Shares in Nanoco (NANO) were marked down after the University of Manchester spin-out revealed a steep fall in full-year revenues and an operating loss of £9.2m, against £5.3m for 2013. The increased loss can be attributed to lower joint development revenues and higher payroll and operating costs. But these figures are of little relevance pending the commercial roll-out of Nanoco's proprietary nanotechnology next year.
This was given added impetus last month when Nanoco's exclusive licensing partner, US chemical giant Dow, announced it would build the world's first large-scale manufacturing facility for cadmium-free quantum dots (fluorescent semiconductor nanoparticles) using Nanoco's technology. The quantum dots are destined for widespread use in lighting, LCD and display applications, but they can also be employed in solar cells and bio-medical imaging.
Dow's facility is to be located in South Korea, suggesting that early sales are earmarked for Samsung and LG Electronics, which dominate the flat-panel TV market. First production is expected midway through next year, until which point customer demand can be met from Nanoco's facility in Runcorn.
Canaccord analysts envisage cash profit of £1.4m in the year to July 2016, rising to £18.8m in 2016-17. But they stress that "traditional valuation metrics have little relevance until commercial production commences".
| NANOCO (NANO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 114p | MARKET VALUE: | £246m | |
| TOUCH: | 113-114p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 165p | LOW: 84p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 8p | NET CASH: | £12m | |
| Year to 31 Jul | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2.9 | -1.4 | -0.6 | nil |
| 2011 | 2.6 | -3.2 | -1.3 | nil |
| 2012 | 3.0 | -4.4 | -1.8 | nil |
| 2013 | 3.9 | -5.0 | -2.0 | nil |
| 2014 | 1.4 | -9.1 | -3.7 | nil |
| % change | -64 | - | - | - |
