Accsys Tech Regulatory News (AXS)

AIM: AXS

NYSE Euronext Amsterdam: AXS

30 November 2015

ACCSYS TECHNOLOGIES PLC ("Accsys" or "the Company")

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2015

Accsys, the chemical technology group, focused on the acetylation of wood, today announces interim results for the consolidated group for the six months ended 30 September 2015.

*Underlying EBITDA and loss before tax are stated before exceptional items of €nil (2014: €3.1m) recorded in respect of arbitration relating to the Diamond Wood licence agreement.

Highlights

· Improved manufacturing margin together with an increase in revenue attributable to licensing and business development activities resulted in first positive EBITDA since restructuring in 2010;

· Continued trend of revenue growth in the period, with revenue increasing by 21% to €26.3m;

· Manufacturing segment profitability continues to improve, recording EBITDA of €5.0m (2014: €3.1m) as a result of higher prices and improved efficiency; gross manufacturing profit margin increased from 23% to 30%;

· Strong balance sheet maintained with cash balance of €7.5m at 30 September 2015;

· Cash in-flow from operating activities (before changes in working capital) of €1.8m (2014: out-flow of €0.7m excluding exceptional items) as a result of improvement in profitability;

· New agreement with Solvay signed since period end, for licencing, marketing and manufacturing of Accoya, including fees and funding to allow expansion of Accsys manufacturing capacity;

· Agreed minimum 76,000m3 off-take commitment from Solvay over next five years; and

· Proposed Tricoya consortium negotiations have progressed, with detailed engineering and site feasibility studies undertaken.

Paul Clegg, Chief Executive commented: "Our latest set of results confirms that our manufacturing process generates increasing returns, giving us greater confidence to progress with our objective of ensuring we maintain a share in new manufacturing capacity. Not only have we seen a significant improvement in profitability in the period, but a number of important strategic steps have been taken in respect of the proposed formation of the new Tricoya consortium and the relationship with Solvay, enabling us to ensure that the ever-increasing demand for our products can be met in the future."

There will be a presentation relating to these results at 10:00 GMT on 30 November 2015. The presentation will take the form of a web based conference call, details of which are below:

Webcast link:

Click here or copy and paste ALL of the following text into your browser:

http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/hnvu5v7y

Conference call details for participants:

Participant Telephone Number: +44 (0)20 3427 1906 UK Toll

Confirmation Code: 4840247

Participants will have to quote the above code when dialling into the conference.

For further information, please contact:

Chairman's statement

Overview

It is encouraging to be presenting the first set of results that are EBITDA positive since our restructuring in 2010. Accsys continues to make incremental improvements in manufacturing profitability which has been achieved through margin management. We are also seeing significant strategic developments as we exploit the opportunity that exists for our products and technologies.

Revenue increased by 21% to €26.3m in the period reflecting increased prices and an increase in revenue attributable to our licencing and business development activities. Sales volumes were relatively flat as some distributors managed their inventories following price increases that we implemented to improve our profitability and to help manage our capacity utilisation. The increase in prices contributed to the significant improvement in profitability giving rise to a positive EBITDA of €1.3m (2014: €1.9m loss).

Improved prices and an on-going focus on operating efficiencies resulted in an improvement in gross manufacturing profit margin which increased from 23% to 30% and with manufacturing segment EBITDA increasing by 62% to €5.0m. The manufacturing profitability continues to indicate the returns which we believe are achievable when producing greater volumes.

Our balance sheet remains strong, with a cash balance of €7.5m as at 30 September 2015 (€10.8m as at 31 March 2015). Underlying cash flows from operating activities before changes in working capital improved from a €0.7m out-flow to a €1.8m in-flow with the decrease in cash in the period attributable to an increase in working capital of €3.1m. This included a notable build-up of inventories ahead of our scheduled annual maintenance stop in October such that we expect cash-flow to benefit from a reduction in working capital in the second half of the financial year.

We recently announced a new agreement with Solvay Acetow Gmbh ("Solvay"), to refine the relationship between the two parties for the licensing, marketing and manufacturing of Accoya®. This new agreement provides the framework and funding for a significant increase in the manufacturing capacity at our plant in Arnhem.

The enhanced relationship with Solvay will benefit both parties, with the increased manufacturing capacity and resulting sales expected to be achieved for Accoya in a faster timescale than would otherwise have been possible.

