Versarien (VRS) has seen a tenfold increase in its share price, peak to trough, over the past 12 months, a reflection of the blue-sky potential of its proprietary graphene technologies. However, the initial sell-off on results day, followed by rapid retracement, suggests investors may need to stomach a certain amount of volatility as the engineering materials group expands the range of commercial applications for its products.
Graphene has numerous properties that could be utilised throughout industry, not least of which enhanced conductivity, so the group is already working towards integrating graphene platelets into batteries and super-capacitors – a potentially vast commercial opportunity. It has signed more than a dozen collaborative agreements since its previous year-end, while undertaking investments to build its graphene manufacturing capability.
Sales figures were in advance of expectations, while cash losses were down a third to £0.8m. For now, the financial returns are of secondary importance to how effectively Versarien can commercialise its proprietary offering, but beyond the graphene and plastics segment it also generates revenue from hard-wearing tungsten carbide parts, and other performance materials.
| VERSARIEN (VRS) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 123p | MARKET VALUE: | £182m | |
| TOUCH: | 120-125p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 144p | LOW: 13p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 5.4p* | NET CASH: | £1.38m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 4.4 | -1.8 | -1.7 | nil |
| 2017 | 5.9 | -2.2 | -1.9 | nil |
| 2018 | 9.0 | 1.6 | -1.0 | nil |
| % change | +52 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | - | |||
| Payment: | - | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £2.7m, or 1.8p a share. | ||||
