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1. Revenue. Upgraded forecast is $5.2m for 2022 but we know the company delivered $3.1m in H1 of $2.7m was detergent.
So IMO there is a strong likelihood we will beat the $5.2m forecast.

2. Gross profit margin in H1 was 25% compared to 27% for the full year of 2021, which was below the overall gross profit margin goal of at least 35%. With the most recent price increases taking effect in September, raw material costs stabilizing, and more beauty and hygiene revenues, the Company expects significant improvements to gross margins in the second half of 2022.

If both revenue comes in above market forecast and gross margins improve as predicted, then I expect the market to respond in a very favourable way. I made another little top up this morning of 20,000 as I optimistically believe the days between now and the trading update will be the last window of opportunity to buy shares at this price.

Hi did anyone else notice that Itaconix changed its intro on its RNS introductions? The 7th September 2022 notice of half year results had the new intro.

Old intro:
Itaconix (AIM: ITX) (OTCQB: ITXXF), a leading innovator in plant-based specialty polymers used as essential ingredients in everyday consumer products

New intro:
Itaconix plc (AIM: ITX) (OTCQB: ITXXF), a leading innovator in plant-based specialty polymers used to decarbonise everyday consumer products.

The change from “used as essential ingredients” to “used to decarbonise” is a subtle but smart strategic change in my opinion.

Great to see that Paul LeBlanc has already updated his Linked-In profile. Under Experience right at the top it now has the Itaconix logo and next to this it states:
Board of Directors - Audit Chair
Itaconix Corporation
Jan 2023 - Present

Yeah I guess traders are happy to make a quick 10 - 15% profit and move on.

I’m usually both excited and a bit nervous ahead of the trading updates but this time I am not nervous thanks to last week’s RNS:
- The appointment of Paul LeBlanc
and
- Dr. Peter Nieuwenhuizen’s comment ("As Itaconix enters a new phase of development with its rapid revenue growth, I am pleased to welcome Paul to our Board”).

As the company are not likely to break even until maybe late 2023 or early 2024 it does leave open the potential to raise funds at some point to support their rapid expansion, though John Shaw did down play the prospect of that in his last session with investors. If that does happen again that doesn’t worry me as investment to support growth is normal.

RNS could land as soon as tomorrow but I think it will be next Wednesday. Exciting prospects ahead :-)

I think it was 2 years ago we started talking about “exponential growth” at Itaconix based on what John Shaw described as the addressable market and Itaconix’s share of this. However, up until yesterday I was uncertain how Itaconix could achieve such lofty aspirations. I was also cautious about how many years it would take Itaconix to turn gross profits into net profits.

I feel that Paul LeBlanc is the missing piece of the jigsaw to enable this massive scaling up to happen and transition to profit. He is someone who over 20 years has witnessed and implemented this at Bemis. He has the experience and knowledge to fast track Itaconix through this.

My beef about the share consolidation not having taken place has also gone away as it makes a lot more sense to push Itaconix to US investors now they have Paul LeBlanc’s financial credentials on board. He is someone US investors will have heard of and give them confidence to invest in Itaconix.

It will be very interesting to see if there is any change to John Shaw’s usually conservatively worded outlook in the upcoming trading update.

Amidst all the excitement around Paul LeBlanc joining the Itaconix board it’s also worth noting the excellent news about Peter Nieuwenhuizen becoming the permanent chair at Itaconix.

On Peter’s Linked-In profile, as well as his Board Chair position at Itaconix, he holds the following positions:
- Founding Partner - European Circular Bioeconomy Fund. ECBF invests and partners with ambitious and visionary entrepreneurs to accelerate late-stage Circular Bioeconomy companies in Europe.

- Board Chair - Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3). GC3 is a multi-stakeholder collaborative that drives the commercial adoption of green chemistry by catalysing and guiding action across all industries, sectors and supply chains.
Interestingly GC3 is also based in Massachusetts which makes me wonder if it was Peter who introduced Paul LeBlanc to Itaconix?

Congratulations to John Shaw, Laura Denner and the rest of the team at Itaconix for both these first rate appointments.

