Water Intel. Regulatory News (WATR)

24 Feb 2005 08:00

Qonnectis plc24 February 2005 QONNECTIS plc Admission to AIM Dealings Commenced Qonnectis plc ("Qonnectis" or "the Company"), the telematics and IT servicesprovider to the utility markets, announces that dealings have commenced in itsshares following its Admission to AIM. Prior to admission, the Company raised £1.5million, (£1.2 million after expenses) through a placing of 66,666,667 new ordinary shares. The new shares, which represent approximately 42.4% of Qonnectis' issued share capital prior tothe placing, have been placed by HB-corporate. Post- the placing, the number ofshares in issue is 157,408,023, giving an approximate market capitalisation of£5.9 million, based on the closing price on OFEX on 23rd February. The Directors believe that the Placing and Admission to AIM will allow Qonnectisto: • develop the client base at a faster rate; • raise its profile and status with existing and potential customers; • provide the Company with an acquisition currency in the form of AIM quoted securities; • provide suppliers and customers with added confidence; • enable the Group to access a wider range of investors; and •a ssist in recruiting, retaining and incentivising key employees. The Group has an experienced management team, a developed product range, patentprotected technology and access to established infrastructure. Qonnectis' technology allows users to achieve significant cost savings throughmore efficient operation of water and energy networks, improved energyconservation and environmental protection and identification of problems andirregularities in usage of energy and water. With less than 10% of the world'sestimated 1.3billion utility meters currently automated, the Directors believethat there are significant opportunities to increase sales. Qonnectis hasalready won several orders with well known companies. Michael Tapia, Chief Executive, Qonnectis plc stated: "The move to AIM will increase our profile within our target markets, which areprimarily utilities and major business consumers of energy and water. Theadditional funds raised will allow us to take on a small number of targetedpersonnel, which in turn will enable us to increase our customer base and,equally importantly, assist our existing customers to roll out Qonnectis'technology to their clients. This is an exciting opportunity for us to build onthe progress made to date and we thank the shareholders for their support." ENQUIRIES: Qonnectis plc Michael Tapia, Chief Executive Tel: 020 8893 4766 Bankside Consultants Michael Padley/Susan Scott Tel: 020 7444 4140 NOTES TO EDITORS: The business of Qonnectis was established in 1998 and supplies modulartelematics technology and IT services to the utility markets which enables thempotentially to achieve: • significant cost savings through more efficient operation of water and energy utility networks; • improved energy conservation and environmental protection; and • identification of problems and irregularities in usage of energy and water. The Company's proprietary technology provides fully remote two-waycommunications via public wide area networks (WANs), using GSM (digital mobiletelephony), hardwire telephone, satellite or broadband Internet connections.Qonnectis then aggregates and stores this data remotely, providing the end-userwith customised websites and analytical services via the Internet. Data can be accessed from any location at any time of the day or night,eliminating the costly and time-consuming process of manual meter reading andback-office data entry. Also, data can be read and collected at 15 minuteintervals, allowing users to monitor consumption levels and identify inefficientusage, billing irregularities or leakages, thereby reducing energy/waterconsumption. The technology is capable of instant alerts - informing utilitiesand their customers of major problems, such as pipe bursts or gas leaksimmediately, via SMS and email messaging. Last October, Qonnectis was awarded apatent covering its entire Internet-based communication system, from itsspecialist communication devices for automated meter reading to its automateddata centre. Competition comes predominantly from more traditional technologies. Most metersare still read manually, although handheld computers are often used to inputdata read in this way. Data loggers are alternative devices designed to makemanual meter reading more efficient. Where automated meter reading exists, it istypically of the ''walk-by'' or ''drive-by'' type, where a meter reader equippedwith a radio-enabled device captures the meter reading outside a property. With less than 10% of the world's estimated 1.3 billion utility meters currentlyautomated, the management believes that this represents a significant marketopportunity. As well as selling directly to the utilities, Qonnectis is alsotargeting their commercial and industrial customers, where utilities areexpected to focus their initial investment in automated meter reading (AMR)technology. Qonnectis already has won several contracts. In December 2003, it secured itsfirst initial orders from Macao Water, a subsidiary of the French utility group,Suez Ondeo Lyonnaise des Eaux. In 2004, it entered into agreements with VeoliaVivendi Generale des Eaux, Scottish Water and Cambridge Water and the NationalHealth Service. In total, Qonnectis currently provides services to eightutilities in the UK and overseas, six corporate clients, including First Group,and four public sector organisations, including the Royal Air Force and LeedsCity Council. Last September saw Qonnectis win its first contract from a largecommercial and industrial user, the Gwent NHS Trust, following extensive trialsof the technology. Going forward, increasing energy prices, ageing utility infrastructure,environmental considerations and commercial cost pressures are expected to drivedemand for Qonnectis' products and services. In the near-term, the Company islooking to expand its direct sales capability and customer support services tobroaden its customer base and assist its existing customers to roll-out thetechnology and services. Also, by developing its proven technology to connect toenvironmental sensors, Qonnectis recently has launched a range of environmentalsolutions, which provide data monitoring for water and gas leaks, flood alertsand air and water quality. Management Biographies Michael Tapia, Founder and Chief Executive (38)He previously founded Talisman Systems for Thames Water, which he took toleadership in the European utility metering market. Talisman was acquired by itslargest customer, Severn Trent plc, in 1997. At Qonnectis he has developed fromconcept a patented architecture for communicating with machines and sensors viathe Internet. He previously held business and product development roles with FWTalbot, then a subsidiary of Thames Water plc and supplier of infrastructureproducts to the utility industry, Acorn Computer, a UK IT pioneer, InformaticaEl Corte Ingles, a leading Spanish IT supplier and Thomson-CSF in France (sincerenamed Thales), a supplier of advanced electronics to the defence industry. Hehas an MBA and a BA in Economics. Richard Taylor, Non-executive Chairman (57)Richard joined the board of Qonnectis Group Limited in May 2000. He has workedfor a number of leading international companies such as GEC, Grand Metropolitan,Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong and American President Companies in the USA. In1988, he was a founder member of the group which acquired Harry Ramsden's, thefish and chip restaurant company in Guiseley, Yorkshire. As Group FinanceDirector and Chief Executive of its International Division, he took HarryRamsden's public in 1989 and sold it to Granada plc in 1999 as a globallybranded business with outlets throughout the UK and in six internationalmarkets. He has a B.Sc. in Engineering and an MBA from the London BusinessSchool. Percival Albuquerque, Non-executive Director (42),Percy joined the board of the Company in May 2004, having assisted in thedevelopment of its national and international sales strategy. He was previouslythe Sales and Managing Director of Radix Micro Devices plc and Vice President ofRadix Corporation (USA), a company specialising in mobile computing systems forutility meter reading. He was responsible for the expansion of Radix's saleschannels in over 50 countries, the development and launch of several innovativemobile computing products and operational management. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange