MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION
AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION
The following
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations (this “MD&A”) for Iris Energy Limited
(“us,” “we,” “Iris Energy,” or “the Company” and, together with its
consolidated subsidiaries, the “Group”) should be read together
with our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for
the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2022 and the related notes
thereto included elsewhere in the Report on Form 6-K of which this
MD&A forms a part (this “Form 6-K”), and our audited
consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal year
ended June 30, 2022 and the related notes included in our Annual
Report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2022 (our “Annual
Report”), which is available through the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Electronic Data Gathering and
Analysis Retrieval (“EDGAR”) system at http://www.sec.gov. This
MD&A is based on our financial information prepared in
accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards, or
IFRS, as issued by the IASB, which may differ in material respects
from generally accepted accounting principles in other
jurisdictions, including U.S. GAAP.
All references
to “U.S. dollars,” “dollars,” “$,” “USD” or “US$” are to the U.S.
dollar. All references to “Australian dollars,” “AUD” or “A$” are
to the Australian dollar, the official currency of Australia. All
references to “Canadian dollars,” “CAD” or “C$” are to the Canadian
dollar, the official currency of Canada. All references to “IFRS”
are to International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by
the International Accounting Standards Board, or the IASB.
The
consolidated financial statements which accompany this MD&A and
are included in this Form 6-K are presented in U.S. dollars, which
is Iris Energy Limited’s presentation currency. We prepared our
unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the fiscal
quarters ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 in accordance with IFRS,
as issued by the IASB. Unless otherwise noted, our financial
information presented herein is stated in U.S. dollars, our
presentation currency.
Our fiscal year
ends on June 30. References in this MD&A to a fiscal year, such
as “fiscal year 2023,” “fiscal year 2022” and “fiscal year 2021”
relate to our fiscal year ended on June 30 of that calendar
year.
Amounts in this
MD&A have been rounded off to the nearest thousand dollars, or
in certain cases, the nearest dollar.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Some of the
information contained in this MD&A, including information with
respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
(the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements generally relate
to future events or our future financial or operating performance.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by
terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “may,” “can,”
“should,” “could,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “project,”
“strive,” “budget,” “forecast,” “expect,” “intend,” “target”,
“will,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “scheduled”
or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar
terminology, but the absence of these words does not mean that
statement is not forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements
are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward looking statements. In addition, any
statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs,
plans, projections, objectives, performance or other
characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any
underlying assumptions, are forward-looking. Actual results may
differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements.
These forward-looking statements
are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs. These
statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that
may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to: Iris Energy’s limited
operating history with operating losses; electricity outage,
limitation of electricity supply or increase in electricity costs,
as well as limitations on the availability of electricity supply
for Bitcoin mining due to restrictions imposed by governmental
authorities or otherwise; long term outage or limitation of the
internet connection at Iris Energy’s sites; any critical failure of
key electrical or data center equipment; serial defects or
underperformance with respect to Iris Energy’s equipment; failure
of suppliers to perform under the relevant supply contracts for
equipment that has already been procured which may delay Iris
Energy’s expansion plans; supply chain and logistics issues for
Iris Energy or Iris Energy’s suppliers; cancellation or withdrawal
of required operating and other permits and licenses; customary
risks in developing greenfield infrastructure projects; Iris
Energy’s evolving business model and strategy; Iris Energy’s
ability to successfully manage its growth; Iris Energy’s ability to
raise additional financing (whether because of the conditions of
the markets, Iris Energy’s financial condition or otherwise) on a
timely basis, or at all, which could adversely impact our ability
to meet our capital commitments (including payments due under any
hardware purchase contracts or debt financing obligations) and our
growth plans; the failure of Iris Energy’s wholly-owned special
purpose vehicles to make required payments of principal and/or
interest under existing limited recourse equipment financing
arrangements when due or otherwise comply with the terms thereof,
as a result of which the lender thereunder has declared the entire
principal amount of each loan to be immediately due and payable and
is taking steps to enforce the indebtedness and its rights in the
