Versarien’s (VRS) losses widened as revenues fell in its graphene and plastics division, where turnover was derived “predominantly from the plastics business”. The group did secure its first orders over the period for graphene material, and despite its cash pile falling to £2.6m from £4.3m at its March year-end, Versarien chief financial officer Christopher Leigh said that the group had no imminent plans to conduct any fundraising. Including financing facilities of £0.7m, the total cash available to Versarien sat at £3.3m.
In the first half, Versarien’s operating cash outflow was around £187,000 per month, while its monthly lease finance repayments sat at around £30,000, bringing its monthly cash burn for the period to about £220,000. Factoring in capital expenditure, the figure is closer to £265,000. Based on a continuation of these outflows, the cash pile would last for 15 months based on the lower figure or a little over a year on the higher number. Nevertheless, Mr Leigh said, “we don’t need to go out and do any sudden emergency fundraises”. Management added that there are scenarios under which this could change. These include an opportunity to acquire intellectual property, an order that would require additional scale, or an acquisition of another business.
