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Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310.
2 August 2023
CAP-XX Limited
("CAP-XX" or "the Company")
Pre-close Trading Update and Notice of results
CAP-XX Limited, a world leader in the design and manufacture of thin, prismatic supercapacitors and energy management systems, announces a pre-close trading update in respect of the financial year ended 30 June 2023.
Revenue is expected to be A$4m and adjusted EBITDA* is expected to be (A$1.2m) after excluding A$2.2m in exceptional items relating to legal expenses and provisions for patent protection litigation, and executive severance charges. Year-end cash reserves were A$2.6m including the proceeds of the capital raise which took place in May 2023. Revenue for the second half of FY2023 was impacted by some orders anticipated to be shipped in June 2023 being delayed to Q1 of FY2024.
Quarterly sales improved throughout the financial year but at a level slightly lower than originally expected. An increased focus on strengthening the relationship and focus on the customer is expected to see revenue and sales opportunities continue to grow into FY2024.
The sales pipeline reporting is being reviewed to improve the accuracy, reliability and insight of known opportunities. This new approach is being supported by a modest investment in sales reporting software. The ongoing aim is to establish an updated sales structure which will increase the CAP-XX footprint in the majority of global regions. This will include servicing emerging markets such as India and Southern Africa, whilst increasing coverage in the known markets of Europe and the USA. CAP-XX is also increasing its interaction with the electronic component distributor Digikey which will give CAP-XX an improved interface with new customers.
Before the end of the current calendar year, CAP-XX will present its new product roadmap which includes the 3V version, DMH as well as a surface mountable device (SMD) version. Furthermore, CAP-XX is developing evaluation boards which will assist customers and internal sales during the design-in phase.
Although the market remains relatively volatile, with ongoing geo-political impacts coupled with economic headwinds such as inflation and the energy crisis, the Board looks forward to the 2023/24 financial year with confidence. This expectation is supported by a broadly based increase in orders across the product portfolio and a notable strengthening of the book-to-bill ratio in the past three months.
CAP-XX Chief Executive Officer, Lars Stegmann said "The implementation of our new sales strategy is already raising our local geographic footprint in key markets, improving our customer service levels and project management. I am encouraged that this tailored approach will see a further strengthening of our distribution partner base in the short term and support our objective to profitably build the CAP-XX revenue base in the near term."
The above results are subject to clearance by CAP-XX's independent auditors with the Company's results for the year ended 30 June 2023 expected to be released on 29 September 2023.
* Adjusted EBITDA excludes legal expenses associated with patent infringement and licensing actions and the severance payments and placement fees for the ex/new CEO.
For further information contact:
CAP-XX Limited Pat Elliott (Chairman) Lars Stegmann (CEO)
| +61 (0) 2 9428 0139 |
Kreab (Financial PR) Robert Speed
| +44 (0) 20 7074 1800 |
Allenby Capital (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) David Hart / Piers Shimwell (Corporate Finance) Tony Quirke/Stefano Aquilino (Sales and Corporate Broking)
| +44 (0) 20 3328 5656 |
Cenkos Securities plc (Joint Broker) Neil McDonald / Pearl Kellie
| +44 (0) 13 1220 6939 |
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 ultra-thin prismatic and compact cylindrical supercapacitors. Its prismatic supercapacitors are manufactured in Australia and Malaysia and its cylindrical supercapacitors are manufactured in China. The company's strong intellectual property (IP) portfolio includes 11 patent families. CAP-XX's ultra-thin prismatic supercapacitors are ideal for space-constrained electronics applications where small energy storage device size and thickness are important. The unique feature of CAP-XX supercapacitors is their very high-power density and high-energy storage capacity in space-efficient thin prismatic and compact cylindrical packages. For more information, visit https://www.cap-xx.com/ or email sales@cap-xx.com.