NA Proactive news snapshot: Kontrol Technologies Corp, Rio2 Limited, Kidoz Inc, Esports Entertainment Group Inc, Biocept Inc …

Kontrol Technologies Corp (OTCQB:KNRLF, NEO:KNR) has announced record revenue of $21.5 million during its third quarter, boosted by its acquisition of Global HVAC & Automation Inc that closed in August 2021. The firm’s revenue was up 614% year-over-year, which the company attributed to growth across its business verticals and more overall business activity during a period of reduced government-imposed site access restrictions. Kontrol also posted record net income of $2.1 million over the three-month period to end September 2021 – its second consecutive quarter of positive net income.

Rio2 Limited (TSX-V:RIO, OTCQX:RIOFF) said it has entered into a definitive precious metals purchase agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (LSE:WPM, TSX:WPM, NYSE:WPM)., in relation to the company’s Fenix Gold Project in Chile. The Gold Stream agreement is one of the components of the mine construction financing totaling approximately US$125 million to US$135 million to finance the construction of a mine at the 100%-owned Fenix Gold Project. The signing of the Gold Stream agreement follows the successful completion in August 2021 of the company’s C$35.1 million equity offering and positions the company to finalize the previously announced US$50 to US$60 million senior debt project finance facility with BNP Paribas mandated as sole lead arranger. In a statement, Jose Luis Martinez, EVP, chief strategy officer at Rio2 said: “Entering into this definitive agreement with Wheaton International represents a significant milestone for Rio2 and secures the foundation of the Mine Financing Package setting the Company on a solid path for development and a fast track to production.”

Kidoz Inc saw its 3Q revenue increase to US$2.8 million on a strong performance from its Ad Tech business. Revenue rose 47% from the comparable quarter last year’s $1.9 million and 29% above the $2.2 million it delivered in 2Q 2021. Kidoz develops and owns the KIDOZ Contextual Ad Network and the Kidoz Published SDK.

Esports Entertainment Group Inc said revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2021 nearly doubled year-over-year. The company also reaffirmed its FY22 revenue guidance of $100 million, or 490% growth, driven primarily by the platform-building and strategic diversification acquisitions completed in the calendar year 2021. For its 1Q ended September 30, 2021, Esports said it generated revenue of $16.4 million, up $16.2 million year-over-year and an 86% increase compared to $8.8 million in the 4Q of 2021.

Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC), the diagnostics-focused group, swung to a profit in its third quarter, recovering from the loss it reported in the corresponding period last year, thanks to a 165% increase in revenue on the back of increased RT-PCR COVID-19 testing. For the three months to September 30, the company posted net income of $427,000 compared to a loss of $4.9 million in 3Q, 2020. Revenue came in at $17.5 million, up from $6.6 million in the third quarter of 2020. That revenue figure included $16.5 million from COVID-19 testing, $826,000 in oncology test revenue, $34,000 in development services test revenue, and $71,000 in revenue for distributed products. CEO Michael Nall said the biotech firm had received over 660,000 samples for testing since June this year.

PyroGenesis Canada Inc, the high-tech materials group, told investors it was well-positioned for future growth, particularly with its offerings to help reduce greenhouse gases, as it unveiled further revenue growth in its third quarter. In the three months to September 30, the company reported revenue of $9,317,926 – up 14% from the $8,149,427 seen in 3Q, 2O20, and which included revenue of $3,712,000 from its recent acquisition of Pyro Green-Gas, formerly known as AirScience Technologies Inc. The net income and comprehensive income came in at $623,664, down from $15,325,996 in the prior-year quarter, mainly due to a number of factors, including increased R&D expenses, changes in fair market value adjustment of strategic investments and financial expenses, and an increase in the cost of sales and services.

