Provo, Utah, March 18, 2009 — Raser Technologies, Inc. a leader in energy technologies, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008 and provided an update on its progress in executing its strategic business plan.

 

Financial Results

Revenue for the fourth quarter was $5,880, a decrease from $117,860 in the fourth quarter of 2007. Revenue decreased over the prior year as a result of completing the ARINC research subcontract for the Army that began in October 2006.

 

Total operating expenses were $19.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to $4.8 million in the same period for the prior year. The increase is primarily due to the Company’s decision to expense and take an impairment charge on certain geothermal wells at its Truckee and Thermo sites resulting in a non-cash expense of $13.6 million. The Company’s net loss applicable to common stockholders in the fourth quarter of 2008 was $23.8 million, or $(0.39) per basic and fully diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.5 million, or $(0.08) per basic and fully diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2007.

 

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $172,303, a decrease from $320,072 for the prior year. Revenue decreased over the prior year as a result of completing the ARINC research subcontract in 2007.

 

Total operating expenses for the year were $38.6 million compared to $16.8 million for the prior year. The increase is primarily due to the Company’s decision to expense and take an impairment charge on certain geothermal wells at its Truckee and Thermo sites resulting in a non-cash expense of $13.6 million. The Company’s net loss applicable to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $45.5 million, or $(0.79) per basic and fully diluted share, compared to a net loss of $15.7 million, or $(0.29) per basic and fully diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2007.

 

Raser’s cash position at December 31, 2008 was $1.5 million (plus an additional $27.5 million in restricted and escrowed balances) compared to $5.9 million (with an additional $0.1 million in restricted and escrowed balances) at December 31, 2007.  

 

 

Fourth Quarter and Subsequent Highlights:

During the fourth quarter of 2008 and subsequent to the year end, Raser:

 

·         Announced completion of major construction for the Thermo No. 1 plant with power sales to go to the City of Anaheim. Thermo No. 1 is Raser’s first geothermal power plant to use the unique modular binary technology that allowed it to be constructed in less than six months. Thermo is expected to operate at or near full capacity during the first part of 2009.

·         Began trading on the NYSE “Big Board” under the ticker symbol RZ on December 22, 2008, moving from the NYSE Arca exchange.

·         Was named as one of Fast Company magazine’s 50 “most innovative companies” for 2009 in its annual selection of the Fast Company 50, primarily because Raser can generate zero-emissions electricity using lower temperature geothermal water, opening up previously unusable (and far more common) low- to medium-temperature geothermal resources.

·         Applauded President Obama and the U.S. Congress for quick delivery of the economic stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) which includes renewable energy incentives expected to help Raser accelerate its renewable energy development efforts.

·         Announced that Raser will help provide research assistance to Salt Lake City and the State of Utah as they consider the viability of low-temperature geothermal electrical generation within their region.

·         Entered into additional long-term lease agreements with private land owners covering 37,000 acres of geothermal resources in Southeastern Oregon that include surface and other rights necessary to build geothermal power plants. The property includes a number of hot springs and wells that indicate the presence of potentially significant geothermal resources.

·         Signed a line of credit agreement, pursuant to which Raser may borrow up to $15 million. The credit agreement is with a syndicate of four lenders, including an entity controlled by the Company’s Chairman, Kraig Higginson. The Company obtained the line of credit in order to provide working capital for general corporate purposes.

·         Closed the sale of $20 million of its common stock to Fletcher International, Ltd., an affiliate of the private investment firm Fletcher Asset Management Inc.

·         Retained Calyon Securities (USA) Inc., a subsidiary of Calyon and a global full service institutional broker-dealer, to explore potential strategic relationships offering additional options for implementing and accelerating Raser’s geothermal development goals.

·         Completed the integration of the 200 KW Symetron traction motor, controller and 100 KW generator and initial testing of those components for the full-size SUV plug-in hybrid electric demonstration vehicle.

·         Bench tested the Symetron components pending the delayed lithium-ion batteries needed to complete the demonstration vehicle. Announced that the Company expects to begin road tests of the completed vehicle as early as March, 2009.