A combination of loans and fees from Solvay, in addition to those due under a new offtake commitment, will fund the majority of the initial increase in manufacturing capacity at Arnhem, with the balance to be met by Accsys' own resources, including the possible sale and leaseback of land at Arnhem.

Following the acquisition of the remaining 50% in Tricoya Technologies Limited ('TTL') in March 2015, and the agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding with a large international chemical group (the 'Chemical Group') we have continued to progress towards the creation of a new consortium to fund, build and operate the world's first Tricoya® acetylation plant. In addition to detailed negotiations with the proposed consortium partners, which also include Medite, we have completed the Front End Engineering and Design ('FEED') study necessary to progress to the construction stage. Detailed discussions continue between the parties with an intention of finalising the consortium ahead of the plant becoming operational by 2018 however further work is expected to be jointly funded before final consortium agreements are put in place.

Outlook 

The progress made with our key partners and the improvement in profitability represent significant developments for the Company as we continue towards our ambition of maximising the value associated with our technologies.

In the immediate term we will continue to carefully manage the increasing demand for Accoya prior to additional capacity coming on stream in 2017, such that we expect revenue to continue to grow but at a smaller rate than that recorded in previous financial years.

The new agreement with Solvay is particularly exciting and marks a significant step in the evolution of Accsys. It will enable us to significantly increase manufacturing capacity and to continue to develop markets on a global scale, whilst allowing us to take advantage of new opportunities and generate substantial group profits as production is ramped up.

I am pleased with the progress being made in forming the proposed new Tricoya consortium and I am hopeful that the progress and efforts made by all of the proposed consortium partners will culminate in the new plant, further increasing manufacturing profits for the benefit of Accsys shareholders.

Overall, I remain confident that we are in a strong position to continue our transition into a sustainable and profitable group focussed on commercialising our technologies through a balance of our own manufacturing capability and ongoing cooperation with strong industry partners.

Patrick Shanley

Chairman

27 November 2015

Accsys Technologies PLC

Chief Executive's statement

Introduction

Accsys had a very positive period with important steps achieved in respect of our longer term objective of increasing manufacturing capacity together with a substantial improvement in profitability. An 88% increase in gross profit to €9.4m represented an increase in the gross margin from 23% to 36%, resulting from Accoya® price increases and higher revenues attributable to our licencing and business development activities. The increased profitability of our manufacturing plant resulted in the ROCE for the manufacturing plant improving from 9% to 25% when compared to the comparative period last year. We continue to invest with €1.9m (2014: €11.4m) of costs capitalised in respect of process and product development and improvements to our plant, in addition to our on-going investment in sales, marketing and business development activities.

Progress with Accoya® manufacturing and sales

The success of Accoya® in the market place together with the increase in demand has enabled us to focus on our existing distribution network and markets. This was evident in September when we held our highly successful, fifth, Worldwide Accoya® wood sales conference in the Netherlands. The three day conference involved 160 participants from 30 countries including 86 from our existing or potential distributors and trade partners.

Revenue from the sale of Accoya® increased by 11% to €21.9m in the first half of the year compared to the same period in the previous year. Growth in the period was primarily attributable to a price increase implemented in the second half of the previous financial year with overall sales volumes of 16,821m3 representing a small increase compared to the previous six months.

Demand for Accoya has remained strong overall, however we have sought to manage demand in order to optimise our manufacturing capacity. Demand in the UK remains very strong and the Benelux economies and our customers there are now experiencing an increase in activity following a prolonged period of downturn in the construction industry in which some of our customers were particularly impacted. Solvay's region, covering key states within Europe, has performed well despite uncertainty in underlying markets. We have recently added experienced sales staff to our North American team and we expect sales in this substantial market to increase as we seek to develop longer term growth opportunities. Sales to our customers in the Asia-Pacific region have also grown strongly, however sales to our licencee, Diamond Wood, remain low following the resumption of their sales responsibilities in the second half of the previous financial year.

We now have a total of 58 distribution or agency agreements covering most of Europe, Australia, Chile, China, India, Israel, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, North America, South Africa and parts of South-East Asia.

The increase in prices, together with increased efficiency arising from our on-going focus on optimising our process, resulted in a significant improvement in manufacturing profitability. Gross manufacturing margin increased from 23% to 30% with manufacturing EBITDA improving by 62% to €5.0m. Profitability also improved as a result of the economies of scale associated with a record 18,552m3 produced in the six month period being an 13% increase compared to the same period last year.

