Orca Energy Group Inc. Announces Completion of its Q2 2021 Interim Filings

TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS – August 17, 2021: Orca Energy Group Inc. (“Orca” or the “Company” and includes its subsidiaries and affiliates) (TSX-V: ORC.A, ORC.B) today announces that it has filed its condensed consolidated interim financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2021 with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. All amounts are in United States dollars (“$”) unless otherwise stated.

• Revenue increased by 17% for Q2 2021 and by 11% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same prior year periods. The increase was primarily a result of the increased revenue from industrial customers and the increase in capital expenditures which caused the reduction of the Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (“TPDC”) share of revenue. Gas deliveries decreased by 1% for Q2 2021 and increased by 2% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same prior year periods. The Q2 2021 decrease is due to the 2% decrease in gas deliveries for power partially offset by the increase of 3% in gas deliveries to industrial customers as a result of expansion of the Company’s customer base. The increase of 2% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 reflects the increase in gas deliveries of 4% in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020.
• Net income attributable to shareholders decreased by 48% for Q2 2021 and by 62% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same prior year periods primarily a result of the decrease in the reversal of loss allowances related to the lower collection of arrears from Tanzanian Electric Supply Company Limited (“TANESCO”) in Q2 2021 and the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same periods in 2020.
• Net cash flows from operating activities for Q2 2021 decreased by 24% and by 34% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same prior year periods. The decreases were primarily a result of the lower collection of TANESCO arrears.
• Adjusted funds flow from operations for Q2 2021 increased by 54% and by 33% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same prior year periods. The increases were primarily a result of the increase in revenue.
• Capital expenditures increased by 912% for Q2 2021 and by 596% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to the same prior year periods. The capital expenditures in the first six months of 2021 primarily relate to the installation of compression facilities. The capital expenditures in the first six months of 2020 primarily related to the flowline decoupling project. The Company is currently installing compression to allow production volumes to be sustained at approximately 102 million standard cubic feet per day (“MMcfd”) through the Songas Infrastructure. This provides the possibility to expand production capabilities to 172 MMcfd by also utilizing the National Natural Gas Infrastructure (“NNGI”). The original value of the contract for compression was $38.0 million, however price variations due to increased costs of sea freight, a requirement to increase on site power generation capacity, and design changes to cable routing for the project have seen the total project costs increase to $41.3 million, of which $36.2 million has already been incurred with forecast expenditure of $5.1 million in 2022 following installation and testing. The project is currently on schedule for completion in Q2 2022.
• The Company exited the period in a strong financial position with $39.5 million in working capital (December 31, 2020: $74.2 million), cash and cash equivalents of $63.3 million (December 31, 2020: $104.2 million) and long-term debt of $49.4 million (December 31, 2020: $54.2 million). The decrease in working capital, cash and cash equivalents was primarily related to the substantial issuer bid completed in January 2021 and the reclassification of $5.0 million of long-term debt into current liabilities as it becomes due in April 2022.
• As at June 30, 2021 the current receivable from TANESCO was $ nil (December 31, 2020: $ nil). TANESCO’s long-term trade receivable as at June 30, 2021 was $26.5 million with a provision of $26.5 million compared to $27.6 million (provision of $27.6 million) as at December 31, 2020. Subsequent to June 30, 2021 the Company invoiced TANESCO $2.4 million for July 2021 gas deliveries and TANESCO paid the Company $3.5 million.
• On June 4, 2021 the Company declared a dividend of CDN$0.10 per share on each of its Class A common voting shares (“Class A Shares”) and Class B subordinate voting shares (“Class B Shares”) for a total of $1.6 million to the holders of record as of June 30, 2021 which was paid on July 15, 2021.
• On June 21, 2021 the Company commenced a normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) to purchase Class B Shares through the facilities of the TSXV and alternative trading systems in Canada. To date, no shares have been purchased by the Company pursuant to the NCIB.

Jay Lyons, Interim Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“We are very pleased with Orca’s performance to date in 2021. Our production and revenues remained strong during the period and we continue to hit the targets we have set for ourselves. Operationally, Orca remains on track with the installation of compression equipment, designed to ensure the Company can maintain production volumes at 102 MMcfd, with the potential to increase by a further 70 MMcfd.  With a tight control on costs, we maintain a strong balance sheet, enabling us to not only continue investing in the creation of further value from the world class Songo Songo gas field, but also making appropriate returns to our shareholders.  We will keep our stakeholders appraised of our progress as we move forward in the second half of 2021.”