BYOT.L Regulatory News (BYOT)

31 January 2012

Byotrol plc

Commercial and Trading Update including

Rentokil Initial UltraProtect™ product launch and extension of agreement with Fortune 150 partner

Byotrol plc ('Byotrol' or the "Company"), the developer of anti microbial hygiene technologies, is pleased to provide a commercial and trading update.

Following an extensive development process by partners Byotrol and Rentokil Initial plc ('Rentokil Initial'), Rentokil Initial last week formally launched the UltraProtect™ range, powered by Byotrol, under the contract announced in July 2011. UltraProtect™ is a range of hand and surface sanitising products for commercial and public use, featuring a gel hand sanitiser, a foam hand sanitiser, and handy packs of hand and surface wipes. 

Rentokil Initial is one of the largest business services companies in the world, operating in the major economies of Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa. Plans are underway to introduce UltraProtect™ across Europe in 2012. It is expected that the new revolutionary sanitiser will be available in more than ten countries - beginning with the UK and then France and Germany in the coming weeks. This exclusive range of products will target a number of key markets including the commercial, medical, hospitality & leisure and education sectors. 

Peter Slator, Divisional Managing Director at Rentokil Initial commented:

"Our new range of surface and hand hygiene products, powered by Byotrol's unique technology, will be a valuable element in achieving Initial's objective of 'Raising Hygiene Standards' throughout our customers' organisations. It will give our customers access to a pioneering hygiene solution and enable us to penetrate new markets."

In addition, through Byotrol Consumer Products Limited ('BCP'), Byotrol is pleased to announce that it has agreed terms for a six month extension of the Joint Development Agreement ('JDA') with their Fortune 150 partner company, for which BCP will receive $300,000. This follows the successful completion of all technical milestones and the successful assessment of Byotrol's technology performance in the plan referred to in the JDA announced in May 2011. The two companies will now complete consumer research and commercial analysis with the aim of a decision on a full commercial agreement.

The Board of Byotrol is pleased to report these significant commercial developments achieved within the last six months, which are transforming Byotrol into a better quality, more sustainable, business. There have, however, been some delays in anticipated launch dates, and additional investment of development time, as Byotrol seeks to maximise its potential margins and focus on better quality, more repeatable business. These delays will have an impact on the results for the financial year ending 31 March 2012. Revenue for the 12 months to 31 March 2012 is now expected to be approximately £2.0m with a consequent effect on the trading loss for the year.

The Company anticipates having cash of £1.2m at 31 March 2012 and still expects to be trading profitably by the year ending 31 March 2013.

Commenting on the current developments, Gary Millar, CEO of Byotrol, said:

"Byotrol is at a very exciting phase in its development. In particular the launch of UltraProtect™ is tremendously positive and will demonstrate the breadth of success that Byotrol products can achieve through partnering with established industry suppliers with global reach. We will continue to work actively on our long term relationship with Rentokil Initial, in addition to other selected partners, to achieve a rapid increase in our market penetration.

"I am also delighted that we have successfully achieved all the technical milestones envisaged with our Fortune 150 consumer products partner and look forward to the extension of our joint development agreement.

"The complex nature of the projects involved in generating more repeatable, better quality revenues, has resulted in some delays in expected launch dates and as a result our revenues for the 12 months to 31 March 2012 will be lower than expected. I am confident that we now have a better quality business with strong partners that will lead to sustained growth for the future."

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Byotrol plc

Byotrol plc (BYOT.L), quoted on AIM, is a leading microbial technology hygiene company, operating globally in the Health, Food, Leisure, Consumer, Industrial and Agriculture sectors, providing a low toxicity product with a broad-based and long lasting efficacy across all microbial classes; bacteria, viruses, fungi, moulds, microbacteria and algae.

The Byotrol product can be used as a standalone product or as a complementary biocide additive to existing products to improve their performance in personal hygiene, domestic and industrial disinfection, odour control, food production and food management.

Founded in 2005, the Company has prioritised the development of a technology that creates easier, safer and cleaner lives through partnering with providers of essential goods and services. Byotrol is the catalyst behind the aptly named global 'Hygiene Revolution'.