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This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 as retained as part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended). Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain
2 December 2022
Directa Plus plc
("Directa Plus" or the "Company")
Trading Update
Directa Plus (AIM: DCTA), a leading producer and supplier of graphene nanoplatelets based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, provides an update on current trading and outlook.
The Company has recently seen the fulfilment of a number of signed orders and contract award decisions postponed until 2023 owing to various supply chain issues across Europe and the impact of general macro and geopolitical factors. Specifically, in the Textiles division, the Company has experienced delays in receiving customer-supplied materials for treatment with its G+® product and, in the Environmental division, environmental permissions have been delayed by local authorities and have impacted the timing of expected tender awards.
As a result, the Company expects recognition of orders totalling c.€2 million to be deferred into the new financial year ("FY23"), with revenues in the year to 31 December 2022 ("FY22") now expected to be at least €10 million. This would represent a 16% increase on revenues in the previous year (FY21: €8.6 million), with continued, strong growth underpinned by a significant and growing proportion of repeat customer business. The Company has also secured a number of notable new customers and contracts during the period across all key verticals and markets, including MC Armor (South America) and Alfredo Grassi SPA (Italy) in Textiles, Reda Energy (UK) in Environmental and a major Gipave asphalt contract.
Consequently, Directa Plus will enter FY23 with a record order book of c.€8.5 million, providing confidence in the strong future performance of the business and in continuing its growth trend. The Board expects the Company's underlying revenue growth in FY23 to return to at least 25 per cent year-on-year, in line with previous periods. This growth excludes the positive and potentially material impact of a number of significant tenders within its Environmental division which have been delayed, as flagged above. The Directors expect that decisions on these will be made early in 2023 and believe that the Company is well positioned to win these tenders.
During the second half of the current financial year the Company has continued its investment in next generation manufacturing equipment that will materially reduce direct production costs. Alongside other commercial actions, Directa continues to work to mitigate on-going inflationary cost pressures in order to regain margin.
Commenting, Giulio Cesareo, Founder and CEO of Directa Plus, said:
"The macro background remains challenging and, whilst it is frustrating that we have seen the fulfilment of a number of orders fall back into 2023, the Company remains strongly positioned with building momentum in each of its verticals and will enter the new financial year with a record order book. We have made significant progress during FY22 - in particular with exciting projects in development in paints, filters, batteries and G+® embedded asphalts - and the Board continues to be confident about the strength of Directa Plus's prospects in 2023 and beyond."
This announcement has been approved by Giulio Cesareo, Chief Executive, on behalf of the Company.
For further information please visit http://www.directa-plus.com/ or contact:
Directa Plus plc | +39 02 36714458 |
Giulio Cesareo, CEO | |
Giorgio Bonfanti, CFO | |
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) | +44 131 220 6939 |
Neil McDonald | |
Adam Rae | |
Singer Capital Markets Securities Limited (Joint Broker) | +44 20 7496 3069 |
Rick Thompson | |
Phil Davies | |
Alma PR (Financial PR Adviser) | +44 20 3405 0205 |
Justine James | |
Hannah Campbell |
Notes to Editors
Directa Plus (www.directa-plus.com) is one of the largest producers and suppliers of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets. The Company's graphene manufacturing capability uses proprietary patented technology based on a plasma super expansion process. Starting from natural graphite, each step of Directa Plus' production process - expansion, exfoliation and drying - creates graphene-based materials and hybrid graphene materials ready for a variety of uses and available in various forms such as powder, liquid and paste.
This proprietary production process uses a physical process, rather than a chemical process, to process graphite into pristine graphene nanoplatelets, which enables Directa Plus to offer a sustainable, non-toxic product, without unwanted by-products.
Directa Plus' products are made of hybrid graphene materials and graphene nano-platelets. The products (marketed as G+(R)) have multiple applications due to its properties. These G+(R) products can be categorised into various families, with different products being suitable for specific practical applications.
Directa Plus was established in 2005 and is based in Lomazzo (Como, Italy) and has been listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange since May 2016. Directa Plus holds the Green Economy Mark from London Stock Exchange which recognises companies that contribute to the global green economy.