NorthWest Copper (TSX-V:NWST) Corp has announced that drilling at its Kwanika deposit in British Columbia has encountered “multiple intersections of high-grade copper-gold porphyry mineralization,” which included 100.50 metres (m) of 1.9% copper equivalent and 71.90m of 2.6% copper equivalent.  The company said all five holes have intercepts of greater than 1% copper equivalent mineralization and “contain meaningful gold grades,” reinforcing the high-grade nature and continuity of the deposit. “The discovery of a new very high-grade style of mineralization in hole K-21-217 was really exciting for Kwanika exploration,” NorthWest Copper (TSX-V:NWST) (NorthWest Copper (TSX-V:NWST)) CEO Peter Bell said in a statement.

BetterLife Pharma Inc (CSE:BETR, OTCQB:BETRF) said it has obtained the first set of behavioral animal pharmacology data for its lead compound, 2-bromo-LSD (TD-0148A), in collaboration with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) laboratory, led by Dr Adam L. Halberstadt.  The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said that TD-0148A is a second-generation Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) derivative molecule that it believes “will mimic the therapeutic potential of LSD without causing psychedelic effects, such as hallucinations.”  The data from Dr Halberstadt’s studies confirm that TD-0148A does not induce head-twitch-response (HTR) in mice even at very high doses (up to 10 mg/kg), whereas LSD induces a robust HTR at much lower doses (0.05-0.1 mg/kg). The head-twitch-response assay in mice is commonly used to evaluate a compound’s hallucinogenic potential in humans. 

i-80 Gold Corp. has announced positive results from its ongoing surface drill program, including step-out drilling at depth, at the company’s Granite Creek property in Humboldt County, Nevada. High-grade results from the surface drill program, targeting the expansion of mineralization at depth below the mine workings at Granite Creek, suggest significant expansion potential, the company said. To date, fourteen holes have been completed and the assays received for the first four holes show impressive gold grades and widths of mineralization, i-80 Gold added. “The expansion program at Granite Creek is demonstrating the significant upside opportunity and confirm the potential to materially increase high-grade resources,” said Tyler Hill, senior geologist at i-80 in a statement. “The fault structures are becoming more competent at depth suggesting the potential for increased widths, improved ground conditions and mineability, and enhanced continuity within the gold-bearing structures. Visually, every hole of the step-out program has intersected strong alteration and faulting,” he added.

Ketamine One (NEO:MEDI.AQN) Capital Limited (LSE:CAPD) said its wholly-owned subsidiary, IRP Health Ltd recently opened two veteran-focused and multidisciplinary clinics in Comox Valley and Ottawa. To date, the company said IRP has successfully performed over 10,000 unique treatments for past or present personnel of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as well as first responders including firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics and emergency medical technicians. Additionally, the company said the previously announced open-label study of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD Study) who are undergoing IRP’s proprietary, 12-week physical therapy program, in affiliation with Ketamine One (NEO:MEDI.AQN)’s wholly-owned contract research organization KGK Science Inc, recently received ethics approval.

Organic Garage (TSX-V:OG) Ltd. has announced that its plant-based food company, Future of Cheese Inc continues to report increasing demand for its initial product, the plant-based ‘Future of Butter’. The company noted that its distributor has stated that the orders from existing and new retailers, as well as interested restaurant and foodservice partners, will account for 100% of all product Future of Cheese will produce going into the new year. “The incredible response and rapid adoption by retailers seeking to secure orders of the first SKU from Future of Cheese in such a short period of time has been exceptional and is a testament to the product and the world-class team behind it. We are doing an excellent job of matching production to retailer demand and ensuring that we are selling out of each batch produced, thus not over-producing and leading to unnecessary waste,” said Matt Lurie, president and CEO of Organic Garage (TSX-V:OG) in a statement.

Logiq Inc. (NEO:LGIQ.AQN, OTCQX:LGIQ), a provider of e-commerce and fintech business enablement solutions, posted third-quarter results that saw its revenue jump 11% year-over-year on the back of strong contributions from its DataLogic and AppLogic businesses. For the period ended September 30, 2021, the New York-based company reported revenue of $7.8 million, compared to $7 million for the same quarter a year earlier. “The increase from the year-ago period demonstrated continued positive trends based on key strategic decisions made by management,” said the company. The AppLogiq business, Logiq’s platform-as-a-service, branded as CreateApp, contributed $2.8 million or 36% of consolidated revenue in 3Q 2021, compared to $3.2 million in revenue in the same period in 2020. The company explained that the decrease was due to “the strategic shift to target high-margin end customers compared to low margin high volume white label resellers.”