The manufacturing segment's profitability helps demonstrate the potential returns achievable from manufacturing Accoya® on a larger scale. This is particularly the case when taking account of the economies of scale expected from operating a larger plant and when considering that our profitability has been impacted by significant volumes (approximately 18% of total Accoya® volume in the period (2014: 18%)) sold to Medite at lower prices, reflecting the on-going Tricoya market development activities. 

We continue to invest in research and development including new species and end product applications development and certification. During the period we have made progress in respect of the production and sale of Accoya® from new species for projects ranging in size as we seek to supplement radiata pine raw wood. We have seen the conclusion of a 20 year field trial of acetylated wood in water, used for canal lining, further validating the Accoya® 25 year warranty in this application. In addition new certifications include FCBA Control Convention status which provides official qualification of Accoya's performance characteristics in France and the ICC ESR which demonstrates compliance of Accoya with the US Building Code for decking and porches.

Solvay and new manufacturing capacity in Arnhem

We recently announced details of a new agreement with Solvay Acetow Gmbh ("Solvay"), to refine the relationship between the two parties for the licensing, marketing and manufacturing of Accoya®. This new agreement provides the framework and funding for a significant increase in the manufacturing capacity in Arnhem.

Solvay will purchase a minimum 76,000m3 of Accoya from the Arnhem plant over the period from 2016 to 2020 (the "offtake commitment") and as a result of the increased manufacturing capacity in Arnhem and consequent greater sales capacity, under the new agreement Solvay will review the optimal timing to construct its 63,000 m3 Accoya manufacturing plant.

The enhanced relationship with Solvay will benefit both parties, with the increased manufacturing capacity and resulting sales expected to be achieved for Accoya in a faster timescale than would otherwise have been possible.

Accsys will double the existing manufacturing capacity at its Arnhem site in stages, up to 80,000m3 per annum from 40,000m3. The initial incremental 20,000m3 capacity is expected to come on stream in mid-2017.

The licence agreement covering Europe has been amended to provide increased royalties to Accsys and the return to Accsys of the selling rights for more than 20 European countries.

Accsys will provide sales and marketing services to Solvay on agreed terms in respect of Solvay's exclusive European territories.

A combination of loans and fees from Solvay, in addition to those due under the offtake commitment, will fund the majority of the initial increase in manufacturing capacity at Arnhem, with the balance to be met by Accsys' own resources, including the possible sale and leaseback of land at Arnhem.

These agreements allow the market development of Accoya to continue and optimise the roll out of manufacturing capacity under its partnering program with Solvay, increasing the certainty of supply for Accoya customers and users. It also enables Accsys to continue to develop global markets effectively, building on the expertise that it has developed over the last few years.

Tricoya® Technologies Limited ('TTL')

In March 2015 we announced our intention to form a consortium to fund, construct and then operate the world's first Tricoya® chip acetylation plant, following Accsys's acquisition of the remaining 50% share in TTL from our former joint venture partner, Ineos.

Since then, we have progressed detailed discussions with the proposed consortium partners, being the Chemical Group, with whom we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in March 2015, and Medite, TTL's joint development partner since 2009. A site feasibility study has been undertaken to determine that the proposed plant can be located on one of the Chemical Group's existing production sites, which is expected to provide significant operational and construction benefits to the consortium.

TTL engaged an engineering house to complete the Front End Engineering and Design study which will enable the next stage of detailed design and construction to commence, immediately after the consortium is formally put in place.

During this period, Medite Tricoya® has continued to be manufactured using Accoya sold by Accsys to Medite using a temporary process, pending construction of the dedicated Tricoya plant. However this has enabled sales of Medite Tricoya to grow, with sales volumes of Medite Tricoya panels increasing by 14% in the calendar year to October.

Masisa, TTL's licence option holder in Latin America, has also continued to progress its market development activities, with Masisa Tricoya XB being specified in an increasing number of projects.

Intellectual property 

Accsys has considerably increased its number of patent applications in the recent period by expanding its patent families to 22, including those relating to Tricoya®. Applications filed now number 191, filed in 43 countries. To date 42 patents have been granted in various countries throughout the world.

Our principal trademark portfolio remains unchanged with our brands Accoya®, Tricoya®, the Trimarque device and Accsys®, including transliterations in Arabic, Chinese and Japanese, protected by registration in 56 countries.

