Nanoco (NANO), a developer and manufacturer of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, has terminated the formal sale process of the company, stating that it was unlikely discussions would lead to "an attractive outcome" amid the current economic climate. Indeed the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the group to scale back its operations, furloughing staff at its sites in Manchester and Runcorn – the latter of which has been temporarily closed.
However, the group did manage to reduce its adjusted cash losses by around half to £1.1m, which it credited to the restructuring completed last year and a continued focus on cost control. It pulled back its monthly cash burn to under £0.7m by the end of January, which has been reduced further post-period end to £0.4m via new deals and cost savings through the UK government furlough scheme.
The manufacturer also filed an IP infringement lawsuit against Samsung in February this year. Management noted that it had received a number of offers of third-party funding for the lawsuit, a partner for which has now been selected and a Litigation Funding Agreement (LFA) is now being discussed. It believes the lawsuit will be served in early May, and if successful will result in the company retaining the majority of any award or settlement.
It has extended its cash runway into the second quarter of 2021, which should provide some additional time to pursue the lawsuit against Samsung and seek out medium-term funding.
| NANOCO (NANO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 10p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 29m | |
| TOUCH: | 9.9p-10.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 50p | LOW: 5.7p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 2p* | NET CASH: | £2.8m** | |
| Half-year to 31 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2019 | 3.2 | -3.07 | -0.88 | nil |
| 2020 | 2.9 | -2.45 | -0.66 | nil |
| % change | -9 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £3.9m or 1.4p a share **Netted against lease liabilities of £1.4m | ||||