Revive Therapeutics Ltd (CSE:RVV, OTCQB:RVVTF) has announced a research study showing that potent thiol drugs, such as Bucillamine, inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro — especially the Delta variant. The drug also reduces SARS-CoV-2-related lung injury in vivo and provides a strong rationale for trials of systemically delivered thiol drugs as coronavirus (COVID-19) treatments. The study titled — ‘Thiol drugs decrease SARS-CoV-2 lung injury in vivo and disrupt SARS-CoV-2 spike complex binding to ACE2 in vitro’ — from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), also showed promising antiviral effects, the company said in a statement. “We are excited to see another published paper supporting potent thiol drugs, like Bucillamine, for COVID-19, including the Delta variant, as we continue in our Phase 3 clinical study with Bucillamine to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19. We are also gathering new scientific evidence to support Bucillamine’s potential for severe COVID-19,” said Michael Frank, CEO of Revive Therapeutics.

Plurilock Security Inc said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Systems Consulting Inc has received a US$297,000 order from the US Air Force as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Solution for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) program, a US Government-Wide Acquisition Contract Vehicle (GWAC). The order is part of the SEWP V program and aligns with Plurilock’s stated goal of expanding within the government and defense verticals. All contracts and orders announced by Plurilock and its subsidiaries since April 2021, including the latest order, represent a combined total of roughly US$13.05 million in sales. With only 16% of surveyed executives stating that their organizations are well prepared to defend against a cyberattack, the company noted that it is critical for organizations, particularly those focused on critical infrastructure and defense, to work with skilled cybersecurity and IT support vendors on strengthening their security posture.

Royal Wins Corporation (CSE:SKLL) has announced the relaunch of its pure-skill gaming platform Kash Karnival on Google Play in the US, allowing it to broaden its audience base in its new key market.  The platform will now be available on the two primary application distribution platforms in the world’s biggest economy, covering the bulk of 155.9 million mobile game users, said Toronto, Ontario-based Royal Wins in a statement. “The US is an extremely important target audience for the company – the country ranks top of the list in rewarded Effective Costs Per Thousand Impressions (eCPM) metrics for both App Store and Google Play and represents a major metric by which we measure growth potential and realization,” said Peter Gan, president and CEO of the company.

Predictiv AI Inc (TSX-V:PAI) said it has terminated its SMRT Labs Inc joint venture by transferring the company’s 51% interest to its partner Commersive Solutions Inc. The company noted that SMRT Labs, which was tasked to bring Predictiv AI’s ThermalPass fever detection system offering to market, was unable to meet its sale targets as a result of changing regulations and the market landscape for coronavirus (COVID-19) driven solutions despite early sales traction.

Wishpond Technologies Ltd has said that its PersistIQ business, acquired by the company earlier this year, is on track and performing better than expected. PersistIQ is now integrated into Wishpond’s operations and achieving significant growth thanks to the scaling of its sales team and introduction of new product enhancements and service packages. In a statement, Ali Tajskandar, chairman and CEO of Wishpond commented: “We are very pleased with our acquisition of PersistIQ. It has broadened our portfolio of products and services for small to medium-sized businesses and offers tremendous cross-selling opportunities into our existing customer base. PersistIQ is a key component of our accelerated growth strategy.”