Bitcoin miners with respect to certain of such loans and other
assets securing such loans, including appointing a receiver with
respect to such special purpose vehicles, which is expected to
result in the loss of the relevant Bitcoin miners securing such
loans and has materially reduced the Company’s operating capacity,
and could also lead to bankruptcy or liquidation of the relevant
special purpose vehicles, and materially and adversely impact the
Company’s business, operating expansion plans, financial condition,
cash flows and results of operations; the terms of any additional
financing or any refinancing, restructuring or modification to the
terms of any existing financing, which could be less favorable or
require Iris Energy to comply with more onerous covenants or
restrictions, any of which could restrict its business operations
and adversely impact its financial condition, cash flows and
results of operations; competition; Bitcoin prices, global hashrate
and the market value of Bitcoin miners, any of which could
adversely impact the Company’s financial condition, cash flows and
results of operations, as well as its ability to raise additional
financing and the ability of its wholly-owned special purpose
vehicles to make required payments of principal and/or interest on
their equipment financing facilities; risks related to health
pandemics including those of COVID-19; changes in regulation of
digital assets; and other important factors discussed under
“Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors” and “Special Note
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in our Annual Report and in
“Risk Factors” in this Report and our Report on Form 6-K filed
November 21, 2022
, as such
factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with
the SEC, accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the
Investor Relations section of Iris Energy’s website at
https://investors.irisenergy.co. These and other important
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this MD&A.
Any forward-looking statement that Iris Energy makes in this
MD&A speaks only as of the date of such statement. Except as
required by law, Iris Energy disclaims any obligation to update or
revise, or to publicly announce any update or revision to, any of
the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Overview
We are a leading owner and operator
of institutional-grade, highly efficient proprietary Bitcoin mining
data centers powered by 100% renewable energy. Our mining
operations generate revenue by earning Bitcoin through a
combination of block rewards and transaction fees from the
operation of our specialized computers called ASICs (which we refer
to as “Bitcoin miners”) and exchanging these Bitcoin for fiat
currencies, such as U.S. dollars or Canadian dollars, on a daily
basis.
We have been mining Bitcoin since
2019. We liquidate all the Bitcoin we mine daily and therefore do
not have any Bitcoin held on our balance sheet as of December 31,
2022. To date we have utilized Kraken, a U.S.-based digital asset
trading platform, to liquidate the Bitcoin we mine. The mining
pools, that we utilize for the purposes of our Bitcoin mining,
transfer the Bitcoin that we have mined to Kraken on a daily basis.
Such Bitcoin is then exchanged for fiat currency on the Kraken
exchange or via its over-the-counter trading desk on a daily
basis.
Our cash and cash equivalents were
$40.7 million as of December 31, 2022, including approximately $1.3
million held by Non-Recourse SPV 2 and Non-Recourse SPV 3 (defined
below) which is not expected to be recoverable by the Company. Our
total revenue was $30.0 million and $30.6 million for the six
months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We generated
a loss after income tax expense of $161.9 million and $418.8
million for the six months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021,
respectively.
We generated EBITDA of
$(127.2) million and $10.1 million for the six months ended
December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We generated Adjusted
EBITDA of $(6.4) million and $20.3 million for the six months ended
December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. EBITDA and Adjusted
EBITDA are financial measures not defined by IFRS. For a definition
of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, an explanation of our management’s
use of these measures and a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted
EBITDA to loss after income tax expense, see “Key Indicators of
Performance and Financial Conditions.”
We are a vertically
integrated business, and both own and operate our Bitcoin miners,
as well as our infrastructure. We target development of Bitcoin
mining facilities in regions where there are low-cost, abundant and
attractive renewable energy sources. We have ownership of our
proprietary data centers and electrical infrastructure, including
freehold and long-term leasehold land. This provides us with
security and operational control over our assets. Long-term asset
ownership also allows our business to benefit from more sustainable
cash flows in comparison with miners that rely upon third-party
hosting services or short-term land leases which may be subject to
termination rights, profit sharing arrangements and/or potential
changes to contractual terms such as pricing. We regularly assess
opportunities to utilize our available data center capacity,
including via potential third-party hosting. We also focus on
grid-connected power access which not only helps to ensure we are
able to utilize a reliable, long-term supply of power, but also
provides us with the ability to support the energy markets in which
we operate (for example, through potential participation in demand
response, ancillary services provision and load management in
deregulated markets such as Texas).
