TIDMACTA
RNS Number : 3696R
Acta S.p.A.
25 October 2013
Press Release 25 October 2013
Acta S.p.A.
("Acta" or "the Company")
Placing:
Successful GBP2.1 million institutional fundraising
Introduction
Acta (AIM: ACTA), the clean energy products company, announces
that the Company has, via an institutional placing (the "Placing"),
raised GBP2.1 million (gross) though the issue and allotment of
30,000,000 ordinary shares of Euro 0.006 each in the capital of the
Company ("Placing Shares").
The Placing Shares were placed at a price of 7 pence per share
(the "Placing Price"). The net proceeds of the Placing will be used
to finance the working capital requirements of the Company's
current commercial expansion.
Background to, and reasons for, the Placing
At the time of the interim results for the six months ended 30
June 2013, announced on 30 September 2013, the Board was pleased to
report that Acta's product revenues, shipment numbers and average
selling price were each increasing rapidly. Further key highlights
included in the announcement were as follows:
-- In respect of sales and marketing:
o The launch of the Acta Power: a hydrogen battery with
autonomous refuelling;
o The appointments of a sales partner for the SE Asia telecoms
market along with distribution partners for both the Indian and
Chinese industrial gas and telecom back-up power markets;
o The first commercial sales of Acta Power and large
electrolysers achieved in India, Indonesia, Africa and Taiwan;
o The first Acta Power trials for telecom back-up power
application in Australia, Africa and the Philippines; and
o The first repeat order for an Acta Power for operational
evaluation in Africa.
-- In respect of operational and product development:
o Development of the Acta Power based on Future-E fuel cell with
Ballard stack;
o Four-fold expansion of the Company's production area;
o Standardisation of product range on modular components;
o Implementation of web interface for full remote system
management and assistance; and
o Recruitment of 14 new staff in commercial, production,
engineering and installation.
The key development in 2013 has been the launch of the Acta
Power in April 2013, which was born from the strategic decision to
bring the Company's own end-user product, an integrated hydrogen
energy storage system, to market. This product addresses the very
substantial markets for telecom back-up power systems and
distributed renewable energy storage.
The immediate commercial response to this product has been
highly encouraging and Acta Power units have now been installed or
are due to be installed into operational live site trials with
various major mobile phone operators in Australia, Africa and the
Philippines. Without exception, the initial feedback from the
evaluations in progress has been positive. Additional negotiations
are in progress for further trials in Malaysia for a potential
large Government funded project to replace existing battery
systems, Australia, Singapore and elsewhere, and the Board expects
to be able to announce progress in these areas in due course.
The Company's commercial metrics continue to improve, with
increases in both volume and average unit price contributing to a
strong improvement in revenues from system sales. In addition,
there has also been an increase in the levels of repeat orders,
with customers coming back for more and/or larger systems. The
Board is particularly optimistic regarding potential sales of both
the Acta Power system and the Company's mid to large electrolysers
over the next 18 months to two years.
The Board believes that the level of commercial interest that
Acta's products are continuing to attract clearly demonstrates the
potential for Acta's technology and that the Placing will provide
new financing for continued business development that will allow
the Company to continue to grow its commercial activities with
existing customers and new commercial partners around the
world.
Details of the Placing
The Placing has been supported by a combination of existing and
new institutional investors, plus the Company's Board members, each
of whom has participated in the Placing for a total subscription of
GBP33,000 in aggregate, as follows:
Subscription
-------------------- ------------------ -----------------
Paolo Bert CEO GBP10,000
-------------------- ------------------ -----------------
Paul Barritt CFO GBP10,000
-------------------- ------------------ -----------------
Robert Drummond Non Executive GBP3,000
-------------------- ------------------ -----------------
Aldo Filippini Non Executive GBP5,000
-------------------- ------------------ -----------------
Rodney Westhead Non Executive GBP5,000
-------------------- ------------------ -----------------
The Placing utilises the Company's authority to issue up to
50,000,000 new ordinary shares that was granted on 3 July 2013. The
Placing is not underwritten and is subject to, inter alia,
admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM
("Admission").
