Last checked at 3 Dec 2020 07:00
3 December 2020
NANOCO GROUP PLC
("Nanoco", the "Group", or the "Company")
AGM Statement
Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO), a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other specific nanomaterials emanating from our technology platform, will hold its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") later this morning in a virtual format due to the restrictions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Details of the arrangements were included in the Notice of Meeting issued on 17 November 2020.
Dr Christopher Richards, Nanoco's Chairman, will make the following statement in respect of the first four months of the financial year ending 31 July 2021 ('the Period').
Operational and trading update
We continue to deliver R&D services under a number of development programmes with different customers in the sensing and display markets, the most significant of which is the work with ST Microelectronics N.V. ('ST Micro'). Good progress has been made on this project during the Period and we are now negotiating its potential next phase.
On 25 November 2020, we also announced that we had successfully secured a project grant from Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, to develop a heavy metal-free quantum dot testing kit for the accurate and rapid visual detection of SARSCoV-2 ("Covid-19"). This funding creates a potential third opportunity for future revenue, on top of the Group's activities in Sensing and Display, whilst maintaining Nanoco's cash runway.
Financial performance in the Period has been in line with the Board's expectations. The Board remains focussed on new commercial revenues to sustain the Group's organic activities in H2 FY21 and beyond, with contingency plans in place if needed.
Samsung Litigation Update
The litigation against Samsung is proceeding in line with expectations. A trial date has been set for October 2021, but this may experience delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As expected, Samsung have submitted requests for Inter Partes Reviews ('IPR's) of the patents relevant to the case with the US Patent Office and these are being managed as a normal part of the litigation process. The Board's confidence remains high that we will obtain a positive outcome.
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
Nanoco Tel: +44 (0) 161 603 7900
Brian Tenner, Chief Executive Officer
Liam Gray, UK FD and Company Secretary
Caroline Watson, Investor Relations Manager
cwatson@nanocotechnologies.com
MHP Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 3128 8570
Reg Hoare / Giles Robinson / Pete Lambie
nanoco@mhpc.com
Notes for editors:
About Nanoco Group plc
Nanoco (LSE: NANO) harnesses the power of nano-materials. Nano-materials are materials with dimensions typically in the range 1 - 100 nm. Nano-materials have a range of useful properties, including optical and electronic. Quantum dots are a subclass of nano-material that have size-dependent optical and electronic properties. The Group produces quantum dots. Within the sphere of quantum dots, the Group exploits different characteristics of the quantum dots to target different performance criteria that are attractive to specific markets or end-user applications such as the Display and Electronics markets. One of the interesting properties of quantum dots is photoluminescence: the emission of longer wavelength light upon excitation by light of a shorter wavelength. The colour of light emitted depends on the particle size. Nanoco's CFQD® quantum dots are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals, and can be tuned to emit light at different wavelengths across the visible and infrared spectrum, rendering them useful for a wide range of applications including displays, lighting and biological imaging.
Nanoco has non-exclusive manufacturing and marketing licensing agreements in display with The Dow Chemical Company and Wah Hong Industrial Corporation of Taiwan. Nanoco was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with a US subsidiary, Nanoco Inc., in Concord, MA. Nanoco continues to build out a world-class, patent-protected IP portfolio generated both by its own innovation engine.
Nanoco is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol NANO. For further information please visit: www.nanocogroup.com.