11th Sep 2006 07:02
Oxford Catalysts Group PLC11 September 2006 11th September 2006 OXFORD CATALYSTS GROUP PLC ("Oxford Catalysts" or "the Company") Interim Results for Period Ended 30th June 2006 Oxford Catalysts Group PLC, the leading catalyst innovator for clean fuels,announces today its maiden set of interim results since its successful flotationon the AIM market in April of this year. Highlights • Listed on AIM on 26th April 2006 • Raised ca. £14 million net of expenses • Nine-month prototype development program with Proventec Plc, a provider of specialist steam cleaning equipment • Award of a £150,000 joint-grant from the Carbon Trust in partnership with leading UK-based Solid Oxide Fuel Cell company (ca. £118,000 will accrue to Oxford Catalysts) • Over 25 non-disclosure / material transfer agreements in place enabling active discussions with potential partners, including oil majors, oil refiners, oil services companies, coal mining and processing, catalyst, consumer electronics and fuel cell companies • Achieved key technical milestone relating to continuous stop-start cycling in hydrogen-on-demand technology • First patent granted in Europe, second patent granted in South Africa; all filings proceeding as expected • On track to achieve recruitment target; new offices and laboratory being fitted out • Expenditure remains in line with budget: cash reserves managed prudently Roy Lipski, Chief Executive of Oxford Catalysts, said: "We have some very special technology, we have a first class team and a clearand focussed strategy. During the period, Oxford Catalysts has made significantprogress in all areas of its strategy. We remain committed to continuing todeliver on the milestones set out during our IPO, and we look forward to thefuture with confidence." For further information, please contact: Roy Lipski, CEO, Oxford Catalysts 07958 970 855Megan MacIntyre, KBC Peel Hunt 020 7418 8900Jonathon Brill, Billy Clegg, Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 Oxford Catalysts designs and develops specialty catalysts for the generation ofclean fuels from both conventional fossil fuels and certain renewable sources.The Company has two key platform technologies resulting from some 19 years ofresearch at the University of Oxford's prestigious Wolfson Catalysis Centre. Thefirst platform is for a novel class of catalysts made from metal carbides, whichcan match or exceed the benefits of traditional precious metal catalysts, at alower cost, for several key processes used in the petroleum and petrochemicalindustries. The second, relates to a series of unique chemical reactions whichcan be used to generate either hydrogen gas or high-temperature steam,instantaneously, starting from room temperature, using a cheap and safe liquidfuel alongside the Company's patented catalysts. Such unprecedented hydrogen orsteam on-demand has exciting potential applications in a broad range of markets,from portable fuel cells, to motive power and stationary electricity generation. Copies of this interim report will be sent to shareholders and will be availableat the Business Office of the Company, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford, OX26UD and on the Company's website, www.oxfordcatalysts.com for one month free ofcharge from 11th September 2006. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENTDr Pierre Jungels It is with great pleasure that I make my first interim report as Chairman ofOxford Catalysts Group PLC. The Company has made good progress in the first halfof 2006 and since its admission to AIM on 26th April of this year, when weraised £15 million before expenses through a placing of 8,620,690 new shares. Oxford Catalysts' business model is to license its technology for commercialexploitation. The Company aims to enter into a relatively small number of keyco-development partnerships with leading manufacturers, producers or suppliersin three main application areas: petroleum and petrochemical catalysts; hydrogenproduction for fuel cells, and; high-temperature steam for a varierty ofmarkets. I am pleased to report that we have experienced impressive growth in interestfrom, and engagement with, potential partners. To date, we have entered intoover 25 non-disclosure or material transfer agreements, and we are in activediscussions with numerous companies over testing, and the potentialco-development and licensing of our technology. These include oil majors, oilrefiners, oil services companies, coal mining and processing, catalyst, consumerelectronics and fuel cell companies, as well as others. I would also like to congratulate Dr Will Barton, our COO, for his recentadmission as a Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry, and separately, for hisappointment to the Council of The Chemical Industries Association. As well asrecognising Will's long and distinguished service to the chemical industry,these appointments will help raise the profile of Oxford Catalysts within thewider chemicals community. Outlook The Board looks to the future with confidence. Since the beginning of