Vulcan Infrastructure & Power Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Mar 31, 2024
Filed with the SEC on May 15, 2024 and accepted by EDGAR at May 15, 2024, 20:43 ET.
Management's discussion and analysis
As filed, 63,335 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
The following discussion should be read together with the audited financial statements and the related notes thereto of Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. (“Greenidge”), together with its consolidated subsidiaries (the “Company”) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and the unaudited interim financial statements and related notes thereto of the Company for the three months ended March 31, 2024 included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. This discussion contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect plans, estimates and beliefs and involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those described in the “Risk Factors” disclosed in Item 1A to Part I of Greenidge's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” sections of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. For purposes of this section, “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries. You should carefully read “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Overview
We own cryptocurrency datacenter operations in the Town of Torrey, New York (the "New York Facility"), the Town of Columbia, Mississippi (the "Mississippi Facility") owned and operated a facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina (the "South Carolina Facility") and lease property for purposes of operating a cryptocurrency datacenter in the Town of Underwood, North Dakota (the "North Dakota Facility" and, together with the New York Facility, Mississippi Facility, and South Carolina Facility, the "facilities"). The New York Facility is a vertically integrated cryptocurrency datacenter and power generation facility with an approximately 106 megawatt ("MW") nameplate capacity, natural gas power generation facility. We generate revenue from four primary sources: (1) datacenter hosting, which we commenced on January 30, 2023, (2) cryptocurrency mining, (3) power and capacity, and (4) engineering procurement and construction management.
We generate all the power we require for operations in the New York Facility, where we enjoy relatively lower market prices for natural gas due to our access to the Millennium Gas Pipeline price hub. We believe our competitive advantages include efficiently designed mining infrastructure and in-house operational expertise that we believe is capable of maintaining a higher operational uptime of miners. We are mining bitcoin and hosting bitcoin miners, which contributes to the security and transactability of the bitcoin ecosystem while concurrently supplying power to assist in meeting the power needs of homes and businesses in the region served by our New York Facility.
Our datacenter operations consisted of approximately 42,300 miners with approximately 4.6 EH/s of combined capacity for both datacenter hosting and cryptocurrency mining, of which 32,100 miners, or 3.4 EH/s, were associated with datacenter hosting and 10,200 miners, or 1.2 EH/s, were associated with Greenidge's cryptocurrency mining. Subsequent to the South Carolina transaction, datacenter operations consists of approximately 28,800 miners with approximately 3.0 EH/S of combined capacity for both datacenter hosting and cryptocurrency mining, of which 18,100 miners or 1.8 EH/s, is associated with datacenter hosting and 10,700 miners, or 1.2 EH/s is associated with our cryptocurrency mining.
Recent Developments
On February 12, 2024, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “SPA”) with Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd. (“Armistice”). Pursuant to the SPA, Armistice purchased (i) 450,300 shares of our Class A common stock (the “SPA Shares”), and (ii) a pre-funded warrant (the “Pre-Funded Warrant”) to purchase 810,205 shares of our Class A common stock (the “Pre-Funded Warrant Shares”). The per share purchase price of the SPA Shares and the Pre-Funded Warrant Shares was $4.76, resulting in proceeds of $6.0 million. In addition, we issued to Armistice a five-year warrant (the “5-Year Warrant”) to purchase up to 1,260,505 shares of Class A common stock (the "Warrant Shares"), exercisable commencing on August 14, 2024 at an exercise price of $5.25 per share.
Pursuant to the SPA, filed a resale registration statement with the SEC covering the SPA Shares, the Pre-Funded Warrant Shares, and the Warrant Shares.
The SPA Shares and the shares of Class A common stock issuable pursuant to the Pre-Funded Warrant and the 5-Year Warrant were offered and sold in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act, in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Armistice represented to the Company in the SPA that it is an “accredited investor,” as defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act.
On April 10, 2024, we closed on the purchase of a parcel of land containing approximately 12 acres located in Columbus, Mississippi, including over 73,000 square feet of industrial warehouse space, from a subsidiary of Motus Pivot Inc., a portfolio company of Atlas, our controlling shareholder and a related party. The purchase price was $1.45 million, of which $500,000 is to be paid no later than 60 days after the closing and $350,000 is to be paid no later than 120 days after the closing, This property provides us with access to 32.5 MW of additional power capacity. The transaction closed in April 2024 and we deployed 7 MW of miners on the property in the second quarter of 2024. We have also deployed additional miners in conjunction with a 7.5 MW mining capacity lease in North Dakota, which has a term of five years and provides us with energy to power mining.
Discontinued Operations
The contract with the Support.com's largest customer expired on December 31, 2022 and was not renewed. As a result, we have classified the Support.com business as held for sale and discontinued operations in these condensed consolidated financial statements as a result of management and the board of directors making a decision to pursue alternatives for the Support.com business and to strictly focus on its cryptocurrency mining, datacenter hosting and power generation operations. See Note 3, "Discontinued Operations" of our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information.
Growth Opportunities
We view our growth opportunities as primarily related to the following areas:
- Acquisition of properties with low-cost power
- Development of owned properties for artificial intelligence ("AI")/graphics processing unit ("GPU") data center, bitcoin self-mining and bitcoin hosting
- Sale of owned properties for AI/GPU data center construction
- Infrastructure services and development for AI and high-performance computing ("HPC")
- Purchase and deployment of GPUs for AI and HPC
- Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (“EPCM”) contracts
- Purchase and deployment of high efficiency bitcoin mining rigs
- Hosting services for bitcoin mining
- Acquisition of private bitcoin mining companies
The Company is actively pursuing the acquisition of additional properties with access to low-cost power and appropriate size to allow for efficient expansion of AI/GPU data centers and/or bitcoin mining facilities, such as the Columbus property. The growth of AI and HPC will provide significant demand for development of future data centers utilizing large amounts of energy. We currently have significant infrastructure on hand to reduce the cost of site development for various future projects. All current and future properties will be simultaneously evaluated for internal development or outright sales.
The Company is in the process of purchasing GPUs for a pilot program related to the rental of computing power for AI and HPC. We are utilizing the pilot program to ensure our investments in the AI/GPU data center space efficiently utilize capital to align with the anticipated growth and demand for our offerings.
The Company is continuing to develop and market its EPCM services in order to provide greater short-term growth. We believe feedback from previous and current clients has shown that we offer a superior product with respect to the development of bitcoin mining facilities.
We will also continue to evaluate the benefits of finding accretive acquisitions, specifically in the bitcoin mining sector.
