Trading Update

RNS Number : 2797U

Versarien PLC

06 April 2016

 

6 April 2016

Versarien plc
("Versarien" or the "Company")

Trading Update

Versarien Plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group is pleased to give the following update on trading and corporate activity for the financial year ended 31 March 2016.

The Company is pleased to report that it expects revenue and loss before income tax (after exceptional charges and share based payment charges) for the year ended 31 March 2016 to be broadly in line with market forecasts. The full audited results for the year ended 31 March 2016 are expected to be announced on 19 July 2016.

Versarien continues to make significant progress with its two core technologies, graphene and copper foam thermal solutions, and whilst trading in the Company's profitable Hard Wear Products division remains constrained, primarily due to continuing low capex in the oil and gas sector, progress is being made with customers in other sectors.

The Company is particularly pleased with the high levels of enquiries being received for its low profile thermal copper heat dissipation solutions from multinational blue chip companies looking to incorporate Versarien's technology in high volume applications.

New graphene applications continue to be developed through a number of collaborations, particularly in the areas of composites and batteries. Versarien's ability to supply high quality graphene in commercial quantities following the breakthrough in the scalable manufacture of graphene platelets, announced last year, is driving considerable interest in incorporating graphene into a wide variety of real world applications.

Acquisitive Strategy

As indicated at the time of the interim results in December 2015, Versarien continues to look for appropriate acquisitions, particularly for graphene applications. The Company is pleased to announce that it has recently signed heads of terms to acquire two companies where graphene inclusion would provide significant product and market benefits, funding of which is expected to be largely supported by existing cash resources and bank debt. Further details will be announced as and when these transactions progress.

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien plc commented: "We are pleased with the performance of the Company in the financial year just ended. Going forward we are seeing increasing demand for both our graphene and copper foam heat dissipation technologies and we look forward to bringing these cutting edge products to the market.

The Board continues to view the future with confidence and is delighted with the progress made in its core disruptive technologies to date."

For further information please contact:

Versarien plc	www.versarien.com
Neill Ricketts - Chief Executive Officer	[phone]
Chris Leigh - Chief Financial Officer
WH Ireland (Nominated Adviser and Broker)	www.wh-ireland.co.uk
John Wakefield / Ed Allsopp	[phone]
IFC Advisory (Financial PR and IR)	www.investor-focus.co.uk
Tim Metcalfe / Graham Herring / Heather Armstrong	[phone]

 

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