Itm Power Regulatory News (ITM)

31 July 2015

ITM Power plc

("ITM Power" or the "Company")

Results for the year ended 30 April 2015

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, announces its audited results for the year ended 30 April 2015. The Group currently has £10.46m of projects under contract or in the final stages of negotiation after recognising total revenue and grant funding of £5.061m in the period (2014: £3.077m) up 64%.

Key Financial Results For The Year Ended 30 April 2015

· £4.86m of new funds raised from a strategic investment by JCB

· Total Revenue & Grant Funding of £5.061m (2014: £3.077m) up 64%, comprising:

o Revenue - £1.635m (2014: £1.127m) up 45%

o Grant income - £1.777m (2014: £1.370m) up 30%

o Grants receivable for capital projects - £1.649m (2014: £0.580), up 63%

· Increase in property, plant and equipment to £2.546m from £1.755m, up 45%

· Loss from operations £5.723m (2014: £7.789m), improved by 27%

· Cash balance £6.576m (2014: £9.763m), down 33%

Technical Achievements

· Increased hydrogen output per stack by 50%

· Stack cost reduction of 26%

· Laboratory measured cell degradation reduced by 20%

· Launched 1MW stack skid to extend product reach to multi-MW applications

· Thüga Power-to-Gas Project Update "exceeded expectations"

Commercial Progress Since Year End

· A further £1.98m of products under contract secured since year end (2014: £1.33m)

· £0.36m of contracts in final stages of negotiation (2014: £2.78m)

Corporate Development Post Year End

· Bob Pendlebury joins the board as a Non-Executive Director

CEO Graham Cooley commented, "This has been a very busy time for the Company. Customer engagement with our products is at an all-time high. The project and quotation pipeline as a result has been steadily growing in our target applications of energy storage and hydrogen fuel. ITM Power enjoys a strong foothold in Germany with its PEM Power-to-Gas technology and is building a valuable portfolio of refuelling stations in the UK centred on London, which will provide strong commercial experience in the manufacture, deployment and operation of on-site hydrogen production and refuelling stations. This continued progress is a reflection of the skill and commitment of our highly talented team."

Chairman Roger Putnam commented, "ITM Power is now in a position where it can focus on delivering our leading refuelling and energy storage products to more and more customers around the world, and this is in no small part down to the dedication of the staff over the last year."

For those shareholders who have opted to receive paper versions of the Annual Report, these will be posted in the first week of August. The report shall also be available on the website the week commencing 3rd August.

The Annual General Meeting shall be at 22 Atlas Way, Sheffield, S4 7QQ at 14:00 on Wednesday September 16th 2015.

For further information please visit www.itm-power.com or contact:

About ITM Power

ITM Power manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions which are rapid response and high pressure that meet the requirements for grid balancing and energy storage services, and for the production of clean fuel for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004 and raised its initial funding of £10m gross in its IPO. Further funding rounds of £28.5m in 2006, £5.4m in 2012, £2m in 2013 and £10m in 2014 have been completed. The Company received £4.9m as a strategic investment from JCB in March 2015. The Company currently has £10.46m of projects under contract or in the final stages of negotiation.

REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Business environment

The year under review has been a year where ITM Power has benefited from a significant upturn in order generation and business development, which shall come to fruition in the next few periods. Major national initiatives in Europe and the US have shown a commitment to adopt hydrogen technologies, both in refuelling and energy storage.

As noted in the interim statements, trading for the year had been slower than originally anticipated at the outset for ITM Power. However, losses for the full year are lower than previously forecast.

ITM Power continues to develop strong relationships with large multinational companies, as well as with the governments of the pioneer countries as a result of these initiatives. ITM also positions itself as an expert in hydrogen technologies, not just within the UK but globally. Consequently, we are increasingly being consulted as a leading expert in energy storage solutions and clean fuel and are well positioned to service the upturn in demand expected in the coming years.

We have established strong relationships in California through our US subsidiary, having won a further project in the city of Riverside. As a result we are now in the build phase for our second unit designated for California.

This year has shown that enquiries for ITM Power products are better qualified and better defined, an indication that awareness in the company and its products is far better than previous years. This has resulted in increased enquiries, and pipeline. ITM Power is well positioned to address commercial opportunities within the area of energy storage and clean fuel generation from renewable power markets. It also has created a production environment that can service the demands of unique as well as more routine enquiries.