Title V Air Permit
In late June 2022, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) announced its denial of the Title V Air Permit renewal for our New York Facility. We filed a notice with NYSDEC in July 2022 requesting a hearing on NYSDEC’s decision. In September 2023, the administrative law judge presiding over the hearing issued a ruling with respect to the status of the parties and certain issues to be adjudicated in the hearing. We submitted an interim appeal with NYSDEC thereafter challenging such ruling with a motion to stay the broader appeals process while the interim appeal was being resolved. On May 8, 2024, our interim appeal to NYSDEC and request for an adjudicatory hearing were ultimately denied, and the June 2022 non-renewal of our Title V Air Permit was affirmed by NYSDEC's Regional Director for Region 7, which rendered NYSDEC's decision final for purposes of seeking judicial review. We have four months from May 8, 2024 to continue to operate the New York Facility uninterrupted under a State Administrative Procedures Act extension, in full compliance with our existing Title V Air Permit, and to bring an action challenging the denial of our permit renewal application. While no further adjudication proceedings have been scheduled to date, we intend to challenge the June 2022 non-renewal and simultaneously bring a request for temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction to allow the New York Facility to continue operating during the pendency of the litigation. This challenge will cause us to incur additional costs and result in the diversion of management attention, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We expect that the judicial proceedings related to the challenge of NYSDEC's denial of our Title V Air Permit renewal application may take a number of years to fully resolve, and there can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful. Our inability to secure a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to allow the New York Facility to continue operating during the pendency of the litigation or to otherwise succeed in securing a renewal of our Title V Air Permit for the New York Facility could have a material adverse effect on us and our ability to continue operating as a going concern. See Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
Results from Continuing Operations - Three Months Ended March 31, 2024
The following table sets forth key components of our results from continuing operations and should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes. All comparisons below refer to the three months ended March 31, 2024 versus the three months ended March 31, 2023, unless otherwise specified.
| REVENUE: | Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 | 2023 | Variance $% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Datacenter hosting | $9,112 | $6,944 | $2,168 | 31% |
| Cryptocurrency mining revenue | 6,999 | 6,451 | 548 | 9% |
| Power and capacity | 3,037 | 1,762 | 1,275 | 72% |
| EPCM consulting services | 185 | — | 185 | N/A |
| Total revenue | 19,333 | 15,157 | 4,176 | 28% |
| OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES: | ||||
| Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation) | 12,318 | 9,735 | 2,583 | 27% |
| Selling, general and administrative | 5,487 | 9,013 | (3,526) | (39)% |
| Depreciation | 3,234 | 3,820 | (586) | (15)% |
| Impairment of long-lived assets | 169 | — | 169 | N/A |
| Gain on sale of assets | — | (1,744) | 1,744 | (100)% |
| Total operating costs and expenses | 21,208 | 20,824 | 384 | 2% |
| Operating loss | (1,875) | (5,667) | 3,792 | (67)% |
| OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), NET: | ||||
| Interest expense, net | (1,802) | (3,573) | 1,771 | (50)% |
| Gain on sale of digital assets | 59 | 398 | (339) | (85)% |
| Change in fair value of warrant asset | (420) | — | (420) | N/A |
| Total other expense, net | (2,163) | (3,175) | 1,012 | (32)% |
| Loss from continuing operations before income taxes | (4,038) | (8,842) | 4,804 | (54)% |
| Benefit from income taxes | — | — | — | N/A |
| Net loss from continuing operations | $(4,038) | $(8,842) | $4,804 | (54)% |
| Adjusted Amounts (a) | ||||
| Adjusted operating (loss) income from continuing operations | $(1,286) | $(5,794) | $4,508 | (78)% |
| Adjusted operating margin from continuing operations | (6.7)% | (38.2)% | ||
| Adjusted net loss from continuing operations | $(3,449) | $(8,969) | $5,520 | (62)% |
| Other Financial Data (a) | ||||
| EBITDA (loss) from continuing operations | $998 | $(1,449) | $2,447 | (169)% |
| as a percent of revenues | 5.2% | (9.6)% | ||
| Adjusted EBITDA (loss) from continuing operations | $2,657 | $(1,095) | $3,752 | (343)% |
| as a percent of revenues | 13.7% | (7.2)% |
(a) Adjusted Amounts and Other Financial Data are non-GAAP performance measures. A reconciliation of reported amounts to adjusted amounts can be found in the "Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations" section of this Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A").
Key Metrics
The following table provides a summary of key metrics related to the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.
$ in thousands, except $ per MWh and average bitcoin price
| Revenue | Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 | 2023 | Variance $% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Datacenter hosting revenue | $9,112 | $6,944 | $2,168 | 31% |
| Cryptocurrency mining revenue | $6,999 | 6,451 | 548 | 8% |
| Power and capacity | 3,037 | 1,762 | 1,275 | 72% |
| EPCM consulting services | 185 | — | 185 | N/A |
| Total revenue | $19,333 | $15,157 | $4,176 | 28% |
| Components of revenue as % of total | ||||
| Datacenter hosting | 47% | 46% | ||
| Cryptocurrency mining | 36% | 42% | ||
| Power and capacity | 16% | 12% | ||
| EPCM consulting services | 1% | —% | ||
| Total revenue | 100% | 100% | ||
| MWh | ||||
| Datacenter hosting | 110,315 | 90,979 | 19,336 | 21% |
| Cryptocurrency mining | 46,902 | 59,633 | (12,731) | (21)% |
| Power and capacity | 47,435 | 30,192 | 17,243 | 57% |
| Revenue per MWh | ||||
| Datacenter hosting | $83 | $76 | $7 | 9% |
| Cryptocurrency mining | $149 | $108 | $41 | 38% |
| Power and capacity | $64 | $58 | $6 | 10% |
| Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation) | ||||
| Datacenter hosting | $7,018 | $4,671 | $2,347 | 50% |
| Cryptocurrency mining | $3,671 | $3,248 | $423 | 13% |
| Power and capacity | $1,546 | $1,816 | $(270) | (15)% |
| EPCM consulting services | $83 | $— | $83 | N/A |
| Cost of revenue per MWh (exclusive of depreciation) | ||||
| Datacenter hosting | $64 | $51 | $13 | 25% |
| Cryptocurrency mining | $78 | $54 | $24 | 44% |
| Power and capacity | $33 | $60 | $(27) | (45)% |
| Cryptocurrency Mining Metrics | ||||
| Bitcoins produced: | ||||
| Datacenter hosting | 275 | 393 | (118) | (30)% |
| Cryptocurrency mining | 134 | 305 | (171) | (56)% |
| Total bitcoins produced | 409 | 698 | (289) | (41)% |
| Average bitcoin price | $53,260 | $22,877 | $30,383 | 133% |
| Average active hash rate (EH/s) Company-owned miners | 846,840 | 998,702 | (151,862) | (15)% |
| Average active hash rate (EH/s) Hosted miners | 1,736,730 | 1,429,225 | 307,505 | 22% |
| Average difficulty | 77.4 T | 40.2 T | 37.2 T | 93% |
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Revenue
On January 30, 2023, upon entering into the NYDIG Hosting Agreement, we transitioned the majority of the capacity of our owned datacenter facilities to datacenter hosting operations. We entered into hosting arrangements at third party sites for the majority of our remaining owned miners in the first and second quarters of 2023. At March 31, 2024, Greenidge datacenter operations consisted of approximately 28,800 miners with approximately 3.0 EH/s of combined capacity for both datacenter hosting and cryptocurrency mining, of which 18,100 miners, or 1.8 EH/s, is associated with datacenter hosting and 10,700 miners, or 1.2 EH/s, is associated with Greenidge's cryptocurrency mining.
