Press Release
4 April 2023
Argo Blockchain plc, a global leader in cryptocurrency mining (LSE: ARB; NASDAQ: ARBK), is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim MacCallum as Chief Financial Officer. He will start in the position on 5 April 2023. Mr. MacCallum is not a statutory director of the Company.
Mr. MacCallum is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst, bringing over thirty years of experience across various roles in finance and accounting. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of East Side Games Group Inc (XTSE: EAGR), a publicly-traded mobile game platform technology company based in Canada. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Finance and Acting CFO at Westport Fuel Systems Inc (NASDAQ: WPRT; XTSE: WPRT), a dual-listed and publicly-traded clean transportation technology company. He also held senior roles at Amica Mature Lifestyles, Absolute Software and Cisco Systems. Mr. MacCallum articled with KPMG and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Upon his appointment, Mr. MacCallum said: “I am delighted to be joining Argo Blockchain, a dynamic and innovative company with a rich history and exciting future. I look forward to contributing to the success of the Company through a strong focus on financial discipline.”
Matthew Shaw, Chairman of the Board, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Jim to the Argo team as CFO. His broad experience across multiple industries and strategic mindset will help guide the Company through its next phase of growth.”
Argo’s Interim CEO, Seif El-Bakly, said, “With over 30 years of experience, Jim brings a wealth of finance and accounting knowledge to Argo, and I am excited for him to drive our financial discipline as we seek to deliver long-term value to our shareholders.”
During the month of March, Argo mined 161 Bitcoin or Bitcoin Equivalents (together, BTC), or 5.2 BTC per day. This is a decrease of 10% over the 5.7 BTC per day produced in February 2023. The primary driver of the decrease in daily BTC production was the increase in network difficulty. In March, the average network difficulty was 11% higher than in February.
As of 31 March 2023, the Company held 85 Bitcoin or Bitcoin Equivalents.
The Company's total hashrate capacity continues to be 2.5 EH/s.
Based on daily foreign exchange rates and cryptocurrency prices during the month, mining revenue in March amounted to $4.05 million [£3.28 million] (February 2023 $3.76 million [£3.09 million]).
This announcement contains inside information and includes forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's current views, interpretations, beliefs or expectations with respect to the Company's financial performance, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements include forward-looking statements both with respect to the Company and the sector and industry in which the Company operates. Statements which include the words "remains confident", "expects", "intends", "plans", "believes", "projects", "anticipates", "will", "targets", "aims", "may", "would", "could", "continue", "estimate", "future", "opportunity", "potential" or, in each case, their negatives, and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events that may or may not occur in the future, including the risk that the Company may receive the benefits contemplated by its transactions with Galaxy, the Company may be unable to secure sufficient additional financing to meet its operating needs, and the Company may not generate sufficient working capital to fund its operations for the next twelve months as contemplated. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, prospects and performance to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. In addition, even if the Company's actual results, prospects and performance are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this document, those results may not be indicative of results in subsequent periods. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Subject to any obligations under the Prospectus Regulation Rules, the Market Abuse Regulation, the Listing Rules and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules and except as required by the FCA, the London Stock Exchange, the City Code or applicable law and regulations, the Company undertakes no obligation publicly to update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. For a more complete discussion of factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those described in this announcement, please refer to the filings that Company makes from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, including the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Registration Statement on Form F-1.
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About Argo:
Argo Blockchain plc is a dual-listed (LSE: ARB; NASDAQ: ARBK) blockchain technology company focused on large-scale cryptocurrency mining. With mining facilities in Quebec, mining operations in Texas, and offices in the US, Canada, and the UK, Argo's global, sustainable operations are predominantly powered by renewable energy. In 2021, Argo became the first climate positive cryptocurrency mining company, and a signatory to the Crypto Climate Accord. Argo also participates in several Web 3.0, DeFi and GameFi projects through its Argo Labs division, further contributing to its business operations, as well as the development of the cryptocurrency markets. For more information, visit https:argoblockchain.com.