Hut 8 Reports Operating and Financial Results for Q2 2023

Quarterly revenue of $19.1 million including $4.2 million from the high performance computing business 

9,136 self-mined Bitcoin held in custody or pledged as collateral on June 30

TORONTO, Aug. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Hut 8 Mining Corp. (Nasdaq: HUT) (TSX: HUT) (“Hut 8” or the “Company”), one of North America’s largest, innovation-focused digital asset mining pioneers, and high performance computing infrastructure provider, announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 (“Q2 2023”). All dollar figures are in Canadian Dollars (“CAD”), unless otherwise stated.

“We continued to build momentum toward closing our transaction with USBTC by progressing toward receiving regulatory approvals to proceed and improving our projected post-merger self-mining capacity to 7.5 EH/s,” said Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8. “That said, we are not here to simply chase exahash: we have been unique in our approach to growing our business primarily through inorganic means, and have done so with an infrastructure-first mindset. We believe that there is value to be captured beyond proprietary mining, which is why we acquired the HPC business. We are confident that this merger positively positions us on a path to growth by expanding into more stable energy markets and increasing our exposure to capex-light, scalable, fiat-based revenue streams like hosting and managed infrastructure operations, which includes purpose-built site management software, while improving our self-mining capabilities.”

“While we continued to face mining challenges during the second quarter at Drumheller, which are reflected in decreased revenue and fewer Bitcoin mined, we were successful in strategically managing our costs,” said Shenif Visram, CFO of Hut 8. “In our high performance computing business, we signed a significant five-year contract during the period, and will begin to realize that revenue later this year. In the meantime, we have more than 1 MW of data centre capacity and existing infrastructure readily available to meet customers’ AI and other high performance computing demands.”

Q2 2023 HIGHLIGHTS
  • Revenue decreased by $24.6 million to $19.2 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2023 compared to $43.8 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2022 (“Q2 2022”).

  • The Company mined 399 Bitcoin in the quarter ended June 30, 2023, an approximately 58% decrease compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2022, primarily due to an increase in average Bitcoin network difficulty resulting in decrease in Bitcoin mined, the impact of the suspension of operations at the Company’s North Bay Facility, and ongoing electrical issues at the Company’s Drumheller facility.

  • The Company’s high performance computing (“HPC”) operations generated $4.2 million of primarily monthly recurring revenue in Q2 2023 compared to $4.7 million in Q2 2022 as a result of the discontinuation of certain low-margin products and service offerings, customer churn, which were partially offset by new sales. The new sales do not reflect the newly signed five-year agreement with Interior Health, as the revenue earned from the agreement will commence later in 2023.

  • As previously reported, the Company encountered issues at the Drumheller site, primarily stemming from high energy input levels that have been causing miners to fail. This has materially reduced operations, which are currently at approximately 20% of our installed hash rate at the site. The team has implemented new custom firmware across all miner models designed to lower the power supply’s maximum output voltage, ensured our equipment operates within safe limits, increased repair staff, added an additional repair centre shift, and procured new hardware to expedite repairs and accelerate the speed at which we bring miners back online. The electrical issues at the Drumheller site have been compounded by high energy rates which further increased curtailment at the site.

  • The Company’s installed hashrate was 2.6 EH/s (excluding the Company’s North Bay facility) as of June 30, 2023compared to 2.6 EH/s as of March 31, 2023.
BITCOIN INVENTORY AND VALUE

As at June 30, 2023, the Company had a total self-mined Bitcoin balance held in custody or pledged as collateral of 9,136 with a market value of $368.7 million. During the second quarter of 2023, 399 Bitcoin were mined and 396 Bitcoin were sold, for which the Company received proceeds of $14.7 million.

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

For the periods ended June 30

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

(CAD thousands, except per share amounts)     

2023

2022

2023

2022

Operating results

Digital assets mined

399

946

874

1,888

Financial results

Total revenue

$       19,183

$       43,845

$       38,204

$        97,178

Net (loss) income

(16,713)

(88,067)

91,790

(32,359)

Mining Profit (i)

3,200

14,906

5,790

47,813

Adjusted EBITDA (i)

(2,690)

(98,136)

133,340

(71,027)

Per share

Net income – basic

$         (0.08)

$         (0.49)

$           0.42

$          (0.19)

Net income – diluted

$         (0.08)

$         (0.49)

$           0.40

$          (0.19)

(i) Non-IFRS measure – see “Non-IFRS Measures” section below. Certain comparative figures have been restated
where necessary to conform with current period presentation.

 As at

(CAD thousands)

June 30,
2023

December 31,
2022

Financial position

Cash

$       26,687

$       30,515

Total digital assets

368,942

203,627

Total assets

557,549

412,937

Total liabilities

86,383

61,547

Total shareholders’ equity                                                                            

471,166

351,390

Working Capital (ii)

345,314

215,490

(ii) Calculated as current assets less current liabilities.

  • Revenue decreased by $24.6 million to $19.2 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2023 compared to $43.8 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2022 (“Q2 2022”). The Company mined 399 Bitcoin in the quarter ended June 30, 2023, an approximately 58% decrease compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2022, primarily due to an increase in average Bitcoin network difficulty resulting in decrease in Bitcoin mined, halt in the Company’s graphic processing units (“GPU”) mining activities due to the Ethereum network’s change in consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake during the third quarter of 2022, the impact of the suspension of operations at the Company’s North Bay Facility, and ongoing electrical issues at the Company’s Drumheller facility which continued from the fourth quarter of 2022. Revenue from the Company’s digital asset mining operations also declined as a result of lower Digital Asset Revenue per Bitcoin Mined(i) due to the decrease in the daily average closing Bitcoin price in the current quarter versus the comparative quarter. The Company’s high performance computing operations generated $4.2 million of primarily monthly recurring revenue in Q2 2023 compared to $4.7 million in Q2 2022 as a result of the discontinuation of certain low-margin products and service offerings, customer churn, which were partially offset by new sales. The new sales do not reflect the newly signed five-year agreement with Interior Health, as the revenue earned from the agreement will commence later in 2023.

