Cap-xx Regulatory News (CPX)

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR).

3 November 2020

CAP-XX Limited

("CAP-XX" or the "Company")

Audited results for the year ended 30 June 2020

CAP-XX Limited, a world leader in the design and manufacture of supercapacitors and energy management systems, is pleased to announce its audited results for the year ended 30 June 2020.

Key highlights

· Revenue up 12% on the previous year

· Adjusted net loss* for the year reduced to A$2.0 million (2019: adjusted net loss of A$2.8 million)

· Company sales order book as at 30 June 2020 more than double the value at the same time in the previous year

· Ex-Murata production lines capacity expansion project on schedule and within A$5.3 million budget

· New facility in final stages of commissioning - tested supercapacitor products to be available for shipment to customers before the end of the current calendar year

· Aggregate level of customer enquiries well exceeds the full capacity of these production lines, with the top 10 prospects exceeding 9 million units per annum

· CAP-XX is pursuing Ioxus for the payment of awarded damages

· CAP-XX continues to pursue a similar patent infringement action against Maxwell Technologies, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla Inc. with the initial discussions in front of the Court scheduled during November 2020

· Cash reserves as at 30 June 2020 were A$2.9 million (2019: A$2.4 million), before expected A$3.2 million R&D tax rebate (November 2019: A$1.6 million)

* Adjusted to exclude net Murata project expenses, legal expenses for patent infringement and charges necessitated by a new accounting treatment of lease expenses.

Anthony Kongats, Chief Executive of CAP-XX said:

"We are pleased to be able to report excellent progress as we approach completion of the Murata production lines expansion project, against a highly challenging international business environment. Meanwhile, we have succeeded in improving CAP-XX's underlying trading performance, growing sales and doubling the orderbook. We look forward to the future with increasing confidence."

Electronic copies of CAP-XX's audited annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 June 2020 will shortly be available from the Company's website: www.cap-xx.com

For further information contact:

Anthony Kongats (Chief Executive Officer) +61 (0) 2 9428 0139

Kreab (Financial PR)

Robert Speed +44 (0) 20 7074 1800

Allenby Capital (Nominated Adviser and Broker)

David Hart / Alex Brearley (Corporate Finance) +44 (0) 20 3328 5656

Tony Quirke (Equity Sales)

More information is available at www.cap-xx.com

Notes to Editors:

CAP-XX (LSE: CPX) is a world leader in the design and manufacture of thin, flat supercapacitors and energy management systems used in portable and small-scale electronic devices, and to an increasing extent, in larger applications such as automotive and renewable energy. The unique feature of CAP-XX supercapacitors is their very high power density and high energy storage capacity in a space-efficient prismatic package. These attributes are essential in power-hungry consumer and industrial electronics, and deliver similar benefits in automotive and other transportation applications. For more information about CAP-XX, visit www.cap-xx.com

Chairman's Report

The Company has been working hard to ensure that the Murata production lines, purchased in November 2019, are recommissioned in Sydney on time and under budget. I am therefore pleased to report that this large and complex project has progressed well, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 related issues. I am also pleased to report that the Board now forecasts the actual Total Project Costs to be slightly less than the A$5.3m estimate given in November 2019.

This project comprised many facets. Four production lines comprising over 40 containers of equipment have been successfully moved from Fukui in Western Japan to Seven Hills in western Sydney without any significant damage. New premises to accommodate this additional equipment were secured, with the Company moving to its new site at Seven Hills, where a new 10-year lease, with two five-year extension options, was secured. These premises offer substantially more floor space and electrical power at a similar cost to Lane Cove. However, before the Murata equipment could be installed an extensive fit out was required. This necessitated building a factory inside a factory, with clean room type facilities, new air treatment facilities, utilities and fire services. Commissioning and factory acceptance testing for these new facilities are now in their final stages and the Board remains confident that the first manufactured supercapacitor products will be available for shipment to customers before the end of the current calendar year.