The Company's patents and trademarks cover the products we and our distributors and licensees sell, and the processes by which these products are made, throughout the world.

In addition to Accsys's extensive patent and trade-mark portfolio, the Company continues to invest in the generation and protection of valuable know-how and confidential information relating to its products and processes, protected by way of confidentiality protocols and contractual agreements.

Outlook

We are pleased to be able to cement our relationship with Solvay to expand our Accoya manufacturing capacity and Solvay's commitment to purchase significant volumes from Accsys over the coming years. This is an exciting step in the development of our business and is further evidence of the execution of our strategy to maximise returns from our technology platform and our innovative products.

The proposed consortium with the Chemical Group and Medite, for the funding, construction and operation of the first Tricoya® chip acetylation plant is progressing well and I remain confident that Tricoya® remains a substantial and exciting opportunity for us.

Both developments represent a way for Accsys to participate directly in the manufacture of higher volumes of our products than we have previously envisaged. I believe this model, where we seek to obtain a greater share of manufacturing margins while continuing to work with strong industry partners through licensing and joint venture activities puts us in a strong position to be able to grow shareholder value.

In the immediate future, we will continue to carefully manage operations to ensure optimal management of our existing manufacturing capacity, working capital and costs such that we maintain sufficient resources to meet the demands of the next exciting period of our development.

Paul Clegg

Chief Executive

27 November 2015

Accsys Technologies PLC

Financial Review

Statement of comprehensive income

Group revenue increased by 21% to €26.3m for the six months ended 30 September 2015 (2014: €21.8m). Manufacturing revenue increased by 11% to €24.1m, with revenue from Accoya® increasing by 11% to €21.9m, largely as a result of increased prices. Included in this is revenue attributable to Medite for the manufacture of Tricoya®, which increased by 18% to €2.8m (2014: €2.4m). Revenue attributable to licensing and business development was €2.2m (2014: €nil). This included €1.6m of income from Solvay, our Accoya licensee, €1.3m of which was attributable to the previously disclosed Global Marketing agreement, which was conditional upon reaching further agreements associated with the Binding Term sheet signed in August 2014, but which expired in the period ahead of the new agreement reached with Solvay in November 2015. €0.5m of income was recorded in respect of the monies received attributable to the Tricoya® project.

Gross margin increased from 23% to 36% compared to the same period in the previous year. This was driven by a significant improvement in the gross manufacturing margin which increased from 23% to 30%, and further improved by income attributable to licensing and business development as noted above. 

Other operating costs, before exceptional items, increased from €7.6m to €9.4m. €0.9m of the increase is attributable to costs associated with TTL being fully consolidated in the period, compared to the equivalent period in the previous year when TTL was equity accounted resulting in a share of joint venture loss of €0.5m. The remainder of the increase is due to higher sales and marketing costs, which increased by €0.2m to €1.8m reflecting our ongoing investment in expected long term growth in sales of Accoya. In addition there was an increase in staff costs of €0.4m due to inflationary wage increases, the weakening of the Euro and an increase in headcount. A further €0.2m increase relates to a currency exchange impact due to the weakening of the Euro, with some of our costs paid in Sterling and US Dollars.

Research and development costs increased from €0.5m to €0.8m as a result of activities being carried out which were previously carried out by TTL.

Exceptional costs of €3.1m included in the prior period relate to the Diamond Wood arbitration process. The balance included a provision for €2.4m in respect of Diamond Wood's costs of €2.1m and the award for damages of €0.3m, both of which were payable to Diamond Wood in the second half of the financial year ended 31 March 2015.

The share of joint venture loss of €0.5m was recorded in the previous financial year, however with TTL fully consolidated in the group results during the six months ended 30 September 2015, there was no corresponding balance recorded in the recent period with 100% of the costs recorded within Other operating costs. Full details of TTL's results have been included in note 6.

Group average headcount increased from 110 in the period to 30 September 2014, to 111 in the period to 31 March 2015 and 119 in the period to 30 September 2015, with the increase predominantly in production staff (with costs included in cost of sales).

The decrease in the loss before tax before exceptional items by 97% to €0.1m (2014: €3.1m) can largely be attributed to the improvement in revenue and gross margin. After exceptional items, loss before tax decreased by 98% to €0.1m (2014: €6.2m).

The tax charge of €0.2m (2014: €0.5m) is based on our expected tax rate for the year and is attributable to the profits arising from manufacturing operations, offset by expected research and development tax credits.

