Final Results for Year Ended 31 October 2021

RNS Number : 1086E

AFC Energy Plc

09 March 2022

 

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER ARTICLE 7 OF THE EU REGULATION 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF THE UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Please see the Full Audited Results in attached PDF

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1086E_1-2022-3-8.pdf

9 March 2022

AFC Energy PLC

("AFC Energy" or the "Company")

Final Results for year ended 31 October 2021

AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), a leading provider of hydrogen power generation technologies, is pleased to announce its results for the year ended 31 October 2021.  Highlights of those results are as follows.

Commercial Highlights

•	Contracted commercial agreements worth £5M (as at the time of this statement, including post year-end).
•	Increased pipeline in Construction, EV Charging, Temporary Power and Data Centre markets.
•	First commercial order of "S" Series Fuel Cell System received from ABB for high-power EV charging system (signed post year-end).
•	Increased scope of ABB partnership to include data centre and maritime applications.
•	First commercial revenue received from Extreme E Season 1 Championship. Contract renewed for 2022.
•	Signed commercial lease of fuel cell system with Urban Air Port for deployment in Coventry in April 2022.
•	Positive momentum in the construction sector. Strategic Partnerships with Mace and Acciona to assess and deploy zero-emission hydrogen power generators to construction sites.
•	Significant progress in the international maritime sector with a new product concept launched incorporating S Series fuel cell and ammonia cracker.
•	Maritime concept design awarded "Approval in Principle" status by DNV, the leading global maritime agency with system now available for incorporation into Vard's Zero Coaster programme, a marine design and construction partnership with the Norwegian Government.
•	Signed MoU with leading diesel generator hire business, Altaaqa Alternative Solutions, for an exclusive dealership proposal for the MENA region.

Financial Highlights

•	Improved year end cash balance of £55.4M (FY 2020: £31.3M).
•	Investment in people, product range, manufacturing and facilities reflected in increased operating loss of £10.40M (FY 2020: £4.6M).
•	Net cash burn of £10.7M including one off investment in capital assets including office and facility upgrades.
•	Completed oversubscribed fundraise of £36M (before expenses) positioning the Company for near term growth.

Operational Highlights

•	New Engineering, Manufacturing, Commercial and Research Teams hired to support AFC Energy's route to market strategy.
•	New Office and System Assembly Facilities opened at Dunsfold Park headquarters.
•	Investment in semi-automated stack manufacturing to facilitate delivery scale up.
•	Appointment of new Non-Executive Chairman, Mr Gary Bullard and Non-Executive Director, Dr Monika Biddulph (post year-end) with ongoing process to strengthen governance and increase the independence of the Board.
•	Formation of new ESG Committee to reflect the Company's commitment to the building of a sustainable business with a positive impact on society and our stakeholders (post year-end).

Technology Highlights

•	New product development of the S Series Hybrid Fuel Cell offering higher energy density, reduced footprint and ability to use green methanol as a fuel as well as green hydrogen.
•	New maritime concept designed for maritime propulsion and auxiliary power.
•	Customer "Fuel flex" strategy delivers maximum flexibility in adoption of Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia and Green Methanol fuelling.
•	Ammonia cracking unit received at AFC Energy campus. Operational analysis completed with fuel-cell integration underway ahead of commercial deployment.
•	New internal product roadmap completed. Integrated system engineering and design underway with initial deployments expected in 2022.
•	Validation of AlkaMem® anion exchange membrane in electrolyser mode. Positive results supporting further investment in application.

Outlook

•	Environmental and geopolitical drivers supporting diversification from incumbent fossil fuel imports to the UK and Europe. Hydrogen economy seeing a continued and accelerating increase in investment and technical development.
•	AFC Energy expect "S" Series Hybrid Fuel Cell deployment on customer sites over coming months.
•	ABB and AFC Energy expect initial integrated system to be operational by the end of 2022.
•	Upstream Hydrogen fuelling technologies under development with announcements expected later this calendar year.
•	New announcements expected for lease deployments across UK construction sites. Significant momentum in UK construction sector following removal of the Red Diesel Subsidy in the UK.
•	"S" Series platforms opening new markets for AFC Energy and leading to increasing customer traction. Further commercial progress expected in 2022.
•	Well-positioned to capitalise on leading position to displace diesel generators within the next decade

Adam Bond, Chief Executive Officer of AFC Energy, said: 

"In 2021 we established a stronger platform for accelerating growth.  We strengthened our balance sheet, increased our manufacturing capabilities, recruited a number of talented leaders and, most importantly, materially expanded our product range to offer solutions with reduced footprints and compatibility with a range of fuel sources.  We are already seeing this feed through into an increase in contracted revenues.

"The regulatory platform and political will to address climate change has never been stronger which can only help drive transition away from traditional technologies .  We are well-placed to continue to make large strides in 2022 towards our goal of displacing pollutant diesel generators for off- grid power as part of the global transition to Net Zero."

For further information, please contact:

AFC Energy plc Adam Bond (Chief Executive Officer)	[phone] [e-mail]
Peel Hunt LLP - Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Richard Crichton / Tom Ballard / Alexander Allen	[phone]
M C Peat & Co LLP  - Joint Broker Charlie Peat	[phone]
Zeus Capital Limited - Joint Broker Daniel Harris (Corporate Finance) Dominic King (Corporate Broking) / Rupert Woolfenden (Sales)	[phone]
FTI Consulting  - Financial PR Advisors Ben Brewerton / Nick Hennis / Dhruv Soni	[phone] [e-mail]

About AFC Energy

AFC Energy plc is commercialising scalable "fuel flexible" fuel cell systems, to provide clean electricity for on and off grid applications. The technology, pioneered over the past twelve years in the UK, is now deployable in electric vehicle chargers, off-grid decentralised power systems and data centre applications with emerging opportunities across maritime and rail as part of a portfolio approach to the decarbonisation of local electricity needs.

 

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