Cryptocurrency mining revenue
For our cryptocurrency mining revenue, we generate revenue in the form of bitcoin by earning bitcoin as rewards and transaction fees for supporting the global bitcoin network with application-specific integrated circuit computers ("ASICs" or "miners") owned or leased by the Company. Our cryptocurrency mining revenue increased $0.5 million, or 9%, to $7.0 million. We estimate that approximately 69% of the increase was due to the increase in the average price of bitcoin, which was partially offset by 52% as a result of the decrease in the global bitcoin mining difficulty factor and 9% as a result of the decline in the Greenidge mining hashrate due to the transition of capacity to hosting during the course of Q1 2023. Bitcoin mining difficulty was 93% higher compared to the prior year due to increases in the difficulty index associated with the complexity of the algorithmic solution required to create a block and receive a bitcoin award, the average bitcoin price was 133% higher and our average hash rate decreased 15% primarily related to the reallocation of our mining equipment to datacenter hosting services.
The miners associated with Greenidge’s cryptocurrency mining were comprised as follows:
| Vendor and Model | Number of Miners |
|---|---|
| Bitmain S19 | 4,000 |
| Bitmain S19 Pro | 2,000 |
| Bitmain S19j Pro | 900 |
| Bitmain S19 XP | 3,600 |
| Bitmain S19 Hydro | 200 |
| 10,700 |
As of March 31, 2024, our fleet of miners ranged in age from 1.0 to 2.6 years and had an average age of approximately 1.85 years. We do not have scheduled downtime for our miners. When we have unscheduled downtime, we may from time to time replace a miner with a substitute miner in order to minimize overall fleet downtime. As of March 31, 2024, our fleet of miners ranged in efficiency from approximately 22.0 to 34.0 joules per terahash (“J/TH”) and had an average efficiency of 28.7 J/TH.
The table below presents the average cost of mining each bitcoin for the year ended March 31, 2024:
| Cost of Mining - Analysis of Costs to Mine One Bitcoin | Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cost to mine one bitcoin(1) | $27,396 |
| Value of each bitcoin mined(2) | $52,231 |
| Cost to mine one bitcoin as % of value of bitcoin mined | 52.5% |
(1) Computed as cost of revenue of cryptocurrency mining divided by number of bitcoins produced from cryptocurrency mining.
(2) Computed as cryptocurrency mining revenue divided by number of bitcoins produced from cryptocurrency mining.
Datacenter hosting revenue
On January 30, 2023, we entered into the NYDIG Hosting Agreement to provide datacenter hosting services. Under the NYDIG Hosting Agreement, we generate revenue from a reimbursement fee that covers the cost of power and direct costs associated with management of the mining facilities, a hosting fee and a gross profit-sharing arrangement. The arrangement covers substantially all of our current mining capacity at the New York Facility and South Carolina Facility. We generated revenue of $9.1 million for the first three months of 2024 and $6.9 million for the first three months of 2023. This increase of $2.2 million was mainly due to datacenter hosting services not starting until the very end of January in 2023. In addition, we managed approximately 1.7 EH/s of average active hash rate in our hosting services, of which produced approximately 275 bitcoins.
Power and capacity revenue
Power and capacity revenue at our New York Facility is earned when we sell capacity and energy and ancillary services to the wholesale power grid managed by the New York Independent System Operator ("NYISO"). Through these sales, we earn revenue in three streams, including: (1) power revenue received based on the hourly price of power, (2) capacity revenue for committing to sell power to the NYISO when dispatched and (3) other ancillary service revenue received as compensation for the provision of operating reserves.
Our power and capacity revenue increased $1.3 million, or 72%, to $3.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024. We estimate that higher power and capacity sales volume due to our decreased behind-the-meter consumption and higher average power and capacity prices caused revenue increases of approximately 57% and 15%, respectively, as compared to the prior period.
Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation)
| Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 | 2023 | Variance $% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Datacenter hosting | $7,018 | $4,671 | $2,347 | 50% |
| Cryptocurrency mining | 3,671 | 3,248 | 423 | 13% |
| Power and capacity | 1,546 | 1,816 | (270) | (15)% |
| EPCM consulting services | 83 | — | 83 | N/A |
| Total cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation) | $12,318 | $9,735 | $2,583 | 27% |
| As a percentage of total revenue | 63.7% | 64.2% |
Total cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation, increased $2.6 million, or 27%, to $12.3 million during the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the prior year period. We estimate the increase is comprised of approximately 20% due to monthly hosting fees paid to third parties for hosting company owned miners, which was an expense that did not occur for the full first quarter of 2023, and further increased by 14% for natural gas costs due to forward purchases of gas at fixed prices for Datacenter Hosting. This was partially offset by 7% due to decreases in sales tax on gas.
The significant portions of cost of revenue are allocated between datacenter hosting, cryptocurrency mining and power and capacity based on MWh used by each. Power and capacity Cost of revenue declined due to lower natural gas costs, while MWh utilized by cryptocurrency mining declined due to the transition to the Hosting Agreements during the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $3.5 million, or 39%, to $5.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the prior year period. The main drivers of the decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses were:
- Decrease of approximately $2.1 million due to reductions in professional fees and consulting expenses caused by reductions in discretionary costs and higher regulatory costs in the prior year period associated with permit renewals and environmental matters at the New York plant; and
- Total payroll and benefits and other employee costs decreased approximately $1.1 million in first quarter of 2024 compared to the prior year period, as a result of declines in employee expenses including incentive compensation; and
- Total insurance expense decreased approximately $0.4 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the prior year period, as a result of declines in coverage costs related to umbrella, property, and liability policies
Depreciation
Depreciation expense decreased $0.6 million, or 15%, to $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the prior year period, due to a lower asset base resulting from impairments recognized in 2023 and the sale of miners in during the first quarter of 2023.