ITM Power has built on key relationships and become a member of new initiatives around the world as the hydrogen industry's growth accelerates. We succeeded in winning our second Power to Gas contract in Germany with RWE and have since received an order for a 0.5MW solution harnessing wave power with the European Marine Energy Centre. As the technology on offer matures and is proven in the field, key customer relationships are strengthened.

We were delighted to receive the £4.9m strategic investment of from J.C.B. Research and Valebond Consultants Limited ("JCB") earlier in the year. We believe that having such a strong strategic partner on board with a significant stake in the business (9.1% of the current issued share capital) will add real value to ITM Power going forward and we look forward to continuing to work with JCB and Bob Pendlebury as JCB's representative to our Board.

Key financials

A summary of the key financial results is set out in the table below and discussed in this section.

REVIEW OF THE YEAR (continued)

Financial performance

The pre-tax loss for the year under review decreased to £5.750m (2014: £7.953m) and net cash burn before fund raise increased to £8.034m (2014: £7.568m).

The decrease in loss in the year being reported can be attributed to three major factors - the refinement of development activities to ensure that core work is supported where possible, the increase in sales revenue and at profitable margins, and the write back of some of the provisions in the prior year that were not realised in the current year. The cash burn has increased as a result of some timing differences, with the increase in components held being the other driver for this. Management expects to be able to reduce cash burn in the financial year ending April 2016, as a result of timings of the receipts of various projects and increased sales traction in the future with better commercial terms. ITM Power also continues to develop supplier relationships to establish better payment terms for the company but new relationships tend to require shorter terms as the relationship is built.

Revenue has increased as the company gains traction in the growing hydrogen market, but is also representative of servicing a growing pipeline. The company has experienced the greatest growth in sales through German Power to Gas and Californian Refuelling system sales. The revenue in the UK has been from smaller units as a more cautious approach is taken to committing to the technology. In California and Germany, the development of renewable energy as a mandated technology has led hydrogen generation such as that supplied by ITM Power to be more widely investigated with adoption gathering pace.

There will be an element of non-recurring engineering costs in every first-of-kind build, as the company enters new geographical markets and industries. The second generation of the Group's HGas platform that was first supplied to the Thuga group in a power to gas application was supplied to RWE, representing a refinement in the technology.

Total collaborative project funding recognised in the period was £3.426m of which £1.777m is recognised on the income statement (2014: £1.950m, of which £1.370m was recognised on the income statement). This increase in asset builds supported through project funding has allowed ITM Power to develop a suite of hydrogen generation and refuelling equipment that it will own and operate as part of the collaborative projects, allowing data and knowhow to be incorporated into new generations of electrolysers.

Commentary on the year's revenue

The sales order book at the year end stood at £1.98m (2014: £0.80m). This increase is representative of the pipeline a year ago being heavily biased towards funded projects but also reflects a growing sales pipeline as orders for larger units are being received, namely in this instance the EMEC sales order for 0.5MW of electrolysis.

The value of projects under contract at the time of the report stood at £10.10m. Projects under contract represents the value of contracted Revenue and Grant Funding yet to be recognised by ITM Power in the future, and the board find this a more accurate reflection of the increase in activity the company has experienced in the year. 

Projects under contract is seen as a more definitive measure of growth, as ITM Power develops some collaborative contracts as ways to manufacture assets whilst retaining ownership and providing an income stream through sales of hydrogen. Examples of this are the OLEV infrastructure development and HyFive projects which have a period of operation as part of the project (48 and 36 months respectively).

Whilst projects under contract continue to accelerate ITM Power's growth and products in the market, the board is aware of the continued potential for revenue volatility (as experienced in 2013) as projects grow in size and complexity. Revenue volatility will continue to decrease as the business matures and grows, and as ITM Power realises opportunities in large markets.

REVIEW OF THE YEAR (continued)

Financial position

At year end, ITM Power had £6.576m (2014: £9.763m) of funds in the bank, and trade and other receivables of £4.113m (2014: £1.206m), which predominantly relate to grant income debtors. Recognising the need to be lean with working capital, ITM Power structures quotes to include upfront payment with orders so that working capital is not impacted adversely by increased activity.

ITM Power has seen an increase in fixed assets to £2.546m from £1.755m in the prior year as the company engages in projects that create assets for the future. This is a policy that will continue, especially with the completion of the Island Hydrogen and HyFive projects.

