Core Scientific Announces Full Fiscal Year 2021 Results

Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: CORZ), a leader in high-performance, net carbon neutral blockchain infrastructure and software solutions, reported its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220329005911/en/

Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Highlights (Compared to Fiscal Year 2020)

• Total revenue increased by 803% to $544.5 million
• Gross profit increased by 2,443% to $238.9 million
• Net Income increased to $47.3 million
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ increased by 3,849% to $238.9 million
• Self-mining operations increased BTC production 350% to 5,769 BTC²
• 5,296 BTC held at year end
• Total hashrate of 13.5 EH/s consisting of 6.6 EH/s self-mining and 6.9 EH/s hosting

“Our team produced strong results in 2021, highlighted by revenue of $544.5 million, net income of $47.3 million and adjusted EBITDA of $238.9 million,” said Mike Levitt, Core Scientific Chief Executive Officer. “Our total hashrate increased from less than 3.0 EH/s at year end 2020 to 13.5 EH/s at year end 2021. This market-leading growth generated over 5,700 self-mined bitcoins in 2021. In the first two months of 2022 our total hashrate grew to 15.9 EH/s and we self-mined over 2,000 bitcoins. Across our business we are executing our plans effectively and remain well positioned to continue expanding our capacity and creating shareholder value.”

FISCAL YEAR 2021 FULL YEAR FINANCIAL RESULTS

Total revenue increased by $484.2 million or 803%, to $544.5 million in 2021 from $60.3 million in 2020.

Total hosting revenue increased by $37.7 million, or 91%, to $79.3 million in 2021 from $41.6 million in 2020. The increase was driven by the execution of new customer hosting contracts for miners deployed during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Total equipment sales increased by $235.6 million, or 1,871%, to $248.2 million in 2021 from $12.6 million in 2020. The increase was driven by higher demand for new generation mining equipment.

Digital asset mining income increased by $210.8 million, or 3,440%, to $216.9 million in 2021 from $6.1 million in 2020. The year over year growth in mining income was driven by an increase in our self-mining hash rate and higher bitcoin prices. Our self-mining hash rate increased by 1,772%, to 6.6 EH/s in 2021 from 0.35 EH/s in 2020. The total number of bitcoins awarded in 2021 (excluding 1,746 of bitcoins mined by Blockcap prior to its acquisition on July 30, 2021) was 4,023³ compared to 328³ in 2020. The average price of bitcoin in 2021 was $47,437 compared to $14,357 in 2020, an improvement of 230%.

Cost of revenue increased by $254.7 million or 500%, to $305.6 million in 2021 from $50.9 million in 2020. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in the cost of equipment sold of $166.8 million, higher power consumption driven by increases in both our self-mining and hosted fleet of $53.4 million, increased depreciation expense of $21.3 million driven by the deployment of self-mining units, facilities depreciation of $1.9 million, higher personnel and facilities operating costs driven by the opening and expansion of our data centers of $7.2 million and stock-based compensation of $4.1 million. As a percentage of total revenue, cost of revenue totaled 56% and 84% for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Gross profit increased by $229.5 million, or 2,443%, to $238.9 million in 2021 from $9.4 million in 2020. The increase in gross profit was driven primarily by a $163.6 million increase in gross profit for the mining segment, which had a gross margin of 77% in 2021 compared to 51% in 2020. Also contributing to the increase in gross profit was a $65.9 million increase in gross profit for the Equipment Sales and Hosting Segment, which had a gross margin of 22% in 2021 compared to 12% in 2020, driven by higher margins on equipment sales.

Operating income increased $137.8 million to $131.5 million in 2021 from an operating loss of $6.3 million in 2020. The increase in operating income was predominantly due to the $229.5 million increase in gross profit described above, primarily offset by $46.0 million of higher general and administrative expenses, which was driven by $29.8 million of higher stock-based compensation expense, and $37.2 million of higher impairments of digital currency assets, which was driven by a change we made to our digital asset investment policy in the second half of 2021 to begin holding a more significant portion of our digital assets mined on our balance sheet.

Net income increased $59.5 million to $47.3 million in 2021 from a net loss of $12.2 million in 2020. The increase in net income was due to the $137.8 million increase in operating income described above, primarily offset by $41.3 million of non-operating expenses related to our convertible notes, consisting of $25.3 million of interest expense and $16.0 million of other fair value adjustments, a $14.6 million increase in interest expense from other financing arrangements, including a senior secured credit facility and several equipment financing agreements for which the proceeds were used to acquire self-mining equipment and to fund the build out of our hosting and self-mining facilities, and a $6.7 million increase in loss from debt extinguishments due to the payoff of senior secured loans in April 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA increased $232.9 million to $238.9 million in 2021 from $6.1 million in 2020. The increase was due to higher gross profit, excluding depreciation and amortization, partially offset by higher operating expenses, excluding share-based compensation and depreciation and amortization.

As of December 31, 2021, cash and cash equivalents were $117.9 million and restricted cash was $13.8 million.

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had a total Bitcoin balance of 5,296. The carrying value of our mined digital assets was $234.3 million, which reflects impairment charges of $37.2 million year-to-date.

OUTLOOK

In 2022, the Company expects to achieve total hashrate of between 40 EH/s and 42 EH/s, with total power between 1,200 MW and 1,300 MW.

The foregoing estimates are forward-looking and reflect management's view of current and future market conditions, subject to certain risks and uncertainties and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Investors are reminded that actual results may differ materially from these estimates.

DAILY PRODUCTION REPORTING

Core Scientific anticipates providing daily bitcoin production beginning early in April 2022 via www.corescientific.com.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

In conjunction with this release, Core Scientific, Inc. will host a conference call today, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at 4:30 pm Eastern Time that will be webcast live. Mike Levitt, Chief Executive Officer, Michael Trzupek, Chief Financial Officer and Steven A. Gitlin, Senior Vice President Investor Relations, will host the call.

