Canadian bitcoin (BTC) mining company Hut 8 made almost $50 million in revenue last year but triggered total losses of almost $140 million, according to an annual earnings report released on May 6.
Hut 8, which counts itself as one of the world’s largest publicly-traded cryptocurrency mining companies, saw 2018 revenue hit $49.4 million.
The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for the year was $19.3 million. Losses amounted to $136.7 million.
Hut 8 currently operates 85 mining centers worldwide, with 2018’s mixed performance reflecting the fate of many mining businesses during the cryptocurrency bear market.
As Cointelegraph reported, like stalwarts such as Bitmain, Hut 8 was forced to cut costs in the first quarter of 2019, reports surfacing last month of staff layoffs.
“Due to the ‘crypto winter’, which was marked by a declining price for bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies, 2018 was a challenging year for all cryptocurrency miners. While many miners did not survive, Hut 8 managed its cash and digital assets conservatively to successfully make it through,” the earnings report summarized. It continued:
“Today, Hut 8 is stable and poised to benefit from a recovery in the price of bitcoin. The Company will continue to manage operations prudently and with focus.”
That focus will continue to revolve exclusively around bitcoin mining over other cryptocurrencies, with executives eyeing a continued uptrend in bitcoin prices in the near term.
“Throughout 2018, Hut 8’s average cost per bitcoin was consistently below the market price of bitcoin,” COO Andrew Kiguel commented. He added:
“As we move into 2019, we are poised to improve margins should the price of bitcoin continues to rise, given our cost cutting initiatives undertaken in late 2018.”