Outlook

It has been a very busy year for the Company with customer engagement reaching an all-time high. ITM Power is now in a position where it can focus on delivering its leading refuelling and energy storage products to more and more customers around the world, and the Board look forward to reporting progress as contracts are awarded. One of the key development strategies for ITM Power has been, and will continue to be growth supported through external funding. This is particularly important whilst the markets for ITM Power, and especially refuelling products develop. Therefore the Company expects a greater proportion of income from external grant funding than has been the case in previous years.

STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES

Strategies:

ITM Power is now firmly focussed on large scale solutions. The current strategy is to use the existing, operational Thüga project as a reference plant for Power-to-Gas sales. Using the same initial platform, the company will also be able to show demonstrable success in the near future of hydrogen refuelling, using the Island Hydrogen and HyFive stations, which will be used as reference plant for refuelling stations

In the medium term, the national mobility programmes, in which ITM Power has positioned itself as a key partner for refuelling through electrolysis, will drive initial refuelling station sales.

Objectives:

ITM Power has immediate objectives in terms of product development and in particular scale up of our proven electrolysis equipment. This will allow penetration of larger markets, and is a direct response to market demand from sales enquiries and trade fairs and events.

Cash flow remains a key measure for the Board, with the other key objective for ITM Power being the achievement of a positive cash flow in the shortest possible time.

Strategies for achieving our objectives

Product development, and in particular upscaling of product offering, will be achieved through securing and utilising project funding. This serves the dual purpose of reducing cash outflow and creating strong key partnerships within industry.

Short term cash flow is aided by ITM Power quoting for sales with upfront payments which reduces reliance on working capital. Cash outflow is minimised through working with support from partners on the development of technology whilst we are continuing to build a contract pipeline. Historically, it has taken two years for potential customers to move through a learning curve and to reach the point of purchasing equipment, and it is with this in mind that we are creating a larger pipeline.

STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES (continued)

NON-FINANCIAL KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

\* The efficiency of an electrolyser stack is a measure of the electrical energy input against the chemical energy content of the hydrogen produced.

The Company has achieved an overall efficiency improvement to its rapid response stack platform, to greater than 84% (2014: 80%). This was recorded from plant in the field and represents a real-world reference which can be showcased and repeated. This will provide further significant benefit to end users and will produce a positive impact on the economics of both hydrogen refuelling and power to gas applications.

The level of knowledge gained within stack development has increased with longevity testing and cyclic testing all contributing to a total of 1,110,000 hours assembled knowledge. This testing has enabled rapid scale up to date as demonstrated by the largest stack capacity compared with that of prior years.

BUSINESS MODEL

Summary

ITM Power designs and manufactures integrated hydrogen energy systems for energy storage and clean fuel production. The Company has a suite of product platforms based on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology tailored to the requirements of its target markets. Of particular importance is the ability to respond rapidly and to generate hydrogen at a pressure, flow rate and purity appropriate to its application. The overarching principle is the capacity to take excess energy from the power network, convert it into hydrogen and deliver it either into a vehicle as a clean fuel or the natural gas network as part of a Power-to-Gas energy storage scheme.

ITM Power has developed innovative products, which utilise its technology and know-how to meet the growing demand for clean fuel and energy storage. The Company's business model is centered on growth of sales.

The Power-to-Gas model is a commercial proposition which offers utility companies energy storage options of a scale and duration relevant to the challenges presented by growing deployment of renewable power generation. The equipment provides grid balancing services which consumes excess energy in the power network converting it to hydrogen for injection into the gas network. There are structured payments for both grid balancing services and supply of hydrogen which helps decarbonize the gas network. ITM enjoys a unique position having supplied the world's first PEM Power-to-Gas electrolyser in 2013 and which continues to inject hydrogen into the German gas distribution network. ITM has supplied a second PEM Power-to-Gas system to RWE in the year.

The refuelling model is one that incorporates the work of national hydrogen infrastructure initiatives to support the growth of hydrogen as a transport fuel, both for use in cars and buses initially, and with further transport applications in the future. Automotive OEM's have invested billions of pounds developing fuel cell electric vehicles and their roll-out is underway, led by Hyundai and closely followed by Toyota. ITM Power has won contracts to supply on-site hydrogen generation equipment for refueling in both the UK and California. In the year ITM has achieved awards for two new hydrogen refueling stations in London plus upgrades to a further four. Opportunities for ITM Power continue to develop in California where it has been legislated that 33% of all dispensed hydrogen fuel is required to be from renewable sources. ITM Power is also an active participant of hydrogen mobility initiatives in the UK, France and California.