Investors may dial into the call by using the following telephone numbers, 1 (844) 200-6205 (U.S. toll-free), 1 (646) 904-5544 (U.S. local) or 1 (929) 526-1599 (international) and providing the access code 892840 five to ten minutes prior to the start time to allow for registration.

Investors with Internet access may listen to the live audio webcast via the Investor Relations page of the Core Scientific, Inc. website, http://investors.corescientific.com. Please allow 15 minutes prior to the call to download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the audio webcast will be available for one year.

A supplementary investor presentation for the full fiscal year 2021 can be accessed at https://investors.corescientific.com/investors/events-and-presentations/default.aspx.

AUDIO REPLAY

An audio replay of the event will be archived on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://investors.corescientific.com and via telephone by dialing 1 (866) 813-9403 (U.S. toll free), 1 (929) 458-6194 (U.S. local) or 44 (204) 525-0658 (all other locations) and entering Access Code 892840.

ABOUT CORE SCIENTIFIC

Core Scientific is one of the largest publicly traded, net carbon-neutral blockchain infrastructure providers and miners of digital assets in North America. Core Scientific has operated blockchain infrastructure in North America since 2017, using its facilities and intellectual property portfolio that has grown to more than 70 patents or applications for digital asset hosted mining and self-mining. Core Scientific operates data centers in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota and Texas, and expects to commence operations in Oklahoma in the second half of 2022. Core Scientific’s proprietary Minder^® fleet management software combines the Company’s hosting expertise with data analytics to deliver maximum uptime, alerting, monitoring and management of all miners in the Company’s network. To learn more, visit www.corescientific.com.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our and our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, for example, statements about:

• execute its business strategy, including monetization of services provided and expansions in and into existing and new lines of business;
• realize the benefits expected from the acquisition of Blockcap, including any related synergies;
• anticipate the uncertainties inherent in the development of new business lines and business strategies;
• retain and hire necessary employees;
• anticipate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including variant strains of COVID-19, and its effect on business and financial conditions;
• our ability to source clean and renewable energy;
• future estimates of computing capacity and operating power;
• future demand for hosting capacity;
• future estimates of hashrate (including mix of self-mining and hosting);
• operating gigawatts and power;
• future projects in construction or negotiation and future expectations of operation location;
• orders for miners and critical infrastructure;
• future estimates of self-mining capacity;
• future infrastructure additions and their operational capacity;
• operating power and site features of our operations center in Denton, Texas;
• manage risks associated with operational changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the emergence of variant strains of COVID-19;
• increase brand awareness;
• attract, train and retain effective officers, key employees or directors;
• upgrade and maintain information technology systems;
• acquire and protect intellectual property;
• meet future liquidity requirements and comply with restrictive covenants related to long-term indebtedness;
• effectively respond to general economic and business conditions, including the price of bitcoin;
• maintain the listing on, or to prevent the delisting of our securities from, Nasdaq or another national securities exchange;
• obtain additional capital, including use of the debt market;
• the public float of our shares;
• enhance future operating and financial results;
• successfully execute expansion plans;
• anticipate rapid technological changes;
• comply with laws and regulations applicable to its business, including tax laws and laws and regulations related to data privacy and the protection of the environment;
• stay abreast of modified or new laws and regulations applicable to its business or withstand the impact of any new laws and regulations related to its industry;
• anticipate the impact of, and response to, new accounting standards;
• anticipate the significance and timing of contractual obligations;
• maintain key strategic relationships with partners and distributors;
• respond to uncertainties associated with product and service development and market acceptance;
• anticipate the impact of changes in U.S. federal income tax laws, including the impact on deferred tax assets;
• successfully defend litigation; and
• successfully deploy the proceeds from the Business Combination.

These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

You should read this press release with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this press release and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and such statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

Core Scientific, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

(Unaudited)

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as our net income or (loss), adjusted to eliminate the effect of (i) interest income, interest expense, and other income (expense), net; (ii) provision for income taxes; (iii) depreciation and amortization; (iv) stock-based compensation expense; and (v) certain additional non-cash and non-recurring items. For additional information, including the reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA, please refer to the table below. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure because it allows management, investors, and our board of directors to evaluate and compare our operating results, including our return on capital and operating efficiencies, from period-to-period by making the adjustments described above. In addition, it provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our results of operations, as well as provides a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business, as it removes the effect of net interest expense, taxes, certain non-cash items, variable charges, and timing differences. Moreover, we have included Adjusted EBITDA in this press release because it is a key measurement used by our management internally to make operating decisions, including those related to operating expenses, evaluate performance, and perform strategic and financial planning.

The above items are excluded from our Adjusted EBITDA measure because these items are non-cash in nature, or because the amount and timing of these items is unpredictable, not driven by core results of operations and renders comparisons with prior periods and competitors less meaningful. However, you should be aware that when evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, we may incur future expenses similar to those excluded when calculating these measures. Our presentation of this measure should not be construed as an inference that its future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Further, this non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on GAAP results and using Adjusted EBITDA on a supplemental basis. Our computation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures computed by other companies because not all companies calculate this measure in the same fashion. You should review the reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA below and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:

The following tables reconcile the Non-GAAP Financial Measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial performance measure, which is net income (loss), for the periods presented (in thousands):

¹ Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures, please refer to the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section of this press release.

² Includes 1,746 of bitcoin mined by Blockcap during 2021 prior to being acquired on July 30, 2021.

³ The total number of bitcoin awarded on a combined self-mining basis for December 31, 2021 was 5,769 compared to 1,281 for the year ended December 31, 2020.

⁴ Gross margin is calculated as gross profit as a percentage of total revenue.

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