Operating (loss) income from continuing operations
We reported an operating loss for the three months ended March 31, 2024 of $1.9 million compared with an operating loss of $5.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The favorable variance of $3.8 million is primarily related to higher revenue, in the aggregate, from hosting, mining, and power operations, along with additional cost savings related to selling, general, and administrative expenses. These favorable variances were partially offset by increases in cost of revenue, exclusive of depreciation.
Adjusted loss from operations was $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to adjusted loss from operations of $5.8 million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. The adjusted loss from operations was driven by the same factors described above impacting loss from operations. A reconciliation of reported amounts to adjusted amounts can be found in the "Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations" section of this MD&A.
Total other expense, net
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, Greenidge incurred a decrease of $1.0 million, or 32%, to $2.2 million of other expense due to a reduction in interest expense of $1.8 million, partially offset by a lower gain on sale of digital assets of $0.3 million and a change in fair value of warrant asset of $0.4 million.
Benefit from income taxes
Our effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was 0.0% which was lower than the statutory rate of 21% because we have a full valuation allowance on deferred tax assets. We recorded and will continue to carry a full valuation allowance against our gross deferred tax assets that will not reverse against deferred tax liabilities within the scheduled reversal period. Our effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was 0.0%, which was lower than the statutory rate of 21% primarily due to state income taxes and tax benefits associated with stock-based compensation.
Net loss from continuing operations
As a result of the factors described above, Greenidge incurred a net loss of $4.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to a net loss of $8.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
On an adjusted basis, excluding the impact of a gain on sale of assets, debt restructure costs and expansions costs, adjusted net loss during the three months ended March 31, 2024 would have been $3.4 million as compared to $9.0 million in the same period in 2023. Adjusted net loss is a non-GAAP performance measure. A reconciliation of reported amounts to adjusted amounts can be found in the "Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations" section of this MD&A.
Income from discontinued operations
We have reported the Support.com business as discontinued operations in the consolidated financial statements. Income from discontinued operations, net of tax decreased $0.6 million, or 86%, to $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease is primarily related to lower operating income caused by the loss of Support.com's largest customer and the winding down of operations.
Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations
The following non-GAAP measures are intended to supplement investors’ understanding of our financial information by providing measures which investors, financial analysts and management use to help evaluate our operating performance. Items which we do not believe to be indicative of ongoing business trends are excluded from these calculations so that investors can better evaluate and analyze historical and future business trends on a consistent basis. Definitions of these non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similar definitions used by other companies. These results should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, results reported in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principals ("U.S. GAAP").
EBITDA (loss) from continuing operations and Adjusted EBITDA (loss) from continuing operations
"EBITDA from continuing operations" is defined as earnings from continuing operations before taxes, interest, and depreciation and amortization. "Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations" is defined as EBITDA from continuing operations adjusted for stock-based compensation and other special items determined by management, including, but not limited to business expansion costs, gain on sale of assets and debt restructuring costs as they are not indicative of business operations. Adjusted EBITDA is intended as a supplemental measure of our performance that is neither required by, nor presented in accordance with, U.S. GAAP. Management believes that the use of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial measures with those of comparable companies, which may present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors. However, you should be aware that when evaluating EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, we may incur future expenses similar to those excluded when calculating these measures. In addition, our presentation of these measures should not be construed as an inference that its future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Our computation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures computed by other companies, because all companies may not calculate Adjusted EBITDA in the same fashion.
Because of these limitations, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for performance measures calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our U.S. GAAP results and using EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA on a supplemental basis. You should review the reconciliation of net loss (income) to EBITDA (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA below and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. The reported amounts in the table below are from our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
| Adjusted operating (loss) income from continuing operations | Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 | 2023 | Variance $% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating (loss) income from continuing operations | $(1,875) | $(5,667) | $3,792 | (67)% |
| Impairment of long-lived assets | 169 | — | 169 | N/A |
| Gain on sale of assets | — | (1,744) | 1,744 | (100)% |
| Change in fair value of warrant asset | 420 | — | $420 | N/A |
| Debt restructuring costs | — | 1,617 | (1,617) | (100)% |
| Adjusted operating (loss) income from continuing operations | $(1,286) | $(5,794) | $4,508 | (78)% |
| Adjusted operating margin | (6.7%) | (38.2%) | ||
| Adjusted net loss from continuing operations | ||||
| Net loss from continuing operations | $(4,038) | $(8,842) | $4,804 | (54)% |
| Impairment of long-lived assets, after tax | 169 | — | 169 | N/A |
| Gain on sale of assets, after tax | — | (1,744) | 1,744 | (100)% |
| Change in fair value of warrant asset, after tax | 420 | — | 420 | N/A |
| Debt restructuring costs, after tax | — | 1,617 | (1,617) | (100)% |
| Adjusted net loss from continuing operations | $(3,449) | $(8,969) | $5,520 | (62)% |
| EBITDA (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA (loss) from continuing operations | ||||
| Net loss from continuing operations | $(4,038) | $(8,842) | $4,804 | (54)% |
| Interest expense, net | 1,802 | 3,573 | (1,771) | (50)% |
| Depreciation | 3,234 | 3,820 | (586) | (15)% |
| EBITDA (loss) from continuing operations | 998 | (1,449) | 2,447 | (169)% |
| Stock-based compensation | 1,070 | 481 | 589 | 122% |
| Gain on sale of assets | — | (1,744) | 1,744 | (100)% |
| Change in fair value of warrant asset | 420 | — | 420 | N/A |
| Debt restructuring costs | — | 1,617 | (1,617) | (100)% |
| Impairment of long-lived assets | 169 | — | 169 | N/A |
| Adjusted EBITDA (loss) from continuing operations | $2,657 | $(1,095) | $3,752 | (343)% |
Revenue per MWh for datacenter hosting, cryptocurrency mining and power and capacity are used by management to consider the extent to which we may generate electricity to either produce cryptocurrency or sell power to the New York wholesale power market. Cost of revenue (excluding depreciation) per MWh represents a measure of the cost of natural gas, emissions credits, payroll and benefits and other direct production costs associated with the MWhs produced to generate the respective revenue category for each MWh utilized. Depreciation expense is excluded from the cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation) per MWh metric; therefore, not all cost of revenues for datacenter hosting, cryptocurrency mining and power and capacity are fully reflected. To the extent any other cryptocurrency datacenters are public or may go public, the cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation) per MWh metric may not be comparable because some competitors may include depreciation in their cost of revenue figures.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On March 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of $14.3 million. To date, we have primarily relied on debt and equity financing to fund our operations, including meeting ongoing working capital needs. Our management took certain actions during 2023 and during the first quarter of 2024 to improve the Company's liquidity.