In January 2020, we acquired our
first site in Canal Flats, located in British Columbia, Canada
(“BC”), from PodTech Innovation Inc. and certain of its related
parties. This site was our first operational site and has been
operating since 2019, and, as of December 31, 2022, has
approximately 30MW of power capacity and potential operating
capacity of approximately 0.8 EH/s (assuming installation of S19j
Pro miners).
Our Mackenzie site has been
operating since April 2022 and, as of December 31, 2022, has
approximately 80MW of power capacity and potential operating
capacity of approximately 2.5 EH/s (assuming installation of S19j
Pro miners). On December 6, 2022, the 30MW expansion of the
Mackenzie site, from 50MW to 80MW, was energized ahead of
schedule.
Our Prince George site has been
operating since September 2022 and, as of December 31, 2022, has
approximately 50MW of power capacity and potential operating
capacity of 1.6 EH/s (assuming installation of S19j Pro
miners).
With the completion and
energization of our Mackenzie and Prince George sites during the
six months ended December 31, 2022, our three sites in BC support
approximately 160MW of aggregate power capacity and potential
operating capacity of approximately 4.9 EH/s.
Each of our sites in BC are
connected to the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (“BC
Hydro”) electricity transmission network and have been 100% powered
by renewable energy since commencement of operations (currently
approximately 97% sourced from clean or renewable sources as
reported by BC Hydro and approximately 3% sourced from the purchase
of RECs).
We are also engaged in construction
activities at our site in Childress, located in the
renewables-heavy Panhandle region of Texas, U.S. We expect
energization of our 600MW site at Childress in the coming months,
including completion of the first 20MW of data center
capacity.
Our Growth
Strategy
Following completion of
our recent acquisition of additional mining hardware as described
under “—Recent Developments—Additional Mining Hardware Purchases,”
we expect that our existing available data center capacity across
our sites will be substantially utilized. However, we have the
ability to further grow our data center capacity at our existing
site in Childress (from the initial 20MW up to the total potential
site capacity of 600MW) and potentially also at new sites in the
future. Our business strategy remains focused on continuing to
expand our self-mining capacity by further growing our available
data center capacity and acquiring additional miners.
Recent Developments
Market
Events Impacting the Crypto Industry
Recent market events in the crypto
industry have negatively impacted market sentiment towards the
broader crypto industry. There has also been a decline in the value
of cryptocurrencies generally, including the value of Bitcoin, in
connection with these events, which has impacted the Group from a
financial and operational perspective. We expect that any further
declines will further impact the business and operations of the
Group, and if such declines are significant, it could result in
reduced revenue and operating cash flows and increased net
operating losses, and could also negatively impact our ability to
raise additional financing. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk
Factors” in our Annual Report for further information around the
risks related to decreases in the price of Bitcoin.
Market
Events Impacting Digital Asset Trading Platforms
Recent market events in the crypto
industry have involved and/or impacted certain digital asset
trading platforms. As described under “—Overview”, the mining
pools, that we utilize for the purposes of our Bitcoin mining,
transfer the Bitcoin we mine to Kraken, a digital asset trading
platform, on a daily basis. Such Bitcoin is then exchanged for fiat
currency on the Kraken exchange or via its over-the-counter trading
desk on a daily basis.
