REG - Directa Plus PLC - Trading Statement

Directa PlusAnnouncement

01/09/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 8490X  Directa Plus PLC  01 September 2022

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
EU Regulation 596/2014 as retained as part of UK law by virtue of the European
Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended). Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public
domain

 

1 September 2022

 

Directa Plus plc

("Directa Plus" or the "Company")

 

Trading Update and Notice of Results

 

Directa Plus (AIM: DCTA), a leading producer and supplier of graphene
nanoplatelets based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, is
pleased to provide a trading update ahead of the announcement of its half year
results for the six months to 30 June 2022 on 29 September 2022.

 

Trading

Further to the AGM statement announcement on 17 June 2022, Directa Plus
continues to perform strongly and has delivered robust H1 2022 results across
all verticals. As a result, based on its unaudited management accounts, the
Company now expects to report that total revenues for H1 2022 have grown c.39%
to €5.5m (H1 2021: €3.95m), driven by strong performance across all
verticals.

 

Despite the uncertainty in the macro-economic climate caused by the Ukraine
war, rising inflation driven by energy cost increases, and fears of recession,
the Company continues to generate growing interest and awareness from global
players across its different verticals.

 

The Company is responding to the inflation trends, which in H1 2022 led to
cost increases and a reduction in margins. The Company has invested in
manufacturing equipment which the Board expects to deliver productivity gains
and margin efficiencies in H2 that will materially reduce direct production
costs.

 

The Board is confident of the Company's continued growth trend and expects to
deliver revenue growth of greater than 40% year-on-year (FY2021: €8.6m).

 

Environmental Remediation

Directa Plus still awaits the final decision on the award of a significant
tender in Romania for its Environmental Remediation services, and the
Directors continue to believe that the Company is well positioned to win the
tender.

 

The Commercial Agreement with REDA Energy Ltd to distribute Grafysorber
Products continues to progress with a second order received alongside an
introduction to a significant potential new customer.

 

Further Opportunities

The Company continues to deliver enhancements, based on its patented
technology, to products in other areas where Directa Plus has identified
significant potential commercial opportunities, including paints, water/air
filtration, Lithium-Sulphur batteries and composites.

 

The Company continues to partner with leading worldwide suppliers to develop
outstanding products, as highlighted by the recent patent awards for
filtration, the Notice of Allowance received from the United States Patent and
Trademark Office for G+® embedded polyurethane membranes, alongside the
extension of the partnership with Alfredo Grassi.

 

Commenting, Giulio Cesareo, Founder and CEO of Directa Plus, said: "We are
pleased with the growth and commercial progress we have achieved in the first
half of the year. Directa Plus continues to gain momentum in this uncertain
and challenging market and continues to make progress to commercialise our
highly valuable IP portfolio. The fundraise completed in December 2021 has
allowed us to accelerate growth, reduce production costs, and to develop the
pipeline where we see many exciting opportunities."

 

For further information please visit http://www.directa-plus.com/
(http://www.directa-plus.com/) or contact:

 

 Directa Plus plc                                            +39 02 36714458
 Giulio Cesareo, CEO
 Giorgio Bonfanti, CFO

 Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)  +44 131 220 6939
 Neil McDonald
 Adam Rae

 Singer Capital Markets Securities Limited (Joint Broker)    +44 20 7496 3069
 Rick Thompson
 Phil Davies

 Tavistock (Financial PR and IR)                             +44 20 7920 3150
 Simon Hudson
 Heather Armstrong

 

Notes to Editors

 

Directa Plus (www.directa-plus.com) is one of the largest producers and
suppliers of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial
markets. The Company's graphene manufacturing capability uses proprietary
patented technology based on a plasma super expansion process. Starting from
natural graphite, each step of Directa Plus' production process - expansion,
exfoliation and drying - creates graphene-based materials and hybrid graphene
materials ready for a variety of uses and available in various forms such as
powder, liquid and paste.

 

This proprietary production process uses a physical process, rather than a
chemical process, to process graphite into pristine graphene nanoplatelets,
which enables Directa Plus to offer a sustainable, non-toxic product, without
unwanted by-products.

 

Directa Plus' products are made of hybrid graphene materials and graphene
nano-platelets. The products (marketed as G+(R)) have multiple applications
due to its properties. These G+(R) products can be categorised into various
families, with different products being suitable for specific practical
applications.

 

Directa Plus was established in 2005 and is based in Lomazzo (Como, Italy) and
has been listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange since May 2016.
Directa Plus holds the Green Economy Mark from London Stock Exchange which
recognises companies that contribute to the global green economy.

 

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