  • Cost of revenue consists of site operating costs and depreciation. The cost of revenue was $23.8 million for the second quarter of 2023 compared to $47.7 million in the same period in 2022. Site operating costs consist primarily of electricity costs as well as personnel, network monitoring, and equipment repair and maintenance costs at our digital asset mining and high performance computing operations. Site operating costs for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 were $14.3 million, of which $11.8 million were attributable to our mining operations and $2.5 million were attributable to our high performance computing operations. The site operating costs for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 were $26.8 million, of which $24.5 million were attributable to our mining operations and $2.3 millionwere attributable to our high performance computing operations. The Mining Cost per Bitcoin(i) for the second quarter of 2023 was $29,551 per Bitcoin, compared to $25,611 per Bitcoin in the prior year for the same quarter. The increase was due to higher power consumption per Bitcoin mined and ongoing electrical issues at the Drumhellerfacility, which was partially offset by the Company’s decision to curtail, lower average energy prices, and increased efficiencies in the miners deployed compared to prior year same quarter. The increase in site operating costs related to the high performance computing operations is primarily due to increased repairs and maintenance to improve the Company’s facilities. Depreciation expense decreased to $9.5 million during the second quarter of 2023 compared to $20.9 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily driven by the lower net book value of digital asset mining assets after the recognition of non-cash impairment charge during the fourth quarter of 2022 as part of annual impairment testing.

  • Net loss was $16.7 million and net loss per share was $0.08 for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to net loss of $88.1 million and net loss per share of $0.49 for the same period in 2022. The change was primarily driven by the lower non-cash revaluation loss on digital assets recorded to income or loss, partially offset by the lower non-cash gain on revaluation of warrant liability, resulting in lower net loss. Additionally, the net loss per share was lower due to greater weighted average number of shares outstanding for earnings per share purposes under International Accounting Standards 33.

  • Mining Profit(i) was $3.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to $14.9 million in the prior year’s quarter. The decrease in Mining Profit(i) compared to the prior year’s quarter is mainly due to the decrease in price of Bitcoin, lower quantity of Bitcoin mined due to increased Bitcoin network difficulty, halt in the Company’s GPU mining activities due to the Ethereum network’s change in consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake during the third quarter of 2022, impact of the suspension of operations at the Company’s North Bay Facility, and the ongoing electrical issues at the Company’s Drumheller facility noted above, and was partially offset by lower average power prices.

  • Adjusted EBITDA(i) was negative $2.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to a negative Adjusted EBITDA(i) of $98.1 million in the prior year’s quarter, primarily driven by a lower loss on revaluation of digital assets, partially offset by a lower digital asset Mining Profit(i), and the aforementioned electrical issues at the Company’s Drumheller facility. Contributions from HPC operations were offset by lower margins in digital asset mining operations.

For more information, please refer to the Company’s management’s discussion & analysis (the “MD&A”) and the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2023and 2022. These documents are available on the Company’s website at hut8.io, under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and under the Company’s EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov.

______________________________

(i) Non-IFRS measure or ratio – see “Non-IFRS Measures and Ratios” section below. Certain comparative figures have been restated where necessary to conform with current period presentation.

NON-IFRS MEASURES AND RATIOS

This press release makes reference to certain measures and ratios that are not recognized under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. They are therefore not necessarily comparable to similar measures or ratios presented by other companies. The Company uses non-IFRS measures and ratios including “Mining Profit”, “Adjusted EBITDA”, “Digital Asset Revenue per Bitcoin Mined”, and “Mining Cost per Bitcoin” as additional information to complement IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Company’s results of operations from Management’s perspective and should not be viewed as alternatives to, or replacements of, measures of operating results and liquidity presented in accordance with IFRS.

The following tables and definitions reconcile non-IFRS measures and ratios used by the Company to analyze the operational performance of Hut 8 to their nearest IFRS measure and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.

Mining Profit

“Mining Profit” represents gross profit (revenue less cost of revenue), excluding depreciation and revenue and site operating costs directly attributable to hosting services and high performance computing operations. Mining Profit shows profitability of the Company’s core digital asset mining operation, without the impact of non-cash depreciation expense. Mining Profit measure provides investors the ability to assess the profitability of the mining operations exclusive of general and administrative expenses.

The following table reconciles gross (loss) profit to our non-IFRS measure, Mining Profit:

For the periods ended June 30

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

(CAD thousands)

2023

2022

2023

2022

Gross (loss) profit

$      (4,651)

$       (3,841)

$      (10,858)

$         12,614

Add (deduct):

Revenue from hosting

(751)

Revenue from high performance computing               

(4,192)

(4,711)

(8,687)

(8,001)

Site operating costs attributable to hosting
    and high performance computing

2,551

2,554

4,984

4,682

Depreciation

9,492

20,904

20,351

39,269

Mining Profit

$        3,200

$       14,906

$         5,790

$        47,813

Adjusted EBITDA

“Adjusted EBITDA” represents EBITDA (net income or loss excluding net finance income or expense, income tax or recovery, depreciation, and amortization) adjusted to exclude non-cash share-based compensation, fair value gain or loss on revaluation of warrants, non-recurring impairment charges or reversals of impairment, and costs associated with one-time or non-recurring transactions. Adjusted EBITDA is used to assess profitability without the impact of non-recurring non-cash accounting policies, capital structure, taxation, and one-time or non-recurring transactions. This performance measure provides a consistent comparable metric for profitability of the Company across time periods.

The following table reconciles net (loss) income to our non-IFRS measure, Adjusted EBITDA:

For the periods ended June 30

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

(CAD thousands)

2023

2022

2023

2022

Net (loss) income

$       (16,713)

$     (88,067)

$         91,790

$       (32,359)

Add (deduct):

Net finance expense

1,437

1,543

2,869

2,835

Depreciation and amortization

9,669

21,247

20,705

39,841

Share based payment

2,477

1,977

5,512

3,276

Foreign exchange (gain) loss

(298)

(27)

(291)

684

One-time transaction costs

2,887

15,175

1,611

North Bay decommissioning costs

245

919

Deferred income tax (recovery) expense              

(2,055)

8,472

(3,127)

9,593

Sales tax expense

913

Gain on revaluation of warrants

(339)

(43,281)

(212)

(97,421)

Adjusted EBITDA

$         (2,690)

$     (98,136)

$       133,340

$       (71,027)

Digital Asset Revenue per Bitcoin Mined

“Digital Asset Revenue per Bitcoin Mined” represents revenue, excluding revenue from hosting services and high performance computing operations, measured on a per Bitcoin mined basis during a period. Digital Asset Revenue per Bitcoin Mined is used and provides investors the ability to assess the average revenue earned per Bitcoin mined during a period by the Company’s digital asset mining operations.

The following table reconciles revenue to our non-IFRS ratio, Digital Asset Revenue per Bitcoin Mined:

For the three months ended

(CAD thousands, except per Bitcoin amounts)                                                         

June 30, 2023
Q2

Jun 30, 2022
Q2

Revenue

$         19,183

$         43,845

Deduct:

Revenue from high performance computing

(4,192)

(4,711)

Digital asset revenue

14,991

39,134

Divided by:

Number of Bitcoin mined

399

946

Digital Asset Revenue per Bitcoin Mined

$         37,571

$         41,368

Mining Cost per Bitcoin

“Mining Cost per Bitcoin” represents the cost of revenue, excluding site operating costs attributable to hosting services and high performance computing operations, and depreciation, measured on a per Bitcoin mined basis during a period. Mining Cost per Bitcoin is used and provides the investors the ability to evaluate the efficiency of the Company’s digital asset mining operations exclusive of general and administrative expenses.

