A little over a week prior to release of its latest half-year figures, Xeros Technology (XSG) announced that it had signed its first Symphony Project development agreement with a “leading manufacturer” of commercial washing machines. Xeros, as ever, was a little short on detail, but commercial confidentiality aside, it’s clear that breaking into the multi-billion dollar commercial laundry market in the US won’t be achieved overnight. If successful, trials of Xeros’s proprietary technology on some of the manufacturer’s existing machines, under real-world conditions and stresses, should lead to validation – a precursor to commercialisation negotiations.
The Symphony Project was initiated to accelerate this process, as it represents a low capital-intensity, licensed model that offers substantial cost savings over the long haul, the economic benefits of which will be shared by Xeros and its OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners. It is designed to help the company commercialise its technology with partners (via own-branded products) with established market positions, but it remains a work in progress.
For now, income from machine sales and service income picked up through the period, and a contract was signed post period-end with Wollsdorf Leder in Austria to progressively convert its re-tanning processes to Xeros’s technology – an application that hasn’t received quite as much coverage as commercial laundry.
| XEROS TECHNOLOGY (XSG) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 291p | MARKET VALUE: | £256m | |
| TOUCH: | 277-295p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 330p | LOW: 182p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 29p | NET CASH: | £16m | |
| Half-year to | Turnover | Pre-tax | Earnings per | Dividend |
| 30 Jun | (£m) | profit (£m) | share (p) | per share (p) |
| 2016 | 0.8 | -7.0 | -7.2 | nil |
| 2017 | 1.1 | -14.5 | -17.4 | nil |
| % change | +33 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | - | |||
| Payment: | - |