As discussed in Item 1, "Business—Corporate History and Structure" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on April 10, 2023, we entered into a debt restructuring agreement with our primary lender, NYDIG. We restructured our debt by transferring ownership of miners, previously secured by the MEFAs, under the Purchase Agreement along with the rights to credits and coupons to NYDIG and reduced our debt and accrued interest balance with NYDIG from $75.8 million to $17.3 million.
We also entered into the NYDIG Hosting Agreement with NYDIG affiliates. The terms of the NYDIG Hosting Agreement require NYDIG affiliates to pay a hosting fee that covers the cost of power and direct costs associated with management of the mining facilities as well as a gross profit-sharing arrangement. This allows us to participate in the upside should bitcoin prices rise, but reduces our downside risk of bitcoin price deterioration and cost increases related to natural gas.
Additionally, we entered into the Promissory Note Amendment with B. Riley Commercial, which adjusted payments so that no principal and interest payments were required until June 2023, except for a requirement to repay principal using a portion of net proceeds from sales of equity, which was reduced from 65% to 15% of the net proceeds received. B. Riley Commercial and Atlas Holdings LLC each purchased $1 million of our Class A common stock pursuant to the ATM Agreement. In addition to the net proceeds from the sale of Class A common stock to B. Riley Commercial and Atlas Holdings LLC, during 2023, we received net proceeds of $20.6 million from sales of Class A common stock pursuant to the ATM Agreement. We repaid all $6.8 million of principal on the Secured Promissory Note during the year ended December 31, 2023.
In March 2023, we entered into the Conifex Hosting Agreement, in which Conifex agreed to provide hosting services to Greenidge utilizing renewable power. In April 2023, we entered into the Core Hosting Agreement with Core, in which Core agreed to host and operate Greenidge-owned bitcoin miners at its facilities. In addition, we installed approximately 2,200 of additional company-owned miners at our existing facilities. The installation of these miners at Conifex and Core facilities along with our facilities improved our profits and liquidity during the remainder of 2023 and beginning of 2024, and we expect these improvements to continue.
In August 2023, in connection with a non-binding term sheet that the Company entered into with NYDIG in June to effect a deleveraging transaction, we completed an electrical upgrade at the South Carolina Facility increasing the capacity to 44 MW. Upon completion of this expansion, on August 10, 2023, we and NYDIG amended the NYDIG Hosting Agreement to increase the number of miners being hosted by Greenidge utilizing all of the expansion. The NYDIG Hosting Agreement was amended in furtherance of the broader transaction contemplated by the non-binding term sheet pursuant to which the Company would sell to NYDIG all of the upgraded mining facilities at the South Carolina site and would also subdivide and sell to NYDIG the approximately 22 acres of land on which the facilities are located. This deleveraging transaction with NYDIG closed on November 9, 2023. In exchange for the sale to NYDIG of the upgraded South Carolina mining facilities and the subdivided approximate 22 acres of land, Greenidge received total consideration of approximately $28 million:
- The remaining principal of approximately $17.7 million on our Senior Secured Loan with NYDIG, which we entered into on January 30, 2023, was extinguished;
- The remaining principal of approximately $4.1 million as of September 30, 2023, on our Secured Promissory Note in favor of B. Riley Commercial Capital, LLC, which we issued on March 18, 2022 and NYDIG purchased from B. Riley Commercial on July 20, 2023 at par, was extinguished;
- A cash payment of approximately $4.5 million; and
- A bonus payment of approximately $1.6 million as a result of the completion of the expansion of the upgraded mining facility and the facility's uptime performance.
In conjunction with the sale, the Company and NYDIG terminated the South Carolina Hosting Order. As a result, at the time of closing the Company returned NYDIG's security deposit, resulting in a cash outflow of $2.2 million. As a result of the sale, the Company received a cash inflow of $3.5 million from the return of its security deposit held by the local utility.
Additionally, the Company paid the remaining accrued interest on the Senior Secured Loan and Secured Promissory Note of $0.9 million. The Company also settled certain third party transaction costs and Greenidge's share of local taxes of $0.5 million.
Prior to the closing of the South Carolina Facility sale, the Company had a cash outflow of approximately $0.9 million related to the settlement of accounts payable related to the facility upgrade.
Following the completion of the South Carolina Facility sale, the Company continues to own approximately 153 acres of land in South Carolina, and is assessing potential uses of the remaining site, which may include the development or sale of the property. The NYDIG Hosting Agreement related to the New York Facility was not impacted by this transaction.
On December 11, 2023, we entered into an Equity Exchange Agreement (the “Equity Exchange Agreement”) with Infinite Reality, Inc. (“Infinite Reality”), pursuant to which, among other things, (i) we issued to Infinite Reality a one-year warrant to purchase 180,000 shares of our Class A common stock at an exercise price of $7.00 per share, the proceeds of which, upon exercise, are required to be used for the development of a proposed new data center contemplated by a Master Services Agreement entered into between us and Infinite Reality on December 11, 2023, and (ii) we issued 180,000 shares of our Class A common stock to Infinite Reality, which shares for purposes of the Equity Exchange Agreement, were valued at $8.33 per share, or an aggregate value of approximately $1.5 million. In addition, Infinite Realty issued to Greenidge a one-year common stock purchase warrant, pursuant to which we have the right to purchase up to 235,754 shares of common stock of Infinite Reality, par value $0.001 per share (“Infinite Reality Common Stock”), at an exercise price of $5.35 per share, and Infinite Reality issued to us 280,374 shares of Infinite Reality Common Stock.
We continued to improve our liquidity position in the first three months of 2024. On February 12, 2024, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Armistice SPA”) with Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd. (“Armistice”). Pursuant to the Armistice SPA, Armistice purchased (i) 450,300 shares of Class A common stock (the “SPA Shares”), and (ii) a pre-funded warrant (the “Pre-Funded Warrant”) to purchase 810,205 shares of Class A common stock (the “Pre-Funded Warrant Shares”). The per share purchase price of the SPA Shares and the Pre-Funded Warrant Shares was $4.76, resulting in aggregate gross proceeds of $6.0 million, and after giving effect to the exercise price of $0.0001 per Pre-Funded Warrant Share, we received net proceeds of $6.0 million. In addition, we issued to Armistice a five-year warrant to purchase up to 1,260,505 shares of Class A common stock, exercisable commencing on August 14, 2024 at an exercise price of $5.25 per share.
Despite these improvements to the Company's financial condition, Greenidge management expects that it will require additional capital in order to fund the Company’s expenses and to support the Company’s working capital needs and remaining debt servicing requirements. Management continues to assess different options to improve the Company's liquidity which include, but are not limited to:
- lowering the operating cost and increasing the profitability of the Company’s fleet of bitcoin mining, hosting, and power generation assets;
- monetizing the Company's remaining real estate in South Carolina via a development or sale arrangement;
- a sale of a portion of the Company’s unused electrical and mining infrastructure equipment assets; and
- issuances of equity.
