Trading Update and Appointment of CFO Designate

RNS Number : 9135Z

Trackwise Designs PLC

28 January 2022

 

28 January 2022

TRACKWISE DESIGNS PLC

("Trackwise" or the "Company")

Trading Update and Appointment of CFO Designate

Trackwise Designs (AIM: TWD), a leading provider of specialist products using printed circuit technology, provides an update on trading for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Subject to audit, the Company expects to report full year revenues of approximately £8.08m (2020: £6.07m) and an adjusted* operating loss of approximately £0.54m (2020: £0.19m), both in line with market expectations.

The Company is pleased to report record IHT revenues of £1.43m, an increase of 140% on the prior year (2020: £0.6m). T he number of engaged IHT customers increased as the Company continues to grow its opportunities across its primary target markets of Electric Vehicles ( "EV") , Medical and Aerospace.

In line with the previously announced Product Manufacture and Supply Agreement worth up to £54m over the next three years, the Company has received orders for Q1 and Q2 of the current financial year from its UK EV OEM customer that now total in excess of £3.5m and expects to receive further orders for Q3 and Q4 in due course.

The new plant at Stonehouse, to increase IHT manufacturing capacity, has continued to progress in line with the recent Fundraise announcement of 16 December 2021 and the Company remains on track to deliver the remainder of the agreed volumes with its UK EV OEM customer.

Net debt at the year-end was £4.16m prior to the receipt of the second placing tranche and open offer net proceeds of the recent equity raise which completed in the new financial year of approximately £5.86m (before expenses).

Appointment of CFO Designate

The Company is pleased to announce that Paul Cook has been appointed as CFO Designate (initially a non-board position) effective 10 January 2022. Paul is working alongside current CFO, Mark Hodgkins, who as previously announced, is retiring, to effect a smooth transition of responsibilities, before taking over from Mark at the Annual General Meeting in June.

Paul is an experienced finance professional with a track record of success across senior positions at several technology-driven manufacturing businesses selling into international markets, including Access IS, a manufacturer of scanning devices, and Sonatest, a manufacturer of portable non-destructive testing equipment. He was also Project Manager for PCB manufacturer, SMS Electronics.

Most recently he was Chief Operating and Compliance Officer at YFM Equity Partners ("YFM"), a leading private equity and venture capital investor, where he worked for a period of more than eight years. In his time at YFM he played an important role in the strategic development of the firm, while overseeing the key financial functions and financial reporting of its two listed British Smaller Companies VCTs.

Philip Johnston, CEO of Trackwise, commented:   "2021 was another year of continued progress in Trackwise's development. Notwithstanding the various challenges posed by an uncertain economic environment, we continued to build out our operations to lay the foundations for sustainable, long-term growth. At the same time, we saw record sales performance in our IHT division, the most exciting growth area for the Company, expanding our agreement with our Electric Vehicle customer and successfully growing our pipeline of opportunities across our chosen markets, underpinning future growth.

Industry-wide pressures, particularly in the supply chain, are likely to persist as we move through this year, but we are experienced at mitigating against them and will continue to do so as necessary. Supported by an increasingly robust organisational infrastructure and with a highly desirable product that has a growing reputation, the Board is confident 2022 will see continued progress in the Company's commercial and operational development and looks forward to the future with optimism."

*Before exceptional costs and share based payments

**Cash less borrowings, excluding IFRS16 lease liabilities

The financial information for 2021 included in this announcement is unaudited

Enquiries:

Trackwise Designs plc	[phone]
Philip Johnston, CEO	www.trackwise.co.uk
Mark Hodgkins, CFO
finnCap Ltd	[phone]
NOMAD and Broker
Ed Frisby / Kate Bannatyne / Tim Harper - Corporate Finance
Andrew Burdis / Barney Hayward - ECM
Alma PR	[phone]
Financial PR and IR
David Ison / Josh Royston / Kieran Breheny

Notes to Editors

Trackwise is a UK-based manufacturer of specialist products using printed circuit technology.

The full suite includes: Improved Harness Technology™ ("IHT") and Advanced PCBs - Microwave and Radio Frequency ("RF"), Short Flex, Flex Rigid and Rigid Multilayer products.

IHT uses a proprietary, patented process that Trackwise has developed to manufacture multilayer flexible printed circuits of unlimited length. While the technology has many applications, the directors expect that one of its primary uses will be to replace traditional wire harness in a variety of industries.

The Company manufactures on two sites, located in Tewkesbury and Stevenage (following the acquisition of Stevenage Circuits Ltd in April 2020). It serves customers in Europe and North America. The Company has acquired a third site in Stonehouse Gloucestershire initially for its EV programme.

Trackwise Designs plc was admitted to trading on AIM in 2018 with the ticker TWD. For additional information please visit www.trackwise.co.uk

 

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