Because we exchange the Bitcoin we
mine for fiat currency on a daily basis, we believe we have limited
exposure to fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin with respect to
the Bitcoin that we mine once we have mined such Bitcoin. In
addition, we withdraw fiat currency proceeds from Kraken on a daily
basis utilizing Etana Custody, a third-party custodian, to
facilitate the transfer of such proceeds to one or more of our
banks or other financial institutions. As a result, we have only
limited amounts of Bitcoin and fiat currency with Kraken and Etana
Custody at any time, and accordingly, we believe we have limited
exposure to potential risks related to excessive redemptions or
withdrawals of digital assets or fiat currencies from, or
suspension of redemptions or withdrawals of digital assets or fiat
currencies from, Kraken, Etana Custody or any other digital asset
trading platform or custodian we may use in the future for purposes
of liquidating the Bitcoin we mine on a daily basis. However, if
Kraken, Etana Custody or any such other digital asset trading
platform or custodian suffers excessive redemptions or withdrawals
of digital assets or fiat currencies, or suspends redemptions or
withdrawals of digital assets or fiat currencies, as applicable,
any Bitcoin we have transferred to such platform that has not yet
been exchanged for fiat currency, as well as any fiat currency that
we have not yet withdrawn, as applicable, would be at risk.
In addition, if any event were to
occur with respect to Kraken, Etana Custody, or any other such
digital asset trading platform or custodian we utilize to liquidate
the Bitcoin we mine, we may be required to, or may otherwise
determine it is appropriate to, switch to an alternative digital
asset trading platform and/or custodian, as applicable. We do not
currently use any other digital asset trading platforms or
custodians to liquidate the Bitcoin we mine. While we expect to
continue to utilize Kraken and Etana Custody, there are numerous
alternative digital asset trading platforms that operate exchanges
and/or over-the-counter trading desks with similar functionality to
Kraken, and there are also several alternative funds transfer
arrangements for facilitating the transfer of fiat currency
proceeds from Kraken either with or without the use of a
third-party custodian. We believe we have the ability to switch to
one or more alternative digital asset trading platforms and/or
funds transfer arrangements to liquidate Bitcoin we mine and
transfer the fiat currency proceeds without material expense or
delay. As a result, we do not believe our business is substantially
dependent on the Kraken digital asset trading platform or Etana
Custody third-party custodian services.
However, digital asset trading
platforms and third-party custodians, including Kraken and Etana
Custody, are subject to a number of risks outside our control which
could impact our business. In particular, during any intervening
period in which we are switching digital asset trading platforms
and/or third-party custodians, we could be exposed to credit risk
with respect to any Bitcoin or fiat currency held by them. In
addition, we could be exposed to fluctuations in the value of
Bitcoin with respect to the Bitcoin that we mine during such period
or that was previously mined but has not yet been exchanged for
fiat currency. See “—Digital asset trading platforms for Bitcoin
may be subject to varying levels of regulation, which exposes our
digital asset holdings to risks” and “—We may temporarily store our
Bitcoin on digital asset trading platforms which could subject our
Bitcoin to the risk of loss or access” under “Item 3.D. Key
Information—Risk Factors” in our Annual Report for further
information.
Termination of Intra-Group Hosting Arrangements
In connection with receipt of
certain notices of default received by the Non-Recourse SPVs
(defined below) in November 2022 described herein under “—Liquidity
and Capital Resources—Agreements for Miner Equipment Financing”,
certain other of the Group's subsidiaries have terminated their
respective hosting arrangements with Non-Recourse SPV 2 and
Non-Recourse SPV 3. As a result of the termination of such hosting
arrangements, none of the approximately 3.6 EH/s of miners owned by
such special purpose vehicles are operating. Excluding such miners,
the remaining operating capacity at each of Canal Flats, Mackenzie
and Prince George, as of December 31, 2022, is approximately 0.5
EH/s, 0.3 EH/s, and 0.4 EH/s, respectively. This in turn (i)
resulted in a material reduction in our operating capacity, (ii)
increased our electricity costs per Bitcoin mined as a result of
higher demand charges (i.e., fixed charges) per Bitcoin mined and
(iii) adversely impacted our operating metrics. In particular, with
a lower operating capacity, increased electricity costs per Bitcoin
mined and a decline in the price of Bitcoin over recent months, we
have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, a reduction
in the Group's revenue and operating cash flows, resulting in net
operating losses. We expect to utilize our available data center
capacity with additional miners that we have agreed to purchase
from Bitmain as described under “—Hardware Purchase Contract and
Additional Hardware Purchases.” However, we expect such impacts to
continue until such time, if at all, as we are able to re-utilize
our available data center capacity and increase our operating
capacity. See “—Risk Factors” and “Risk Factors” in our Report on
Form 6-K filed on November 21, 2022 for more information.