Cash flow and financial position

At 30 September 2015, the Group held cash balances of €7.5m, representing a €3.3m reduction compared to 31 March 2015. The reduction in cash in the period is attributable to an increase in working capital of €3.1m, investment in tangible and intangible fixed assets of €1.9m and offset by cash-flows from operating activities of €1.8m.

Cash in-flow from operating activities before changes in working capital of €1.8m represents a significant improvement compared to €0.7m cash out-flow (excluding exceptional items) in the equivalent period in the previous year, reflecting the underlying improvement in profitability of the Group. The increase in working capital included a build-up of inventories ahead of our scheduled annual maintenance stop in October such that we expect cash-flow to benefit in a reduction in working capital in the second half of the financial year.

Investment in tangible fixed assets of €0.7m (2014: €0.5m) included equipment subsequently installed in the maintenance stop in October which is expected to result in improved efficiency and reliability of the plant. €1.2m of capitalised internal development costs (2014: €0.1m) included €1.0m in respect of the Tricoya Front End Engineering and Design package.

Trade and other receivables decreased to €4.3m (2014: €6.4m) as a result of improved collection from customers and lower sales in September compared to last year. Inventory increased to €10.3m (2014: €6.5m) as a result of a build-up of inventory ahead of our scheduled maintenance stop in October (last year the maintenance stop took place in September), the planned increase in sales in the second half of the financial year and the overstocking of certain items which are expected to be utilised in the second half of the year.

The decrease in trade and other payables to €8.1m (2014: 9.8m) included the recognition of income associated with licensing activities as described above.

Risks and uncertainties

The Group's principal risks and uncertainties are unchanged from those set out in its 2015 Annual Report.

Going concern

These condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Group will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, which is deemed to be at least 12 months from the date these interim results were approved.

As part of the Group's going concern review, the Directors have reviewed the Group's trading forecasts and working capital requirements for the foreseeable future. These forecasts indicate that, in order to continue as a going concern, the Group is dependent on achieving certain operating performance measures relating to the production and sales of Accoya® wood from the plant in Arnhem and the collection of on-going working capital items in line with internally agreed budgets.

The Directors have considered the internally agreed budgets and performance measures and believe that appropriate controls and procedures are in place or will be in place to make sure that these are met. The Directors believe, while some uncertainty inherently remains in achieving the budget, in particular in relation to market conditions outside of the Group's control, that there are a sufficient number of alternative actions and measures that can be taken in order to achieve the Group's medium and long term objectives.

Therefore, the Directors believe that the going concern basis is the most appropriate basis on which to prepare the financial statements.

William Rudge

Finance Director

27 November 2015

Accsys Technologies PLC

Directors responsibility statement

The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge:

· The condensed consolidated financial statements contained in the half year report have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" as adopted by the EU;

· The interim results include a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7R being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the financial year; and

· The interim Management Report (Narrative) include a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.28R being disclosure of related party transactions and changes therein since the last annual report.

By order of the Board

Angus Dodwell

Company Secretary

27 November 2015

Accsys Technologies PLC

Consolidated interim statement of comprehensive income for the six months ended 30 September 2015

The notes set out on pages 15 to 23 form an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

Accsys Technologies PLC

Consolidated interim statement of financial position at 30 September 2015

The notes set out on pages 15 to 23 form an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

Accsys Technologies PLC

Consolidated interim statement of changes in equity for the six months ended 30 September 2015

The notes set out on pages 15 to 23 form an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

Accsys Technologies PLC

Consolidated interim statement of cash flow for the six months ended 30 September 2015

* Included within cash outflows from operating activities before changes in working capital is €nil in respect of Exceptional costs (Six months ended September 2014: €796,000; Year ended 31 March 2015 €3,159,000)

The notes set out on pages 15 to 23 form an integral part of these interim financial statements.

Accsys Technologies PLC

Notes to the financial statements for the 6 months ended 30 September 2015

1. Accounting policies

General Information

The principal activity of the Group is the production and sale of Accoya® solid wood and exploitation of technology for the production and sale of Accoya® wood and Tricoya® wood elements via the Company's 100% owned subsidiaries, Titan Wood Limited, Titan Wood B.V., Titan Wood Technology B.V., Titan Wood Inc. and Tricoya Technologies Limited (collectively the 'Group'). Manufactured through the Group's proprietary acetylation processes, these products exhibit superior dimensional stability and durability compared with alternative natural, treated and modified woods as well as more resource intensive man-made materials.