The following table reconciles cost of revenue to our non-IFRS ratio, Mining Cost per Bitcoin:

For the periods ended June 30

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

(CAD thousands, except per Bitcoin amounts)

2023

2022

2023

2022

Cost of revenue

$     (23,834)

$     (47,686)

$      (49,062)

$      (84,564)

Add (deduct):

Site operating costs attributable to high
    performance computing and hosting

2,551

2,554

4,984

4,682

Depreciation

9,492

20,904

20,351

39,269

Mining cost

(11,791)

(24,228)

(23,727)

(40,613)

Divided by:

Number of Bitcoin mined                                     

399

946

874

1,888

Mining Cost per Bitcoin

$     (29,551)

$    (25,611)

$      (27,148)

$      (21,511)

CORPORATE UPDATES

Hut 8 and U.S. Data Mining Group, Inc., doing business as US Bitcoin Corp (“USBTC”) continue to make progress on the proposed business combination pursuant to which the two companies will combine in all-stock merger of equals (the “Transaction”). The combined company will be named “Hut 8 Corp.” (“New Hut”) and will be a U.S.-domiciled entity. The Transaction is expected to establish New Hut as a large scale, publicly traded Bitcoin miner focused on economical mining, highly diversified revenue streams, and industry leading environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

On June 15, 2023, The Company announced that it filed a further amendment to its Form S-4 Registration Statement (the “Amended Registration Statement”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

As disclosed in the Amended Registration Statement:

  • New Hut’s expected installed self-mining capacity has increased from the previously disclosed 7.02 EH/s to 7.5 EH/s at mining facilities in Medicine Hat and Drumheller in Alberta; Niagara Falls, New York; Kearney, Nebraska; and Granbury and King Mountain, Texas upon the close of the Transaction. The improvement is due to the energization of additional miners at USBTC’s sites.
  • The 1.7 EH/s installed self-mining capacity at the King Mountain, Texas site is owned by the King Mountain Joint Venture in which USBTC has a 50% membership interest alongside a leading energy partner.

On July 17, 2023, The Company announced that it filed a further amendment to its Form S-4 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

The Transaction is particularly strategic as it will establish New Hut with geographic diversity across its self-mining business, which will include differentiated energy sources in a variety of markets, and improve efficiencies at the miner level by using proprietary, purpose-built software that can identify and mitigate machine and energy price issues in real-time. Notably, it will further diversify capex-light fiat revenue lines of business by adding USBTC’s 220 MW hosting and 680 MW managed infrastructure operations businesses to Hut 8’s existing HPC and repair centre operations. Completion of the Transaction is subject to obtaining the remaining regulatory approvals, shareholder approval, court approval, and other customary closing conditions. Hut 8 expects the Transaction to close by September 30, 2023.

On August 11, 2023, The Company announced that it has entered into a transaction support agreement (the “Support Agreement”) with Macquarie Equipment Finance Ltd. (“Macquarie”) a subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited, a global financial services group, in support of an opportunity to potentially acquire certain assets of Validus Power Corp. (“Validus”) and Validus’ subsidiaries (collectively, the “Validus Entities”). Validus was previously a supplier of energy to the Company’s mining facility in North Bay, Ontario. Macquarie is a secured creditor of the Validus Entities under an existing secured lease and participation agreement.

Pursuant to an order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the “Court”) issued on August 10, 2023, on application by Macquarie, KSV Restructuring Inc. (“KSV”), a licensed insolvency trustee with extensive experience in receivership mandates, has been appointed as receiver of the property, assets, and undertakings of the Validus Entities (KSV in such capacity, the “Receiver”).

Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, under the terms of the Support Agreement, a stalking horse bid (the “Stalking Horse Bid”) is to be submitted to the Receiver in support of a proposed sale and investment solicitation process to be carried out in respect of the Validus Entities.

A Stalking Horse Bid, if ultimately successful, is expected to result in the full and final resolution of all litigation claims and counterclaims currently pending between Hut 8 and certain Validus Entities. Further details in respect of any Stalking Horse Bid will be provided if and as conditions warrant and subject to, among other things, the acceptance of a Stalking Horse Bid by the Receiver and approval of the Court.

CONFERENCE CALL

Hut 8 Mining Q2 2023 conference call will commence at 10 a.m. ET, today.

To join the conference call without operator assistance, you may register and enter your phone number at https://ow.ly/vmjc50PqkLA to receive an instant, automated call back that will place you in the conference

Those joining via operator should dial in 5-10 minutes early to: 1-888-664-6392 (toll-free, North America) and use access code: 388162 #

Analyst Coverage of Hut 8 Mining:

A full list of Hut 8 Mining analyst coverage can be found here: https://hut8.io/investors/

About Hut 8
Through innovation, imagination, and passion, Hut 8’s seasoned executive team is bullish on building and operating computing infrastructure that powers Bitcoin mining, traditional data centres, and emerging technologies like AI and machine learning. Hut 8’s infrastructure portfolio includes seven sites: five high performance computing data centres across British Columbia and Ontario that offer cloud, co-location, managed services, A.I., machine learning, and VFX rendering computing solutions, and two Bitcoin mining sites located in Southern Alberta. Long-distinguished for its unique treasury strategy, Hut 8 has one of the highest inventories of self-mined Bitcoin of any publicly-traded company globally. Follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Hut8Mining.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release includes “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws, respectively (collectively, “forward-looking information”). All information, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as future business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, expansion and growth of the Company’s businesses, operations, plans and other such matters is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Specifically, such forward-looking information included in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the following: the Company’s position and ability to seize opportunities in the digital asset industry; the Company’s ability to advance the HODL strategy in the long-term; the Company’s growth strategy; expectations for other economic, business, regulatory and/or competitive factors related to the Company or the Bitcoin industry generally; projected hash rate, expenses and profitability; the ability of the Company to react to digital asset price volatility; fluctuating power and energy costs; the ability of the Company to navigate increased network difficulty; the remediation of the operational issues at the Company’s Drumheller facility, and the timing thereof; the expected outcomes of the Transaction, including New Hut’s assets and financial position; the ability of Hut 8 and USBTC to complete the Transaction on the terms described herein, or at all, including, receipt of required regulatory approvals, shareholder approvals, court approvals, stock exchange approvals and satisfaction of other closing customary conditions; the expected timing of the closing of the Transaction; the expected synergies related to the Transaction in respect of strategy, operations and other matters; projections related to expansion;  expectations related to New Hut’s hashrate and self-mining capacity; expected ESG efforts and commitments; and the ability of New Hut to execute on future opportunities; the timing and completion (if at all) of a Stalking Horse Bid; the timing and completion (if at all) of a proposed sale and investment solicitation process; the timing of the proceedings in respect of the Receiver; and the expected resolution of litigation claims between Hut 8 and certain Validus Entities.

Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts, but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events based on certain material factors and assumptions at the time the statement was made. Material assumptions include: assumptions regarding the level of demand and financial performance of the digital asset industry; effective tax rates; the U.S./Canadian dollar exchange rate; inflation; access to capital; timing and receipt of regulatory approvals; acquisition and divestiture activities, operational expenses, returns on investments, transaction costs, fluctuations in energy prices and the Company’s energy requirements, the ability to obtain requisite approvals (including shareholder, stock exchange, regulatory, and court approvals) and the satisfaction of other conditions to the consummation of the Transaction and the Stalking Horse Bid on the proposed terms or at all; the anticipated timeline for the completion of the Transaction and the Stalking Horse Bid; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Transaction and the Stalking Horse Bid; the ability to implement the business plan for New Hut, including as a result of a delay in completing the Transaction or difficulty in integrating the businesses of the companies involved (including the retention of key employees); the potential impact of the consummation of the Transaction on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers, competitors and other key stakeholders; and the outcome of any litigation proceedings in respect of the Company’s legal dispute with Validus Power Corp.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Hut 8 as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: security and cybersecurity threats and hacks; malicious actors or botnet obtaining control of processing power on the Bitcoin network; further development and acceptance of the Bitcoin network; changes to Bitcoin mining difficulty; loss or destruction of private keys; increases in fees for recording transactions in the Blockchain; erroneous transactions; reliance on a limited number of key employees; reliance on third party mining pool service providers; regulatory changes; classification and tax changes; momentum pricing risk; fraud and failure related to digital asset exchanges; difficulty in obtaining banking services and financing; difficulty in obtaining insurance, permits and licenses; internet and power disruptions; geopolitical events; uncertainty in the development of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols; uncertainty about the acceptance or widespread use of digital assets; failure to anticipate technology innovations; climate change; currency risk, lending risk and recovery of potential losses; litigation risk; business integration risk; changes in market demand; inflationary pressures and the rising cost of capital; changes in network and infrastructure; system interruption; changes in leasing arrangements; counterparty risk; failure to achieve intended benefits of power purchase agreements; potential for interrupted delivery, or suspension of the delivery, of energy to the Company’s mining sites; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations; the ability to identify and realize additional opportunities and other risks related to the digital asset mining and data centre business. For a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company, please see the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Information Form dated March 9, 2023, and Hut 8’s other continuous disclosure documents which are available on Company’s website at hut8.io, under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and under the Company’s EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov.

These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Hut 8, USBTC, or New Hut; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this press release as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, sought, proposed, estimated, forecasted, expected, projected or targeted and such forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. The impact of any one assumption, risk, uncertainty, or other factor on a particular forward-looking statement cannot be determined with certainty because they are interdependent and Hut 8’s future decisions and actions will depend on management’s assessment of all information at the relevant time. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Hut 8 expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Except where otherwise indicated herein, the information provided herein is based on matters as they exist as of the date of preparation and not as of any future date, and will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available, or circumstances existing or changes occurring after the date of preparation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRANSACTION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
In connection with the transaction, that, if completed, would result in New Hut becoming a new public company, New Hut has filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Form S-4”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”). USBTC and Hut 8 urge investors, shareholders, and other interested persons to read the Form S-4, including any amendments thereto, the Hut 8 meeting circular, as well as other documents filed or to be filed with the SEC and documents to be filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities in connection with the transaction, as these materials do and will contain important information about USBTC, Hut 8, New Hut and the transaction. New Hut also has, and will, file other documents regarding the transaction with the SEC. This press release is not a substitute for the Form S-4 or any other documents that may be sent to Hut 8’s shareholders or USBTC’s stockholders in connection with the transaction. Investors and security holders are or will be able to obtain free copies of the Form S-4 and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by New Hut through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or by contacting the investor relations department of Hut 8 at info@hut8.io and of USBTC at info@usbitcoin.com.

NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION
This press release is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or in a transaction exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

 

Contacts

Hut 8 Investor Relations

Sue Ennis

sue@hut8mining.com

Hut 8 Media Relations

Erin Dermer

erin.dermer@hut8mining.com

Hut 8 Reports Operating and Financial Results for Q1 2023

Quarterly revenue of $19.0 million including $4.5 million from the high performance computing business

9,133 self-mined Bitcoin held in custody on March 31

TORONTO, ON, May 11, 2023 – Hut 8 Mining Corp. (Nasdaq | TSX: HUT) (“Hut 8” or the “Company”), one of North America’s largest, innovation-focused digital asset mining pioneers, and high performance computing infrastructure provider, is pleased to announce its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 (“Q1 2023”). All dollar figures are in Canadian Dollars (“CAD”), unless otherwise stated.

“In early 2023, we experienced a confluence of events: electrical issues at our Drumheller site caused equipment failures, while fluctuating energy prices and increased network difficulty affected our mining operations,” said Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8. “We also reached an all-time operational high of 1.72 EH/s at our Medicine Hat facility and announced a merger of equals with USBTC, and since then have made progress on key regulatory files required to complete the transaction.”

“We continued to strategically manage our finances in Q1 while addressing challenges at the Drumheller site,” said Shenif Visram, CFO. “Although we continue to see good client demand in our high performance computing business, the issues on the mining side of the business reflect a decrease in revenue and Bitcoin mined, which the entire leadership and operations team is proactively working to resolve.”

“Leading up to the halving, we will continue to focus on strategically increasing our stack of Bitcoin and growing our HPC business including exploring opportunities in the growing Artificial Intelligence market,” said Jaime. “We expect that our proposed business combination with USBTC will increase our installed self-mining hashrate to 7.02 EH/s, enhance our geographic reach into new energy markets, and further diversify our lines of business with capex-light, scalable, fiat-based revenue streams, positively distinguishing us from pureplay digital asset miners, who post-halving, are likely to have more exposure to diminishing returns driven by an increasing global hashrate and additional competition from sovereign nations and well-funded new entrants.”