Hardware
Purchase Contract and Additional Hardware Purchases
We have an existing
$400 million hardware purchase contract with Bitmain Technologies
Limited (“Bitmain”) for approximately 10 EH/s of miners (excluding
any discount arrangements under the agreement, which may include
potential additional miners), originally scheduled to be shipped in
batches between October 2022 and September 2023. As of December 31,
2022, we had 7.5 EH/s of additional contracted miners outstanding
under the Bitmain contract, and $75.0 million of prepayments
pursuant to the contract that had not been utilized (the
retranslated carrying amount, less impairment of such prepayments
on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 was $59.0 million).
See “Contractual Obligations—Hardware Purchase Contract
Commitments” for more information on the Bitmain contract.
In January 2023, we utilized $8.3
million of our outstanding prepayments under the Bitmain contract
to concurrently purchase from Bitmain and on-sell 0.8 EH/s of this
7.5 EH/s of additional miners (the retranslated carrying amount,
less impairment of the prepayment utilized in such transaction as
at December 31, 2022 was $6.2 million). This transaction generated
net proceeds to the Group of approximately $6.2 million (after
utilizing a portion of such proceeds to pay the remaining purchase
price of such miners).
In addition, on
February 8, 2023, we entered into an agreement to purchase the
remaining 6.7 EH/s of contracted new S19j Pro miners under the
Bitmain contract. The purchase will be funded by utilizing our
remaining prepayments under the Bitmain contract of $66.7 million
(the retranslated carrying amount, less impairment of such
prepayments on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 was $52.8
million), including a concurrent sale of 2.3 EH/s of the remaining
6.7 EH/s contracted miners to a third party pursuant to the same
agreement with Bitmain. As a result, we will acquire an aggregate
of 4.4 EH/s of new S19j Pro miners pursuant to these transactions
without any additional cash outlay. Our 180MW of data center
capacity across British Columbia and Texas is expected to power 5.5
EH/s of high efficiency S19j Pro miners (29.5 J/TH) over the coming
months. We are considering options for the sale of surplus miners
(above 5.5 EH/s of self-mining capacity) to re-invest in growth
initiatives and/or corporate purposes.
Following the consummation of this
transaction, both we and Bitmain will have fully performed all of
our respective purchase and sale obligations under the contract,
and we will have no remaining purchase or payment commitments under
the contract.
Factors Affecting Our
Performance
Market Value of Bitcoin
We derive our revenues from Bitcoin
mining. We earn rewards from Bitcoin mining that are paid in
Bitcoin. We currently liquidate rewards that we earn from mining
Bitcoin in exchange for fiat currencies such as USD or CAD on a
daily basis. Because the rewards we earn from mining Bitcoin are
paid in Bitcoin, our operating and financial results are tied to
fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin. In addition, positive or
negative changes in the global hashrate impact mining difficulty
and therefore the rewards we earn from mining Bitcoin and may as a
result materially affect our revenue and margins.
In a declining Bitcoin price
environment, the Bitcoin mining protocol may provide a natural
downside protection for low-cost Bitcoin miners through an
adjustment to the number of Bitcoin mined. For example, when the
Bitcoin price falls, the ability for higher cost miners to pay
their operating costs may be impacted, which in turn may lead over
time to higher cost miners switching off their operations (for
example, if their marginal cost of power makes it unprofitable to
continue mining, they may exit the network). As a result, the
global hashrate may fall, and remaining low-cost miners may benefit
from an increased percentage share of the fixed Bitcoin network
rewards.
Conversely, in a rising Bitcoin
price environment, additional mining machines may be deployed by
miners, leading to increased global hashrate in the overall
network. In periods of rising Bitcoin prices, we may increase our
capital expenditures in mining machines and related infrastructure
to take advantage of potentially faster return on investments,
subject to availability of capital and market conditions.
