Get the latest delivered to your inbox
Privacy Policy

Now Reading

Photochemical Recycler Beats Waste Management Services Sector

Photochemical Recycler Beats Waste Management Services Sector

Published 08-18-04

Submitted by AXcess News

Reno, NV - AXcess News (www.axcessnews.com) is publishing a series of news articles about environmental stocks. Last week's feature story, "Green Stocks on the Rise", noted several micro cap stocks worth watching as their larger peers had already reported 2nd quarter results. Today, Itronics Inc. (OTCBB: ITRO) weighs in, a few pounds over its peers.

Itronics, Inc. was the Waste Management Services sector's top performing stock Monday in price performance, having closed up 11.76% to end the session at $0.10, up one cent, on volume of 358,233 shares.

Other Top Price Performers for that sector were Startech Environmental Corp (OTCBB: STHK), up 5.56% or 20 cents, to close at $3.80. Startech last released news July 22 when the company was invited to present to industrialists and legislators in Rome. No reason was given for the sudden jump in trading. Bennett Environmental (AMEX: BEL) closed up 3.47%, or 17 cents, to end the day at $5.07. Bennett has been under siege for weeks as investors filed numerous class-action lawsuits. Monday an individual announced a lawsuit against the company alleging fraud. Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE: WCN) closed up 2.38%, or 67 cents, to close Monday at $28.85. The company is expected to show continuing improvements to revenue, which may have fueled Monday's rise in price. Ecology & Environment, Inc (AMEX: EEI) was up 2.22%, or 20 cents, to close at $9.20. EEI declared a 17-cent dividend July 16th. Its shares recently broke its prior trading barrier of $9.00 when the news of that dividend was released. Allied Waste Industries, Inc. (NYSE: AW) closed up 2.05%, or 20 cents, to close Monday at $9.95. Like Bennett Environmental, Allied Waste has seen a flurry of class action lawsuits filed against it for issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market and artificially inflating market price.

The Waste Management Services Composite closed up .99% to end the session Monday at 1163.2. The Composite has been slowly rising for five consecutive days.

Itronics released 2nd quarter results early Monday, racking up an impressive 40% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year. The Reno-based photochemical recycler reported revenue for the period ending June 30, 2004 of $626,170 verses the approximately $407,000 reported for the same period in 2003.

The company recorded revenue for the first 6 months of $1,033,010, a 52% increase compared to the same period in 2003 when Itronics reported revenue of $678,431.

Dr. John Whitney, Itronics President, commented in Monday's announcement saying, "The most significant among numerous positive developments in the first half of 2004 was increasing sales of the Company's GOLD'n GRO liquid fertilizer by 90 percent compared to the same period in 2003 and 77 percent in the second quarter of 2004 compared to last year."

In an interview with AXcess News late Monday, Whitney lauded his company's GOLD'n GRO liquid fertilizer sales due to the length of time its taken for Itronics to move from a development stage operation to a growing market participant, he explained.

"We started developing the fertilizer concept in 1990 and it took five years to create the first product and get it approved for use from an environmental perspective," said Whitney.

Whitney went on to say, "Since Itronics began its fertilizer development program in 1990, our company has invested over $20 million, though accounting rules prevent us from carrying that as equity, instead it was expensed."

Itronics photochemical recycling plant was expanded in June to increase production capacity 12 times to meet growing demands. But that capacity increase cost the micro cap company $300,000 to achieve and for a business graduating from a development stage, that's a lot of cash.

In Monday's earnings announcement, Itronics disclosed that it was in various stages of field trials of its GOLD'n GRO fertilizer, hinting that the 3rd and 4th quarter may produce revenue from those tests though further trials could be in order.

Agricultural products are often tested over several seasons by various distribution sources before full market acceptance is achieved. If you've ever driven through the Midwest during the summer you probably saw varying rows of crops where distributors had planted a variety of seeds. Fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides are all tested in a similar manner before customers are convinced. So Whitney's comments on the amount of trials under way should not be taken lightly.

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of Itronics in a while was the use of its fertilizer in drip irrigation systems. The company announced Aug 5 that it would begin offering residential GOLD'n GRO liquid fertilizer injectors for home and garden use. While green lawns aren't exactly turning institutional money managers heads, Itronics mention of commercial irrigation trials for corn and alfalfa crops Monday might.

This is an excerpt from a series of articles. To read the whole story, go to AXcess News at: www.axcessnews.com.

About AXcess News:
Dubbed the "Yahoo! of small cap business news" by Gordon Borrell, one of America's leading media and research gurus, AXcess News is fast becoming a known commodity for both the serious investor and people in general looking for informed articles and insightful columns. www.axcessnews.com

AXcess News

AXcess News

More from AXcess News

Join today and get the latest delivered to your inbox