the year,and significantly since the IPO in April, we have progressed on or are ahead ofplan in all three key areas of our strategy: commercialisation; technologydevelopment, and; the protection and enhancement of our intellectual property.These areas will continue to be the main focus of the Company's activities overthe next 6 months. I look forward to reporting further success in our year-endresults. CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S STATEMENTRoy Lipski Oxford Catalysts has made excellent progress over the period since 31st December2005, and since its flotation. We remain committed to continuing to deliver onthe milestones set out during our listing on the London Stock Exchange. Commercialisation Since the IPO, we have provided several catalyst samples for testing, includingsamples to, amongst others, a leading global consumer electronics manufacturerand an oil major (for hydrogen-on-demand and Fischer-Tropsch respectively).Furthermore, we recently agreed a client-funded testing program with a large FarEastern company to explore a novel application of hydro-treatment (thistechnology is still at an early stage of development). In July 2006, we announced that we have progressed to a nine-month prototypedevelopment program with Proventec Plc, a provider of specialist steam cleaningequipment. This followed the successful completion of an evaluation phase of ourtechnology, pursuant to a contract signed in February 2006 which is worth up to£100,000 to the Company and, more importantly, provides for the future licensingof our technology to Proventec. More recently, we announced the award of a £150,000 joint-grant from the CarbonTrust, of which ca. £118,000 will accrue to the Company. The grant will supportthe development of reforming catalysts and associated technologies for fuelcells, based on the Company's metal carbide platform. Our partner in theproject, a leading UK-based Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ("SOFC") company, willcontribute its considerable expertise in fuel cell systems to define thespecification for the catalysts, as well as testing the technology as it isdeveloped. I am confident that the high level of interest from, and engagement with,potential partners will lead to further developments that we shall be able toannounce in due course. Technical Development I am pleased to report that we are making strong progress in the development ofour technology platforms, and are on, or ahead of, our schedule. We havesuccessfully achieved a key technical milestone relating to continuousstop-start cycling in our hydrogen-on-demand technology. This was completed somenine months ahead of plan and was achieved through catalyst improvement. Separately, we have improved our method for the deposition of our catalystpre-curser, particularly for shaped supports. This approach, which we arecurrently applying to our Fischer-Tropsch catalyst, will facilitate larger scaletesting of our catalysts. Intellectual Property We continue to make good progress protecting and enhancing our intellectualproperty. During the period, the first of the patents licensed exclusively to usfrom Isis Innovation Ltd (WO 03/002252 A1 - A Process for the Activation of aCatalyst Comprising a Cobalt Compound and a Support) was granted in Europe, andis progressing through final examination in the US. The second patent (WO 04/000456 A2 - Catalyst) was granted in South Africa and has progressed toexamination in Japan and China; whilst the third patent (WO 05/075342 A1 -Catalytic Reaction Between Methanol and a Peroxide) has recently enterednational phases. The 4th and 5th patent filings, which relate to the extension of ourhydrogen-on-demand and high-temperature steam technologies, have beenconsolidated under a single filing to be published later this year. We lookforward to sharing more information, in due course, concerning the significantdevelopments that this new patent represents. People & Premises Oxford Catalysts is making good progress in the identification and recruitmentof key personnel. Since the IPO, the Company has hired 5 research scientists anda chemical engineer, to work on existing development and commercialisationprojects. We have been delighted by the high-calibre of candidates found and areconfident of having put in place the foundations of a world-class catalysisteam. We remain on track to achieve our recruitment target of 25 people by 4Q07,which will include bolstering our business development team. Finally, I am pleased to report that the Company has agreed on the location ofits new offices and laboratory. These will be at a business park in the Oxfordarea, and will contain custom-fitted high specification facilities for thedevelopment and testing of catalysts and small-scale devices. We anticipatebeing fully installed in the new premises during the fourth quarter of thecurrent year. Financials In accordance with accounting standards, the Group is required to recognise afair value charge for executive share options. This charge, however, has noeffect on the Group's net assets