REG - Eden Research plc - Trading Update

Eden ResearchAnnouncement

22/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 3694A  Eden Research plc  22 January 2024

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inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 

22 January 2024

 

 

Eden Research

("Eden" or "the Company")

 

Trading Update

 

 

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-quoted company focused on sustainable
biopesticides and plastic-free formulation technology for use in the global
crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries, provides the
following unaudited trading update for the year ended 31 December 2023.

 

Highlights

 

·      Revenue for the year is expected to have increased by
approximately 72% to £3.1m, £0.3m, or 11%, ahead of market expectations of
£2.8m (FY2022: £1.8m)

·      Product sales for the year are expected to have increased by
approximately 63% to £2.6m, in line with market expectations (FY2022: £1.6m)

 

·      EBITDA for the year, excluding share-based payments, is expected
to be approximately £1.2m loss, £0.7m, or 37%, ahead of market expectations
of £1.9m loss (FY2022: £1.7m loss)

 

·      Cash position at the year-end was £7.4m, £0.4m, or 5%, below
market expectations of £7.8m (31 December 2022: £2.0m)

 

·      First commercial sales of EcovelexÔ following the
grant, according to Reg. EU/1107/2009, of a temporary approval in Italy for
use as a bird repellent seed treatment in maize for the 2024 growing season

 

·    First commercial sales of Esseva® (the tradename of Mevalone in
France) to Corteva, Eden's distribution partner for Esseva in France; a key
growth opportunity

 

·      California state approval received for MevaloneÒ after the
period end, in January 2024

 

 

Product sales

 

Despite challenging growing conditions which adversely affected demand for
fungicides across many of the Company's main markets for Mevalone, new
territory authorisations and the positive impact of label expansions in recent
years have contributed to a significant increase in product sales from £1.6m
to £2.6m, a rise of 63%.

 

Following the appointment of Corteva France as Eden's distribution partner for
Mevalone in France (where it is marketed as "Esseva"), Eden made its first
commercial sales to Corteva France in 2023.

 

France represents a significant opportunity for Eden as it is widely
recognised for its high-quality agricultural output. France's vineyards are
the country's biggest consumers of plant protection products, including
fungicides. Although viticulture represents just 3% of France's agricultural
land, the sector consumes 20% of the country's fungicides.

 

There is also the potential to significantly expand the use of Esseva for the
treatment of powdery and downy mildews, for which an application was submitted
in 2023. It is currently expected that this label expansion application will
be granted in 2024, subject to timely approval by the French regulatory
authorities.

 

2023 also saw approval for Mevalone in New Zealand, Ireland and Poland, the
latter of which is acting as the Rapporteur Member State on behalf of the EU
central zone.

 

In addition, sales of Cedroz recommenced after the resolution of
production-related product issues and, at the end of 2023, Eden made its first
meaningful sales of Ecovelex to Corteva.

 

In the US, Eden received numerous State-level approvals for Mevalone and
Cedroz in 2023, following EPA approval in September 2022.

 

Sales of Mevalone in the US began in 2023, though these were limited as Eden
awaited approval from the regulatory authorities in California, which
represents more than 80% of the addressable market for Mevalone in the US.

 

Just after the year-end, approval of Mevalone was granted in California,
resulting in an order being fulfilled for Sipcam Agro USA, Eden's distribution
partner in the US. As a result, Eden expects more meaningful sales of Mevalone
in the US in 2024.

 

 

Ecovelex

 

In May 2021, Eden signed an exclusive Commercialisation, Supply and
Distribution Agreement with Corteva Agriscience ("Corteva"), the fourth
largest agriculture inputs company in the world.  The agreement covers Eden's
first seed treatment product, Ecovelex, which relies upon Eden's proprietary,
plastic-free SustaineÒ encapsulation technology.

 

Over the last three years, the companies have worked closely together to
undertake field trials and other development work and in May 2023, Eden made a
full submission for authorisation of the product in the EU and select
additional territories.

 

In December 2023, Ecovelex was granted a temporary approval in Italy for
use as a bird repellent seed treatment in maize for the 2024 growing season
under EU regulation 1107/2009, bringing it to the market for the first time.
This allowed Eden to sell a significant amount of Ecovelex to Corteva before
the year end.

 

 

Insecticide

 

A number of potential commercial partners for Eden's insecticide product ran,
between them, a large number of field trials in 2023 and, so far, these have
produced encouraging results.

 

Eden has started to see results from its potential partners come in and we are
pleased to say that they are, thus far, in line with our own results.

 

The Company expects there to be a high level of interest for this product,
particularly in the key markets of Europe and the US.

