Austin, TX - November 13, 2019 

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 Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ: ASTC) reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, which ended September 30, 2019.

 

The beginning of fiscal 2020 has been pivotal for the Company’s development of its mass spectrometry technology. 1st Detect completed numerous domestic and international product demonstrations and field trials where the TRACER 1000™ outperformed antiquated ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) based explosives trace detectors (ETDs). Among these demonstrations was a field trial with Finavia, one of the world’s leading airport operators. The Finavia case study is available on our website at https://www.1stdetect.com/finavia-cs/ and further demonstrates that the TRACER 1000 outperforms IMS-ETDs. The TRACER 1000 does not confuse common household products with explosives, has a virtually unlimited threat library, and delivers near 100% up-time. IMS-ETDs, in contrast, are hampered by high false alarms, have a limited threat library, and exhibit significant down-time.

 

The Company also launched Agriculture Technology Corporation (AG-TECH) and introduced the AG-LAB-1000™ series of mass spectrometers to address the needs of the agriculture market. With minimal additional R&D required, this introduction was largely in response to a growing concern in the hemp and cannabis market regarding the detection of pesticides in the field or greenhouse. We believe there are currently no other ruggedized instruments that can detect pesticides in the field at parts per billion (ppb) in real-time.

 

First Quarter Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Highlights

Management continues efforts to optimize our resources while reducing cost and adding financial flexibility.

• Operating expenses decreased $190 thousand, or 8.5%, during the first quarter of fiscal 2020, compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2019, due to an ongoing emphasis on cost reduction.

• Monthly cash burn for this quarter has been reduced to approximately $610 thousand, an 19.9% reduction from our cash burn rate in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019.

• In September 2019, Astrotech completed an investment from its Chairman and CEO of a $1.5 million secured promissory note.

 

About Astrotech

 

Astrotech (NASDAQ: ASTC) is a science and technology development and commercialization company that launches, manages, and builds scalable companies based on innovative technology in order to maximize shareholder value. 1st Detect develops, manufactures, and sells trace detectors for use in the security and detection market. AG-TECH develops, manufactures, and sells chemical analyzers for use in the agriculture market. Astrotech is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For information, please visit www.astrotechcorp.com.

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, the Company’s use of proceeds from the private placement transaction, whether we can successfully develop our proprietary technologies and whether the market will accept our products and services, as well as other risk factors and business considerations described in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings including the annual report on Form 10-K. Any forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated in light of these important risk factors. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views only as of the date of its publication and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

 

Company Contact: Eric Stober, Chief Financial Officer, Astrotech Corporation, (512) 485-9530

 

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