Q1 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

  • Revenue decreased by $34.3 million to $19.0 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2023 compared to $53.3 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2022 (“Q1 2022”).
  • The Company mined 475 Bitcoin in the quarter ended March 31, 2023, an approximately 50% decrease compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2022, primarily due to an increase in average Bitcoin network difficulty resulting in a decrease in Bitcoin mined, and ongoing electrical issues at the Company’s Drumheller facility which continued from the fourth quarter of 2022.
  • As previously reported, the Company encountered issues at the Drumheller site, primarily stemming from high energy input levels that have been causing miners to fail. This has materially reduced operations, which are currently at approximately 15% of our installed hash rate at the site. Remediation began in March and gained momentum in April as the team implemented new custom firmware across all miner models designed to lower the power supply’s maximum output voltage, ensuring our equipment operates within safe limits. We are actively increasing repair staff, adding an additional repair centre shift, and have procured new hardware to expedite repairs and accelerate the speed at which we bring miners back online, and expect to have complete restoration in 10 to 12 weeks. The electrical issues at the Drumheller site have been compounded by high energy rates which further increased curtailment at the site.
  • Hut 8’s high performance computing (“HPC”) operations generated $4.5 million of primarily monthly recurring revenue in Q1 2023 compared to $3.3 million in Q1 2022 when the Company acquired the HPC operations on January 31, 2022.
  • The Company’s installed hashrate was 2.6 EH/s (excluding the Company’s North Bay facility) as of March 31, 2023 compared to 2.5 EH/s as of December 31, 2022. 988 miners previously located at the Company’s North Bay facility were energized at its Medicine Hat facility in the last two weeks of the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

BITCOIN INVENTORY AND VALUE

As at March 31, 2023, the Company had a total self-mined, unencumbered, and custodied Bitcoin balance of 9,133 with a market value of $352.0 million. During the first quarter of 2023, 475 Bitcoin were mined and 428 Bitcoin were sold, for which the Company received proceeds of $14.5 million.

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

  • Revenue decreased by $34.3 million to $19.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, compared to $53.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. The Company’s digital asset mining operations mined 475 Bitcoin and generated $14.5 million of revenue, versus 942 Bitcoin mined and $49.3 million of revenue in the prior year period. The decrease in revenue from digital asset mining operations was due to the 41% decrease in the daily average closing Bitcoin price (approximately $30,600 for the current year quarter compared to approximately $52,300 in the prior year period), halt in the Company’s graphic processing units (“GPU”) mining activities due to the Ethereum network’s change in consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake during the third quarter of 2022, and increase in Bitcoin average network difficulty of approximately 50% compared to prior year quarter. Additionally, the Company mined a lower quantity of Bitcoin due to the ongoing electrical issues and increased energy rates at the Company’s Drumheller facility. The Company’s high performance computing operations generated $4.5 million of primarily recurring revenue in the quarter compared to $3.3 million in the comparative quarter, which reflects two months of operations from the high performance computing, as the acquisition of the high performance computing operations closed on January 31, 2022.
  • Cost of revenue consists of site operating costs and depreciation and was $25.2 million for the first quarter of 2023 compared to $36.9 million in the first quarter of 2022. Site operating costs for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, were $14.4 million, of which $12.0 million were attributable to our mining operations and $2.4 million were attributable to our high performance computing operations. The average cost of mining each Bitcoin for the first quarter of 2023 was approximately $25,100, compared to approximately $18,000 per Bitcoin in the prior year for the same quarter. The increase was due to higher power consumption per Bitcoin mined, increased energy prices, and ongoing electrical issues at the Drumheller facility, which was partially offset by the Company’s decision to curtail and increased efficiencies in the miners deployed compared to prior year same quarter. Depreciation expense decreased to $10.9 million during the first quarter of 2023 compared to $18.4 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily driven by the lower net book value of digital asset mining assets after the recognition of non-cash impairment charge during the fourth quarter of 2022 as part of annual impairment testing.
  • Net income was $108.5 million and net income per share was $0.49 for the three months ended March 31, 2023, compared to net income of $55.7 million and net income per share of $0.33 for the same period in 2022. The change was primarily driven by the $134.8 million non-cash revaluation gain on digital assets, $5.0 million gain on disposition of digital assets, partially offset by lower digital asset mining revenue, a non-cash revaluation loss on warrant liability, and a greater weighted average number of shares outstanding for earnings per share purposes under International Accounting Standards (“IAS”) 33.
  • Mining Profit(i) was $2.6 million in Q1 2023, compared to $32.9 million in Q1 2022. The change is mainly due to a lower average Bitcoin price, higher Bitcoin network difficulty, fewer Bitcoin mined, and lower digital asset mining revenue from the ongoing electrical issues noted at the Drumheller facility.
  • Adjusted EBITDA(i) was negative $3.7 million in Q1 2023, compared to $27.1 million in Q1 2022. Contributions from HPC operations were offset by lower margins in digital asset mining operations.

For more information, please refer to the Company’s management’s discussion & analysis (the “MD&A”) and the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022. These documents are available on the Company’s website at hut8.io, under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and under the Company’s EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov.

NON-IFRS MEASURES

This press release makes reference to certain measures that are not recognized under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. They are therefore not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The Company uses non-IFRS measures including “Mining Profit” and “Adjusted EBITDA” as additional information to complement IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Company’s results of operations from Management’s perspective and should not be viewed as alternatives to, or replacements of, measures of operating results and liquidity presented in accordance with IFRS.

The following tables and definitions reconcile non-IFRS measures used by the Company to analyze the operational performance of Hut 8 to their nearest IFRS measure and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.

Mining Profit

“Mining Profit” represents gross profit (revenue less cost of revenue), excluding depreciation and revenue and site operating costs directly attributable to hosting services and high performance computing operations. Mining Profit shows profitability of the Company’s core digital asset mining operation, without the impact of non-cash depreciation expense. Mining Profit measure provides investors the ability to assess the profitability of the mining operations exclusive of general and administrative expenses.

The following table reconciles gross (loss) profit to our non-IFRS measure, Mining Profit:

Adjusted EBITDA

“Adjusted EBITDA” represents EBITDA (net income or loss excluding net finance income or expense, income tax or recovery, depreciation, and amortization) adjusted to exclude non-cash share-based compensation, fair value gain or loss on revaluation of digital assets and warrants, non-recurring impairment charges or reversals of impairment, and costs associated with one-time or non-recurring transactions. Adjusted EBITDA is used to assess profitability without the impact of non-cash accounting policies, capital structure, taxation, and one-time or non-recurring transactions. This performance measure provides a consistent comparable metric for profitability of the Company across time periods.