BUSINESS MODEL (continued)

A developing tertiary application area for the technology is the production of renewable chemicals such as fertiliser through use of renewable energy to decarbonise the generation process and provide routes for its use in remote area. Collaborative work in this field has begun and an electrolyser system for such a programme will be delivered during 2015.

At the heart of all of these applications is an ITM electrolyser system.

Grant Funding

ITM Power utilises funding from grant bodies to contribute towards technological advancement in support of product improvement and cost reduction. Such funding can also support the build, deployment and operation of pilot projects. The funding received from the Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and EU has enabled an acceleration of development to drive the company's innovative technology in to these rapidly growing markets.

Global Markets

Markets for water electrolysis as a hydrogen infrastructure solution continue to develop in the UK, as showcased by the Island Hydrogen, and HyFive projects together with the UKH2Mobility initiative supported by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles. Similar initiatives are also underway in France, Denmark, Germany, Japan and the US. The market for Power-to-Gas is led by Germany where ITM Power have sold the first two systems to inject hydrogen into the German distribution network. The opportunities continue to grow rapidly in Germany while spreading to other regions, for example California where energy storage is now mandated.

ITM has a model of locating agents in key territories to position ITM Power as a world leading developer and supplier of electrolyser products. Initial market opportunities often begin with collaborative projects with blue chip companies before leading to sales and maintenance contracts of established, CE marked units. ITM Power has five business development personnel 'in the field', and has also established a strong after sales support team. Business development effort is focused in areas where markets are more advanced. ITM Power has subsidiaries in Germany, California and Denmark which serve to generate local knowledge and partnerships, grow operation and after sales support, increase opportunities for state grant funding, and provide opportunities to operate within the local currency.

Profitability

ITM Power sees its route to product and maintenance sales and profitability through the increasing deployment of its products in the key power to gas energy storage and clean fuel sectors. The Company is well represented in these commercial sectors and territories where market growth is now accelerating. The Company has an established product platform which continues to benefit from ongoing cost reduction activities and technology improvements.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Year ended 30 April 2015

All results presented above are derived from continuing operations and are attributable to owners of the Company.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Year ended 30 April 2015

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

30 April 2015

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

Year ended 30 April 2015

Non-statutory measures

Cash burn

Cash burn is a measure used by key management personnel to monitor the performance of the business.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Year ended 30 April 2015

1. BASIS OF ACCOUNTING

The Group's financial information has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by the European Union ("EU") and on a basis consistent with that adopted in the previous year.

Whilst the financial information included in this Preliminary Results Announcement has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of IFRS, this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS.

The preliminary announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 30 April 2015 and 30 April 2014 within the meaning of Section 435 of the Companies Act 2006 but is derived from those statutory financial statements.

The Group's statutory financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2014 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies, and those for 2015 will be delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The Auditor has reported on the statutory accounts for 2015 and 2014, and their reports, which included no matters to which the Auditor drew attention by way of emphasis, were unqualified and did not contain statements under Sections 498 (2) or 498 (3) of the Companies Act 2006 in relation to the financial statements.

The directors have prepared a cash flow forecast for the period ending 31 August 2016. This forecast indicates that the company and group will remain cash positive without the requirement for further funding, for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements. The forecast includes certain assumptions, in particular in respect of the level and timing of projected sales and grant cash inflows, which are inherently uncertain; the directors believe that the level and timing of the projected sales represent a prudent estimate, with the current sales pipeline providing potential upside. Notwithstanding these uncertainties, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company and group will be able to meet their obligations as they fall due, for the foreseeable future.

Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

The financial information is prepared on the basis of the accounting policies as shown on the Company's website, www.itm-power.com 

Copies of the financial statements/annual report will be available on the Company's web site and for collection from the Company's registered office at 22 Atlas Way, Sheffield, S4 7QQ.

2. notes to the cash flow statement

3. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute statutory financial statements for the years ended 30 April 2014 or 30 April 2015, but is derived from these statutory accounts, which have been reported on by the Group's auditor. Statutory accounts for the year ended 30 April 2014 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2015 will be delivered following the Group's Annual General Meeting. The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 30 July 2015. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis and did not contain statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

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