While the supply of Bitcoin is
capped at 21 million, the price of Bitcoin fluctuates not just
because of traditional notions of supply and demand but also
because of the dynamic nature of the market for Bitcoin. Having
been created in just a little over a decade as of the date of
hereof, the market for Bitcoin is rapidly changing and subject to
global regulatory, tax, political, environmental, cybersecurity,
and market factors beyond our control. For a discussion of other
factors that could lead to material adverse changes in the market
value of Bitcoin, which could in turn result in substantial damage
to or even the failure of our business, see “Item 3.D. Key
Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Bitcoin Mining
Business” in our Annual Report. Recent market events in the crypto
industry have negatively impacted sentiment towards the broader
crypto industry. There has also been a decline in the value of
cryptocurrencies generally, including the value of Bitcoin, in
connection with these events, which has impacted the Group from a
financial and operational perspective. For example, the price of
Bitcoin, as reported by Blockchain.com, declined from approximately
$65,000 per Bitcoin in November 2021, to approximately $16,000 per
Bitcoin in November 2022. We expect that any further declines will
further impact the business and operations of the Group, and if
such declines are significant, it could result in reduced revenue
and operating cash flows and increased net operating losses, and
could also negatively impact our ability to raise additional
financing. See “—Recent Developments” and “—Risk Factors” as well
as “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors” in our Annual Report
for further information.
Further, the rewards for each
Bitcoin mined is subject to “halving” adjustments at predetermined
intervals. At the outset, the reward for mining each block was set
at 50 Bitcoin and this was cut in half to 25 Bitcoin on November
28, 2012 at block 210,000, cut in half again to 12.5 Bitcoin on
July 9, 2016 at block 420,000, and cut in half yet again to 6.25
Bitcoin on May 11, 2020 at block 630,000. The next three halving
events for Bitcoin are expected to take place in 2024 at block
840,000 (when the reward will reduce to 3.125 Bitcoin), in 2028 at
block 1,050,000 (when the reward will reduce to 1.5625 Bitcoin),
and in 2032 at block 1,260,000 (when the reward will reduce to
0.78125 Bitcoin). As the rewards for each Bitcoin mined reduce, the
Bitcoin we earn relative to our operating capacity decrease. As a
result, these adjustments have had, and will continue to have,
material effects on our operating and financial results.
Efficiency of Mining Machines
As global mining capacity
increases, we will need to correspondingly increase our total
operating capacity relative to the overall network—all else being
equal—to maintain the same amount of Bitcoin mining revenue.
While we remain focused on
expanding our total operating capacity as and when prudent having
regard to market conditions and other factors, we are presently
also committed to mining more sustainably and efficiently with an
eye towards return on investments. Our Bitcoin mining operations
primarily utilize new miners produced by Bitmain, including
Antminer S19j Pro, which we believe are among the most efficient
mining machines available.
In certain periods, there may be
disruption in global supply chain leading to shortage of advanced
mining machines that meet our standard of quality. To maintain our
competitive edge over the long term, we strive to maintain strong
relationships with suppliers and vendors across the supply chain to
ensure that our fleet of miners is competitive.
Ability to Secure Low-Cost Renewable Power
Bitcoin mining consumes extensive
energy for both the mining and cooling aspects of the operation. In
particular, we believe the increasing difficulty of the network,
driven by more miners and higher hashrates as well as the periodic
halving adjustments of Bitcoin reward rates, will drive the
increasing importance of power efficiency in Bitcoin mining over
the long term.
The price we pay for electricity
depends on numerous factors including sources of generation,
regulatory environment, electricity market structure, commodity
prices, instantaneous supply/demand balances, counterparty and
procurement method. These factors may be subject to change over
time and result in increased power costs. In regulated markets,
such as in BC, suppliers of renewable power rely on regulators to
approve raises in rates, resulting in fluctuations subject to
requests for rate increases and their approval thereof; in
deregulated markets, such as in Texas, prices of renewable power
will fluctuate with the wholesale market (including price
fluctuations in commodity prices such as the price of fossil
fuels).