Our operating cash flows generated by mining, hosting, and power are affected by several factors including the price of bitcoin, bitcoin mining difficulty, and the costs of electricity, natural gas, and emissions credits. While bitcoin prices began to recover during 2023 from the significant declines experienced in 2022, and have continued to rise in the first quarter of 2024, management cannot predict the future price of bitcoin, nor can we predict the volatility of energy costs. While the Company continues to work to implement options to improve liquidity, we can provide no assurance that these efforts will be successful and our liquidity could be negatively impacted by factors outside of our control, in particular, significant decreases in the price of bitcoin, regulatory changes concerning cryptocurrency, increases in energy costs or other macroeconomic conditions and other matters identified in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Given this uncertainty regarding our financial condition over the next 12 months from the date these financial statements were issued, we have concluded that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our contractual obligations and other commitments at March 31, 2024, and the years in which these obligations are due:
$ in thousands
| Total | 2024 | 2025-2026 | 2027-2028 | Thereafter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt payments | $89,077 | $4,603 | $84,474 | $— | $– |
| Leases | 78 | 78 | — | — | — |
| Environmental obligations | 30,229 | 363 | 10,940 | 10,923 | 8,003 |
| Natural gas transportation | 12,324 | 1,422 | 3,792 | 3,792 | 3,318 |
| Total | $131,708 | $6,466 | $99,206 | $14,715 | $11,321 |
The debt payments included in the table above include the principal and interest amounts due. The lease payments include fixed monthly rental payments and exclude any variable payments. Environmental obligations are based on estimates subject to various assumptions including, but not limited to, closure and post-closure cost estimates, timing of expenditures, escalation factors, and requirements of granted permits. Additional adjustments to the environment liability may occur periodically due to potential changes in remediation requirements regarding coal combustion residuals which may lead to material changes in estimates and assumptions.
Summary of Cash Flow
The following table provides information about our net cash flow for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.
$ in thousands
| Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Net cash used for operating activities from continuing operations | $(4,990) | $(607) |
| Net cash used for investing activities from continuing operations | (952) | (5,867) |
| Net cash provided by financing activities from continuing operations | 7,038 | 4,813 |
| Increase (Decrease) in cash and cash equivalents from discontinued operations | (71) | 3,490 |
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 1,025 | 1,829 |
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of year | 13,312 | 15,217 |
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period | $14,337 | $17,046 |
Operating Activities
Net cash used for was $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, as compared to net cash used of $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The variance in the operating cash flow during the first three months of 2024 as compared to 2023 was driven primarily by the purchase of additional Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ("RGGI") credits, as well as the advantageous change in net loss.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $1.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, as compared to $5.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease is primarily related to $5.1 million of lower purchases of and deposits for property and equipment as compared to the prior year due to the significant expansion of our miner fleet and infrastructure for cryptocurrency datacenter operations that was occurring during the prior year.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $7.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, as compared to $4.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase is primarily related to the increase of $6.0 million of proceeds from the issuance of common stock and pre-funded warrant, along with the $3.3 million elimination of principal payments on debt due to its restructuring. These increases were partially offset by a $7.1 million reduction in sales of Class A common stock under the Company's ATM Agreement.
Financing Arrangements
See Note 5, "Debt," and Note 9, "Stockholder's Deficit" in the Notes to our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for details regarding our financing arrangements for further details regarding our financing arrangements.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The most significant accounting estimates involve a high degree of judgment or complexity. Management believes the estimates and judgments most critical to the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements and to the understanding of our reported financial results include those made in connection with environmental obligations. Management evaluates its policies and assumptions on an ongoing basis.
Our significant accounting policies related to these accounts in the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements are described under the heading “Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. As of the date of this filing, there were no significant changes to any of the critical accounting policies and estimates previously described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 with the exception of those described below.
Revenue Recognition
Cryptocurrency Mining Revenue
Greenidge has entered into digital asset mining pools by executing contracts with the mining pool operators to perform hash computations for a mining pool. The contracts are terminable at any time at no cost by either party and Greenidge’s enforceable right to compensation begins only when, and lasts as long as, Greenidge performs hash computations for the mining pool operator. In exchange for performing hash computations, Greenidge is entitled to a fractional share of the cryptocurrency award the mining pool operator theoretically receives less the mining pool fees. The agreements entered into with the pool operators pay out based on a Full-Pay-Per-Share (“FPPS”) payout formula, which is a conceptual formula that entitles Greenidge to consideration upon the provision of hash computations to the pool even if a block is not successfully placed by the pool operator. Revenue is measured as the value of the consideration received in the form of cryptocurrency from the pool operator, less the mining pool fees retained by the mining pool operator. Greenidge does not expect any material future changes in mining pool fee rates.
In exchange for performing hash computations for the mining pool, the Company is entitled to a fractional share of the cryptocurrency award the mining pool operator theoretically receives (less pool operator fees to the mining pool operator which are netted as a reduction of the transaction price). Greenidge’s fractional share is based on the proportion of hash computations the Company performed for the mining pool operator to the total hash computations contributed by all miners in solving the current algorithm during the 24-hour period. Daily earnings calculated under the FPPS payout formula are calculated from midnight-to-midnight UTC time and are credited to pool members’ accounts at 1:00:00 A.M. UTC. The pool sends Greenidge’s cryptocurrency balance in the account to a digital wallet designated by the Company between 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. UTC time each day, which Greenidge automatically sells for cash within minutes of receipt.
The service of performing hash computations for the mining pool operators is an output of Greenidge’s ordinary activities and is the only performance obligation in Greenidge’s contracts with mining pool operators. The cryptocurrency that Greenidge receives as transaction consideration is noncash consideration, which Greenidge measures at fair value on the contract inception date at 0:00:00 UTC on the start date of the contract. The duration of each contract is 24 hours or less and provides the same rate of payment upon renewal. Since the pricing remains the same upon contract renewal, the contract does not provide the applicable mining pool operator with a material right that represents a separate performance obligation. The fair value is based on Greenidge’s primary exchange of the related cryptocurrency which is considered to be Coinbase. The consideration Greenidge earns is variable since it is based on the amount of hash computations provided by both Greenidge and the bitcoin network as a whole. The Company does not constrain this variable consideration because it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of revenue recognized from the contract will not occur when the uncertainty is subsequently resolved and recognizes the non-cash consideration on the same day that control is transferred, which is the same day as contract inception.
