Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM), the global specialist in technologies that make plastic and rubber products smarter, safer and more sustainable, has announced today a supply agreement for its d2p antimicrobial technology with Grupo Bimbo, for its manufacturers. The Agreement represents a major commercial advance in relation to d2p.
Grupo Bimbo is the largest bread manufacturer in the western world. Following extensive trials of d2p-enhanced plastic bread packaging, Symphony has agreed to supply its d2p antimicrobial masterbatch to their nominated bread packaging manufacturers across the whole of the American continent for a period of three years (extendable by agreement).
The supply of d2p in the USA (the western world’s largest bread market), and in Canada, and Mexico will be exclusive, and Grupo Bimbo has first-refusal for other countries in the Americas.
In 2020 and 2021, Symphony announced it had obtained regulatory approvals from the FDA in the United States, and from Health Canada respectively, for its d2p anti-microbial technology for use in plastic films for bread packaging.
Grupo Bimbo’s new type of d2p-enhanced antimicrobial bread packaging, has been under evaluation for nearly two years, and commercial conversion to d2p packaging has already begun.
Symphony Environmental CEO Michael Laurier said “I am grateful to our Board and shareholders for their support for this very challenging R&D project. Its successful conclusion and commercial adoption, makes a big difference to the Company, and lays the foundation for our FDA approved, d2p antimicrobial bread packaging for the whole world – not just in the Americas.”
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM), the global specialist in technologies that make plastic and rubber products smarter, safer and more sustainable, has announced that following legal action by Symphony’s distributor in Peru, a clear distinction has been officially acknowledged between oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable technologies, and officially confirming that oxo-biodegradable technology does not leave microplastics behind.
The legal action against the Ministry of Production was heard before INDECOPI (Public National Institute for Free Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property) who resolved, and the Ministry admitted, that there is no bureaucratic barrier against oxo-biodegradable technology, because the prohibition in the 2021 Decree regulating biodegradable plastic bags was against oxo-degradable plastic and not against oxo-biodegradable plastic.
This legal outcome has significant implications for Symphony’s commercial growth in Peru and in Latin America generally.
In addition, it vindicates Symphony’s long-term and ongoing advocacy strategy in the region, based upon transparent and technically-led engagement with legislators and opinion-formers. Through this process the Company highlights the environmental benefit of Symphony’s scientifically-proven oxo-biodegradable technology.
Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony Environmental said:
“This declaration in Peru is a significant event for Symphony, as for the first time in Latin America, a government institution has officially acknowledged the distinction between oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable technologies, and the fact that d2w does not create microplastics.
We are confident that this confirmation will reassure manufacturers and end-users alike as to the validity of d2w as a cost-effective biodegradable alternative to ordinary plastic. Our local distributor expects that this will generate new d2w customers and increased sales in Peru, and we believe this should also be the case for the whole Latin America region.”
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM) has announced that the Company’s Annual General Meeting will be held at 12:00 noon on the 29th June 2022 at 6 Elstree Gate, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 1JD.
In light of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, whilst shareholders will be legally able to attend the AGM in person, shareholders are encouraged to appoint the Chairman of the meeting as their proxy with their voting instructions. All valid proxy votes exercised by the Chairman, whether submitted electronically or in hard copy form, will be included in the votes to be taken at the meeting. We will continue to monitor the evolving impact of the pandemic and, if it becomes appropriate or necessary to make changes to the proposed format of the AGM, we will inform shareholders as soon as we can. The Company will continue to update shareholders in the usual way, via the Regulatory News Service (RNS).
Symphony Environmental will post the Annual Report and Accounts and Notice of AGM to shareholders today.
Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts and Notice of AGM will be available for viewing or download from the Company’s website at www.symphonyenvironmental.com
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM), global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products smarter, safer and more sustainable, has announced that The Hon. Alexander Brennan will be appointed as an Executive Director of the Company with immediate effect.
Alexander has nearly two decades’ experience of delivering growth for businesses in the UK and internationally, both as principal and adviser. Alexander founded Brennan & Partners in 2016, a UK-headquartered consultancy, providing business development advisory services for UK and international clients. In his capacity as CEO of Brennan & Partners, he has provided business development advisory services to Symphony since February 2019.
