TIDMHEIQ
RNS Number : 3035E
HeiQ PLC
29 June 2023
HeiQ Plc
("HeiQ" or "the Company")
AGM Statement
At its Annual General Meeting ("AGM"), which is being held today
at 10 a.m. at the offices of Cenkos Securities at 6-8 Tokenhouse
Yard, London, EC2R 7AS, the Company's Chairwoman Esther Dale-Kolb
will make the following statement:
"At the end of 2022, an array of macroeconomic pressures
converged, creating a very challenging trading environment for
HeiQ, its competitors and the textile industry at large. The long
lasting effects of Covid and inflationary pressures caused market
demand to drop by 70% towards the end of 2022 as brands stopped
placing orders and focused on consuming their all-time high
inventories, based on weakening consumer confidence. These
challenges remain, with market demand still reduced relative to
trading conditions during 2022.
"On top of this, the Board of HeiQ Plc, had to announce that the
Company could not publish its audited FY 2022 Accounts by 30 April
2023, which regrettably led to the shares being suspended.
"HeiQ appointed Deloitte as our new auditor in November 2022, to
reflect the international expansion and increased complexity of the
Company since listing. Following the acquisitions that we completed
in the years prior to expand our innovation portfolio, we have been
in the process of implementing new systems to drive integration of
the businesses, as well as updating processes within the
organisation. The changes within the organisation have resulted in
a significantly extended year end timetable for 2022 with a related
impact on the timing of the external audit work.
"The audit process has been very thorough and detailed. Although
the delay is regrettable it should allow us to move forward with
confidence and take comfort in knowing that we will have a more
efficient and better resourced organization to support this
innovative and exciting company.
"The suspension will be lifted once the audit has completed and
the 2022 Accounts have been published. Once published, we will hold
a General Meeting in order to approve the accounts, in respect of
which we will provide further information in due course.
"As this is still an ongoing process we will provide full
commentary on the 2022 financial results once the audit is
completed.
"We understand the frustration of shareholders with the
situation we are in, following a suspension of shares and also
having not reached our goals set for 2022. I can assure you that we
as a board are taking this matter very seriously and we are working
very hard to improve the situation.
"In recent months, we have taken rapid, decisive action to build
resilience in light of the current headwinds, these include:
-- Restructuring our business into three distinct Business Units
with strong leadership in order to drive focus and
accountability
-- Reducing our costs by restructuring our operations,
right-sizing our business in light of macro-economic issues, and
refocusing and streamlining our sales and innovation strategies on
selective value-enhancing investments for our future
-- Digitalising our processes to become more efficient and transparent
-- Strengthening of our Finance organization in order to further
improve financial reporting and ensure to avoid any delay in
financial reporting going forward.
Already in 2023, HeiQ's innovation has increased our footprint
in the market:
-- HeiQ successfully launched HeiQ Allergen Tech, a technology
that significantly reduces allergens in fabrics. We secured
exclusive contracts with industry leaders.
-- Our innovative technology, HeiQ Synbio, received a
significant endorsement in H1 when the Robert Koch Institute
included probiotic cleaning in its hospital hygiene guidelines and
also publication of the study in the Lancet. This major assessment
opens up new opportunities for our business, enabling a steady and
lucrative flow of contracts in the healthcare sector.
-- In January 2023, HeiQ achieved a major milestone with the
commercial availability of HeiQ AeoniQ(TM) as a garment. Together
with our partner HUGO BOSS we created a sustainable polo shirt,
which gained significant attention and was awarded the esteemed
ISPO Award 2023, for being a major development in sustainable
fashion. Additionally in January, Beste, an Italian manufacturer,
introduced the first fabric collection featuring HeiQ AeoniQ(TM) to
the major Italian fashion brands.
"The Board is working closely with the management team to
monitor and understand the impact of all these actions. We stand
ready to implement additional initiatives, if required, in order to
improve the business resilience and to allow the business to
flourish.
"With regards to alignment with shareholders, the HeiQ Board,
management team, and extended management team hold approximately
24% of HeiQ shares in the Company. This hopefully reassures
investors that we are aiming for long-term growth and value
creation.
"We would like to thank you for your support. While the
environment is still very uncertain, and market recovery is
expected during Q4 2023 at the earliest, we are committed to
delivering value to our shareholders. I would like also thank the
whole HeiQ team for working tirelessly."
For further information, please contact:
HeiQ Plc
Carlo Centonze (CEO) +41 56 250 68 50
Cenkos Securities plc (Broker) +44 (0) 207 397
Stephen Keys / Callum Davidson 8900
------------------
SEC Newgate (Media Enquiries) +44 (0) 20 3757
Elisabeth Cowell / Molly Gretton / Tom 6882
Carnegie HeiQ@s ecnewgate
.co.uk
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About HeiQ
HeiQ is a Swiss-based international company that innovates
pioneering and differentiating materials in partnership with
established global brands. We bridge the academic and commercial
worlds to conceive performance-enhancing materials and
technologies, working with aligned brands to research, manufacture
and bring products to market, aiming for lab to consumer in months.
Our goal is to improve the lives of billions by innovating the
materials that go into everyday products, making them more
hygienic, comfortable, protective, and sustainable.
Our strong IP portfolio positions us as an innovation leader for
niche, premium and high-margin products in the textile chemicals,
man-made fibers, paints and coatings, antimicrobial plastics,
probiotics and household cleaner markets. We have also expanded
into healthcare facilities, probiotic cleaning, and hygiene
coatings markets to help make hospitals and healthcare environments
more hygienic.
We have developed over 200 technologies in partnership with 300
major brands. With a substantial research and development pipeline,
including key technology development projects HeiQ AeoniQ, HeiQ
ECOS, HeiQ GrapheneX, and HeiQ Synbio, HeiQ aims to deliver
shareholder value through sales growth and entry into new lucrative
markets through disruptive innovation and M&A.
We have built a strong reputation for ESG & sustainable
innovation, having won multiple awards including the Swiss
Technology Award twice and the Swiss Environmental Award. Under
experienced leadership, we are committed to driving our profit in
close connection with people and the planet. For more information,
please visit www.heiq.com.
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