AGM Statement

HeiQ PLC

29 June 2023

 

HeiQ Plc

("HeiQ" or "the Company")

AGM Statement

At its Annual General Meeting ("AGM"), which is being held today at 10 a.m. at the offices of Cenkos Securities at 6-8 Tokenhouse Yard, London, EC2R 7AS, the Company's Chairwoman Esther Dale-Kolb will make the following statement:

"At the end of 2022, an array of macroeconomic pressures converged, creating a very challenging trading environment for HeiQ, its competitors and the textile industry at large. The long lasting effects of Covid and inflationary pressures caused market demand to drop by 70% towards the end of 2022 as brands stopped placing orders and focused on consuming their all-time high inventories, based on weakening consumer confidence. These challenges remain, with market demand still reduced relative to trading conditions during 2022.

"On top of this, the Board of HeiQ Plc, had to announce that the Company could not publish its audited FY 2022 Accounts by 30 April 2023, which regrettably led to the shares being suspended.

"HeiQ appointed Deloitte as our new auditor in November 2022, to reflect the international expansion and increased complexity of the Company since listing. Following the acquisitions that we completed in the years prior to expand our innovation portfolio, we have been in the process of implementing new systems to drive integration of the businesses, as well as updating processes within the organisation.  The changes within the organisation have resulted in a significantly extended year end timetable for 2022 with a related impact on the timing of the external audit work.

"The audit process has been very thorough and detailed.  Although the delay is regrettable it should allow us to move forward with confidence and take comfort in knowing that we will have a more efficient and better resourced organization to support this innovative and exciting company.

"The suspension will be lifted once the audit has completed and the 2022 Accounts have been published. Once published, we will hold a General Meeting in order to approve the accounts, in respect of which we will provide further information in due course.

"As this is still an ongoing process we will provide full commentary on the 2022 financial results once the audit is completed.

"We understand the frustration of shareholders with the situation we are in, following a suspension of shares and also having not reached our goals set for 2022. I can assure you that we as a board are taking this matter very seriously and we are working very hard to improve the situation.

"In recent months, we have taken rapid, decisive action to build resilience in light of the current headwinds, these include:

·    Restructuring our business into three distinct Business Units with strong leadership in order to drive focus and accountability

·    Reducing our costs by restructuring our operations, right-sizing our business in light of macro-economic issues, and refocusing and streamlining our sales and innovation strategies on selective value-enhancing investments for our future

·    Digitalising our processes to become more efficient and transparent

·    Strengthening of our Finance organization in order to further improve financial reporting and ensure to avoid any delay in financial reporting going forward.

Already in 2023, HeiQ's innovation has increased our footprint in the market:

·    HeiQ successfully launched HeiQ Allergen Tech, a technology that significantly reduces allergens in fabrics. We secured exclusive contracts with industry leaders.

·    Our innovative technology, HeiQ Synbio, received a significant endorsement in H1 when the Robert Koch Institute included probiotic cleaning in its hospital hygiene guidelines and also publication of the study in the Lancet. This major assessment opens up new opportunities for our business, enabling a steady and lucrative flow of contracts in the healthcare sector.

·    In January 2023, HeiQ achieved a major milestone with the commercial availability of HeiQ AeoniQ™ as a garment. Together with  our partner HUGO BOSS we created a sustainable polo shirt, which gained significant attention and was awarded the esteemed ISPO Award 2023, for being a major development in sustainable fashion. Additionally in January, Beste, an Italian manufacturer, introduced the first fabric collection featuring HeiQ AeoniQ™ to the major Italian fashion brands.

"The Board is working closely with the management team to monitor and understand the impact of all these actions.  We stand ready to implement additional initiatives, if required, in order to improve the business resilience and to allow the business to flourish. 

"With regards to alignment with shareholders, the HeiQ Board, management team, and extended management team hold approximately 24% of HeiQ shares in the Company. This hopefully reassures investors that we are aiming for long-term growth and value creation.

"We would like to thank you for your support. While the environment is still very uncertain, and market recovery is expected during Q4 2023 at the earliest, we are committed to delivering value to our shareholders. I would like also thank the whole HeiQ team for working tirelessly."

For further information, please contact:

HeiQ Plc Carlo Centonze (CEO)	[phone]
Cenkos Securities plc (Broker) Stephen Keys / Callum Davidson	[phone]
SEC Newgate (Media Enquiries) Elisabeth Cowell / Molly Gretton / Tom Carnegie	[phone] [e-mail]

About HeiQ

HeiQ is a Swiss-based international company that innovates pioneering and differentiating materials in partnership with established global brands. We bridge the academic and commercial worlds to conceive performance-enhancing materials and technologies, working with aligned brands to research, manufacture and bring products to market, aiming for lab to consumer in months. Our goal is to improve the lives of billions by innovating the materials that go into everyday products, making them more hygienic, comfortable, protective, and sustainable.

Our strong IP portfolio positions us as an innovation leader for niche, premium and high-margin products in the textile chemicals, man-made fibers, paints and coatings, antimicrobial plastics, probiotics and household cleaner markets. We have also expanded into healthcare facilities, probiotic cleaning, and hygiene coatings markets to help make hospitals and healthcare environments more hygienic.

We have developed over 200 technologies in partnership with 300 major brands. With a substantial research and development pipeline, including key technology development projects HeiQ AeoniQ, HeiQ ECOS, HeiQ GrapheneX, and HeiQ Synbio, HeiQ aims to deliver shareholder value through sales growth and entry into new lucrative markets through disruptive innovation and M&A.

We have built a strong reputation for ESG & sustainable innovation, having won multiple awards including the Swiss Technology Award twice and the Swiss Environmental Award. Under experienced leadership, we are committed to driving our profit in close connection with people and the planet. For more information, please visit www.heiq.com.

 

END