 

 

Martin Petersen, Raser’s Chief Financial Officer commented, “We made tremendous progress this past year in both segments of our business against immense head winds of a slowing economy and the dramatic tightening of many of the traditional capital markets. However, we believe that we are well positioned to take full advantage of the provisions in the stimulus bill and the strengthening movement in energy technologies to produce greener power and use it more efficiently.  We have one of the largest portfolios of undeveloped geothermal resources. We have customers that are only marginally affected by the recession and need more of our clean renewable energy. Those customers appear willing to help us fund the development of the projects that will provide them the baseload, renewable power they need. We intend to seek available government grants and incentives and other creative opportunities that should help us move these projects forward, as well as financing through the capital markets, which continue to show interest in renewable energy companies and projects. We feel very fortunate to be at the confluence of such a great movement towards building sustainable energy sources that will help our country reduce emissions while meeting our growing energy needs.”

 

Raser plans to hold a conference call today, Wednesday, March 18, 2009, to discuss with shareholders and interested parties the results of the fourth quarter of 2008 at 2:30 p.m. MDT. Shareholders and analysts may participate by registering at the website: https://eval.webex.com/eval/onstage/g.php?d=922627585&t=a&EA=michael.rosza%40webex.com&ET=f6221eb5f69e1728717e6b6eb5c6bf95&ETR=b8fe74e0dde2e05795a2f438e96a5347.

Shareholders may ask questions online or on the telephone during the conference call or email in questions prior to the call to Investor.Relations@rasertech.com.

 

 

RASER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(a development stage enterprise)

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

 

 

RASER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(a development stage enterprise)

Consolidated Statements of Operations

 

 

 

About Raser Technologies
Raser is an environmentally focused Energy Technology and development company operating in two business segments. Raser’s Power Systems segment is seeking to develop clean, renewable geothermal electric power plants and bottom-cycling operations, incorporating licensed heat transfer technology and Raser’s Symetron™ technology developed internally by its Transportation and Industrial segment. Raser’s Transportation and Industrial segment focuses on extended-range plug-in-hybrid vehicle solutions and using Raser’s award-winning Symetron™ technology to improve the torque density and efficiency of the electric motors and drive systems used in electric and hybrid-electric vehicle powertrains and industrial applications. Further information on Raser may be found at: www.rasertech.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: our beliefs about preliminary drilling results; our beliefs about the potential for geothermal power generation on our leased properties and its qualification for certain federal tax credits; our beliefs about our ability to exploit the available geothermal resources; our beliefs about the expected timing relating to the testing and commissioning of our geothermal power project; our beliefs about a local utility’s ability to complete their work in a timely manner; our beliefs about our ability to obtain adequate development funding; our beliefs about our ability to utilize our technology and other available technologies to produce electric power from the available resources; our beliefs about the geothermal market in general; our beliefs about the performance and market applicability of our products; our beliefs about the status and enforceability of the Company’s intellectual property; our beliefs about the strength of our existing and potential business relations in the motor industry; our beliefs about the strength and enforceability of our agreements, our beliefs about the performance capabilities of our technology; our beliefs about the capabilities, expertise and intentions of our partners; our ability to hire, train and retain key personnel; our ability to successfully complete field testing of Symetron™ technologies. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, including, without limitation, the competitive environment and our ability to compete in the industry; our ability to adapt our technology and third-party technology for the intended applications; our ability to secure necessary permits; the strength of our intellectual property; our ability to attract, train and retain key personnel; and such other risks as identified in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and all subsequent filings.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

Contacts:

Raser Technologies, Inc.                     

Richard Putnam

Investor Relations

(801) 765-1200

investorrelations@rasertech.com

 

Hayden Communications, Inc.

Cameron Donahue

(651) 653-1854

cameron@haydenir.com

 

Public Relations contact: Stern & Co.

Richard Stern

212 888-0044

richstern@sternco.com

Alison Simard

323-650-7117

arsimard@sternco.com