Prior to founding Brennan & Partners, Alexander was CEO of a global infrastructure investment business, building upon five years of international sales and business development experience with De La Rue plc. Alexander began his career at Slaughter and May, where he practised as a corporate lawyer for several years. Alexander is also an independent non-executive director of Big Technologies plc.
Alexander will join Symphony on a part time basis, focusing on customer engagement, marketing and corporate matters.
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies, Alexander Manuel Philip Martin Brennan (aged 42) holds, or has held in the past five years, the following directorships and partnerships:
Current Directorships
Directorships held in last 5 years
Brennan & Partners Limited Big Technologies plc
38 Draycott Place Freehold Company Limited
Alexander holds no ordinary shares in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) but has options over an aggregate 1,750,000 Ordinary Shares that were granted to him previous to this appointment to the Board, and in respect of his consultancy services provided to the Company.
The terms of these options are set out below:
Number of shares under option
Exercise price
Grant date
Expiry date
1,000,000
30 pence
14 Sept 2020
14 Sept 2023
250,000
25 pence
03 May 2022
03 May 2025
500,000
30 pence
03 May 2022
03 May 2025
There is no further information on Alexander Brennan required to be disclosed under Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.
Michael Laurier, Symphony Environmental Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“I am delighted that Alexander is joining the Board at this pivotal moment. We are engaged with several high-level discussions and negotiations and Alexander brings his entrepreneurial skills and network of international relationships at an important time in the commercial development process. On behalf of the Board, we look forward to welcoming Alexander.”
In Analysts’ corner, DirectorsTalk brings you exclusive professional opinions from five of the leading equity research analysts on five companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
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Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM) is the topic of conversation when Hybridan’s Director of Corporate Broking Niall Pearsoncaught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview.
Q1: For those that have not yet come across Symphony Environmental, could you just tell us a little bit about them?
A1: The company are quoted on the AIM market, they’ve been around for a number of years. Their bread and butter is essentially an additive technology that goes into materials such as plastic that can really change the speed of that product decay. Ultimately, the end result is making it 100% biodegradable in the open environment so oceans, rivers and land.
The technology as you can imagine is incredibly high tech, it’s really underpinned by over four decades of scientific data behind it so it’s certainly well proven. The way it works, it’s very small quantity so just 1% of their additive is introduced into the manufacturing process of products before they hit the supermarket sells for example. These products with the additive in it can have numerous applications, anything covering from antiviral or antimicrobial and of course 100 biodegradable.
As I’m sure you can probably ascertain, it’s an incredibly regulated market and the company certainly ticks a lot of boxes in that respect, they’ve got their US FDA approval and also similar approval in Canada as well.
Q2: Now, they had some important news out this week about their operations in India. Can you tell us about that?
A2: It was a very important update and I think it certainly reinforces to investors that the company has a global footprint, the market certainly saw and understood that. Their shares had a good rally up 20% so it’s always good to see messages resonating in this current environment.
They have a great relationship with their JV partner Indorama which, of course, is a global chemical company and that JV forged really that major expansion into India, it’s moving along very nicely, it only really completed in February.
I think India is a great example of how a country which has a very real plastic problem but I think more importantly is doing something very logical and realistic about how to manage their solutions. So, India has nearly have about 10 mega tonnes of plastic waste annually which is huge, a mega tonne is a million tonne, and I think more importantly, 40% of that waste is not collected and to manage that the government have really put out some pretty aggressive targets as part of their plastic pact to ban single use plastic.
It’s good to see the adoption of big companies such as Amazon and Coca Cola have signed up so mandating that all plastics have to be biodegradable, coupling that with SYM having a foot in the door of that country, really opens up a wealth of commercial opportunity. So it’s a very exciting time for them.
Q3: How has the company faired through the COVID situation?
A3: I think they’ve been incredibly resilient through the pandemic and just the general market backdrop, I think COVID has certainly changed the narrative on hygiene. Consumers are starting to realise that the paper bags we were told to all buy actually produce more waste than plastic bags, they’ve got a worst carbon footprint in the production process and those cotton shopping bags sold at £10 pounds are actually a real hotbed for bacteria and COVID.
So, the rhetoric is becoming less around banning plastic altogether, but more around how do we manage the plastic problem better which is their sweet spot. The company were incredibly nimble in their product offering, obviously they’ve been experts in biodegradable plastics for a number of years, we had lots of PPE coming through into hospitals, and they were thinking why can’t we expand our technology to make that equipment, antimicrobial, antiviral such as gloves which they manage to add their technology in those products to kill COVID in less than 10 minutes. That level of innovation in such a short space of time is quite staggering really. Again, the market reacted quite well to them, shares were up 50% last year, and the year before that in 2020, in the midst of COVID, there were up nearly 150%.
The challenges that they’ve had haven’t really been COVID-specific, they’ve been more widespread and not really unique to the company so what we’re seeing across all small companies right now is high shipping costs, logistical delay, we’re seeing a lot of knock on effects in small caps.
Saying that, the company have done a great job in trying to manage that, they’ve done a lot of investment in their logistics team to try and get ahead of the curve and anticipate those issues before they happen. Those challenges aren’t going to last forever, we’d expect them to subside soon, I hope.
Q4: Finally, what can investors look forward to in the future for Symphony Environmental?
A4: Well, all the news flow that’s been coming out from the company over the past few months, I think the market is really starting to understand that they’re at a real inflection point and certainly have been doing a great job in laying the foundations for mass commercial adoption of their technology.
Having all the necessary regulatory approvals in place, such as the FDA, takes time, there’s a lot of hoops to jump through and then you have big customers going to trials, working along in unison with those regulatory approvals.
So, the company have said to the market that they have several of these deals nearing closure with major products in the mix so it’s a very exciting time for them as they’re moving to create a commercial scale.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM) is the topic of conversation when Head of Corporate Broking & Sales at Hybridan, Niall Pearson joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss a prestigious award for Symphony’s contribution to sustainability.
Niall explains what the company does, talks us through the important news that the company announced, explains how the company faired during the pandemic and what we can expect from the company going forward.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON: SYM) is a world leader in the development of additives to make ordinary plastic biodegradable and protective technologies to enhance plastic products.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM) CEO Michael Laurier joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss a prestigious award for its contribution to sustainability.
Michael provides us with an update on operations in India, reminds us about the masterbatch technology, explains what this prestigious award means for Symphony and what we can expect from the company over the coming months.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON SYM) is a world leader in the development of additives to make ordinary plastic biodegradable and protective technologies to enhance plastic products.
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM), the global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products smarter, safer and more sustainable, has announced that Symphony Environmental India Pvt Ltd (“Symphony India”), its Indian joint venture with Indorama Corporation, has been honoured with a prestigious award for its contribution to sustainability with d2w biodegradable masterbatch technology for manufacturing non-bio plastics into biodegradable, environmentally safe compounds.
Sustainability award
This important award was given to Symphony India’s CEO Arjun Aggarwal at the Vivekananda Sustainability Summit in New Delhi on 19 April in the category of “Development of new materials contributing to Sustainability through scientific innovation to the improvement of environment”. The award was presented by Mr Nitin Gadkari (Cabinet Minister, Road, Transport & Highways India).
The summit saw many stakeholders working for sustainable development in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” (Clean India Mission) that aims, among other things, to tackle plastic products that escape collection for recycling. These are considered hazardous and they create non-biodegradable plastic waste that contaminates land, rivers and oceans. The awards honour those who have made important contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals published by the United Nations in 2015 which comprise 17 interlinked global targets “to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.”
The Extended Producer Responsibility policy published by the Indian Ministry of Environment (“MoE”) in February 2022 requires significant changes for the treatment and disposal to pre-consumer and post-consumer plastic packaging waste that will encourage more recycling and use of biodegradable plastics.
