Core Scientific reports a net loss of $466.2 million

American blockchain-hosting provider Core Scientific for January–March 2022 posted a net loss of $466.2 million versus a net profit of $6.8 million a year earlier.

The company attributed the deterioration in results to the following factors:

• mark-to-market of convertible bonds totaling $386 million;
• impairment of digital assets of $54 million;
• increase in total operating expenses by $39.4 million;
• payment of $42.4 million in income tax.

Revenue for the first quarter was $192.5 million, compared with $54.2 million in the same period last year.

The volume of self-mined bitcoins for the first three months rose to 3,202 BTC, 15.5 times higher than in Q1 2021.

During a analysts’ briefing, Core Scientific CEO Mike Levitt noted strong opportunities to meet the growth targets set, thanks to the scale of the business.

Earlier the company aimed to raise its hash rate to 40-42 EH/s by the end of 2022, but ultimately revised the target to 30-32 EH/s. Levitt said a revision upward could be considered if market conditions in the capital markets improve.

According to the executive, under current conditions Core Scientific benefits from hosting revenue, ownership of its own infrastructure and “mining the largest number of digital assets in North America”.

As of now, the volume of mined and on-balance first cryptocurrency exceeded 10,000 BTC, Levitt calculated.

“People often ask me whether we will sell our bitcoins. We strongly believe in their future and we continue to invest in our growth. That said, this year we did sell digital assets, and we do not rule out taking this step in the future,” — he said.

According to the CEO, Core Scientific adheres to a conservative approach. Any potential upside beyond current forecasts would depend on the availability of suitable capital, as well as equipment prices.

In January 2022, Core Scientific went public via a SPAC merger. Its shares trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker CORZ.

In April, the company began reporting the volume of mined cryptocurrency on a daily basis.

Subscribe to ForkLog news on Telegram: ForkLog Feed — the full news feed, ForkLog — the most important news, infographics and opinions