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Message: Announces 2008 Year End Results

Announces 2008 Year End Results

posted on Mar 25, 2009 01:13PM
March 25, 2009
BioteQ Announces 2008 Year End Results
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 25, 2009) - BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc. (TSX:BQE), a leader in the treatment of metal and sulphate contaminated water, today reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 2008. All figures are in Canadian dollars and are in accordance with Canadian GAAP, unless otherwise noted.

2008 operating and financial highlights:

- BioteQ processed more than 9.4 billion liters of contaminated water during 2008, and removed over 3 million pounds of metal contaminants, more than double the quantities in 2007.

- BioteQ's revenues increased to $7.8 million in 2008, compared to $4.6 million in 2007. This increase in revenues is due to contributions from new operations in China, Australia, and Mexico.

- BioteQ continues to maintain working capital of $10.1 million and remains debt free.

- BioteQ reported an overall net loss of $5.2 million in 2008, compared to a loss of $4.2 million in 2007.

- BioteQ successfully applied new SART technology for gold mining operations, improving gold yields while removing metal contaminants from the gold leach process.

- BioteQ successfully piloted its new Sulf-IX(TM) technology to remove sulphate, proving that the technology can deliver lower capital and operating costs compared to competing technologies.

BioteQ expanded its operating activities during 2008, adding 4 new plants to its operating portfolio. The Company's 2008 financial performance reflects results from 6 operations - water treatment plants at Bisbee, Raglan, Dexing, Mt. Gordon, Lluvia de Oro, and Wellington Oro.

The rapid decline in global commodity markets during the fourth quarter of 2008 significantly impacted BioteQ's financial results, offsetting strong revenue growth in the first three-quarters of the year. While annual revenues are up by 67% to $7.8 million for 2008, revenues for the fourth quarter softened to $1.3 million. Revenues were impacted by falling commodity prices for all metal-based operations, and lower than expected production at the Lluvia de Oro site.

Although commodity prices fell during the fourth quarter, input costs remained high. This contributed to significantly higher than expected plant operating costs. Plant operating costs for 2008 were $8 million, compared to $2.3 million in 2007. This has resulted in a negative cash flow from plant operations of $240,000, compared to a positive cash flow from plant operations of $2.3 million in 2007.

Brad Marchant, BioteQ's CEO stated, "Although BioteQ's operations have performed well technically, they have not generated the financial results that we expected because of the sharp and rapid downturn in the commodity markets. We are responding to this change in market conditions by working to preserve cash, reduce costs all of our operations, and adjust some of our operating contracts to fee-based structures. We are also exploring ways to take our technologies to other markets such as water treatment in the power generation sector, and government infrastructure investments."

BioteQ's annual financial results and the Company's MD&A have been filed on SEDAR, www.sedar.com, and will be available on the BioteQ website at www.bioteq.ca.

A conference call to discuss the financial results is scheduled for Thursday March 26, at 11:00 am Eastern. Participants may call 416-340-2217, or 1-866-696-5910 and enter reference number 4622304. A replay of the call will be available until Friday April 10 by dialing 416-695-5800 or 1-800-408-3053, reference number 6224503. A recording will be available within two days of the call on the BioteQ website at www.bioteq.ca.

BioteQ Corporate Profile

BioteQ is an industrial water treatment company that applies innovative technologies to solve complex water problems, reducing environmental liabilities while generating revenue from wastewater. The Company's commercially proven technologies treat industrial wastewater contaminated with dissolved heavy metals and sulphate, producing saleable by-products and clean water that can be discharged safely to the environment. BioteQ has built 8 plants at sites in Canada, the US, China, Australia and Mexico, with additional projects in design and construction. BioteQ is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and trades on the TSX under the symbol BQE. For additional information, please go to www.bioteq.ca.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Brad Marchant
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