Once the four Murata production lines are fully commissioned, the Board believes that the positive impact on the Company's sales and profitability will be transformational. At full capacity, the lines will be able to produce around 4.8 million DMF or DMT products per year and more than 2.4 million DMH products per year, all at a much lower unit cost than the prismatic parts which the Company currently manufactures in Malaysia. While full production capacity loading is not expected to be reached immediately the Board is very pleased with the demand expressed by both pre-existing Murata customers and new customers. The aggregate level of these enquiries, some of which are more advanced than others, exceeds the full capacity of these production lines with the top 10 prospects exceeding 9 million units per annum. The Board expects that in the initial phase the key markets served will be the Company's traditionally strong markets in smart meters, security products and medical devices, together with new business in consumer products and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. As demand builds, the Board will look at how to best grow sales, potentially by adding new capacity and/or new product lines.

Like most businesses, the Company has experienced impacts due to COVID-19. Some pre-existing Murata customers have advised the Company that, due to the combination of a short term reduction in demand for their products, coupled with large final purchases made from Murata before the production lines were closed for transfer, they have sufficient inventory of products for the next six to nine months. The Company has also seen royalty payments from AVX and Murata stagnate. Production efficiency and output from Malaysia has been impacted by the ban on CAP-XX engineers travelling to Malaysia. As previously announced, the project itself was delayed by about three months, due to various COVID-19 related delays, which have included: cancelled and delayed ships from Japan to Sydney; the inability of Japanese engineers to assist with on-site commissioning in Sydney; and delays in procuring some equipment and raw materials. Nevertheless, the Board believes that the Company has weathered these impacts relatively well. Meanwhile, revenue is 12% up on the previous year, with the sales order book as at 30 June 2020 being more than double the value at the same time in the previous year.

Licensing is also an important revenue stream for CAP-XX and the Company continues to vigorously defend its intellectual property. During this calendar year, CAP-XX was successful in its US Court proceedings against Ioxus, Inc ("Ioxus"). The Delaware District Court found that Ioxus was liable for infringing CAP-XX's patents and awarded CAP-XX damages of US$4.95m plus legal fees. CAP-XX is pursuing Ioxus for the payment of the awarded damages. However, it remains unclear whether Ioxus will be able to pay. CAP-XX continues to pursue a similar patent infringement action against Maxwell Technologies, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla Inc. with the initial discussions in front of the Court scheduled during November 2020.

Total Company sales revenue for the year to 30 June 2020 increased by 12% to A$3.6 million (2019: A$3.2 million). Pleasingly, product sales were up 27% from FY 2019, which is a direct result of the strong pipeline of opportunities which have been commented upon in prior year reports and recent trading updates. Licensing and royalty revenue was in line with the previous year, despite the Murata plant being decommissioned in February 2020 and AVX's sales being negatively impacted by COVID-19. The Reported Net Loss for the year to 30 June 2020 was a loss of A$4.9 million (2019: loss of A$2.8 million), which includes the amortisation of share-based payment expenses. This loss also includes A$3.73 million of Murata project expenses (a net figure of A$2.11 million after the expected incremental R&D tax rebate) (2019: nil); A$0.667 million in legal expenses for patent infringement; and A$0.088 million necessitated by a new treatment of lease expenses under AASB 16. When adjusted for these one-off factors, the like for like comparison is an adjusted Net Loss of A$2.0 million (2019: loss of A$2.8 million).

The Board is confident that the Company has sufficient cash to complete the Murata project as planned and that the commissioning of the Murata production lines will transform the Company's sales and cash flow position.

Patrick Elliott

Chairman

3 November 2020

Business Review

Review of Operations and Activities

The Reported Net Loss for the year to 30 June 2020 was a loss of A$4.9 million (2019: loss of A$2.8 million), which includes the amortisation of share-based payment expenses. This loss also includes A$3.73 million in Murata project expenses (a net figure of A$2.11 million after the expected incremental R&D tax rebate) (2019: nil); A$0.667 million in legal expenses for patent infringement; and A$0.088 million necessitated by a new treatment of lease expenses under AASB 16. When adjusted for these one-off factors the like for like comparison is an adjusted Net Loss of A$2.0 million (2019: loss of A$2.8 million).