Talon Metals Corp, which is earning into the high-grade Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project in Minnesota, has hailed the latest action by President Joe Biden and Congress concerning the US battery supply chain. The bipartisan ‘Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’ was signed into law on Monday, November 15, 2021, and contained significant funding support for electric vehicle (EV) adoption, EV battery charging infrastructure and over US$6 billion for developing battery materials processing capacity in the US, including nickel. “Members from both parties backed funding for critical minerals processing, which will allow the U.S. to leap-frog legacy processing approaches and deploy modern, lower carbon technology at large scale to ensure security of domestic supply in essential battery materials like nickel,” noted Henri van Rooyen, Talon CEO, in a statement. In a separate statement, Talon posted its third-quarter results to-end September, showing that capitalized exploration costs and deferred expenditures on the Minnesota project came in at $14.2 million, versus$2.3 million for 3Q, 2020.

Recruiter.com Group In has posted third-quarter results showing a 43% revenue jump from the previous quarter as significant tailwinds in the bustling post-pandemic world created surging demand for recruiters in a “job hopper” economy. For the period ended September 30, 2021, the New York-based recruiting solutions platform, reported revenue of $6.3 million, compared to the second quarter of 2021. The company attributed the increase to a jump in the company’s Recruiter on Demand business and the introduction of several new subscription-based products with higher gross margins. In fact, Recruiter.com’s gross margins improved 36.8% in 3Q to reflect the shift in the company’s sales mix to higher growth, higher margin operations.

CLS Holdings (LSE:CLI) USA Inc said its wholly-owned subsidiaries in Nevada generated net revenue of $1.9 million and a gross margin of 46% during October. The Las Vegas-based company also said its revenue increased 8% year-over-year and 87% compared to 2019. CLS Holdings (LSE:CLI) USA said the wholesale division at its branded City Trees subsidiary continued a steady rise with net revenue growth of 34% year-over-year and 140% from 2019. 

Midwest Energy Emissions Corp, also known as ME2C Environmental (OTCQB:MEEC) has reported third-quarter 2021 revenue of $5.0 million, a 78% year-over-year increase, driven primarily by higher sorbent product sales due to increased supply demands in the coal-fired market, as well as expansion of the company’s one customer base. ME2C also recorded 3Q adjusted EBITDA of about $562,000, up from $24,000 during the same period last year.  “Our efforts over the last year to monetize our patented technologies began to materialize in the third quarter of 2021, as we achieved our highest revenue quarter in over three years,” ME2C CEO Richard MacPherson said in a statement.

FSD Pharma (CSE:HUGE, NASDAQ:HUGE) Inc said it has expanded its team by appointing Dr Eleanor N. Fish to its Research and Clinical Advisory Board. The Toronto-based company said that Fish would bring key expertise to support the continued development of FSD-PEA, the company’s proprietary anti-inflammatory agent, and Lucid-MS, its drug candidate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Dr Fish is an accomplished researcher in the areas of immunology and inflammatory disorders and a member of the Government of Canada’s Expert Scientific Panel to the chief scientific advisor. “I am delighted to welcome Dr Eleanor Fish to our team,” said Lakshmi P. Kotra, CEO of Lucid Psycheceuticals Inc., FSD Pharma (CSE:HUGE, NASDAQ:HUGE)’s wholly-owned subsidiary.

OTC Markets Group Inc has announced the launch of its upgraded Qaravan platform, which provides bank executives, regulators, and analysts with a seamless approach to peer monitoring and competitor benchmarking. The upgraded offering now includes bank holding company data to provide clarity around the financial performance of banking entities as well as OTC market data to expand coverage of public banks. This latest iteration of the platform includes a broader set of information on banking entities, offering more complete coverage across the sector – whether public or private, bank or bank holding company. In addition to bank Call Reports and UBPRs, Qaravan now offers commonly used bank Holding Company reports like Y-6s, Y-9s, and BHCPRs. This enhancement also features a refreshed user interface to make navigating features more intuitive. “Expanding the universe of analytics and market data available through Qaravan was a critical driver behind this new offering,” said Matthew Fuchs, executive vice president of Market Data and Strategy at OTC Markets Group in a statement. “The addition of holding company and OTC market data for public banks rounds out Qaravan’s product offering to provide a more comprehensive end-user experience.”

