30 March, 2004
NEWS RELEASE
AMEX “FSI” FRANKFURT “FXT”
FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS DOUBLES SALES FOR YEAR ENDED DEC, 31, 2003
Provides Update on Activities For Shareholders
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, March 30, 2004 – FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL, INC. (AMEX: FSI, FRANKFURT: FXT), the developer and manufacturer of environmentally safe water conservation technology, today announced that sales more than doubled in the year ended Dec. 31, 2003, due to growing demand for its water evaporation reduction products.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2003, sales rose 109% to $2,321,120, compared with $1,112,192 in 2002. Net income, which included a non-cash expense recovery of $2,282,282 for the return of options, was $2,003,312, or $0.17 per share, on 11,734,880 weighted basic average shares outstanding, compared with a net loss of $(3,082,445), or $(0.29) per share, on 10,555,754 weighted average basic shares outstanding.
Sales in the fourth quarter rose to $338,549, compared with $23,028 in the corresponding period of 2002. Net income, after the one-time non-cash gain was $2,342,338, or $0.20 per share, on 11,792,981 weighted average shares outstanding, compared with a net loss of $(211,082), or $(0.02) per share, on 10,555,754 weighted average basic shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2002.
During 2003, FSI experienced increased sales for its residential and commercial swimming pool products and recorded its first significant sales for its core Water$avr product, which reduces water evaporation in reservoirs and other large bodies of water.
“We are pleased with Flexible Solutions’ growth over the past year and expect this trend to continue in 2004 as we increase our focus on marketing and establishing new sales channels for Water$avr, stated Dan O’Brien, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. “We already have potentially significant prospects for Water$avr in the pipeline, both domestically and internationally. In addition, the Company is centralizing its operations to generate better efficiencies by opening a sister office in nearby Vancouver. The Water$avr Division, originally based in Yorkville, Ill., now operates out of the Company’s home office in Victoria and we are establishing sole in-house distribution of our Eco$avr residential pool product, formerly called Tropical Fish(tm). These actions are expected to reduce the Company’s operating costs and contribute to increased margins.”
The Company is in a strong financial position with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $5.3 million, and no debt, at Dec. 31, 2003.
Re-cap of recent company milestones:
Eco-Savr – Formerly Tropical Fish(tm) Home Swimming Pool Market
* Sales were 775,000 units for the year ended 2003 were up from 550,000 units in 2002. Most sales were concentrated in the northeastern United States.
* In February 2004, the Company re-captured the distribution of Tropical Fish, will now be handled from the Company’s new sales and marketing office in Richmond, BC. Bringing distribution in-house reflects the 2004 strategic approach to fully integrate manufacturing and distribution and is expected to result in a minimum 100% increase in revenue per unit.
* A re-branding of the product will better reflect the philosophy of the Company and its commitment to the environment. Eco-Savr will replace Tropical Fish in the summer of 2004. The marketing and sales effort is being led by Yves Campion, an experienced marketing executive who recently joined the Company, and will have a more intensified regional focus on the southwestern United States and Europe.
Heat$avr – Commercial Swimming Pool Product
* American Swimming Pool Products signed a three-year sales agreement under which it will sell Heat$avr. The agreement includes the development of new packaging for the high-end residential market and will focus on sales in the southeastern U.S. market.
* Lincoln Equipment, premier catalogue distributor for swimming pool facilities in the U.S., signed on as a new distributor for Heat$avr commercial applications for the U.S. market. The focus will be on municipal applications. New State approvals will help Lincoln in its sales on the West Coast.
* Jetstream Products UK, which became the official Heat$avr distributor in the UK market in mid-2003, has begun an expansion program in central and southern Europe. its expansion of Heat$avr distribution in central and southern Europe. Jetstream, which is meeting its initial sales targets of $50,000 annually, is focusing on commercial users of Heat$avr for corporate clients and distributors.
* International sales are continuing to expand as more corporate and municipal clients use Heat$avr. Health authorities in Switzerland have approved Heat$avr for use in municipal facilities. The Company is in ongoing negotiations with international distributors to enter into other foreign markets.
Water$avr Global Solutions
* Nalco, formerly, Ondeo Nalco Company has become a non-exclusive distributor of Water$avr for the U.S. municipal market and the worldwide mining market. Nalco remains the worldwide manufacturer for the product.
* Mike Stover, previously agricultural sales representative, has become head of North American sales of Water$avr municipal and industrial applications. His new marketing focus is on municipalities and water districts in the southwestern U.S. Other industrial trials for the mining and farming industries are currently in progress. Some initial small-scale sales have commenced in the recreational golf sector.
* The California Department of Agriculture approved Water$avr for use as an evaporation retardant for agriculture.
* FSI is continuing to actively pursue new business overseas after independent trials of Water$avr in India and Morocco resulted in significant water evaporation reduction. David Verlee, Asia sales specialist, has joined the team as head of sales for Asian market.
* FSI is moving to set up field trials after independent testing by Louisiana State University determined the viability of Water$avr’s mosquito control application targeting the reduction of mosquito borne diseases such as West Nile Virus, Equine Encephalitis, Malaria and Dengue Fever. The technology has initially proven to be effective in preventing mosquito larvae from hatching into adults. More extensive research and wider application will be conducted on the Mosquito control agent delivery system.
* Flexible Solutions acquired a 20% stake in Tatko Biotech Inc., and both companies are working together to develop synergistic new products based on Water$avr’s self-spreading capabilities and Tatko’s biotechnologies that increase crop yield.
* Early stage research has commenced on a spreading platform for intelligent sensing systems for a wide variety of applications.
* Research and development of the Company’s core technologies is continuing as FSI discovers new uses for its delivery platform.
* FSI entered into an agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets of a company engaged in the manufacture and sale of environmentally sound chemicals for the water industry.
About Flexible Solutions International
Flexible Solutions International, Inc. (www.flexiblesolutions.com), based in Victoria, British Columbia, is the developer and manufacturer of Water$avr, the world’s first commercially viable water evaporation retardant. Its Water$avr division is based in Yorkville, Ill. FSI is an environmental technology company specializing in energy and water conservation products for drinking water, agriculture, industrial markets and swimming pools throughout the world. Water$avr reduces evaporation by up to 30% on reservoirs, lakes, aqueducts, irrigation canals, ponds and slow moving rivers. Water$avr, which is patented, has been certified by the United Nations, the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and meets the drinking water standards of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). Heat$avr, a “liquid blanket” evaporation retardant for the commercial swimming pool and spa markets, also reduces humidity and lowers water heating costs, resulting in energy savings of 15% to 40%. The Company’s Tropical Fish(tm) product targets the residential swimming pool market.
Safe Harbor Provision
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “Safe Harbor” for forward-looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts, are forward looking statement with respect to events, the occurrence of which involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors. Information concerning potential factors that could affect the company is detailed from time to time in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
THE WALL STREET GROUP, INC.
32 East 57th Street
New York, New York 10022
Tel: 212.888.4848
Investor Relations CANADA:
Jens Biertumpel
Tel: 604.682.1799
Corporate Head Office:
FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL
David Katzov / Grant Moonie
Tel: (250) 477-9821 Fax: (250) 477.9912