Nanoco (NANO) saw its shares rise 8 per cent on the day these half-year results were announced. The group, which makes semiconductor nanoparticles for use in display and lighting products, doubled the production capacity of its Runcorn facility and signed several useful agreements last year. But with a commercial contract yet to emerge and the launch of its key South Korean facility delayed, profits remain a distant prospect.
Nanoco is the sole producer of cadmium-free quantum dots, which offer better brightness, colour and power-efficiency than current LED technology, says chief executive Michael Edelman. Its focus has been on scaling up, as it will need to produce dozens of tonnes of quantum dots to cater to the millions of TVs and displays sold each year; it currently produces only about 60kg.
Licensing the technology to Dow Chemical early last year was a milestone. Dow can scale up Nanoco's production to 800kg a year by building a new South Korean facility, and also improve its credibility with Samsung, LG and other electronics manufacturers in the region. But the new factory is still only at the planning stage, and Dow has yet to sign up clients.
The group's operating losses almost tripled to £5.1m, largely because it did without Dow's £1m partnering payment in 2012, but also because it hired more staff and sent out larger samples. Broker Liberum Capital expects pre-tax losses of £9.8m this year, giving losses per share of 3.8p.
| NANOCO (NANO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 106p | MARKET VALUE: | £230m | |
| TOUCH: | 105-106 | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 188p | LOW: 90 |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 9p | NET CASH: | £14.5m | |
| Half-year to 31 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2.5 | -1.6 | -0.6 | nil |
| 2013 | 0.7 | -5.0 | -2.1 | nil |
| % change | -73 | - | - | - |