Symphony India Operations Update
The low-cost d2w masterbatch technology was developed by Symphony, and is now being produced in India with locally produced materials. Initial d2w product sales have now been made (albeit at a small level) and delivered to Indian customers, but importantly, strong customer enquiries are being received. Plastic waste is a major issue and d2w deals with the plastic waste by converting it automatically at the end of its useful life into a waxy substance which is biodegradable in the open environment. It does not need to be collected and taken to a composting facility. The infrastructure is now in place for manufacturing at commercial levels and based upon current enquiries, the Board anticipate increasing sales volumes during H2-2022 and beyond.
Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony UK, said “We are delighted that Symphony India has been given this prestigious award for the enormous effort and contribution that it is making. India is a country whose environment suffers seriously from plastic pollution, and we will do everything we can to support our colleagues in India to solve this problem.
We believe this award will significantly strengthen our visibility in the country as new waste management laws banning or restricting ordinary plastics become effective later this year. As such we expect to see further material increases in enquiries and sales.”
Arjun Aggarwal, CEO of Symphony Environmental India, said: “As a responsible company, we feel it is our duty to ensure that the Earth – our only home – remains the blue planet that nature intended it to be and is not turned into a dumping ground for plastics. Our revolutionary masterbatch technology paves the way for an Earth free of plastic footprint, whether on land or the oceans. This is our humble response to the clarion call by the visionary Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a Swachh Bharat (Clean India). We want to extend this goal to a Swachh Earth (Clean Earth).”
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM) global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and sustainable”, has announced its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2021.
Financial highlights:
· Group revenues £9.16 million (2020: £9.77 million), lower principally due to £0.50 million of product missing year end shipping cut-off
· Substantial progress in many product areas including an increase in customer trials and product-tests currently underway.
· Significant potential sales identified in many of the current pipeline projects
Corporate
· Major Expansion with Joint Venture into India with Indorama Corporation – completed in February 2022
· Investment continues in the sales team, and new Head of Innovation appointed to accelerate the commercialisation of the Group’s growing portfolio of new and highly innovative products
· Several patent applications filed to protect our IP as many new products reach commercialisation
· Small Caps Award: ESG Company of the Year
Chairman’s Statement
2021 was a year of contrasting results. These financial results do not reflect the transformational effort and success that was achieved in many of our high value development projects that are mainly customer led. We had expected these material changes to positively impact 2021 but repeated and unpredictable lockdowns created logistical and resource difficulties, which delayed the commencement of some large and valuable projects. However, with the vaccination programmes being rolled out around the world, we now anticipate many of these projects will advance to commercialisation much faster, which will start to have a transformational effect on the business.
The progress in customer driven development projects, many of which are significant both from a revenue perspective, but crucially also underpin long term relationships, provide the Group with real optimism that substantial revenue growth in the short and longer term will be achieved.
Group revenues for the year ended 31 December 2021 were £9.16 million (2020: £9.77 million). Further, revenues of £0.50 million missed the year end cut-off due to shipping congestion and delayed sailings. Of the recognised revenues for 2021, both d2w and d2p were on a par with the previous year, with total year-on-year revenue reduction mainly in respect of PPE items such as gloves with the compliance, sampling and regulatory process taking much longer than anticipated. Together with congestion and delays, shipping charges were also high during the period, and this higher cost so far continues in 2022.
The business could maintain sales at approximately £9 million on a significantly reduced cost base (estimated at £2 million lower); however, the Board’s confidence in the outlook for the Group’s products, means we continue to invest in the Group’s infrastructure, staff and R&D so that the business is able to fully maximise the growth potential for the customers and markets already secured.
Investment into d2w, our biodegradable technology, continued during the year with further independent certification to prove biodegradability and no persistent microplastics on land and oceans, together with specific advocacy teams that are focussing on several important markets such as Latin America where the legislation process is moving towards changes in laws that we believe will encourage the use of d2w type technologies. It is pleasing to see in this region a positive commercial result from this medium-term investment strategy that has helped increase volumes by 25% with an indication of further strengthening going forward. In the Middle East, volumes were consistent with 2020 which was a good result as local plastic production volumes were reported to have decreased by more than 50% due to Covid-19 restrictions. We are also starting to see business return to pre-Covid-19 levels, and very soon the start of a biodegradable enforcement programme by the Saudi national standards organisation (which is more easily capable of being enforced following the cessation of Covid-19 restrictions which have been in place during the last 2 or so years). This we believe will also have a positive effect in surrounding countries and further afield.
