TIDMAXS
RNS Number : 4373K
Accsys Technologies PLC
30 July 2013
AIM: AXS
NYSE Euronext Amsterdam: AXS
30 July 2013
ACCSYS TECHNOLOGIES PLC
("Accsys" or the "Company")
Interim Management Statement
Accsys, the environmental science and technology company whose
primary focus is on the production and technology licensing of
Accoya(R) wood and Tricoya(R) wood elements, today issues its
Interim Management Statement to 30 July including the first quarter
trading period. Highlights include:
-- Total revenue increased by 76 per cent to EUR7.9m in the
quarter to June compared to the same quarter last year, and
included licence revenue of EUR0.5m;
-- Revenue from sales to Accoya(R) customers (excluding Medite)
increased by 53 per cent to EUR6.1m in the quarter to June compared
to the same quarter last year;
-- Tricoya Technologies limited ('TTL') entered into a joint
development, production and distribution licence agreement with
Medite Europe Ltd to build and operate a plant to manufacture,
market and sell Tricoya(R) ;
-- Continued progress with Solvay towards fully effective
licence agreement; continue to expect agreement to become
unconditional this year;
-- Further International patent application filed to protect the
Accoya wood manufacturing process and plant; US Accoya patent grant
expected within weeks; and further strengthened the patent position
in other important markets, including Indonesia, with the
acceptance of Accoya process and product claims for grant.
-- Total of 44 Accoya(R) distributor and agency agreements now
in place covering most of Europe, Australia, Chile, China, India,
Israel, North America, New Zealand and parts of South-East
Asia;
-- Cash balance of EUR18.4m at 30 June 2013 (March 2013: EUR20.5m); and
-- TRADA has extended the service life of Accoya(R) windows to
at least 70 years; and further performance testing continues to
augment the Accoya(R) position at wood industry testing institutes
BRE, SCION and AFRC, demonstrating Accoya performs significantly
better than even the most durable hardwood timbers.
Trading update
During the period Accsys has made further progress towards
achieving its long term objectives.
Solvay continues to progress with plant planning and further
market seeding activities. Safety and regulatory reviews have been
completed and key equipment and supplier selection is proceeding.
Accsys has continued to develop the full Process Design Package
which will enable Solvay to complete the planning and engineering
design required for them to construct their initial plant. The
agreement remains conditional on the formal approval of Solvay's
board of directors; however this continues to be expected later
this year. Solvay's trial introduction of an Accoya decking product
in key stores of leading DIY and professional building materials
retailers in France and Germany is understood to have progressed
well with plans being developed for expanding the introduction for
next year's decking season.
Revenue from Accoya(R) customers increased by 53 per cent in the
first quarter to EUR6.1m (Quarter to June 2012: EUR4m) reflecting
continuing growth in demand and the on-going investment in sales
and marketing activities such as targeting architectural audiences
across multiple countries. We expect revenue growth to continue due
to a combination of increasing sales volumes and recent price
increases implemented in all locations. Together with associated
economies of scale and our on-going focus on improving efficiency,
we expect profitability to further improve at Group level and
continue to expect our Arnhem manufacturing facility to move into
profit on an EBITDA basis this year; a level which demonstrates the
potential returns a prospective licensee can generate.
Tricoya Technologies Limited
INEOS and Accsys Technologies joint venture, TTL, has made
strong progress since its formation in October 2012 with work
progressing in all areas including engineering, product
development, marketing and business development.
In July TTL entered into a joint development, production and
distribution licence agreement with Medite to build and operate a
plant to manufacture, market and sell Tricoya(R) . The agreement
grants Medite a licence to build and operate a plant to manufacture
an initial capacity plant of 30,000 metric tonnes per annum of
Tricoya, with a time limited option to increase capacity upon
payment of additional fees, in return for a series of
technology-based licence payments that Medite has begun making to
TTL following signature of the agreement, and royalty fees payable
per metric tonne of production. Medite will have exclusive rights
to market and sell in Ireland, The Netherlands, and the United
Kingdom and non-exclusive rights, subject to restrictions, in other
territories. The licence is conditional upon Medite obtaining
approval from its Board of Directors, which is expected mid-2014,
prior to plant construction.
Accsys and TTL continue to develop a number of new and existing
potential Accoya(R) and Tricoya(R) licence opportunities
respectively, with counterparties whose combined existing total
wood product manufacturing or processing capacity is in excess of
10 million m3 per annum. While these discussions remain on-going,
the complex nature and investment required by a licensee, means
that the timing and certainty of their completion remains difficult
to predict.
Intellectual Property
A further International patent application has been filed to
protect the Accoya wood manufacturing process and plant. In
addition, the issue fee has been paid in respect of a US Accoya
patent application and the grant of this patent is expected within
weeks. We have further strengthened our patent position in other
important markets, including in Indonesia, with the acceptance of
Accoya process and product claims for grant. Accsys' IP strategy
continues to protect its advanced acetylation technology for its
own benefit and that of its worldwide licensees and
distributors.
Financial results
Total revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2013 increased by 76
per cent to EUR7.9m (quarter ended June 2012: EUR4.5m). Total
revenue included EUR0.5m of licence income and EUR0.6m of sales of
Accoya to Medite to enable them to produce Medite Tricoya(R) .
In the same period, sales to Accoya(R) customers (excluding
Medite) increased by 53 per cent to EUR6.1m (2012: EUR4.0m). This
also represented a 24 per cent increase compared the quarter ended
31 March 2013 (quarter ended March 2013: EUR4.9m). Including sales
to Medite, sales of Accoya increased by 67 per cent to EUR6.7m
compared to the same quarter in the prior year (2012: EUR4.0m), and
by 33 per cent when compared to the quarter ended 31 March 2013
(quarter ended March 2013: EUR5.0m).