Furthermore, there has been
increasing scrutiny on electricity usage by Bitcoin mining
operators by Government regulators. For example, in December 2022,
the Government of British Columbia announced a temporary 18-month
suspension on new and early stage BC Hydro connection requests from
cryptocurrency mining projects due to unprecedented interest. While
this suspension has not impacted our existing operations, future
decisions by Government regulators may reduce the availability
and/or increase the cost of electricity in the geographic locations
in which our operating facilities are located, or could otherwise
adversely impact our business. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk
Factors” in our Annual Report for further information.
Competitive Environment
We compete with a variety of miners
globally, including individual hobbyists, mining pools and public
and private companies. We believe that, even as Bitcoin price
decreases, the market will continue to draw new miners and increase
the scale and sophistication of competition in the Bitcoin mining
industry. Increasing competition generally results in increase to
the global hashrate, which in turn would generally lead to a
reduction in the percentage share of the fixed Bitcoin network
rewards that Bitcoin miners, including Iris Energy, would
earn.
Key Indicators of Performance and
Financial Condition
Key operating and financial metrics
that we use, in addition to our IFRS consolidated financial
statements, to assess the performance of our business are set forth
below for the six months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021,
include:
EBITDA
EBITDA excludes interest income,
income tax expense, depreciation and amortization, other finance
expenses, and non-cash fair value gains and losses on hybrid
financial instruments, which are important components of our IFRS
profit/(loss) after income tax expense. As a capital-intensive
business, EBITDA excludes the impact of the cost of depreciation of
mining equipment and other fixed assets and we believe provides a
useful tool for comparison to our competitors in a similar
industry. We believe EBITDA is a useful metric for assessing
operating performance before the impact of certain non-cash and
other items described above. Our presentation of EBITDA should not
be construed as an inference that our future results will be
unaffected by these items.
We believe EBITDA and EBITDA Margin
have limitations as analytical tools. These measures should not be
considered as alternatives to profit/(loss) after income tax
expense, as applicable, determined in accordance with IFRS. They
are supplemental measures of our operating performance only, and as
a result you should not consider these measures in isolation from,
or as a substitute analysis for, our profit/(loss) after income tax
as determined in accordance with IFRS, which we consider to be the
most comparable IFRS financial measure. For example, we expect
depreciation of our fixed assets will be a large recurring expense
over the course of the useful life of our assets. EBITDA and EBITDA
Margin do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and
therefore are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled
measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness as a
comparative tool.
The following table shows a
reconciliation of EBITDA to profit/(loss) after income tax
expense:
|
|
Three Months
Ended
December 31,
2022
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
December 31,
2021
|
|
|
Six Months Ended
December 31, 2022
|
|
|
Six Months Ended
December 31, 2021
|
|
|
|
($
thousands)
|
|
Profit/(loss) after income tax expense
|
|
|
(143,954
|
)
|
|
|
70,323
|
|
|
|
(161,894
|
)
|
|
|
(418,767
|
)
|
Add/(deduct) the
following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other finance
expense/(benefit)
|
|
|
10,350
|
|
|
|
(70,700
|
)
|
|
|
13,915
|
|
|
|
420,674
|
|
Interest
income
|
|
|
(257
|
)
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
(214
|
)
|
|
|
-
|
|
Depreciation and
amortization
|
|
|
11,544
|
|
|
|
1,261
|
|
|
|
18,996
|
|
|
|
1,976
|
|
Income tax
(benefit)/expense
|
|
|
(411
|
)
|
|
|
3,151
|
|
|
|
2,030
|
|
|
|
6,226
|
|
EBITDA
|
|
|
(122,728
|
)
|
|
|
4,035
|
|
|
|
(127,167
|
)
|
|
|
10,109
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bitcoin
Mining Revenue
|
|
|
13,755
|
|
|
|
20,147
|
|
|
|
29,967
|
|
|
|
30,579
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Profit/(loss) after income tax expense margin(1)
|
|
|
(1,047%
|
)
|
|
|
349%
|
|
|
|
(540%
|
)
|
|
|
(1,369%
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EBITDA
margin(2)
|
|
|
(892%
|
)
|
|
|
20%
|
|
|
|
(424%
|
)
|
|
|
33%
|
|
(1) |
Profit/(loss) after income tax expense margin is calculated as
Profit/(loss) after income tax expense divided by Bitcoin Mining
Revenue.
|
(2)
|
EBITDA margin is calculated as
EBITDA divided by Bitcoin Mining Revenue.
|
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA as
further adjusted to exclude impairment of assets, loss allowance
for other receivables, share-based payments expense, foreign
exchange gains/losses, and certain one-off, non-recurring expenses.