Sales for d2w have now commenced in India following completion in February 2022 of the agreement in November 2021 to form a joint venture with Indorama Corporation together with a local manufacturing agreement. This opens an exciting and large opportunity as the Indian government are taking immediate steps to control plastics through new regulations that are expected to encourage the use of compostable and biodegradable products like d2w. We look forward to providing further updates on this regulation and commercial progress during 2022.
Investment into the many d2p “Designed to Protect” technologies and products has continued throughout the year and whilst various programmes have progressed, the enhancement of the US FDA approval is undoubtedly a significant milestone upon which we will build our sales. Health Canada adds to this important food approval process for use in bread packaging, thus opening two very large potential markets plus other territories which follow FDA regulations. Although the commercial and sales development process has been slower than anticipated, it continues to progress satisfactorily. Long-term sales based upon current negotiations could potentially be a multiple of the Group’s current revenue. Further announcements are expected to be made in the near term and throughout 2022.
In addition to plastic packaging applications, we continued to advance the development and regulatory process of a d2p antimicrobial/antiviral nitrile glove with Meditech. This process is expected to complete during 2022 following which we will start marketing and selling to known customers in the UK, EU and USA where we have already ongoing negotiations dependent on the completion of regularity approvals.
I would like to thank the Board, our staff, and distributors for all their hard work in advancing the business through globally challenging times into a period where many of our developments become commercial and cash-generative.
The Board continue to be optimistic that the future performance of Symphony Environmental, particularly financially will improve materially during 2022 and beyond.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM) Chief Executive Officer Michael Laurier caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss the two year US supply contract, why it’s good for the company and what investors should take away from this news.
Q1: It sounds like great news for Symphony Environmental, how do you feel about the news?
A1: It’s really good news because it’s in one of the world’s biggest markets and, as you can imagine, they use an awful lot of these vitamin supplements and those vitamin supplements are all packed in little plastic containers.
So, it’s a very important step forward for us because most of our business is dealing with flexible plastics i.e. shopping bags, food packaging and even drinking straws but this is one step further on, this is now putting it into a rigid product.
Q2: Can you tell us more about the launch and how it’ll be good for the company?
A2: This is really really good news for us because globally, it’s going to send a strong message to the markets that have got serious problems with bottles. Of course, we can’t do all the different types of bottles but there’s an awful lot of bottles that we can treat on a global basis and what we’re hoping, particularly in the United States, will open up a new market area for us.
As you can see from our announcement, this has been two years of development work that went into this project so it’s a very important step forward for us.
Q3: So, what should investors take from this news today?
A3: I think what investors can take from this news is really positive.
First of all, it’s a reminder that plastic continues to be a major issue in the world but it’s too difficult to remove it and remove it quickly. It’s a reminder that this is a technology, this company, our investors, our shareholders, future shareholders to look at this company as a proven solution towards to global need to remove plastic that litters the world. That then opens up, and is opening up very very rapidly, a market opportunity way beyond the sales we’re currently creating and as we’ve reported in our update, we have a lot in terms of pipeline, a lot going on with government interaction where they’re looking to change the legislation to resolve the plastic waste problem. This is a technology, proven as I said, been around for four decades and most recently proven again in the marine environment that it’ll biodegrade in the oceans.
So, what do we take away?
We are the only public company focussed on this technology, we are visible, we’re global, we’re fighting the global battle and we’re winning a lot of battles. We feel that going forward, shareholders should be comfortable that Symphony Environmental is in the right sector at the right time.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM) CEO Michael Laurier joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss the commencement of a two year exclusive US supply contract for their d2w biodegradable plastics technology with Better Earth.
Michael shares his thoughts on the news, tells us more about the launch and how will this be good for Symphony and explains what should the investors take from the news.
Symphony Environmental Technologies is a world leader in the development of additives to make ordinary plastic biodegradable and protective technologies to enhance plastic products.