Datacenter Hosting Revenue
We generate revenue from contracts with customers from providing hosting services to a single third-party customer. Hosting revenue is recognized as services are performed on a variable basis. We recognize variable hosting revenue each month as the uncertainty related to the consideration is resolved, hosting services are provided to our customer, and our customer utilizes the hosting service (the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits of our performance). Our performance obligation related to these services is satisfied over time. We recognize revenue for services that are performed on a consumption basis (the amount of electricity utilized by the customer) as well as through a fixed fee that is earned monthly and a profit sharing component based on the net proceeds earned by the customer in the month from bitcoin mining activities. We bill our customer at the beginning of each month based on the anticipated consumption under the contract. Invoices are collected in the month of invoicing under the terms of the contract. We recognize revenue based on actual consumption in the period.
Power and capacity revenue
Greenidge recognizes power revenue at a point in time when the electricity is delivered to the NYISO and its performance obligation is met. Greenidge recognizes revenue on capacity agreements over the life of the contract as its series of performance obligations are met as capacity to provide power is maintained.
Sales tax, value-added tax, and other taxes Greenidge collects concurrent with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue. Incidental contract costs that are not material in the context of the delivery of goods and services are recognized as expense. There is no significant financing component in these transactions.
Engineering Procurement and Construction Management ("EPCM")
The Company has entered into contracts with customers to perform engineering procurement and construction management services for customers developing cryptocurrency mining facilities. The services defined in the contracts are generally separated into phases, being 1) engineering 2) construction and 3) procurement.
While the services discussed above are capable of being distinct and separately identifiable, the Company concluded that the services provided are inputs to produce the combined output to the customer, which is the completed site buildout. Further, the services provided are significantly modified by the other services in the contract. As such, while the performance obligations may be capable of being distinct, they are not distinct in the context of the contract and therefore the promises in the contract are combined into one single performance obligation.
The Company recognizes EPCM revenue over time, as performance obligations are satisfied, due to the continuous transfer of control to the customer. The Company utilizes the percentage-of-completion method, based primarily on contract cost incurred to date compared to total estimated contract cost. The percentage-of-completion method, and input method, is used as management considers it to be the best available measure of progress on these contracts.
To the extent a contract is cancelled, the Company assesses whether there are any remaining goods or services to be provided after cancellation. If there are any remaining goods or services to be provided, the Company follows the guidance under ASC 606 for contract modifications. If there are no remaining goods or services to be provided, the Company considers whether consideration received is refundable or nonrefundable. To the extent consideration received is refundable, the Company recognizes a refund liability, otherwise, it recognizes revenue for the consideration received.
Valuation of Long-Lived Assets
In accordance with ASC 360-10, the Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. To determine recoverability of a long-lived asset, management evaluates whether the estimated future undiscounted net cash flows, based on prevailing market conditions, from the asset are less than its carrying amount. If impairment is indicated, the long-lived asset is written down to fair value.
During 2022, we determined that triggering events had occurred as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2022 due to the negative impact on our cash flows resulting from the significant market declines in the price of bitcoin and increases in natural gas and energy costs during those periods. For the purposes of performing the recoverability test we consider all the long-lived assets of the Company to be a single asset group as we operate as an integrated power and crypto datacenter operations business and this grouping represents the lowest level of identifiable independent cash flows. We concluded that projected undiscounted cash flows did not support the recoverability of the long-lived assets as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2022; therefore, a valuation was performed using the market approach in order to determine the fair value of the asset grouping. The carrying value exceeded the fair value of the asset group and impairment loss was recorded for the difference in the carrying value and fair value. The Company recognized a noncash impairment charge of $176.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.
In determining the fair value of long-lived assets under the market approach, we relied on the guideline public company method, which considered the market capitalization of Greenidge, as well as the market capitalizations of other publicly traded companies and determined their revenue and hash rate multiples to compare to the market capitalization of Greenidge. Estimates using the guideline public company method is subject to uncertainties caused by potential differences in outlook caused by differing facts and circumstances surrounding the comparable companies, such as susceptibility to fluctuations in energy prices, liquidity of each company, environmental liabilities and any market perceptions of the companies in the peer group that may not apply across the industry. Valuing the Company under the market value approach changed significantly during 2022 as market perceptions of the cryptocurrency mining industry changed as bitcoin prices continued to decline and remained depressed for the latter part of 2022. We analyzed the estimates using this market approach by estimating the values using a cost approach, which resulted in similar asset values as of December 31, 2022. Considering the estimates from these different approaches, we believe the fair value of the asset group would have been within an approximate 15% to 20% range.
The Company is evaluating future uses of the remaining real estate assets in South Carolina, which includes the land and the original building which was classified as construction in process as it was not used in cryptocurrency mining. The impairment assessment was performed using a market approach by obtaining third party appraisals for the value of the site. An impairment charge of $4.0 million was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2023, which is the remaining value of the building which was determined to no longer be recoverable through a sale transaction. An impairment charge of $0.2 million was recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2024, which is the remaining value of a group of miners which were determined to no longer be recoverable through sale or repairs.
Remeasurement of Environmental Liabilities
We recognize environmental liabilities in accordance with ASC 410-30, Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations. As of December 31, 2023 we have recognized environmental liabilities for a coal ash pond and landfill which were inherited due to the legacy coal operations at the Company's property in the Town of Torrey, New York. These costs are considered to be both probable and estimable. We have recorded a total environmental liability of $30.2 million as of both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, for the remediation of these sites. The Company recognized no charges for the remeasurement of environmental liabilities for both the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.
The Company has estimated the cost of remediation by developing a remediation plan in consultation with environmental engineers, periodically obtaining quotes for estimated construction costs and adjusting estimates for inflationary factors based on the expected timing of the remediation work. Estimates include anticipated post-closure costs including monitoring and maintenance of the site. Estimates are based on various assumptions that are sensitive to changes including, but not limited to, closure and post-closure cost estimates, timing of expenditures, escalation factors, and requirements of granted permits. Additional material adjustments to the environmental liability may occur in the future due to required changes to the scope and timing of the remediation, changes to regulations governing the closure and remediation of CCR sites and changes to cost estimates due to inflationary or other economic factors.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
None.
Emerging Growth Company Status
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act ("JOBS Act"). As a result, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements. For so long as we are an emerging growth company, we will not be required to:
- have an auditor report on our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
- comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (i.e., an auditor discussion and analysis);
- submit certain executive compensation matters to shareholder advisory votes, such as “say-on-pay,” “say-on-frequency” and pay ratio; and
- disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards.
In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. Its financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards.
We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our total annual gross revenues exceed $1.235 billion, (ii) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, or (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three year period.
