19 April 2018 – final results
Xeros, the polymer based technology business, has announced its results for the year to 31 December and these have revealed that turnover in the year came in at £2.3m (17 month period to 31 December 2016: £2.5m) although it once again reported a large loss at the EBITDA level of £28.7m (17 month period to 31 December 2016: £20.7m). However, as the company is still in the relatively early stages of its development these figures are not particularly important and of more relevance is the fact that the company has cash at the year end of £25.1m following the fund raising in December. The group is making significant progress towards commercialising its technology which is used in specially designed washing machines to improve efficiency and reduce the amount of water needed in the washing process. Water scarcity is a steadily increasing issue and there is therefore a significant market opportunity for the group although it may still be some time before the group reaches profitability. Further equity fund raisings seem likely going forward as the group seeks to fund its development programme but if the group can achieve its objectives there is clearly significant upside potential for the share price. The shares have fallen significantly over the last six months and we therefore rate them as a SPECULATIVE BUY.