Its technology is sold into nearly 100 countries around the world, with applications in retail, medical and manufacturing industries with a focus on the defence of both environmental and human health.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM), global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and more sustainable”, has announced the commencement of a two year exclusive US supply contract for their d2w biodegradable plastics technology in nutritional supplement bottles and the US launch with Better Earth LLC of a new bottle for nutritional-supplements using d2w.
Better Earth has been working with Symphony for the last two years, initially on R&D and then trials to demonstrate a reduction in the environmental impact of discarded plastic bottles. These trials have culminated in the decision to use Symphony’s d2w technology in the manufacture of Better Earth’s bottles.
Better Earth are launching the d2w bottles at the “Natural Products” Exhibition on 8 March 2022 and it is anticipated that manufacturing will commence with approximately 20 million d2w bottles of all sizes, growing to 120 million in the first year of exclusivity.
The owners of Better Earth, Adam Ackerman and James Van Brocklin said:
“We at Better Earth are very much aware of the effect that plastic bottles have on the environment. They are the best way to package our products, but as an environmentally-responsible company we have been searching for an innovative technology to reduce the environmental footprint of the bottles. With hundreds of millions of plastic bottles being used and thrown out each year, not to mention labels and caps, this problem has become a serious issue that has been talked about a lot, with no available solution known to us – until now.
“We have decided to use Symphony’s d2w technology in the manufacture of our bottles and caps which from our trials has demonstrated will make them biodegrade up to 90 times faster if they get lost as litter, where they could otherwise lie or float around for decades. We believe this will revolutionise how plastic bottles and other packaging are manufactured.”
Symphony Environemental’s CEO, Michael Laurier, said “This contract with Better Earth is an important milestone for Symphony, being the first commercial use of d2w for bottles made of rigid plastic. Furthermore, and as we have previously reported, Symphony has an extensive sales pipeline of more than 100 d2p and d2w projects, for which it is always pleasing when the trials and pre-production projects proceed to commercial contract. We are pleased to have worked with Better Earth to respond to all their questions about our d2w technology, to help them find the right solution and which we hope helps them grow their business.”
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM), global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and more sustainable”, are pleased to announce the commencement of a two year exclusive US supply contract for their d2w biodegradable plastics technology in nutritional supplement bottles and the US launch with Better Earth LLC (“Better Earth”) of a new bottle for nutritional-supplements using d2w.
Better Earth has been working with Symphony for the last two years, initially on R&D and then trials to demonstrate a reduction in the environmental impact of discarded plastic bottles. These trials have culminated in the decision to use Symphony’s d2w technology in the manufacture of Better Earth’s bottles.
Better Earth are launching the d2w bottles at the “Natural Products” Exhibition on 8 March 2022 and it is anticipated that manufacturing will commence with approximately 20 million d2w bottles of all sizes, growing to 120 million in the first year of exclusivity.
The owners of Better Earth, Adam Ackerman and James Van Brocklin said:
“We at Better Earth are very much aware of the effect that plastic bottles have on the environment. They are the best way to package our products, but as an environmentally-responsible company we have been searching for an innovative technology to reduce the environmental footprint of the bottles. With hundreds of millions of plastic bottles being used and thrown out each year, not to mention labels and caps, this problem has become a serious issue that has been talked about a lot, with no available solution known to us – until now.
“We have decided to use Symphony’s d2w technology in the manufacture of our bottles and caps which from our trials has demonstrated will make them biodegrade up to 90 times faster if they get lost as litter, where they could otherwise lie or float around for decades. We believe this will revolutionise how plastic bottles and other packaging are manufactured.”
Symphony’s CEO, Michael Laurier, said “This contract with Better Earth is an important milestone for Symphony, being the first commercial use of d2w for bottles made of rigid plastic. Furthermore, and as we have previously reported, Symphony has an extensive sales pipeline of more than 100 d2p and d2w projects, for which it is always pleasing when the trials and pre-production projects proceed to commercial contract. We are pleased to have worked with Better Earth to respond to all their questions about our d2w technology, to help them find the right solution and which we hope helps them grow their business.”