 

Eden has now started commercial discussions with various potential partners to
begin the evaluation of who to appoint as distribution partner for the
insecticide product and shall update the market during 2024, as appropriate.

 

 

Outlook

 

Eden expects to see further, strong product sales growth in 2024.

 

This is driven by an expectation of repeat Ecovelex sales, subject to further
regulatory clearances, but also increasing sales of Mevalone and Cedroz due to
increasing market share and off the back of approvals in additional
territories.

 

In late 2023 Eden concluded a successful fundraise of £9.9m (before
expenses), which will allow the Company to expedite the development of its new
and existing products and expand into new geographies.

 

 

Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden Research plc, commented:

 

"In 2023 Eden achieved several key regulatory and commercial milestones
resulting in solid sales performance and revenues which have exceeded market
expectations.

 

A particular highlight was the granting of a temporary approval of Ecovelex
in Italy for use as a bird repellent seed treatment in maize for the 2024
growing season, marking the first commercial sales of not only a new product,
but an entirely new product category; an exciting milestone which gives an
early indication of the long-term commercial viability of that product.

 

The commencement of sales of Mevalone for use in California following
regulatory approval was also an important event and provides us with access to
a significant addressable market, which we hope to further capture in 2024.

 

Looking forward, our successful fundraise in 2023 will allow us to expedite
the development of our existing product portfolio, expand into new geographies
and develop new product opportunities. In 2024 we will continue to build on
the progress made this year to drive sales growth, step-up commercial activity
and push forward apace with our product plans.

 

I look forward to updating shareholders throughout the year with news of the
exciting, significant progress we expect to make."

 

 

 

For further information contact:

 

 Eden Research plc                                                 www.edenresearch.com (http://www.edenresearch.com/)
 Sean Smith                                                        01285 359 555

Alex Abrey

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated advisor and broker)
 Giles Balleny / George Lawson (corporate finance)                 020 7397 8900

Michael Johnson (sales)

 Hawthorn Advisors (Financial PR)
 Victoria Ainsworth                                                eden@hawthornadvisors.com (mailto:eden@hawthornadvisors.com)

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Eden Research is the only UK-listed company focused on biopesticides for
sustainable agriculture. It develops and supplies innovative biopesticide
products and natural microencapsulation technologies to the global crop
protection, animal health and consumer products industries.

 

Eden's products are formulated with terpene active ingredients, based on
natural plant defence metabolites. To date, they have been primarily used on
high-value fruits and vegetables, improving crop yields and marketability,
with equal or better performance when compared with conventional pesticides.
Eden has three products currently on the market:

 

Based on plant-derived active ingredients, Mevalone® is a foliar
biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting grapes and other
high-value fruit and vegetable crops.  It is a useful tool in crop defence
programmes and is aligned with the requirements of integrated pest management
programmes. It is approved for sale in a number of key countries whilst Eden
and its partners pursue regulatory clearance in new territories thereby
growing Eden's addressable market globally.

 

Cedroz™( )is a bionematicide that targets free living nematodes which are
parasitic worms that affect a wide range of high-value fruit and vegetable
crops globally.  Cedroz is registered for sale on two continents and Eden's
commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical, is pursuing registration and
commercialisation of this important new product in numerous countries
globally.

 

Eden's seed treatment product, Ecovelex was developed to safely tackle crop
destruction caused by birds - a major cause of losses in maize and other
crops. Ecovelex works by creating an unpleasant taste or odour that repels
birds, leaving the seeds safely intact and the birds unaffected and free to
find alternative food sources. The product is based on Eden's plant-derived
chemistry, registered in the EU, U.S. and elsewhere, and formulated using
Eden's Sustaine® microencapsulation system.

 

Eden's Sustaine(®)( )encapsulation technology is used to harness the
biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants
(terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic compounds to
enhance their performance and ease-of-use. Sustaine microcapsules are
naturally-derived, plastic-free, biodegradable micro-spheres derived from
yeast. It is one of the only viable, proven and immediately registerable
solutions to the microplastics problem in formulations requiring
encapsulation.

 

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the
symbol EDEN. It was awarded the London Stock Exchange Green Economy
Mark in January 2021, which recognises London-listed companies that derive
over 50% of their total annual revenue from products and services that
contribute to the global green economy. Eden derives 100% of its total annual
revenues from sustainable products and services.

 

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com
(http://www.edenresearch.com) . You can also follow Eden's latest developments
via its social media channels: X (Twitter) (https://twitter.com/edenresearch)
and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/eden-research-plc/) .

 

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