Cash reserves as at 30 June 2020 were A$2.9 million, which was up from A$2.4 million as at 30 June 2019. Not included in the FY 2020 cash reserves is the Federal Government R&D tax rebate which is expected to be approximately A$3.2 million (November 2019: A$1.6 million), with these funds expected to be received before the end of the current calendar year.

As noted in the Chairman's statement, two accounting adjustments need to be taken into account when analysing the financial results for FY 2020. The first relates to the Company adopting AASB 16 from 1 July 2019. This standard replaces AASB 117 and for lessees eliminates the classifications of operating leases and finance leases. Straight-line operating lease expense recognition has been replaced with a depreciation charge for the right-of-use assets (included in operating costs) and an interest expense on the recognised lease liabilities (included in finance costs). A full explanation of this adjustment can be found in the Notes to the Financial Statements at Note 1 (v). The second adjustment relates to the year on year increase in Research and Development expenditure, which is a direct result of the costs incurred in the relocation and commissioning of the acquired Murata plant and equipment. A material percentage of the expenditure incurred can be claimed as eligible Research and Development expenditure under the current Australian Taxation Office guidelines and is subject to a rebate. The amount of eligible Research and Development expenditure for FY 2020 totalled A$7.4 million (2019: A$3.7 million) which will generate an expected Government rebate of A$3.2 million (2019: A$1.6 million) which is anticipated to be received before the end of the current calendar year.

The Company's sales pipeline is robust with many of the opportunities being converted to sales orders, with the outstanding order balance as at 30 June 2020 being more than double the level at the same time in the previous year. This is despite several material sales opportunities being pushed back to FY 2022 due to delays in product development by customers due to COVID-19 related issues. Total sales revenue for the year to 30 June 2020 was A$3.6 million (2019: A$3.2 million) which represents a 12% year-on-year increase. The contributing factors underlying this increase were the year on year increase in CAP-XX's product range and sales of cylindrical can supercapacitors, with the cylindrical can increase being generated from a modest total in the previous year. Sales of Murata products manufactured by Murata were also generated in the financial year. These increases offset the contribution from Licensing was which was down from the previous year, with consolidated royalties being on par with the previous year and no new licensing deals being completed in FY 2020.

Operational expenditure excluding direct project expenditure, increased by 10% from A$6.1 million to A$6.7 million. The increase in expenditure is attributable to CAP-XX's patent infringement cases in the United States (A$0.667 million) which resulted in the award of damages against Ioxus plus the pending Maxwell Technologies case. In addition, operational expenditure increased as a result of the appointment of a dedicated sales representative in the United States which has already increased CAP-XX's presence in this market and increased the pipeline of opportunities.

Research and Development expenditure has been held steady in FY 2020, with the focus being the development of new materials and chemistries which can be integrated into the Murata product lines.

Business Environment

The Board believes that CAP-XX's technology provides a competitive advantage over existing supercapacitor manufacturers, such as Maxwell Technologies, Skeleton, Eaton, LSMtron, Nippon Chemicon Corporation and other Chinese and Korean competitors. The Board believes that these companies are unable to match the CAP-XX technology in terms of thinness, power density, energy density and reliability. Most of the Company's competitors only manufacture higher-capacity cylindrical cells used in large package modules and focus on applications where the combination of thinness, energy density and power density are not important considerations for the customer. These competitor products usually prove unsuitable for the various markets collectively labelled the Internet of Things (IoT) market, which is the key area that CAP-XX is targeting with the former Murata products and CAP-XX's existing prismatic products.

As reported previously, IoT applications, one of the fastest growing segments of the electronics market, provide one of the greatest opportunities for CAP-XX's products. Driven by customer requests, manufacturers are constantly moving to new wireless protocols and adding to the functions and applications available on IoT enabled devices. Some of these new functions require high electrical power within the actual IoT device. Examples are e-locks; drug dispensing; facial recognition; and haptic feedback. Other devices are powered by energy harvesting and are battery-less. Others use low power batteries such as 3 Volt coin cell batteries. All of this means that power management continues to be an increasingly important consideration. The other important factor is size, as devices have tended to become smaller whilst their electrical power demands have increased. The Company has been successful in winning new business from a range of these markets, such as industrial actuators, e-locks, agricultural sensors, wireless displays, smart-meters, payment and hand held terminals, medical wearables, automotive dashcams and communication systems.

