in Georgia, we more than doubled revenues in other US markets, led by a tripling of sales commitments and managed acres in the Pacific Northwest," said Ian Collinson, Sales Manager at BVT. "We also secured our first sales commitment in California (which will be reflected in Q4 results) and built strong relationships with key influencers in Michigan and New Jersey, which will (should) drive further growth in those markets."
Overall profitability significantly improved in Q3 FY22, with gross margins for the 9 months ending June 30, 2022, at 55% in FY22 compared to 39% in the same period in FY21. These improvements were driven by a couple of key drivers: lower production cost of BVT's Clonostachys rosea CR-7 (CR-7) strain and increased sales of the honeybee system, which is a higher margin product than the bumblebee system.
"BVT continues to accelerate growth opportunities in new markets, leveraging knowledge gained in the US to bring BVT's portfolio of products to more growers around the world," continued Mr. Malik. BVT has already delivered on several key milestones around geographic expansion in FY22, including submission to Mexico regulatory authorities and a Memorandum of Understanding with a Turkish partner to launch BVT in the region. In addition, BVT currently has ongoing expansion projects that are active in the European Union, Canada, and Peru.
The Company is also focused on new applications for CR-7, a promising avenue that will lead to significant market opportunities for BVT. Recent progress in these areas includes using CR-7 as a seed treatment: the second year of trials is now underway, with results coming at year-end. Development has also begun on a foliar/soil project.
About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.
BVT, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees. BVT's award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides - and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment. Currently, BVT has over 65 granted patents, over 35 patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide and has US EPA registration of its Vectorite™ with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.
Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.beevt.com. To receive regular news updates from the Company, subscribe at www.beevt.com/newsletter.
Company Contact:
Ashish Malik, President & CEO
info@beevt.com
Investor Contacts:
Babak Pedram (Canada & International)
Virtus Advisory Group
Tel: 416-995-8651
bpedram@virtusadvisory.com
William Maze (United States)
RB Milestone Group LLC (RBMG)
bee@rbmilestone.com