We believe Adjusted EBITDA is a useful metric because it allows us
to monitor the profitability of our business on a current basis and
removes expenses which do not impact our ongoing profitability and
which can vary significantly in comparison to other companies. Our
presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an
inference that our future results will be unaffected by these
items.
We believe Adjusted EBITDA and
Adjusted EBITDA Margin have limitations as analytical tools. These
measures should not be considered as alternatives to profit/(loss)
after income tax expense, as applicable, determined in accordance
with IFRS. They are supplemental measures of our operating
performance only, and as a result you should not consider these
measures in isolation from, or as a substitute analysis for, our
profit/(loss) after income tax as determined in accordance with
IFRS, which we consider to be the most comparable IFRS financial
measure. For example, we expect depreciation of our fixed assets
will be a large recurring expense over the course of the useful
life of our assets, and that share-based compensation is an
important part of compensating certain employees, officers and
directors. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin do not have
any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore are not
necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other
companies, limiting their usefulness as a comparative tool.
The following table shows a
reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to profit/(loss) after income tax
expense:
|
|
Three
Months
Ended
December
31,
2022
|
|
|
Three
Months
Ended
December
31, 2021
|
|
|
Six Months Ended
December 31,
2022
|
|
|
Six Months Ended
December 31,
2021
|
|
|
|
($
thousands)
|
|
Profit/(loss) after income tax expense
|
|
|
(143,954
|
)
|
|
|
70,323
|
|
|
|
(161,894
|
)
|
|
|
(418,767
|
)
|
Add/(deduct) the
following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other finance
expense/(benefit)
|
|
|
10,350
|
|
|
|
(70,700
|
)
|
|
|
13,915
|
|
|
|
420,674
|
|
Interest
income
|
|
|
(257
|
)
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
(214
|
)
|
|
|
-
|
|
Depreciation and
amortization
|
|
|
11,544
|
|
|
|
1,261
|
|
|
|
18,996
|
|
|
|
1,976
|
|
Income tax
(benefit)/expense
|
|
|
(411
|
)
|
|
|
3,151
|
|
|
|
2,030
|
|
|
|
6,226
|
|
EBITDA
|
|
|
(122,728
|
)
|
|
|
4,035
|
|
|
|
(127,167
|
)
|
|
|
10,109
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bitcoin
Mining Revenue
|
|
|
13,755
|
|
|
|
20,147
|
|
|
|
29,967
|
|
|
|
30,579
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Profit/(loss) after income tax expense margin(1)
|
|
|
(1,047%
|
)
|
|
|
349%
|
|
|
|
(540%
|
)
|
|
|
(1,369%
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EBITDA
margin(2)
|
|
|
(892%
|
)
|
|
|
20%
|
|
|
|
(424%
|
)
|
|
|
33%
|
|
Add/(deduct) the
following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impairment of
assets(3)
|
|
|
89,963
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
89,963
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Loss allowance
for other receivables(4)
|
|
|
15,209
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
15,209
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Non-cash share
based payment expense – founders(5)
|
|
|
3,168
|
|
|
|
4,512
|
|
|
|
6,176
|
|
|
|
5,146
|
|
Non-cash
share-based payment expense – other(6)
|
|
|
(16
|
)
|
|
|
415
|
|
|
|
594
|
|
|
|
1,631
|
|
Foreign exchange
(gain)/loss
|
|
|
6,225
|
|
|
|
2,786
|
|
|
|
7,176
|
|
|
|
88
|
|
Other expense
items(7)
|
|
|
144
|
|
|
|
2,714
|
|