Riot Blockchain, the US-based mining firm, has published its financial report for Q1 2020 by painting a picture of a company heavily reliant on equity and debt financing to fund its operations.
It has been reported that the firm reported repeating losses and negative cash flows from its operations, with Riot anticipating continued losses over the near term.
However, the mining outfit is pinning its hopes on the arrival of 2000 next-generation mining machines, as it believes that it will enable it to double its operational hash rate.
Until March 31, 2020, Riot Blockchain reported holding cash and cash equivalents worth $14 million; $5.3 million in crypto assets, predominantly Bitcoin (BTC), along with working capital of $17 million.
With $221 million in debts, Riot Blockchain is pinning its hopes on 2,040 S19 ASICs that could make or break the company https://t.co/IW27FWtAJW — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) May 13, 2020
It has been analyzed that in a press release, Riot emphasizes its improved performance when compared with the first quarter of 2019, with its margin on mining operations up to $955,000 from a loss of $65,000, as revenue increased 68%, from $1.4 million to $2.4 million when compared to Q1 2019.
Also, the firm emphasizes a sharp increase in corporate liquidity since the start of the year, with liquidity up to $19.2 compared to $11.3 million as of December 31, 2019.
As per the report, Riot’s accumulated deficit exceeded $221 million, with the company relying on equity and debt financing to fund most of its operations.
Riot “expects to continue to incur losses from operations for the near-term” by noting that the losses may be significant as legal and administrative costs, and expenditures associated with acquisitions, continue to mount.
The report stated:
“The company is closely monitoring its balances, cash needs, and expense levels.”
Likewise, the firm notes that its Q1 gains in revenue and gross profit can be primarily attributed to changes in cryptocurrency prices and its recent deployment of next-generation cryptocurrency miners.
In December 2019, Riot purchased 4,000 Antminer S17 Pro ASICs from Bitmain for around $6.3 million.
Recently, Riot has purchased 1,000 Antminer S19s and 1,040 S19 Pros Bitmain by expressing expectations that their deployment will double its operational hash rate.
Thus, with debts exceeding $220 million, it remains to be seen whether the S19s will be able to significantly improve the company’s performance, especially after this week’s halving saw the block reward reduced to just 6.25 BTC.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Pixabay
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