Returning to today’s good news. Bemis are based in Shirley, Massachusetts which is only 1 hour away from Itaconix. Paul LeBlanc joined Bemis in 2008 as their world wide financial controller before progressing to the very top at Bemis. His resume includes costing analysis, pricing strategy development and demand planning for global supply chain. These are all attributes that will help Itaconix improve its gross margins and realise its revenue expansion plans. I can’t imagine a better chair of an audit committee. He also has a lot of experience in mergers and acquisitions.

There is much to like about Bemis as a company with over 100 years experience which like Itaconix focuses on tailoring and developing their seamless technology to meet customer needs. They are also hot on developing new environmental sound solutions.

The fact the successful CFO of a global player with over $200m in revenue has joined Itaconix’s board speaks volumes for the potential he must see at Itaconix.

Surfie really don’t know what your problem with me is but starting to feel a bit personal. I am certainly not the only one who mentions their buys on this forum but you only direct your comments at me. Go do one!

This isn’t just any NED appointment this is massive. BEMIS share a lot of similarities with Itaconix in how they tailor and develop solutions to meet customers needs. Paul LeBlanc has been there for over 20 years and doesn’t get involved in many other companies so to get him on board at Itaconix is a massive achievement and testament to Itaconix.
Also as a side note BEMIS have been known to buy up other companies that compliment them. Most recently they acquired Protechnic in France.
I’ve been trying to add another 25,000 shares since 8am but transaction is still pending so I imagine I’m not the only one buying on the back of this great news.

@Thordon I share your general optimism which is why I keep topping up while the price is what I consider absurdly cheap.
I recall John said in his last Q & A session that it was very difficult to draw any conclusions from shipment data as they receive their raw materials from multiple sources. However, I tend to agree with you that the numbers appear to have increased significantly. I suppose this is to be expected to meet growing revenue predictions. However, I also wonder if they have over stocked as a hedge against any future China supply issues. Hopefully I’m being over cautious in my thinking as I would much rather you are right lol

Just in terms of expectations….
After the last trading update in September 2022 the forecast for 2022 was upped from $4.7 to $5.2m and the forecast for 2023 was upped from $7.6 to $8m.

So anything over $5.2m would be a bonus

Fully agree 7veronic there is so much cooking at Itaconix that 2023 should be a very exciting year for investors. Hopefully continued progress at Itaconix will also combine with a return to a Bull market as 2022 has been brutal.
I had the nice surprise of an extra 15,000 shares appearing in my account this morning as I forget I had set a limit but before the holidays lol
Just thought I’d mention my highly suspicious behaviour of buying shares in a company I believe in and announcing it on here lol

No bloody wonder the stock market close early. Doh!!!

Trying to buy 15,000 at 4.3p but still showing as pending. Never had a problem buying on interactive investor before. Interesting!

interactive investor showing a buy price of 5p and a sell price of 3.5p. I’ve never seen a spread that big before. Suggests some very big transactions. Will be interesting to see what trades appear later

My purchases are not weekly. I top up as and when I can afford to as I believe 100% in Itaconix. Posting that I bought 10,000 shares for £425 is hardly going to influence the share price! I always post my update before the trade appears in the list of recent trades so they are not made up.
Buying shares when they are at their low point is how you make money. No one can predict the exact bottom but that really doesn’t worry me when I see the shares being worth 20p within 18 months.

I believe there’s a high possibility the trading update in January will be earlier than the last January update. The July 2022 trading update was 2 weeks earlier than the July 2021 update. So if the same applies to the January update this would bring it forward from Wednesday 26th January 2022 to Wednesday 11th January 2023. So potentially we could be just 3 weeks away from this very important update. However, with holidays to contend with I think 18th January is the most likely date.
I remain extremely positive for what the New Year will bring at Itaconix and with that in mind added another 10,000 shares this afternoon. Every little counts!

GLA, wishing you peaceful holidays.

Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful

Most grateful to whoever has offloaded 300,000 shares today as enabled me to add another 18,000 at just 4.2p. What was interesting is that it took a long time for my buy to go through which makes me think there are others taking advantage of today’s amazing discount

Thanks Dougerboy now that makes sense!!!