The following table reconciles net income to our non-IFRS measure, Adjusted EBITDA:

CORPORATE UPDATES

Hut 8 and U.S. Data Mining Group, Inc., doing business as US Bitcoin Corp (“USBTC”) continue to make progress on the proposed business combination pursuant to which the two companies will combine in all-stock merger of equals (the “Transaction”). The combined company will be named “Hut 8 Corp.” (“New Hut”) and will be a U.S.-domiciled entity. The Transaction is expected to establish New Hut as a large scale, publicly traded Bitcoin miner focused on economical mining, highly diversified revenue streams, and industry leading environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

On March 10, 2023, The Company announced that it received a no-action letter from the Canadian Commissioner of Competition, which confirmed that the Commissioner of Competition does not intend to challenge the Transaction before the Competition Tribunal.

On March 13, 2023, the Company announced that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 with respect to the business combination had expired, which satisfied one of the conditions of the closing of the Transaction.

On April 27, 2023, the Company announced via press release that New Hut had filed an amendment to its Form S-4 Registration Statement (the “Amended Registration Statement”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

As disclosed in the Amended Registration Statement:

  • New Hut’s expected installed self-mining capacity has increased from the previously disclosed 5.6 EH/s to 7.02 EH/s at mining facilities in Medicine Hat and Drumheller in Alberta; Niagara Falls, New York; Kearney, Nebraska; and Granbury and King Mountain, Texas upon the close of the Transaction. The improvement is due to the energization of additional miners at USBTC’s sites.
  • The 1.7 EH/s installed self-mining capacity at the King Mountain, Texas site is owned by the King Mountain Joint Venture in which USBTC has a 50% membership interest alongside a leading energy partner.
  • On April 7, 2023, USBTC entered into a settlement with the City of Niagara Falls which concluded all claims related to the ongoing litigation with the City and terminated the temporary restraining order against USBTC. USBTC was required to pay the City of Niagara Falls a $100,000 compliance fee and contribute $180,000 to the city’s attorney’s fees. USBTC is currently working with City officials to confirm safety procedures prior to resuming mining activity.

With the next halving event less than a year away, the business combination of Hut 8 and USBTC is particularly strategic as it will establish New Hut with geographic diversity across its self-mining business, which will include differentiated energy sources in a variety of markets, and improve efficiencies at the miner level by using proprietary, purpose-built software that can identify and mitigate machine and energy price issues in real-time. Notably, it will further diversify fiat revenue lines of business by adding USBTC’s 220 MW hosting and 680 MW managed infrastructure operations businesses to Hut 8’s existing HPC and repair centre operations. Completion of the Transaction is subject to obtaining the remaining regulatory approvals, shareholder approval, court approval, and other customary closing conditions. Hut 8 expects the Transaction to close in late second quarter, or early third quarter, of 2023.

CONFERENCE CALL

Hut 8 Mining Q1 2023 conference call will commence at 10 a.m. ET, today, May 11, 2023.

  • To join the conference call without operator assistance, you may register and enter your phone number at https://bit.ly/44vWTFC to receive an instant, automated call back that will place you in the conference
  • Those joining via operator should dial in 5-10 minutes early to: 1-888-664-6392 (toll-free, North America) and use access code: 51509137#

Analyst Coverage of Hut 8 Mining:

A full list of Hut 8 Mining analyst coverage can be found here: http://localhost:10005/investors/

About Hut 8

Hut 8 is one of North America’s largest innovation-focused digital asset miners, led by a team of business-building technologists, bullish on bitcoin, blockchain, Web 3.0 and bridging the nascent and traditional high performance computing worlds. With two operational digital asset mining sites located in Southern Alberta, Hut 8 has one of the highest capacity rates in the industry and one of the highest inventories of self-mined Bitcoin of any digital asset miner or publicly-traded company globally. With over 36,000 square feet of geo-diverse data centre space and cloud capacity connected to electrical grids powered by significant renewables and predominantly emission-free sources, Hut 8 is revolutionizing conventional assets to create the first hybrid data centre model that serves both the traditional high performance compute (Web 2.0) and nascent digital asset computing sectors, blockchain gaming, and Web 3.0. Hut 8 was the first Canadian digital asset miner to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Through innovation, imagination, and passion, Hut 8 is helping to define the digital asset revolution to create value and positive impacts for its shareholders and generations to come.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release includes “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws, respectively (collectively, “forward-looking information”). All information, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as future business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, expansion and growth of the Company’s businesses, operations, plans and other such matters is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Specifically, such forward-looking information included in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the following: the Company’s position and ability to seize opportunities in the digital asset industry; the Company’s ability to advance the HODL strategy in the long-term; the Company’s growth strategy; expectations for other economic, business, regulatory and/or competitive factors related to the Company or the Bitcoin industry generally; projected hash rate, expenses and profitability; the ability of the Company to react to digital asset price volatility; fluctuating power and energy costs; the ability of the Company to navigate increased network difficulty; the remediation of the operational issues at the Company’s Drumheller facility, and the timing thereof; the expected outcomes of the Transaction, including New Hut’s assets and financial position; the ability of Hut 8 and USBTC to complete the Transaction on the terms described herein, or at all, including, receipt of required regulatory approvals, shareholder approvals, court approvals, stock exchange approvals and satisfaction of other closing customary conditions; the expected timing of the closing of the Transaction; the expected synergies related to the Transaction in respect of strategy, operations and other matters; projections related to expansion;  expectations related to New Hut’s hashrate and self-mining capacity; expected ESG efforts and commitments; and the ability of New Hut to execute on future opportunities, among others.

Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts, but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events based on certain material factors and assumptions at the time the statement was made. Material assumptions include: assumptions regarding the level of demand and financial performance of the digital asset industry; effective tax rates; the U.S./Canadian dollar exchange rate; the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; inflation; access to capital; timing and receipt of regulatory approvals; acquisition and divestiture activities, operational expenses, returns on investments, transaction costs, fluctuations in energy prices and the Company’s energy requirements, the ability to obtain requisite approvals (including shareholder, stock exchange, regulatory, and court approvals) and the satisfaction of other conditions to the consummation of the Transaction on the proposed terms or at all; the anticipated timeline for the completion of the Transaction; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Transaction or implementing the business plan for New Hut, including as a result of a delay in completing the Transaction or difficulty in integrating the businesses of the companies involved (including the retention of key employees); the potential impact of the consummation of the Transaction on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers, competitors and other key stakeholders; and the outcome of any litigation proceedings in respect of the Company’s legal dispute with Validus Power Corp.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Hut 8 as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: security and cybersecurity threats and hacks; malicious actors or botnet obtaining control of processing power on the Bitcoin network; further development and acceptance of the Bitcoin network; changes to Bitcoin mining difficulty; loss or destruction of private keys; increases in fees for recording transactions in the Blockchain; erroneous transactions; reliance on a limited number of key employees; reliance on third party mining pool service providers; regulatory changes; classification and tax changes; momentum pricing risk; fraud and failure related to digital asset exchanges; difficulty in obtaining banking services and financing; difficulty in obtaining insurance, permits and licenses; internet and power disruptions; geopolitical events; uncertainty in the development of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols; uncertainty about the acceptance or widespread use of digital assets; failure to anticipate technology innovations; the COVID-19 pandemic (or a material escalation thereof); climate change; currency risk, lending risk and recovery of potential losses; litigation risk; business integration risk; changes in market demand; inflationary pressures and the rising cost of capital; changes in network and infrastructure; system interruption; changes in leasing arrangements; counterparty risk; failure to achieve intended benefits of power purchase agreements; potential for interrupted delivery, or suspension of the delivery, of energy to the Company’s mining sites; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations; the ability to identify and realize additional opportunities and other risks related to the digital asset mining and data centre business. For a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company, please see the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Information Form dated March 9, 2023, and Hut 8’s other continuous disclosure documents which are available on Company’s website at hut8.io, under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and under the Company’s EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov.

