5th Mar 2015 09:10
LONDON (Alliance News) - CAP-XX Ltd saw its shares rise by nearly a quarter early Thursday, after it reported a narrowed loss for the first half of its financial year, and said it has raised an estimated GBP1.1 million in a share placing and subscription, money it will use to reduce production costs and invest in product development.
In a statement, the maker of thin-form supercapacitors that extend the performance of batteries said it had raised gross proceeds of GBP1.2 million, or an estimated GBP1.1 million net of expenses, through a placing and subscription of 120 million shares at 1 pence each. The fundraising needs to be approved by shareholders.
It said the money will be used to further lower supercapcitor production costs, including equipment, factory optimisation and materials, and for investment in the product engineering, testing and qualification necessary for the development and commercialisation of the company's new truckStart automotive product. It will also go towards working capital.
CAP-XX wants to increase the use of its supercapacitors in several high-growth markets, including in wearable electronics, sports gear and small personal medical devices, as well as for tracking tags and a variety of metering, control and telemetry applications. It is also developing a product for large cell supercapacitor markets, such as the automotive market, and has so far engaged with over 20 companies in the automotive industry and supply chain.
"The proceeds from the completion of the fundraising will give us the resources to work together with our Tier-1 partner for the development of truckStart. Initially targeting the North American heavy truck market, this stage of CAP-XX's expansion alone could potentially represent an addressable market opportunity of US$1.8 billion," CAP-XX Chief Executive Anthony Kongats said.
"Furthermore, we intend to move the company to the second phase of our cost-down programme, the first phase of which is now largely complete. Meanwhile, we see strong demand across our products and continue to receive further enquiries regarding the licensing of our technology," he added.
The news came as CAP-XX reported a net loss of AUD873,104 for the six months to end-December, narrowed from a AUD1.2 million loss a year earlier, as revenue stayed broadly flat at AUD2.3 million but gross margins improved thanks mainly to cost savings. It said volume sales were up 5%, but average selling prices fell 6% with the strengthening US dollar contributing 3%.
"The board continues to remain confident that trading for the 2014/15 financial year will continue to better the previous period," it said.
Its shares were up 27.2% at 1.14 pence in London Thursday morning.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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