Tristel Regulatory News (TSTL)

18 Sep 2009 07:00



TRISTEL plc

("Tristel" or "the Company")

AIM: TSTL

Licensing agreement for the Americas, launch of China subsidiary and trading update

Licensing agreement with The Clorox Company of the United States

Tristel plc ("Tristel"), the specialist infection and contamination control company, announces that it has licensed its proprietary chlorine dioxide chemistry to The Clorox Company ("Clorox"), a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products, including its namesake bleach.

Clorox, based in Oakland, California, is an S&P500 company (stock symbol CLX) with annual sales in excess of $5 billion and 8,300 employees worldwide. It manufactures products in more than 15 countries and markets them in more than 100 countries

Establishment of China subsidiary

Tristel also announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary Stella Performance has established Shanghai Stella Medical Equipment Co. Ltd ("SSM") in Shanghai, China. SSM is launching the Stella Endoscope Decontamination System into the Chinese market and is also in the process of obtaining regulatory approval for Tristel's disinfectant products.

The Stella Decontamination System combines the simplicity and economy of manual disinfection of medical instruments with the sophistication of automated processes, without requiring the substantial capital expenditure involved with automation.

SSM has entered into its first distribution agreement. Hangzhou Medicine & Medical Devices Co. Ltd has been appointed as the distributor for Stella's products throughout Zhejiang Province on the eastern seaboard of China. The province has a population of 47 million, the fourth highest GDP per capita of the Chinese provinces, and 354 tier 2 and 3 hospitals (tier 3 being the largest). The agreement establishes a minimum purchase commitment over the next three years for 240 Stella units with a value of RMB4.87 million (£440,000).

China is the third largest and fastest growing medical device market in the world. In 2004 the China Federation of Industrial Economics estimated China's disinfectant industry to be worth US$835 million.

Trading update

Since the beginning of its financial year in July, Tristel has seen strong trading across the Group. The Board expects the preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2009 to be broadly in line with expectations and expects to announce these results on Monday 12 October 2009.

Paul Swinney, CEO of Tristel, commented:

"The establishment of a presence in both the Americas and Chinese markets is an enormous strategic advance for Tristel. To partner our technology as we have in the Americas market is also the finest endorsement of our chlorine dioxide chemistry. In the course of the past twelve months we have laid the foundations for future growth in the world's largest infection control markets - Russia, China, North and South America, whilst continuing to enjoy strong sales growth for all of our products in our existing markets."

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