These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Hut 8, USBTC, or New Hut; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this press release as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, sought, proposed, estimated, forecasted, expected, projected or targeted and such forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. The impact of any one assumption, risk, uncertainty, or other factor on a particular forward-looking statement cannot be determined with certainty because they are interdependent and Hut 8’s future decisions and actions will depend on management’s assessment of all information at the relevant time. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Hut 8 expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Except where otherwise indicated herein, the information provided herein is based on matters as they exist as of the date of preparation and not as of any future date, and will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available, or circumstances existing or changes occurring after the date of preparation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRANSACTION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

In connection with the transaction, that, if completed, would result in New Hut becoming a new public company, New Hut has filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Form S-4”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”). USBTC and Hut 8 urge investors, shareholders, and other interested persons to read the Form S-4, including any amendments thereto, the Hut 8 meeting circular, as well as other documents filed or to be filed with the SEC and documents to be filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities in connection with the transaction, as these materials do and will contain important information about USBTC, Hut 8, New Hut and the transaction. New Hut also has, and will, file other documents regarding the transaction with the SEC. This press release is not a substitute for the Form S-4 or any other documents that may be sent to Hut 8’s shareholders or USBTC’s stockholders in connection with the transaction. Investors and security holders are or will be able to obtain free copies of the Form S-4 and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by New Hut through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or by contacting the investor relations department of Hut 8 at info@hut8.io and of USBTC at info@usbitcoin.com.

NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION

This press release is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or in a transaction exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Sue Ennis

sue@hut8.io

MEDIA CONTACT:

Yamini Coen

yamini.coen@hut8.io

(i) Non-IFRS measure – see “Non-IFRS Measures” section below. Certain comparative figures have been restated where necessary to conform with current period presentation.

Hut 8 Achieves Second Consecutive Record-Level Quarterly Revenue in Q2-2021

TORONTOAug. 12, 2021 /CNW/ – Hut 8 Mining Corp. (Nasdaq: HUT) (TSX: HUT) (“Hut 8” or the “Company”), one of North America’s largest, innovation-focused digital asset mining pioneers, supporting open and decentralized systems since 2018, is pleased to announce its financial results for the quarter ending June 30, 2021 (“Q2-2021”). All dollar figures are in Canadian Dollars (“CAD”), unless otherwise stated.

BITCOIN INVENTORY AND VALUE

Hut 8 continues to strategically emphasize its “hodl” strategy, taking active steps to generate Canadian and US dollars to help fund operating expenses, so as to avoid selling Bitcoin. During Q2-2021, 100% of self- mined Bitcoin was deposited into custody. As of June 30, 2021, the Company had a total Bitcoin balance of 3,824 with a market value of $166 million. Hut 8’s current Bitcoin balance, including 2,000 Bitcoin loaned as part of the Company’s fiat yield strategy, is approximately 4,240 Bitcoin, reflecting a market value of approximately $245 million.

HASHRATE AND COMPUTE POWER

Hut 8 currently has an installed hashrate of 1.37 exahash (“E/H”). Given pending orders, we have additional contracted hashrate of 1.3 E/H (including 1,600 gigahash equivalent), bringing contracted hashrate to approximately 2.7 E/H.

Based on current network dynamics, we anticipate daily settlement once all contracted equipment is hashing will equate to 20 – 25 Bitcoin per day.

Q2-2021 HIGHLIGHTS

  • Second consecutive record quarterly revenue, hitting $33.5 million in Q2-2021, with our self-mining operations generating $31.4 million of revenue and our expanded hosting service generating $2.2 million. We mined 553 Bitcoin in Q2-2021, all of which was added to our self-mined Bitcoin balance.

  • Successfully became the first Canadian digital asset miner to list its common shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange (“Nasdaq”). Further, Hut 8 is the only TSX-listed miner to achieve listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, which has the highest initial financial and liquidity requirements of any Nasdaq market tier. This achievement gives the Company access to a substantially increased pool of investors, both for purposes of future capital raises and providing improved liquidity to current and future shareholders.

  • Hut 8 closed a public offering on June 15, 2021, raising gross proceeds of $115 million, providing flexibility in the face of market uncertainty for the Company to continue making strategic investments, summarized as follows:
    • Two opportunistic purchases directly from MicroBT of 11,953 M30S, M30S+ and M31S miners, representing compute power of 1.08 E/H;

    • Investment in 10,000 high-performance NVIDIA CMPs, which will initially be deployed to mine the Ethereum network and settle in Bitcoin. These NVIDIA chips, delivery of which is expected to occur throughout August and September 2021, will consume only 3.5 – 4.0 MW of power, while operating at approximately 1,600 gigahash. We anticipate settlement in Bitcoin will result in 2.0 – 3.0 Bitcoin per day;

    • Investment into the power purchase agreement (“PPA”) and new power facility with Validus Power Corp. The initial phase of this facility is currently expected to be operational late in the fourth quarter of 2021 and will substantially increase Hut 8’s power capacity on a physical off-take basis at a compelling power rate of $0.0274/kWh, subject to an annual adjustment mechanism, for the five-year term of the PPA.

  • Launched several ESG-related initiatives, including establishing a robust recycling program to limit waste volumes sent to landfill, installation of low-emission LED lighting throughout all facilities and electrification of our fleet of on-site vehicles.

“It is gratifying to see the core strengths of Hut 8, namely our people and operational excellence, combine to advance our commitment to building a diversified leader in the digital asset infrastructure space,” commented Shane Downey, Chief Financial Officer of the Company. “Hut 8’s disciplined approach to managing our balance sheet, while prioritizing the efficient accumulation of Bitcoin, served us well in Q2- 2021, and that as we continue to focus on execution, we are well-positioned heading into the back half of 2021 and into 2022.”