Symphony Environmental plc (LON:SYM) has provided a pre-close update for the full year. Results missed our estimates mainly due to one-off factors outside of the Group’s control. Hence, sales were c.£2.2m lower than we predicted. Consequently, the Group will report a small operating loss (c.£800k) vs. our previously estimated £170k profit. SYM expect to book c.£1.8m of delayed 2021a sales in 2022e. In contrast to short-term challenges, good strategic and commercial progress was made with both d2p and d2w products, and with new strategic partners in China and India. Management state for the first time that they now have pipeline opportunities equivalent to over $40m (c.£30m) of recurring annual revenues. But timing on delivery is always somewhat uncertain and acknowledging that SYM is in a build-out phase with several commercial opportunities, we now take a more cautious view of profitability in 2022e and 2023e. That said, given the potential for better returns over the medium-term, our DCF based valuation of 35p is unchanged.
Trading update for 2021a – Revenue is expected to be c.£9.8m (2020a: £9.8m) with an operating loss of c.£800k (2020a: c.£390k loss). By product type, Symphony Environmental reported a 5% increase in d2w oxo-biodegradeable masterbatch sales and a 29% increase in d2p protective technology products. However, finished good sales, particularly of PPE/gloves were lower. A total of c.£1.8m d2p masterbatch and PPE/glove revenues, originally expected to be recognised in 2021a has been delayed to 2022e. As previously reported, the Group made significant investments in R&D and distribution during the year. SYM should report a small net debt position.
Business developments and Zeus estimates – Despite near-term headwinds, SYM has made strong strategic and commercial progress. The new business pipeline of d2p technologies and PPE/gloves reportedly totals over 100 projects. Management estimate, if successfully commercialised, these could generate over $40m (c.£30m) of recurring annual revenues. Notably, the Group’s new d2p glove product has a kill rate of 99.99% of coronavirus within 10 minutes; management believe this is market leading. SYM expects regulatory approvals for this product in the EU and the USA in Q2 2022e. On d2p products and USA FDA & Canadian approved bread-packaging technology, following successful initial trials, small commercial product sales have started in Latin America with a large bakery. Separately, bread packaging products made with d2p have now been produced for evaluation by customers in Canada, USA, Middle East, Pakistan, and South Africa. On Meditech China, in August 2021, SYM entered into agreements to expand sales in the Far East and globally. Management is pleased with progress and alongside Meditech, are upgrading current EU CE certification and US FDA registrations. On d2w masterbatch, sales increased across Latin America, the Middle East, and some parts of Asia during 2021a, partly due to the positive impact from advisory and advocacy work as well as increased enforcement of legislation by the relevant authorities. In India, as announced on 23 October, SYM formed a distribution JV with Indorama. Agreement has also been reached for product-development and manufacturing with an Indian manufacturing group, Bihani. SYM is optimistic that these new relationships will provide good revenue opportunities in this large market for d2w and d2p products during 2022e.
Zeus Capital estimates – The Group has an expanding pipeline but is also continuing to build the platform to support higher growth. Moreover, timing of sales for new products can be somewhat uncertain. We now assume Symphony Environmental will report earnings at about break-even for 2022e before a significant ramp-up in 2023e. To conclude, 2021a has been a positive but transitional year, with some challenges. SYM now appears well placed to generate improved returns over the medium-term.
DirectorsTalk Green News rounds up our most popular LSE news stories and exclusive interviews in November 2021. Companies covered include Tirupati Graphite, Ilika, Eden Research, Dialight, Symphony Environmental, CyanConnode Holdings and Nanoco Group.
DirectorsTalk Sustainability and Green Stocks website contains exclusive content on some of the fastest growing London-listed and Green Economy Mark companies and industry sectors that are contributing to a more sustainable world.
Tirupati Graphite plc (LON:TGR, TGRHF.OTCQX), the specialist graphite and graphene company developing sustainable new age materials, made gains of over c. 16% (11.25 GBp) to move its share price to 79GBp yesterday. It declared the start of commercial production from its greenfield Vatomina Project in Madagascar with effect from 6 December 2021. As such, the Vatomina plant’s commissioning process is complete, with the facilities now stabilised to facilitate continuous, round-the-clock operations. Read the full article here. This news comes hot on the heels of its impressive Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2021.
