Sept 28, 2020
Interim Results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2020
Strategic Partnerships Continue To Deliver Commercial Growth
Ceres Power Holdings plc (“Ceres Power”, “Ceres”, the “Company” or the “Group”) (AIM: CWR.L), a global leader in fuel cell and electrochemical technology, announces its second set of interim results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2020, following the change of year end to 31 December.
Financial Highlights
- Strong progress on major contracts has driven a 21% increase in revenue and other operating income to £19.9m (2019: £16.4m)
- Increased gross profit of £13.8m (2019: £11.5m) at sector leading gross margin of 73% (2019: 75%)
- Adjusted EBITDA loss increased slightly to £6.5m (2019: £5.9m) due to further investment in growth area of electrolysis for hydrogen
- Increased equity investment by Bosch and Weichai, of £49m, supports strong cash and short-term investments of £108m at 30 June 2020
- Order book* of £14m and strong pipeline* of £54m as at 30 June 2020
Operating and Corporate Highlights
- Bosch has commenced manufacturing of Ceres’ core cell technology at its pilot facility in Germany
- Weichai 30kW range extender system for electric buses targeting the Chinese market moving into field trials. Some delays in timing due to Covid-19 means establishment of a joint venture in China is now likely to be H1 2021
- Wider deployment of the Group’s combined heat and power (“CHP”) system in the Japanese market by Miura Co.
- Hydrogen Electrolysis R&D delivering positive results triggers further investment in the technology
- Successful development of Ceres’ first zero-emission CHP system designed for exclusive use with hydrogen fuel
- 2MW advanced manufacturing pilot facility built, commissioned and running in Redhill, UK
- Appointment of Warren Finegold as Chairman and Uwe Glock and Qinggui Hao as Non-executive Directors
Covid-19
The disruption from Covid-19, coinciding with the commissioning of our new facility at Redhill, has meant that some revenues have been deferred from this reporting period. Nonetheless, we have delivered a solid set of results, with continued revenue growth through good progress with our customer programmes and increased manufacturing output; a huge credit to the entire Ceres team.
Phil Caldwell, CEO of Ceres Power commented:
The urgency for climate action continues to drive the global demand for clean energy technologies, and our strategy of licensing to global partners, with a leading position in their products and markets, continues to be highly successful.
Despite the disruption from Covid we have delivered a solid set of results, with continued revenue growth and sector leading margins. This is driven by good progress with our customer programmes and increased manufacturing output thanks to the hard work of the entire Ceres team.
Trading since the period end has remained strong with good commercial progress with our partners globally. Bosch has now installed prototype products of its 10kW system utilising Ceres’ technology at five locations in Germany while, despite an initial delay in the early part of 2020 due to the pandemic, good progress is now being made to validate Ceres’ technology for transportation applications with Weichai’s SOFC team in China.
These developments, combined with the opportunities from our new, long term growth areas of electrolysis for hydrogen, mean that Ceres is very well positioned to build on the strong momentum generated during the period as we look to play our part in delivering clean energy technology to enable a net zero future.
Financial summary
| Financial Summary: | 12 months ended 30 June 2020 (Unaudited) £’000 |
Year ended 30 June 2019 (Audited) £’000 |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue and other operating income, comprising: | 19,942 | 16,365 |
| Licence fees | 5,841 | 7,412 |
| Engineering services revenue and provision of technology hardware | 13,056 | 7,888 |
| Other operating income | 1,045 | 1,065 |
| Gross margin % | 73% | 75% |
| Adjusted EBITDA loss 1 | (6,519) | (5,881) |
| Operating loss | (10,081) | (7,924) |
| Net cash used in operating activities | (5,442) | (3,058) |
| Net cash and short-term investments | 107,981 | 71,267 |
1. Adjusted EBITDA loss is calculated as the operating loss for the 12 months ended 30 June 2020 of £10,081k (2019 – £7,924k) excluding depreciation charges of £2,683k (2019 -£1,025k), share-based payment charges of £873k (2019 – £909k), unrealised gains on forward contracts of £40k (2019 – £42k loss) and exchange losses of £46k (2019 – £67k). Management believes that adjusted EBITDA loss provides a better understanding of the underlying performance of the Group by removing non-recurring, irregular and one-off costs.
Analyst Presentation
Ceres Power Holdings plc will be hosting a live webcast for analysts and investors today at 09.30 (GMT). A link to the webcast will be made available on the Ceres website.
Conference Call
To access the conference call, please use the following details 5-10 minutes prior to the start time:
Dial: +44 (0) 20 3003 2666
For further information please visit www.ceres.tech or contact
Ceres Power Holdings plc
Elizabeth Skerritt
Tel: +44 (0)1403 273 463
Investec Bank PLC (NOMAD & Joint Broker)
Jeremy Ellis / Patrick Robb / Ben Griffiths
Tel: +44 (0)207 597 5970
Berenberg (Joint Broker)
Ben Wright / Mark Whitmore
Tel: +44 (0) 203 207 7800
Powerscourt (Financial PR)
Peter Ogden / James White
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446