The company is a public limited company, which is listed on AIM in the United Kingdom and Euronext in the Netherlands, and is domiciled in the United Kingdom. The registered office is Royal Albert House, Sheet Street, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1BE.

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements were approved on 27 November 2015.

These condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been reviewed, not audited.

Basis of accounting

The Group's condensed financial statements in these interim results have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union, in particular International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34 "interim financial reporting". The financial information for the six months ended 30 September 2015 and the six months ended 30 September 2014 is unaudited. The comparative financial information for the full year ended 31 March 2015 does not constitute the group's statutory financial statements for that period although it has been derived from the statutory financial statements for the year then ended. A copy of those statutory financial statements has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and which were approved by the Board of Directors on the 15 June 2015. The auditors' report on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The preparation of interim financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expense. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

In preparing these interim financial statements, the significant judgements made by management in applying the Group's accounting policies and the key sources of estimation uncertainty were the same as those that applied to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2015.

The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of the previous financial year except for taxes on income in the interim periods which are accrued using the tax rate that would be applicable to the expected total annual profit or loss.

Changes in accounting policies

No new accounting standards, amendments or interpretations have been adopted in the period which have any impact on these condensed financial statements, or are expected to affect the Group's 2016 Annual Report other than as noted below. The accounting policies and methods of computation are consistent with those applied in the 31 March 2015 annual financial statements.

Going concern

These condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Group will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, which is deemed to be at least 12 months from the date these interim results were approved. As part of the Group's going concern review, the Directors have reviewed the Group's trading forecasts and working capital requirements for the foreseeable future. These forecasts indicate that, in order to continue as a going concern, the Group is dependent on achieving certain operating performance measures relating to the production and sales of Accoya® wood from the plant in Arnhem and the collection of on-going working capital items in line with internally agreed budgets.

The Directors have considered the internally agreed budgets and performance measures and believe that appropriate controls and procedures are in place or will be in place to make sure that these are met. The Directors believe, while some uncertainty inherently remains in achieving the budget, in particular in relation to market conditions outside of the Group's control, that there are a sufficient number of alternative actions and measures that can be taken in order to achieve the Group's medium and long term objectives. Therefore, the Directors believe that the going concern basis is the most appropriate on which to prepare the financial statements.

Segmental reporting

The Group's business is the development, commercialisation and licensing of proprietary technology for the manufacture of Accoya® wood, Tricoya® wood elements and related acetylation technologies. Segmental reporting is divided between licensing activities, the manufacturing and sale of Accoya® and research and development activities.

Licensing, Management and Business Development

Revenue is attributable to fees received or receivable in relation to the licensing of the Group's technology to third parties and other monies received in respect of its business development activities.

Other operating costs include all remaining costs unless they are directly attributable to Manufacturing or Research and Development. This includes marketing, business development and the majority of the Group's administration costs including the head office in Windsor as well as the US office. In the current period, results include those associated with Tricoya which were previously reported separately as share of joint venture loss prior to 31 March 2015 (see note 6). Headcount = 22 (2014: 21)

Manufacturing

Revenue includes the sale of Accoya® and other revenue, principally relating to the sale of acetic acid. All costs of sales are allocated against manufacturing activities in Arnhem unless they can be directly attributable to a licensee.

Other operating costs include depreciation of the Arnhem property, plant and equipment together will all other costs associated with the operation of the Arnhem manufacturing site, including directly attributable administration costs. Headcount = 84 (2014: 76)

Research and Development

Costs are associated with various R&D activities associated with Accoya® products and processes.

Headcount = 13 (2014: 13)

Assets and liabilities cannot be readily allocated to the three segments and therefore no additional segmental information has been disclosed.

Analysis of revenue by geographical destination:

The segmental assets in the current and previous periods were predominantly held in Europe. Additions to property, plant, equipment and intangible assets in the current and previous periods were predominantly incurred in Europe. Sales to UK and Ireland included the sales to Medite.

3. Other operating costs

Other operating costs consist of the operating costs, other than the cost of sales, associated with the operation of the plant in Arnhem and the offices in Dallas and Windsor.

Administrative costs include costs associated with the Human Resources, IT, Finance, Management, General Office, Business Development and Legal departments and include the costs of the Group's head office costs in Windsor and the US office in Dallas.

