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Press
Release Archives: 05/16/2006
Itronics
Increases First Quarter 2006 Sales by 24 Percent;
Reduces Loss by 69 Percent
RENO, Nev., May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Itronics
Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ITRO; Frankfurt and Berlin
Stock Exchanges: ITG) in its first quarter 2006 report
on Form 10QSB, available on the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission web site at http://www.sec.gov,
announced a 24 percent increase in sales in the first
quarter of 2006 compared to 2005 despite significant
inclement weather in California, a key sales area for
the Company's fertilizers.
Key accomplishments also included an 84 percent
reduction in gross operating loss and a 69 percent
reduction in net loss compared to the 2005 first
quarter. The sales increase was achieved in spite of
northern and central California receiving 20 percent
more rain than in the comparable prior year period,
making it difficult for farmers to begin planting.
Another important achievement during the quarter was the
declaration of effectiveness of a registration statement
required by terms of the $3.25 million financing in July
2005, and completion of a special shareholder meeting to
increase Itronics authorized shares, which was required
under the financing agreement.
Goals outlined for the balance of 2006 are to continue
to expand GOLD'n GRO liquid fertilizer sales and silver
sales; expand photowaste services to new customers which
will expand photochemical raw material supply; register
GOLD'n GRO Guardian liquid animal repellant fertilizer;
and continue to acquire financing to support growth.
Increases for the first quarter sales of GOLD'n GRO
liquid fertilizers and silver were outlined in a Company
press release dated April 20, 2006. "It was very
important that the Company overcame inclement weather in
its principal market in central California to achieve a
14 percent first quarter increase in GOLD'n GRO chelated
liquid fertilizer sales. Silver production in the
quarter increased by 170 percent. We expect fertilizer
and silver sales to continue to grow through the rest of
the year," said Dr. John Whitney, Itronics President.
In the first quarter the Company tripled silver recovery
and doubled refining capacity and announced that it
expects silver sales in 2006 to increase accordingly.
The silver price during the early part of the first
quarter was in the $9.50 to $11.00 per troy ounce range.
Late in the first quarter and continuing into the second
quarter, the price of silver has been in the $12.50 to
$15.50 range, about a 35 percent increase. If these
higher prices continue, the company's silver sales for
the year will increase accordingly.
During the first quarter the Company continued to work
towards implementing its new iron and sulfur leach
process that reduces the amount of solids delivered to
its silver refinery by 50 percent, effectively doubling
capacity again, while reducing refining costs by more
than half. Planning also began for a further increase in
silver refining capacity which will include an expansion
of material drying, sampling, and preparation capacity.
Photo Service revenues declined modestly in the first
quarter and the Company began soliciting new
photoprocessing customers to supply photochemical raw
material for fertilizer manufacturing. Mining Technical
Services declined slightly in the first quarter while
this division continues to advance its web based http://www.InsideMetals.com
Gold Producer Stocks information portal. Early in the
second quarter InsideMetals.com began publishing a
bi-weekly newsletter and the number of new subscriptions
has begun to increase. The Company expects subscription
revenues generated by InsideMetals.com will continue to
increase as the year progresses.
Operating loss decreased 25 percent compared to the
prior year, principally due to a combination of the
effects of the increased silver and fertilizer sales and
reduced operating expenses. Net loss decreased 69
percent due primarily to recording $506,269 in non cash
"gain on derivative instruments," as required by current
accounting standards.
Results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2006,
together with comparative figures for 2005, can be seen
below via PDF:
First quarter ended
March 31, 2006, together with comparative figures for
2005
About Itronics
Itronics, through its subsidiary, Itronics
Metallurgical, Inc., is the only company in the world
with a "Beneficial Use Photochemical, Silver, and Water
Recycling" facility that extracts more than 99 percent
of the silver and virtually all the other toxic heavy
metals from used photoliquids and converts the resulting
liquids into environmentally beneficial, chelated,
multinutrient liquid fertilizer products sold under the
GOLD'n GRO trademark, and 5 troy ounce, 0.999 pure,
Silver Nevada Miner numismatic bars. The environmentally
friendly liquid fertilizers can be used for lawns and
houseplants, and are available, along with GOLD'n GRO
liquid fertilizer injectors, at the Company's "e-store"
catalog at http://goldngro.com. The popular Silver
Nevada Miner bars are available at the Company's
'e-store' catalog at http://www.itromet.com.
Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, Itronics Inc. is a
"Creative Environmental Technology" company and a world
leader in photochemical recycling. The Company also
provides project planning and technical services to the
mining industry and operates the global Internet
Information Portal, http://www.insidemetals.com. Dr.
John Whitney, Itronics President, was selected as
Nevada's Inventor of the Year for 2000 and is a member
of the Inventor's Hall of Fame at the University of
Nevada, Reno. Itronics was one of five finalists for the
2001 Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Award, the most
prestigious worldwide award in chemical engineering
technologies. Itronics was awarded second place, Highly
Commended in the Environmental Technology category, at
the prestigious Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
2005 Worldwide Environmental Award ceremonies at the
Royal Courts of Justice in London, England in September
2005. Itronics was awarded the USA Gold Award at the
House of Commons in London in November 2005 as part of
the International Green Apple Environmental Awards
contest, one of the largest and most prestigious of its
kind in the world. Itronics' GOLD'n GRO fertilizer was
named one of the top 10 new technologies representing
the best of agricultural innovation by the Canadian
Association of Agri-Retailers in its December 2005
publication "Communicator."
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VISIT OUR WEB SITE: http://www.itronics.com
("Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release
contains or may contain forward-looking statements such
as statements regarding the Company's growth and
profitability, growth strategy, liquidity and access to
public markets, operating expense reduction, and trends
in the industry in which the Company operates. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press
release are also subject to other risks and
uncertainties, including those more fully described in
the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update
these forward-looking statements to reflect actual
results, changes in risks, uncertainties or assumptions
underlying or affecting such statements, or for
prospective events that may have a retroactive effect.)
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