v3.25.1
ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2025
ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION  
ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

NOTE 1. ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Organization and Nature of Operations

New Era Helium Inc. (the “Company”, “NEH”, “we,”, “us,” or “our”), formerly known as Roth CH Holdings, Inc. (“Roth V”), is a Nevada corporation. The Company was formed on February 6, 2023, through a Reorganization Agreement and Plan Share Exchange (the “Agreement”) with Solis Partners, LLC (“Solis Partners”) as described further in the paragraph below. The Company’s primary operations include the exploration, development, and production of helium, natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (“NGLs”). The Company’s producing oil and gas assets and non-producing acreage are primarily located in Chaves County, New Mexico. The Company also owns overriding royalty interests located in Howard County, Texas.

On February 6, 2023, the Company entered into the Agreement with Solis Partners. Immediately prior to February 6, 2023, the Company was authorized to issue 190 million shares of common stock with a par value of $0.001 per share and 10 million shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.001 per share. Subject to the terms of the Agreement, all issued and outstanding member interests in Solis Partners was automatically converted and exchanged for 5 million shares of the Company’s common stock.

The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Solis Partners is a Texas limited liability company. Solis Partners owns and operates the Company’s producing oil and gas assets and non-producing acreage. The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary NEH Midstream LLC (“NEH Midstream”) is a Texas limited liability company, formed August 4, 2023. NEH Midstream is the owner of the helium offtake and tolling agreements. NEH Midstream is in the process of constructing a natural gas processing facility in which NEH Midstream will be the owner and operator.

On December 6, 2024, the Company completed the business combination (the “Business Combination) contemplated by the Business Combination and Plan of Organization dated January 3, 2024 (the “Business Combination Agreement”) (as amended on June 5, 2024, August 8, 2024, September 11, 2024 and September 30, 2024, the “BCA”), by and among Roth CH Acquisition V Co. (“ROCL”), Roth CH V Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ROCL (“Merger Sub”), and NEH.

The Business Combination was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Under this method of accounting, although ROCL acquired the outstanding equity in NEH in the Business Combination, ROCL is treated as the “acquired company” and NEH was treated as the accounting acquirer for financial statement purposes. Accordingly, the Business Combination was treated as the equivalent of NEH issuing stock for the net assets of ROCL, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of ROCL are stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded.

Furthermore, the historical financial statements of NEH became the historical financial statements of the Company upon the consummation of the merger. As a result, the financial statements included in this Quarterly Report reflect (i) the historical operating results of NEH prior to the merger; (ii) the combined results of ROCL and NEH following the close of the merger; (iii) the assets and liabilities of NEH at their historical cost and (iv) NEH’s equity structure for all periods presented, as affected by the recapitalization presentation after completion of the merger. See Note 3 - Reverse Capitalization for further details of the merger.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, have been prepared in accordance with GAAP issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”). The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments including normal recurring adjustments, which, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the years presented. References to GAAP issued by the FASB in these accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements are to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”).

Emerging Growth Company Status

The Company is an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act, until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that it (i) is no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opts out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, these financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Risks and Uncertainties

As a producer of natural gas, NGLs and oil, and an anticipated future producer of helium, the Company’s revenue, profitability, and future growth are substantially dependent upon the prevailing and future prices for helium, natural gas, NGLs and oil, which are dependent upon numerous factors beyond its control such as economic, political, and regulatory developments and competition from other energy sources. The energy markets have historically been very volatile, and there can be no assurance that the prices for helium, natural gas, NGLs or oil will not be subject to wide fluctuations in the future. A substantial or extended decline in prices for helium, natural gas, NGLs and oil could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, cash flows, the quantities of natural gas, helium, NGL and oil reserves that may be economically produced and the Company’s access to capital.

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by publicly traded U.S. domestic corporations and certain U.S. domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations occurring on or after January 1, 2023. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the excise tax.

Any redemption or other repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2022, in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the excise tax. Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise would depend on a number of factors, including (i) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the Business Combination, extension or otherwise, (ii) the structure of a Business Combination, (iii) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with a Business Combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with a Business Combination but issued within the same taxable year of a Business Combination) and (iv) the content of regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. In addition, because the excise tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming holder, the mechanics of any required payment of the excise tax have not been determined. The foregoing could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete a Business Combination and in the Company’s ability to complete a Business Combination.

In connection with the ROCL stockholders’ vote at the May 2023 Special Meeting, ROCL public stockholders exercised their right to redeem 8,989,488 shares of ROCL common stock for a total of $93,010,772 as of May 31, 2023. In connection with the ROCL stockholders’ vote at the December 2023 Special Meeting, 927,715 shares of ROCL common stock were tendered for redemption as of December 1, 2023. Excise tax should be recognized in the period incurred, that is when the repurchase occurs. Any reduction in the tax liability due to a subsequent stock issuance, or an event giving rise to an exception, which occurs within a tax year, should be recorded in the period of such stock issuance or event giving rise to an exception. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company recorded $1,029,003 of excise tax liability calculated as 1% of the value of shares redeemed on May 31, 2023 and December 1, 2023.

During the second quarter of 2023, the IRS issued final regulations with respect to the timing and payment of the excise tax. Pursuant to those regulations, the Company would need to file a return and remit payment for any liability incurred during the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 on or before October 31, 2024.

The Company is currently evaluating its options with respect to payment of this obligation. If the Company is unable to pay its obligation in full, it will be subject to additional interest and penalties which are currently estimated at 10% interest per annum and a 5% underpayment penalty per month or portion of a month up to 25% of the total liability for any amount that is unpaid from November 1, 2024, until paid in full. The Company has $126,722 of accrued interest and penalty in the consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.

Notice of Delisting

On March 4, 2025, the Company received a letter from Nasdaq (the “Notice”) which notified the Company that, for 30 consecutive business days, the Company’s market value of listed securities (“MVLS”) closed below the $50,000,000 MVLS threshold required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Global Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(A) (the “MVLS Rule”).

In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(C), the Company has 180 calendar days, or until September 2, 2025 (the “MVLS Compliance Period”), to regain compliance with the MVLS Rule. The Notice notes that, to regain compliance, the Company’s MVLS must close at or above $50,000,000 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during the MVLS Compliance Period. The Notice further notes that if the Company is unable to satisfy the MVLS requirement prior to such date, the Company may be eligible to transfer the listing of its securities to The Nasdaq Capital Market (provided that the Company then satisfies the requirements for continued listing on that market). If the Company does not regain compliance by the end of the MVLS Compliance Period, Nasdaq staff will provide written notice to the Company that its securities are subject to delisting. At that time, the Company may appeal any such delisting determination to a hearings panel. The Notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market.

The Company is actively monitoring the Company’s MVLS between now and September 2, 2025, and may, if appropriate, evaluate available options to resolve the deficiencies and regain compliance with the MVLS Rule. While the Company is exercising diligent efforts to maintain the listing of its securities on Nasdaq, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to regain or maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing standards.