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

For the periods ended June 30

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

(CAD thousands, except per share amounts)

2021

2020

2021

2020

Operating results

Digital assets mined

553

795

1,092

1,910

Financial results

Total revenue

$

33,549

$

9,230

$

65,532

$

21,970

Net income

(20,430)

2,840

15,094

(7,390)

Mining profit (i)

19,144

697

37,086

995

Adjusted EBITDA (i)

14,356

65

30,608

(322)

Per share

Net income – basic

$

(0.17)

$

0.03

$

0.13

$

(0.08)

Net income – diluted

$

(0.16)

$

0.03

$

0.12

$

(0.08)

(i)  Non-IFRS measure – see “Non-IFRS Measures” section below . Certain comparative figures have been restated w here necessary to conform with current period presentation.

As At

(CAD thousands)

June 30,
2021

December 31,
2020

Financial position

Cash

$           92,681

$             2,816

Total digital assets

166,081

101,962

Total assets

362,658

145,202

Total liabilities

14,317

29,647

Total shareholder’s equity

348,341

115,555

Working Capital (i)

251,111

75,673

(ii)  Calculated as current assets less current liabilities.

  • Revenue for Q2-2021 of $33.5 million, was up significantly versus $9.2 million in the prior year period. This result stems from 553 self-mined Bitcoin generating $31.4 million of revenue, compared to 795 Bitcoin and $9.2 million revenue from mining in the prior year period. We also generated $2.2 million of revenue from hosting services, versus $nil in the prior year period, reflecting two hosting customers, the second of which was on-boarded in late May 2021.

  • Site operating costs for Q2-2021 were $13.8 million, up from the prior year period of $9.2 million, related principally to increased power consumption, driven by a substantial increase in average hashrate as well as Alberta power prices.

  • Net loss in Q2-2021 was $20.4 million, versus net income of $2.8 million in Q2-2020, with the difference stemming primarily from unrealized revaluation adjustment related to a change in loan receivable classification.

  • Adjusted EBITDA (a “Non-IFRS Measure”, please refer below) in Q2-2021 was $14.4 million, versus $0.1 million in the prior year period, driven by the expansion of Hut 8’s operations and the improvement in Bitcoin mining economics.

  • Digital assets consist of Bitcoin, which had a self-mined balance of 3,824 Bitcoin and a market value of $166 million as of June 30, 2021. This balance consisted of 1,824 Bitcoin held in custody and 2,000 held under lending arrangements.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release includes “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws, respectively (collectively, “forward- looking information”). All information, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as future business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, expansion and growth of the Company’s businesses, operations, plans and other such matters is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar expressions and includes, among others, statements regarding the anticipated expansion of the current installed hashrate, the Company’s trajectory to produce additional Bitcoin, planned investments for the balance of 2021 geopolitical impacts and the build-out of a new power facility.

Forward looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Hut 8 as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Information Form dated March 25, 2021, which is available on www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Hut 8; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Hut 8 expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NON-IFRS MEASURES

This press release makes reference to certain measures that are not recognized under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. They are therefore not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The Company uses non-IFRS measures including “Adjusted EBITDA” and “Mining Profit” as additional information to complement IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Company’s results of operations from Management’s perspective.

“Adjusted EBITDA” represents EBITDA (net income or loss excluding net finance income or expense, income tax or recovery, depreciation, and amortization) adjusted to exclude non-cash share-based compensation, fair value gain or loss on revaluation of digital assets, non-recurring impairment charges or reversals of impairment, and costs associated with one-time or non-recurring transactions. Adjusted EBITDA is used to assess profitability without the impact of non-cash accounting policies, capital structure, taxation, and one-time or non-recurring transactions. This performance measure provides a consistent comparable metric for profitability of the Company across time periods.

“Mining profit” represents gross profit (revenue less cost of revenue), excluding depreciation and revenue and site operating costs directly attributable to hosting. Mining profit show profitability of the Company’s core digital asset mining operation, without the impact of non-cash depreciation expense.

The following table reconciles net income (loss) to our non-IFRS measure, Adjusted EBITDA:

For the periods ended June 30 

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

(CAD thousands)

2021

2020

2021

2020

Net income (loss)

$

(20,430)

$

2,840

$

15,094

$

(7,390)

Add (deduct):
   
Net finance costs

(639)

693

(987)

1,342

Depreciation and amortization

2,977

6,958

8,780

13,967

Share based payment

1,768

60

4,524

(648)

Revaluation of digital assets

(9,418)

(8,136)

Gain on used of digital assets

(689)

(182)

(1,603)

Foreign exchange

212

(1,073)

643

1,281

Unrealized revaluation related to loan 

receivable classification change

22,935

Share based payment taxes w itholding

1,246

Sales tax expense

1,018

152

1,801

323

One-time transaction costs

468

542

468

542

Deferred income tax recovery

6,046

(780)

Adjusted EBITDA

$

14,356

$

65

$

30,608

$

(322)

The following table reconciles gross profit to our non-IFRS measure, Mining profit:

For the periods ended June 30

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

(CAD thousands)

2021

2020

2021

2020

Gross profit (loss)

$

16,795

$

(6,261)

$

29,124

$

(12,972)

Add (deduct):

Revenue from hosting

(2,193)

(3,618)

Site operating costs attributable to hosting

1,565

2,801

Depreciation and amortization

2,977

6,958

8,780

13,967

Mining profit

$

19,144

$

697

$

37,086

$

995

ABOUT HUT 8

Hut 8 is a digital asset mining company with industrial-scale operations in Alberta, Canada. The Company is one of North America’s largest innovation-focused digital asset miners, supporting open and decentralized systems since 2018. Located in energy rich Alberta, Canada, Hut 8 has one of the highest installed capacity rates in the industry and holds more self-mined Bitcoin than any publicly traded company globally. Hut 8 is executing on its strategy of mining and holding Bitcoin, while building a diversified business and revenue strategy to grow and protect shareholder value, regardless of Bitcoin price action. The Company’s multi-pronged business strategy includes profitable digital asset mining, white-label high- performance compute hosting, as well as yield & income programs leveraging its Bitcoin held in reserve. Having demonstrated rapid growth and a stellar balance sheet, Hut 8 was the first publicly traded miner on the TSX and the first Canadian miner to be listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. Hut 8’s team of business building technologists are believers in decentralized systems, stewards of powerful industry- leading solutions, and drivers of innovation in digital asset mining and high-performance computing, with a focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) standards alignment. Through innovation, imagination, and passion, Hut 8 is helping to define the digital asset revolution to create value and positive impacts for its shareholders and generations to come.

SOURCE Hut 8 Mining Corp

For further information: MEDIA CONTACT: dea.masottipayne@northstrategic.com

Related Links

www.hut8mining.com