or cash as at 30 June 2006. The total executiveshare options charge to the profit and loss account for the period is £277,000. Cash resources continue to be managed prudently. Cash reserves at period-endwere £14,313,000. Our current spend is in line with expectations and will riseas the company enters the next stage of its development, with expenditure onstaff, premises, technical and business development increasing over the next sixmonths. GROUP PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNTFOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2006 Notes 6 months ended 30 June 2006 Unaudited £000Turnover 12 Administrative expenses - operational (231)Administrative expenses - share based payments (FRS20) (277)Other operating income 1 Operating loss (495) Interest receivable and similar income 113 Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (382) Taxation - Loss on ordinary activities after taxation (382) (Deficit) for the period £(382) Loss per shareBasic 2 (0.99)pDiluted 2 (0.99)p The group has no recognised gains or losses other than as shown above. GROUP BALANCE SHEETAS AT 30 JUNE 2006 Notes Oxford Catalysts Limited As at As at 30 June 2006 31 December 2005 (Unaudited) (Audited) £000 £000FIXED ASSETSIntangible assets 60 51Tangible 36 - 96 51 CURRENT ASSETSDebtors 83 51Cash at bank and in hand 14,313 486 14,396 537 CREDITORSAmounts falling due within one year (41) (110) NET CURRENT ASSETS 14,355 427 NET ASSETS £14,451 £478 CAPITAL AND RESERVESCalled up share capital 5 385 -Share premium account 5 13,662 625Merger reserve 5 656 -Profit and loss account 5 (252) (147) EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS £14,451 £478 GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENTFOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2006 Notes 6 months ended 30 June 2006 (Unaudited) £0003 Net cash outflow from operating activities (316) Returns on investment and servicing of finance Interest received 113 Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of intangible fixed assets 10 Purchase of tangible fixed assets 38 (48) Cash outflow before financing (251) Financing Issue of ordinary share capital 385 Share premium received on share issues 14,737 Preliminary set up costs (1,044) 4 Cash inflow from financing 14,078 Increase in cash £13,827 NOTES TO THE INTERIM REPORTFOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2006 1. BASIS OF PREPARATION Basis of preparation These interim statements have been prepared on a consistent basis with the AIMadmission document dated 20 April 2006, subject to the changes in accountingguidelines since that date. These interim statements do not constitute statutory financial statements withinthe meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. Results for the six monthperiods ended 30 June 2006 have not been audited. The Balance Sheet for theperiod ended 31 December 2005 has been extracted from the statutory financialstatements of Oxford Catalysts Limited for the period to 31 December 2005 thathave been filed with the Registrar of Companies and upon which the auditorsreported without qualification. Basis of consolidation The consolidated accounts incorporate the financial statements of the Companyand all of its subsidiaries. In order to enable the successful flotation of theGroup, it was necessary to undertake a restructuring of the Group. As part ofthe Group reconstruction, on 12 April 2006 Oxford Catalysts Group plc acquired,in return for the issue of new ordinary share capital, the entire share capitalof Oxford Catalysts Limited. This acquisition has been accounted for as a mergerin line with the reporting requirements of Financial Reporting Standard No.6 "Acquisitions and Mergers". Therefore the Group financial statements have beenprepared as if the Group was in existence for the whole of the current and prioryears. 2. LOSS PER SHARE 6 months ended 30 June 2006 (Unaudited) £'000 Basic and Diluted loss per share has been calculated on the loss of £(382) The number of shares used was: 38,490,608 3. RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING LOSS TO NET CASH OUTFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES £'000Operating loss (495)Depreciation charges 2Amortisation charges 1Increase in debtors (32)Decrease in creditors (69)Non-cash share-based payments (FRS20) 277Net cash outflow from operating activities £(316) 4. RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO MOVEMENT IN NET FUNDS £'000Increase in cash 13,827 Change in net funds resulting from cash flows 13,827 Net funds at 1 January 2006 486 Net funds at 30 June 2006 £14,313 5. CHANGES IN SHARE CAPITAL AND RESERVES Called Up Profit & Share Share Merger Loss Capital Premium Reserve Account £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000Issued during the period to 30 June 2006 97 13,662 Arising on acquisition of Oxford Catalysts Limited 288 656 (147) Loss for the period (382) Employee share based payments (FRS20) 277 Balance carried forward £385 £13,662 £656 £(252) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
VLS.L