In the past, CAP-XX has faced competition in various markets from cheaper cylindrical supercapacitors where our thin form factor, high power and long life are not valued as highly as lower initial cost components from competitors. To counteract this, the Company released a range of cylindrical cells. Modest sales revenue for these products was first recorded during FY 2019. In FY 2020, these sales grew significantly on a year on year basis. Pleasingly, the revenues from these products in the first quarter of FY 2021 are close to the whole of FY 2020. Several new large volume opportunities are still being evaluated by customers that are currently utilising alternative cylindrical cells.

Automotive applications such as truckStart, Stop-Start systems, regenerative energy capture or KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems), distributed power, hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles still present substantial opportunities for large supercapacitors. A number of CAP-XX's competitors are active in these markets, and the Board believes that the Company has significant advantages over the competition in certain applications. However, because of the significant resources that each project requires and the long time lag between product evaluation and mass production, the Board has taken the decision to focus the Company's resources on IoT applications and just a small number of key automotive projects and take a lower risk, longer-term, more patient approach to the opportunities for large supercapacitors.

Opportunities

The overall direct sales pipeline for CAP-XX's supercapacitors continues to be large in quantum and varied in terms of the targeted markets. The key IoT target markets remain similar to the previous year, with IoT wearables, health, automotive, security, smart-metering, energy harvesting and consumer products having the most appeal and presenting the largest volume opportunities.

Our customers' markets are constantly evolving as new products and technologies threaten the incumbents. In this environment, CAP-XX needs to always remain alert and be flexible to changing business conditions and market needs. This creates opportunities to offer products that address what our markets want.

CAP-XX is continuing to refine the products that it offers for the various IoT and other markets. The Company is introducing the Murata range of thin prismatic supercapacitors to address the space-constrained and/or power hungry needs of many IoT products. The Board expects the first Murata products to ship from the Company's new Seven Hills factory by the end of 2020. At a later stage, the Company plans to release the very thin DMH supercapacitor. At only 400 microns in thickness, the Board believes that this is the best performing supercapacitor in its class. The Company also plans to use its 3 Volt chemistry in all of the former Murata products. The development of the 3 Volt product has been targeted to meet demand for small, inexpensive, energy efficient power solutions for thin wearables, key FOBs and other IoT devices, especially those using 3 Volt coin cell lithium ion batteries, such as the CR2032 battery.

In the future, there is an opportunity to migrate this same 3 Volt technology into larger prismatic supercapacitors, automotive modules and other products for high-energy, high-power applications. As already noted, CAP-XX is concentrating on a small number of automotive opportunities. To further increase the Company's likelihood of success, the Board may pursue a strategy of partnering with automotive and military Tier-1/Tier-2 suppliers, through either a new license agreement or a joint venture, to supply the automotive markets. The Board believes that such partnerships will be beneficial for all parties involved.

CAP-XX's existing licence agreements are further endorsements of the Company's strategy to develop substantial and recurring income from its intellectual property. Several other license agreements are at differing stages of negotiation. A significant additional benefit of the existing licencing agreements is that they validate CAP-XX's technology leadership in the field of supercapacitors and energy storage, and the potential for supercapacitors as a mainstream consumer electronics technology. Our licensees' product lines and sales activities are also increasing our exposure to markets and customers that were previously beyond the Company's reach. It is also important to note that the strategy of our licensees is to offer product ranges targeted at certain end markets. As such, none of them meet the product type or size requirements for all markets and all applications, leaving room for CAP-XX to supply these other markets directly using products made by CAP-XX and its contract manufacturers.

There remain several additional opportunities for the Company to pursue additional licencing arrangements. Some of these have and may require the Company to enforce its patent rights through court action, as already noted.

Strategies for Growth

Given the increasing levels of market interest in CAP-XX's technology and its high-performance supercapacitors, the Company believes that the IoT markets, in particular, offer significant opportunities for growth and to reach the key strategic objective of CAP-XX achieving profitability and positive cashflow.

