Pioneering Technology Corp (CVE:PTE) has had a busy start to 2017 and its fire prevention technology has undoubtedly been a big driver.
The SmartBurner product, which cuts out before fires can ignite, has won significant orders and has now passed an industry standard for certain cookers, which the firm says could be "game changing".
In March this year, the group raised around $6.235mln after it closed an oversubscribed financing with Echelon Wealth Partners Inc.
Cash to be used for expansion...
Net proceeds would be used, the firm revealed, to repay debts, finance expansion, invest in product development and for sales and marketing.
The investment signalled a confidence in the group's prospects and strategy.
And in February, the firm told investors it has been recognized as one of the top 50 performing companies on the Toronto venture exchange, while its SmartBurner was named as a finalist in the 2017 Edison Awards.
Selection of the venture exchange plaudit was based on three equally weighted criteria: trading volume, market capitalization growth and share price appreciation.
In 2016, Pioneering's trading volume was 25,176,449 shares, its market capitalization increased by 1,170% and its share price appreciated by 725%.
Company ramping up....
Its first quarter results (to December 31) also showed a firm motoring through the gears, saying it had now enjoyed seven quarters of profitability in a row – or nearly two years.
Revenues for the three months came in at C$2.3mln - up 78% from the same period a year earlier, while it turned in a record adjusted Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of C$762,942 – up 179% on a year earlier.
"We continue to grow our business profitably and create value. We are ahead of plan year to date and believe our forecast of 50% growth again in 2017 is achievable,” chief executive Kevin Callahan had said.
Earlier this month, an unnamed large suite-style hotel chain in North America made an initial purchase order for about 1,000 rooms and plans to equip 5,700 with its Smart Burner.
That followed the biggest order to date in January with what the group called one of the largest 'suite style' hotel chains in North America - for around 40,560 single SmartBurners (or 10,140 4-burner kits) to equip hotel properties.
The firm noted that, of the major suite-style hotel chain properties (with kitchens) in North America, there are over 3,200 hotel properties and around 320,000 suite-style hotel rooms.
A multi-million dollar opportunity...
So it represents a significant multimillion-dollar opportunity for the company and its distribution partners.
The group has also struck a new distribution deal for the USA with Atlanta - based HD Supply Corp to grow sales for the group's SmartBurner product in the US.
Now the firm's SmartBurner product has passed a new UL858 industry standard for electric coiled cooktops and range and Pioneering reckons it's the only solution available today that does so.
The new standard means that to be listed for sale anywhere in the United States, all new household electric coiled cooktops/ranges must meet the new requirement by April 2019.
Significantly, Pioneering has only been so far selling its SmartBurner and Safe-T-element products into the aftermarket.
But today's news means the firm's technology could be installed "at source" so it could capture revenue from both the aftermarket and from new electric coiled cooktop and range sales.
"These are game-changing milestones for our company and the industry. We are proud to have played a significant role," said Callahan.
Each SmartBurner has a patented control unit installed inside, which controls the temperature of the plate and limits the high‐end temperature to 350°C/662°F.
The ignition or combustion temperature for most cooking oils and common fibers starts at 370°C/698°F.