At some point between the £40m placing in November 2015 and last December’s decision to tap investors for another £25m, Xeros Technologies (XSG) cautioned that it expected “cash utilisation to continue to accelerate over the coming years”. The South Yorkshire company has been true to its word – and given a £27m net operating cash outflow in 2017, we might realistically expect further supplication towards the end of this year.
The group, a developer of innovative plastic beads and associated technologies for the commercial laundry and tannery industries, is in discussions with several OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) on the testing, validation and potential commercialisation of its “disruptive” product lines. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much where we were this time last year, even though management was keen to highlight new potential opportunities arising from the Personal Protective Equipment market, and the group’s proprietary XFiltra technology which reduces micro-plastic pollution from synthetic fibres in fabrics and garments.
Berenberg forecasts revenues of £15.1m in 2018, rising to £76.6m in 2021, by which time the group is expected to be in the black
| XEROS TECHNOLOGIES (XSG) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 146p | MARKET VALUE: | £145m | |
| TOUCH: | 146-149p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 330p | LOW: 136p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 36p | NET CASH: | £25.1m | |
| Year to 31 Jul | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 * | 0.07 | -3.4 | -8.0 | nil |
| 2014 | 0.32 | -6.7 | -12.9 | nil |
| 2015 | 0.48 | -10.7 | -15.6 | nil |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 ** | 2.47 | -21.1 | -25.0 | nil |
| 2017 | 2.27 | -31.9 | -34.9 | nil |
| % change | -8 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | - | |||
| Payment: | - | |||
| *Prior to flotation in March 2014. ** 17-month period. | ||||