The Placing Shares represent approximately 17.6% of the fully
diluted share capital as enlarged by the Placing.
Admission and dealing arrangements
Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for
Admission of the Placing Shares. It is expected that dealings in
the Placing Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. (London time) on 30
October 2013. Following the Admission of the Placing Shares, the
issued share capital of the Company will be 170,431,939 ordinary
shares.
The Placing Shares will be issued credited as fully paid and
will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary
shares, including as to the right to receive and retain all
dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after
Admission.
Outlook
The net proceeds of the Placing will be utilised alongside grant
funding due to be received during 2014 to finance the continued
growth of the Company's commercial activities with existing
customers and new commercial partners around the world. Based on
existing financial resources, expected grant receipts and the
proceeds of the Placing, the Board believes that the Company has
sufficient capital available to finance the working capital
requirements of the Company's current business plan as it expands
its commercial and production activities over the next year.
The Board is confident that Acta has a market leading range of
innovative hydrogen generator products with a wide range of
commercial applications, demonstrated by the recent level of
product orders and commercial development partnerships recently
announced and looks forward to notifying the market of the
Company's further commercial progress in due course.
Paolo Bert, Chief Executive of Acta commented: "We are delighted
with our commercial success and the fundraising will strengthen
Acta's cash resources as we expand our operational capacity to keep
pace with the growing demand for our products. We are grateful for
the continued support of our shareholders, which will help to drive
the already increasing adoption of the Acta Power system in back-up
power and renewable energy storage applications."
- ENDS-
For further information please contact:
Acta S.p.A. Tel: +39 050 644281
Paul Barritt, Chief Financial Officer www.actaspa.com
Altium Capital (Nominated Advisor) Tel: +44 (0)845 505 4343
Adrian Reed / Dom Orsini
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 7894 7000
Mark Percy / David Banks / Paul
Jewell
Media enquiries:
Kreab Gavin Anderson (Financial Tel: +44 20 7074 1800
PR)
Robert Speed / Ross Gillam / Christina www.kreabgavinanderson.com
Clark
About Acta S.p.A.
Acta S.p.A. is a developer and manufacturer of a range of clean
energy products. Based on its world-leading expertise in alkaline
membrane technology, the Company has developed a unique range of
low-cost, compact hydrogen generators (electrolysers) which produce
pure, dry compressed hydrogen at high efficiency from renewable or
grid power.
In April 2013 Acta launched the Acta Power, an integrated
electrolyser and fuel cell system for use in back-up power and
renewable energy storage applications. Best understood as a
"Hydrogen Battery", the system converts energy from renewable or
grid power when it is available and stores it in the form of
hydrogen, and then converts the hydrogen back to electrical power
when needed due to grid black-out or lack of solar / wind
power.
This system has extensive application as a back-up power unit
for telecommunications base stations, where it competes on cost
against traditional battery and diesel solutions, while offering a
cleaner solution and better service. In particular, the use of
rainwater and the generation of hydrogen on-site removes the cost
and logistical barriers of fuel delivery, while also avoiding the
theft risk associated with diesel, methanol and battery
systems.
The supply of fuel cell back-up power systems for
telecommunications base stations represents a large and
fast-growing market, especially in extensively bad-grid and
off-grid locations such as in Asia and Africa. Battery sales to the
Chinese telecoms industry are currently valued at $4.7 bn to $7.8
bn per annum (Fuel Cell Today, China).
Acta holds a portfolio of patents and patent applications on its
key technologies, manufactures its products through a combination
of production, component subcontracting, and final product assembly
and quality control, and has established distribution channels
through partnerships in China, India, SE Asia, Australia, Africa,
Middle East, Germany, UK, USA and South America.
Acta S.p.A. is based near Pisa, Italy, and was admitted to
trading on AIM in October 2005.
www.actaspa.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IOEUSOWRORARUAA
Acta (LSE:ACTA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Acta (LSE:ACTA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024