BlueRush Inc said it has retained the services of Independent Trading Group (ITG), Inc. (ITG) to provide market-making (liquidity and stability) for the Company’s listed shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. The fees incurred by BlueRush in consideration for the services provided by ITG consist of cash consideration of $5,000 per month, effective November 5, 2021, and each month thereafter during the initial three-month term. The term will renew for subsequent one-month terms, at $5,000 per month, unless either party provides 30 days’ written notice prior to the end of a term. BlueRush and ITG act at arm’s length, and ITG has no present interest, directly or indirectly, in BlueRush or its securities. The fee paid by BlueRush to ITG is for services only. The engagement of ITG by BlueRush is subject to approval of the Exchange. BlueRush also announced the resignation of Michael Beckerman as a director of the company. The company thanked Beckerman for all of his efforts and commitment to the company and wished him well in his future endeavors.

Plurilock Security Inc said it has closed a share offering pursuant to a prospectus supplement dated November 4, 2011, to the company’s short-form base shelf prospectus dated May 31, 2021, which was accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange, and filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission on May 31, 2021, under the provisions of the relevant securities acts and Multilateral Instrument 11-202 in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The TSX Venture Exchange has been advised that closing occurred on November 10, 2021, for gross proceeds of $4.6 million, including the exercise of the overallotment option.

Quaterra Resources Inc (TSX-V:QTA, OTCQB:QTRRF) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing the company’s proposal to issue 403,665 shares at a deemed price of 8.25 cents to settle outstanding debt for $33,302.42 with one creditor.

C3 Metals Inc said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a brokered private placement announced on October 19, 2021, and October 21, 2021, which will see the issue of 101,582,178 common shares at a purchase price of 19 cents per common share with 72 placees.

Genprex Inc has announced that its president and chief executive officer, Rodney Varner, will be presenting in November with CEO Roadshow to provide a company overview of its novel gene therapies in cancer and diabetes to investors. The presentation will be on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, at 11.00am ET via the following webinar Link: https://bit.ly/3bCwvPU. The company added that Varner will be available for questions following the company presentation. The webinar will be recorded and available for replay on Genprex’s website for a period of time. A replay will also be available on CEORoadshow.com following the webinar.

Safe-T Group (NASDAQ:SFET) Ltd has announced that it will be presenting virtually at the upcoming Ladenburg Thalmann Virtual Technology Expo on Thursday, November 18, 2021, at 11.00am ET. Shachar Daniel, chief executive officer, will be giving the presentation on Track 3, Investors can register to watch the presentation here via the following link: https://ladenburg21.mysequire.com/. Investors can also request 1×1 meetings with Safe-T Group (NASDAQ:SFET) on the event website.

CO2 GRO Inc (TSX-V:GROW, OTCQB:BLONF) has announced that it will be presenting at Adelaide Capital’s Virtual Ag Tech Conference on November 17, 2021, at 1.30pm ET, for which investors can register via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gtkvgys_QG6Z-MIUdxY7GQ. The webinar will also be live-streamed on YouTube for those who are unable to access Zoom via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Jpt_DWjF1qSCzfKlpLMWw.  A replay will be made available after the event on the company’s website and on Adelaide Capital’s YouTube channel. The keynote speaker is Steve Hansen, managing director, equity research analyst, Transportation, Chemicals and Fertilizers. In conjunction with the conference, Adelaide Capital is supporting JDRF, a non-profit organization that funds type 1 diabetes research.

OTC Markets Group Inc, the operator of financial markets for over 11,000 US and global securities, has announced that Dolly Varden Silver Corporation, a mineral exploration company, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market and has today upgraded from the OTC Pink market. Upgrading to the OTCQX Market is an important step for companies seeking to provide transparent rading for their US investors.  For companies listed on a qualified international exchange, streamlined market standards enable them to utilize their home market reporting to make their information available in the US. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. “Our international and US shareholders are an important part of the Dolly Varden growth strategy and we are grateful for their continued support” said Shawn Khunkhun, the Dolly Varden CEO and director.  “We are pleased to provide our current and future investors expanded access to information and trading liquidity.”