Controls and procedures
As filed, 1,205 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
The Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, have conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded as of March 31, 2024, that the disclosure controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that all material information required to be filed in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q has been recorded, processed, summarized and reported when required and the information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
There have not been any changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the first quarter of 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Risk factors
As filed, 9,319 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
In evaluating our company and our business, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K together with updates to those risk factors or new risk factors contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q below and any other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including our condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes and in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in these risk factors, alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, revenue, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects, in which case the market price of our common stock could decline. Unless otherwise indicated, reference in this section and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to our business being adversely affected, negatively impacted or harmed will include an adverse effect on, or a negative impact or harm to, our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, revenue and our future prospects. The material and other risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, summarized above in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and described below are not intended to be exhaustive and are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the risks described below. Certain statements in the Risk Factors below are forward-looking statements. See the section titled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”.
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which illuminate challenges that we face in connection with the successful implementation of our strategy and the growth of our business. Our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results could be harmed by any of these risks, as well as other risks not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial. There have been no material changes to the risk factors identified in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, other than as set forth below.
The bitcoin reward for successfully uncovering a block most recently halved in April 2024 and will halve again several times in the future, and bitcoin value may not adjust to compensate us for the reduction in the rewards we receive from our bitcoin mining efforts.
Halving is a process designed to control the overall supply and reduce the risk of inflation in cryptocurrencies using a proof of work consensus algorithm. At a predetermined block, the bitcoin mining reward is cut in half, hence the term "halving." For bitcoin, the reward was initially set at 50 bitcoin currency rewards per block, which was cut in half to 25 on November 28, 2012 at block 210,000, then to 12.5 on July 9, 2016 at block 420,000, and then again to 6.25 on May 11, 2020 at block 630,000. The most recent halving for bitcoin occurred on April 19, 2024 at block 840,000 and the reward was reduced to 3.125. The next halving is expected to occur in spring 2028. This process will reoccur until the total amount of bitcoin currency rewards issued reaches 21 million, which is expected to occur around the year 2140.
Bitcoin has had a history of price fluctuations around the halving of its rewards, and we can provide no assurance that any price change will be favorable or would compensate for the reduction in bitcoin mining reward in connection with a halving. If the award of bitcoin or a proportionate decrease in bitcoin mining difficulty does not follow these anticipated halving events, the revenue we earn from our cryptocurrency datacenter operations would see a corresponding decrease, and we may not have an adequate incentive to continue bitcoin mining.
We have material environmental liabilities, and costs of compliance with existing and new environmental laws could have a material adverse effect on us.
We and our affiliates are subject to extensive environmental regulation by governmental authorities, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA"), and state environmental agencies such as the NYSDEC and/or attorneys general, and have material environmental liabilities, including a coal combustion residual liability of $17.3 million as of December 31, 2023 associated with the closure of a coal ash point located on the New York Facility property and an environmental liability of $12.9 million as of December 31, 2023 associated with the Lockwood Hills Landfill. See "Business—Governmental Regulation—Environmental Liability" and Note 10, "Commitments and Contingencies—Environmental Liabilities", in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. We may incur significant additional costs beyond those currently contemplated to comply with these regulatory requirements. If we fail to comply with these regulatory requirements, we could be forced to reduce or discontinue operations or become subject to administrative, civil, or criminal liabilities and fines.
Existing environmental regulations could be revised or reinterpreted, new laws and regulations could be adopted or become applicable to us or our facilities, and future changes in environmental laws and regulations could occur, including potential regulatory and enforcement developments related to air emissions, all of which could result in significant additional costs beyond those currently contemplated to comply with existing requirements. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
The EPA has recently finalized or proposed several regulatory actions establishing new requirements for control of certain emissions from certain sources, including electricity generation facilities. In the future, the EPA may also propose and finalize additional regulatory actions that may adversely affect our existing generation facilities or our ability to cost-effectively develop new generation facilities. We can provide no assurance that the currently installed emissions control equipment at the natural gas-fueled generation facilities owned and operated by us will satisfy the requirements under any future EPA or state environmental regulations. Future federal and/or state regulatory actions could require us to install significant additional emissions control equipment, resulting in potentially material costs of compliance for our generation units, including capital expenditures, higher operating and fuel costs, and potential production curtailments. These costs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We may not be able to obtain or maintain all required environmental regulatory approvals. For example, in June 2022, NYSDEC denied our application to renew a Title V Air Permit for the continued operation of our natural gas power generation facility in the Town of Torrey, New York. In July 2022, we appealed the denial and requested an administrative adjudicatory hearing with NYSDEC, however, in May 2024, our appeal to NYSDEC and request for an adjudicatory hearing were ultimately denied and the June 2022 non-renewal of our Title V Air Permit was affirmed by NYSDEC's Regional Director for Region 7. We intend to take further legal action in a court of competent jurisdiction to challenge NYSDEC's denial of our permit renewal application and to continue to operate the facility as normal pending a final, non-appealable outcome regarding our permit renewal application, however there can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful. If there is a delay in obtaining any required environmental regulatory approvals, if we fail to obtain, maintain, or comply with any such approval, or if an approval is retroactively disallowed or adversely modified, the operation of our generation facilities could be stopped, disrupted, curtailed, or modified or become subject to additional costs. Any such stoppage, disruption, curtailment, modification, or additional costs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, we may be responsible for any on-site liabilities associated with the environmental condition of facilities that we have acquired, leased, developed, or sold, regardless of when the liabilities arose and whether they are now known or unknown. In connection with certain acquisitions and sales of assets, we may obtain, or be required to provide, indemnification against certain environmental liabilities. Another party could, depending on the circumstances, assert an environmental claim against us or fail to meet its indemnification obligation to us. Such event could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Figures reported in this filing
Standardized line items from the XBRL in this filing, for the period ended 2024-03-31. Comparative periods it repeats are left out.
| Line item | Period | Value | XBRL concept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling, general and administrative | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | $5.5m | us-gaap:SellingGeneralAndAdministrativeExpense |
| Operating income | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | −$1.9m | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss |
| Interest expense | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | $1.8m | us-gaap:InterestExpense |
| Income tax | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | $0 | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit |
| Net income | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | −$3.9m | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss |
| Diluted EPS | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | −$0.42 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted |
| Basic EPS | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | −$0.42 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic |
| Diluted shares (weighted) | 3 months2024-01-01 to 2024-03-31 | 9,494,000 shares | us-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding |
| Current assets | At period end2024-03-31 | $30.8m | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent |
| Total assets | At period end2024-03-31 | $74.6m | us-gaap:Assets |
| Current liabilities | At period end2024-03-31 | $20.2m | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent |
| Total liabilities | At period end2024-03-31 | $121.4m | us-gaap:Liabilities |
| Long-term debt | At period end2024-03-31 | $69.0m | us-gaap:LongTermDebt |
| Shareholders' equity | At period end2024-03-31 | −$46.9m | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity |
Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0001628280-24-023622. Last ingested by Listed: Oct 24, 2026, 15:06 ET. Listed shows no prices and gives no investment advice.