REG - Versarien PLC - Corporate Update

VersarienAnnouncement

02/10/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 2421O  Versarien PLC  02 October 2023

2 October 2023

 

Versarien plc

 

("Versarien", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Corporate Update

 

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering firm, provides
the following update on developments at the Company.

 

As described in the General Meeting statement issued on 4 July 2023, the
Company's cost base has been reduced significantly with unaudited LBITDAE
(loss before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items)
now at a much lower run rate than in the first six months of the financial
year, with a consequent reduction in cash burn.  Despite this reduced cost
base, the Company continues to make progress in line with its stated strategy
to:

 

●     maintain and strengthen the Group's scientific teams supported by
grant funding applications;

●     to use the Group's internally generated know‐how in the areas of
leisure and construction leisure to be a manufacturing light operation as
Versarien works with its prospective customers;

●     as commercial traction develops, to licence Versarien's
technology, brands and manufacturing know‐how; and

●     to divest non‐core activities and Korean assets to reduce the
requirement for funding from external sources.

 

Commercial progress

 

Recent commercial progress has been made in the Company's core areas of
leisure and construction, together with Gnanomat's wider areas of interest.
This includes:

 

●     Umbro have launched their Autumn/Winter 2023 range with
Versarien's Graphene-Wear™ coatings integrated into Umbro's Pro Training
Elite capsule.  Versarien is generating initial revenues for the
Graphene-Wear™ ink formulation and royalties for the use of the Company's
trademark in the finished product.

 

●     Versarien has delivered additional Graphene-Wear™ rubber
compound to Flux Footwear LLC's supply chain partners following an order
required for shoe production.  Versarien is generating initial revenues for
the Graphene-Wear™ compound and royalties for the use of the Company's
trademark in the finished product.

 

●     Further Cementene™ trials with key partners, including Banagher
Precast Concrete Limited ("Banagher"), are ongoing.  This follows the trials
undertaken by Banagher as announced on 17 May 2023.

 

●     The Cementene™ admixture certification process is ongoing.
Should this certification be received, the Company expects it to facilitate
significant commercial opportunities for the deployment of Cementene™ in
construction projects.

 

●     As previously announced, Versarien has been shortlisted by the
Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) from a global list of
applications, for its pioneering Innovandi Open Challenge scheme, to work on
developing low-carbon concrete for the world.  This process is ongoing.

 

●     The Company is discussing further iterations of the 3D printed
concrete headwall, as outlined in the announcement on 6 March 2023, in
collaboration with its partners under the Digital Roads of the Future
Partnership.  In addition, 3D printed concrete structures have been supplied
by Versarien for other projects, including for those being undertaken by local
authorities.

 

●     The Company is pleased to report it has been selected to attend
the Innovate UK Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP) in Germany which
is focusing on sustainable materials for construction.  The programme of
events will take place in November 2023.

 

●     A statement of work has been received, funded by a UK aviation
company, to perform graphene dispersion, mechanical testing and material
characterisation of thermoset composites being developed by the customer.
This project will take approximately 14 weeks for 2-DTech to complete.

 

●     As announced on 13 September 2023, Gnanomat is the recipient of a
€415,000 grant award from ICEX Trade and Investment to enable the company to
commercialise and launch a new line of conductive inks.  In addition,
Gnanomat is working with a large Latin American corporation to develop novel
supercapacitors and with a Southeast Asian corporation to advance the
electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties of thermoset
composites utilising carbon and hybrid nanomaterials.  This latter project
will be led by Gnanomat and will be performed in collaboration with Versarien
subsidiaries 2-DTech and Cambridge Graphene.

 

Further potential commercial arrangements and opportunities remain in
discussion.

 

Research and Development

 

The Company's R&D team has been slimmed down significantly during 2023,
due to cost cutting to concentrate on its strategic objectives.  The board
believes it has retained the key people that can continue the Company's
R&D and commercialisation efforts.  In line with the Company's strategy,
it continues to focus on the development opportunities it has, including
submitting applications to participate in Innovate UK, Horizon Europe and
other grant-funded projects with various consortia comprising leading industry
participants.

 

Financial performance and future funding

 

Despite the reduced cost base and income being received, the Company's cash
resources continue to be constrained whilst it seeks to sell both its mature
businesses and the IP and equipment arising from the acquisition of assets
from Hanwha Aerospace in December 2020.  Discussions are ongoing with third
parties interested in acquiring these assets, but at this juncture there can
be no certainty that sales can be satisfactorily concluded.  Consequently,
the Company expects to continue to require further funding to support its
activities, including potentially available grant income and the potential
issue of additional equity.

 

The annual audit for the financial year ending 30 September 2023 is now in the
planning stage and, as was the case last year, the key audit matters will
include going concern, goodwill impairment and impairment of capitalised
development costs.  Any impairment charges will be treated as exceptional
items consistent with last year's accounting treatment.  The Company's
audited results for the year ended 30 September 2023 are expected to be
announced in January 2024.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Versarien                                                   c/o IFC

 Stephen Hodge, Chief Executive Officer

 Chris Leigh, Chief Financial Officer

 SP Angel Corporate Finance (Nominated Adviser and Broker)   +44 (0)20 3470 0470

 Matthew Johnson, Adam Cowl

 IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR and Investor Relations)  +44 (0) 20 3934 6630

 Tim Metcalfe, Zach Cohen

 

For further information please see: http://www.versarien.com
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