The total cost of €9.4m in the current period includes €0.9m in respect of Tricoya Technologies Limited ('TTL'). The costs associated with TTL were separately recorded within share of joint venture loss in the previous periods.

Exceptional costs relate to the arbitration with Diamond Wood - see note 4.

The Group headcount increased from 110 during period to 30 September 2014 to 111 during period to 31 March 2015 and then to 119 to period to 30 September 2015.

During the period €1.2m of costs were capitalised and are included within intangible fixed assets (2014: €0.1m). In addition €0.5m of development costs have been capitalised and are included within tangible fixed assets (2014: €nil). The current year figure includes €1m in respect of the Tricoya® Front End Engineering and Design Package.

4. Exceptional items

Exceptional items were recorded in previous periods as follows:

On 25 July 2014 Accsys announced that the arbitration tribunal (the "Tribunal") appointed in relation to the dispute between Accsys and Diamond Wood China Limited ("Diamond Wood") had issued its award. In response to Diamond Wood's claim against Accsys, namely for damages in excess of €140 million as previously published by Diamond Wood, and for the continuation of the Licence Agreement, the Tribunal ruled that Diamond Wood could only claim for limited damages (if any) up to a maximum of €0.3m. However, the Tribunal also ruled that the licence agreement between the two parties is to continue. In addition the Tribunal issued a final award in respect of costs were payable to Diamond Wood.

The exceptional item in the six months ended 30 September 2014 therefore represents a provision for €2.4m in respect of the awards for damages and Diamond Wood's costs. In addition, Accsys has incurred a further €0.7m in respect of its own legal costs in the period.

The exceptional item reported in the financial year to 31 March 2015 represents the final amounts paid in respect of the above arbitration with Diamond Wood of €2.9m. In addition there was also an exceptional item gain of €267,000 recorded relating to the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Tricoya Technologies Limited - see note 6.

5. Loss per share

Basic and diluted losses per share are based upon the same figures. There are no dilutive share options as these would increase the loss per share.

6. Tricoya Technologies Limited - Joint venture and business combination

On 5 October 2012, Accsys entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Ineos to exploit Accsys' intellectual property surrounding its proprietary Tricoya® wood elements acetylation technology and processes. The company, Tricoya Technologies Limited ('TTL'), will develop and exploit Accsys' Tricoya technology for use within the worldwide panel products market estimated to be worth more than €60 billion annually.

As part of the transaction, TTL was granted rights to exploit Accsys' Tricoya® technology and also benefited from a licence of any intellectual property held by Ineos that may assist the joint venture in maximising the value of the Tricoya® proposition. Results generated by TTL were to be shared between Accsys and Ineos in a way that reflected each party's interest, which was 50% during the period.

On 31 March 2015, Accsys acquired Ineos's 50% equity interest as part of terms which included the termination of the joint venture agreement and for consideration of €1. Therefore as at 31 March 2015, Accsys owned 100% of the share capital of TTL and its balance sheet has been fully consolidated from 31 March 2015. An exceptional gain of €267,000 was recorded in the prior year as a gain on acquisition of subsidiary due to this bargain purchase.

During the period ended 30 September 2014 and up until 31 March 2015, TTL was accounted for using the equity method reflecting that it was a joint venture.

During the period ended 30 September 2015, TTL has been fully consolidated and the results are included as part of the overall group results and included within the Business Development segment as set out in Note 2. For the purposes of comparison only, the results for of TTL have been included below for the period ended 30 September 2014.

The TTL results for the period from 1 April 2015 to 30 September 2015, together with the balance sheet as at 30 September 2015 are set out below:

Income statement for TTL:

Tricoya Technologies Limited statement of financial position at 30 September 2015:

Intangible assets represents internal development costs capitalised relating to the development of the Tricoya product and production process, including Front End Engineering and Design which has been undertaken in the period in respect of the first Tricoya production plant envisaged to be funded, constructed and operated by the proposed new consortium. During the current and previous periods TTL has benefited from the Life + Subsidy awarded by the EC. The subsidy, worth up to €2.1m over three years, was originally awarded in 2013 and is intended for the benefit of the first Tricoya plant. A total of €1.8m has been received in the prior periods. TTL has recorded €30,000 (2014: €239,000) of revenue in the as a result of having incurred eligible costs.

7. Property, plant and equipment