The Company continues to engage in discussions aimed at securing business in the IoT space with a significant number of global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). CAP-XX is strengthening its relationships with these organisations and has regular engineering meetings with design teams, manufacturing groups and contract manufacturers. The Company is unable to comment on specific clients, but the Board is pleased with the overall progress and is confident that the available market for supercapacitors is increasing as manufacturers become more familiar with the technology.

Over the last year the Company has aligned its marketing activities to specifically focus on a number of different IoT markets, such as asset tracking, automotive; e-locks, medical devices, hand held terminals, smart meters, wearables and wireless sensors. The efforts to date have produced a significant increase in visits to the Company's webpages and sales enquiries. The Board expects for this growth to continue. CAP-XX's strong environmental credentials, which have been recognised by the London Stock Exchange providing the Company with its Green Economy Mark, are consistent with this strategy

The Company will continue to monitor new opportunities to increase its sales, through its current distributors, via direct sales to customers and new product offerings. These offerings may take the form of complementary energy storage devices and modules. The Company is also increasing the size of its own sales force and adding new distributors to ensure that global coverage and penetration is maximised.

It is important that the Company is able to benefit from the large investment made over many years in building its patent portfolio. Where third parties are found to be infringing these patent rights, the Company has and will continue to vigorously defend its rights, even if this means pursuing legal action as it did successfully against Ioxus.

Research and Development

The markets in which the Company operates are competitive and are characterised by rapid technological change. CAP-XX has a strong competitive position in prismatic supercapacitors in all of its target markets as a result of its capability to produce supercapacitors with a high energy and power density in a small, conveniently sized, flat package. CAP-XX's devices are also lightweight, work over a broad temperature range and have an operating lifetime measured in years.

To stay ahead of the competition, the Company is developing a strong pipeline of new products to follow the 3 Volt products already discussed. CAP-XX's R&D efforts are focused on a mix of short, medium and long-term opportunities, covering new products, cost reductions and improved product performance. CAP-XX has a research facility in Sydney, Australia, where a team of seven scientists work to maintain CAP-XX's leading technology position in electrodes, separators and electrolyte materials and their assembly into supercapacitor devices. This team is supported by 16 engineers. During 2020, significant progress has been made in a number of key areas including: new cell chemistries; improving the life of cells; developing new packaging concepts; reducing the cost per cell and developing new electronics to optimise the performance of the Company's modules. CAP-XX has also signed numerous collaboration agreements with leading research institutions, whilst the Company's Scientific Advisory Board provides CAP-XX with clear direction on commercially relevant technologies for its ongoing R&D programme.

The Company's success depends on its ability to protect and prevent any infringements of its intellectual property. To protect this important asset, the Company has considerable intellectual property embodied in its patents covering the design, manufacture and use of its high-performance supercapacitors. The CAP-XX patent portfolio currently consists of nine patent families, with 21 granted national patents with an additional four patent applications pending in various jurisdictions. The Company's intellectual property strategy has been to build value by focusing on opportunities to capture market share and exclude competition, with an IP portfolio capable of generating licensing revenue. The Directors believe that comprehensive embodiments and interlocking patent groups, combined with a 'quick to file, quick to abandon' policy, have given the Company a strong and focused IP portfolio.

Outlook

The major focus for CAP-XX continues to become profitable and cashflow positive as soon as possible by leveraging the successful commissioning of the newly installed Murata production equipment to facilitate increased product sales.

CAP-XX Limited

Consolidated statement of profit or loss

For the year ended 30 June 2020

CAP-XX Limited

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

For the year ended 30 June 2020

CAP-XX Limited

Consolidated statement of financial position

As at 30 June 2020

Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 30 June 2020

Notes to the financial statements

Basis of preparation

The financial information included in this announcement does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of the Australian Corporations Act 2001. Whilst the financial information has been computed in accordance with Australian equivalents to International Financial Reporting standards and other authoritative pronouncements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, Urgent Issues Group Interpretations and the Corporations Act 2001, this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with those requirements.

The Group has adopted AASB 16 Leases in the current financial year, consistent with the mandatory adoption date, 1 July 2019.