Cash balance as at 30 June 2013 of EUR18.4m represents a
decrease of EUR2.1m since 31 March 2013. The decrease is after
taking account of EUR0.4m additional investment in Tricoya
Technologies Ltd, Accsys' joint venture with INEOS and also
reflects an increase in working capital.
Commenting, Paul Clegg, CEO of Accsys, said:
"We have once again demonstrated impressive sales progress, with
revenue significantly increased on both the previous quarter and
the corresponding quarter in our prior financial year. On the
licensing front, we continue to move closer to our relationship
with Solvay being ratified and TTL has also signed its first
Tricoya(R) licence agreement with Medite, subject to their Board
approval."
"Our business is building momentum on all fronts and I look
forward to providing further updates as the year progresses."
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Accsys Technologies Paul Clegg, CEO via Blythe Weigh
PLC Hans Pauli, COO Communications
Will Rudge, FD
Nominated Adviser: Oliver
Cardigan
Corporate Broking: Christopher
Wilkinson +44 (0) 20 7260
Numis Securities Ben Stoop 1000
+44 (0) 20 7138
3204
Paul Weigh +44 (0) 7989 129658
Blythe Weigh Communications Tim Blythe +44 (0) 7816 924626
+31 20 794 4700
Frank Neervoort +31 681 734 236
Off the Grid (The Netherlands) Giedo Van Der Zwan +31 624 212 238
Notes to editors:
Accsys Technologies PLC(www.accsysplc.com) is an environmental
science and technology company whose primary focus is on the
production of Accoya(R) wood and technology licensing via its
subsidiary, Titan Wood Limited, which has manufacturing operations
in Arnhem, the Netherlands (through its subsidiary Titan Wood
B.V.), a European office in Windsor, United Kingdom, and an
American office in Dallas, Texas (via its subsidiary Titan Wood,
Inc). All group subsidiaries are ultimately 100% owned by Accsys
and trade as Accsys Technologies. Any references in this
announcement to agreements with Accsys shall mean agreements with
either Accsys or its subsidiary entities unless otherwise
specified. Accsys Technologies PLC is listed on the London Stock
Exchange AIM market and on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext,
under the symbols 'AXS'. Accsys' operations comprise three
principal business units: (i) Accoya(R) wood production; (ii)
technology development, focused on a programme of continuous
development of and improvements to the process engineering and
operating protocols for the acetylation of solid wood and the
development of technology for the acetylation of wood elements; and
(iii) the
licensing of technology for the production of Accoya(R) wood and
Tricoya(R) wood elements across the globe.
Accoya(R) wood (www.accoya.com) is produced using Accsys'
proprietary patented acetylation technology, that effectively
converts sustainably grown softwoods and non-durable hardwoods into
what is best described as a "high technology wood". Distinguished
by its durability, dimensional stability and, perhaps most
importantly of all, its reliability (in terms of consistency of
both supply and quality), Accoya(R) wood is particularly suited to
exterior applications where performance and appearance are valued.
Unlike most tropical and European hardwoods, its colour does not
degrade when exposed to ultraviolet light. Moreover, the Accoya(R)
wood production process does not compromise the wood's strength or
machinability. The combination of UV resistance, dimensional
stability, durability and retained strength means that Accoya(R)
wood offers a wealth of new opportunities to architects, designers
and specifiers. For marine uses where weight is also important,
Accoya(R) wood for the first time provides boat builders with a
wood that is strong, lightweight, durable and retains its natural
beauty for far longer. For a full archive of Accoya(R) news, visit
www.accoya.com/news.asp.
Tricoya(R) Wood Elements(www.tricoya.com) are produced using
Accsys' proprietary technology for the acetylation of wood chips,
and particles for use in the fabrication of wood based composites,
including panel products. These composites demonstrate enhanced
durability and dimensional stability which allow them to be used in
a variety of applications that were once limited to solid wood or
man-made products. Exploitation of Accsys' proprietary technology
relating to Tricoya(R) Wood Elements is carried out through Tricoya
Technologies Limited, a joint venture between Accsys and INEOS
Industries Holdings Limited. Tricoya(R) Wood Elements are lauded as
the first major innovation in the wood composites industry in more
than 30 years.
Wood Acetylation is a process which increases the amount of
'acetyl' molecules in wood, thereby changing its physical
properties. When carried out to a sufficient level throughout the
wood, this process protects wood from rot by making it "inedible"
to most micro-organisms and fungi, without - unlike conventional
treatments - making it toxic. It also greatly reduces the wood's
tendency to swell and shrink, making it less prone to cracking and
ensuring that, when painted, it requires dramatically reduced
maintenance.
INEOS (www.ineos.com) is one of the world's leading chemicals
companies; a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty
chemicals and oil products. Comprising 15 businesses, with a
production network spanning 51 manufacturing facilities in 11
countries. The company produces more than 40 million tonnes of
petrochemicals. INEOS employs 15,000 people and had sales in 2011
of $42bn. Through its Joint Venture with PetroChina (petroineos) it
produces 20 million tonnes per annum of crude oil refined products
(fuels). It also operates joint ventures with BASF, PQ Corp and
Total. The investment in the new joint venture is being made by
INEOS Industries Limited.
Accsys Technologies is the trading name of Titan Wood Limited.
ACCOYA(R), TRICOYA(R) and the Trimarque Device are registered
trademarks owned by Titan Wood Limited ("TWL"), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Accsys Technologies PLC, and may not be used or
reproduced without written permission from TWL, or in the case of
the Tricoya(R) registered trademark, from Tricoya Technologies
Limited, a joint venture between TWL and INEOS Industries Holdings
Limited with exclusive rights to exploit the Tricoya(R) brand.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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