Shishir Poddar, Executive Chairman of Tirupati Graphite, said:
“We are delighted that Vatomina has successfully ramped-up to commercial production so quickly and smoothly. The lessons we have learnt from this project will be captured to enhance our other ongoing and planned new capacity developments. The significant production we are adding will transform Tirupati into a globally significant supplier of primary flake graphite and speciality graphite and enhance the Company’s trading position going forward. We look forward to updating the markets further as we progress.”
Ilika plc (LON:IKA), a pioneer in solid-state battery technology, has announced on 6 December, the official opening of its Stereax solid state battery manufacturing facility in Chandlers Ford, UK on Friday 3 December 2021. The new facility will manufacture Stereax micro batteries that are designed for powering next generation implanted medical devices and wireless sensors used in the Industrial Internet of Things. Ilika has been developing Stereax mm-scale batteries and this new facility will now enable manufacture at scale, ready for commercialisation from Q2 2022 of Ilika’s first product, the Stereax M300 micro battery (300uAh, 5.6×3.6×0.9mm). Read the full article here.
Ilika’s CEO Graeme Purdy,stated:“We are very excited to open this new facility which will be the first of its kind in the UK and we are looking forward to selling Stereax micro batteries to markets that cannot be addressed with conventional batteries. I’d like to thank all employees for their hard work and both our investors and Innovate UK for their continued support.”
Eden Research plc (LON:EDEN) is an AIM-quoted company focussed on sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free encapsulation technology for the use in global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries. It announced on 2 December that the French regulatory authority ANSES has granted full authorisation of Eden’s biofungicide Mevalone® for use on pome fruits (such as apples and pears) to prevent post-harvest storage diseases. France produces close to 1.6 million tonnes of apples annually and exports almost half of that volume. France is consistently among the top three apple producing countries in the EU. Watch Eden’s CEO present the company investment case, financials and outlook here.
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden Research plc, said:
“The new use of Mevalone on apples, which are classed as a major crop in France, is an exciting development for Eden, and grows our addressable market in this key European territory. Mevalone has significant potential in several market segments, and we are focussed on developing the product to meet the needs of farmers who are increasingly unable to use many conventional chemicals due to more stringent regulations. We look forward to receiving further product authorisations in due course and further helping farmers efficiently and sustainably provide food for our growing population.”
Dialight plc (LON:DIA), world leader in LED industrial lighting, published on 9 November a trading update for the period from 30 June to 31 October 2021 here. The full year results will be published on 28 March 2022.
It also launched on 26 October, the world’s most efficient commercially available heavy industrial rated lighting fixture, the Ultra-Efficient Vigilant® LED High Bay. Dialight CEO, Fariyal Khanbabi, noted: “It can generate a rapid payback in as little as 12 months for some customers”.
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM) global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and more sustainable”, has announced a strategic alliance with a team of specialised and experienced people in India who understand the culture and business requirements of a country with 17.7% of the world’s population. Read the full article here.
Amit Lohia, Group Vice Chairman of Indorama Corporation, said: “Protection of the natural environment, and the health and safety of the people are very important objectives in India today, and Symphony’s technologies will help to address those objectives.”
Arjun Aggarwal, MD of Symphony India said: “The formation of a Joint Venture company in India is an important milestone for both Symphony and Indorama. It will lay the foundation of a truly Swachh Bharat (clean India), the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Plastic biodegrading automatically will ensure that our planet’s newest continent – plastic waste – does not grow any further.”
In another important development, Symphony announced on 29 November that DEFRA (the UK government department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has NOT listed oxo-biodegradable plastic in its November 2021 public consultation as a “frequently littered and problematic plastic.” The Scottish Government has likewise issued draft Regulations in November which do not list oxo-biodegradable plastic. Symphony views this as a major step in the right direction and will now be putting more effort into explaining and marketing our d2w technology in the UK. Read the full article here.
Finally, Symphony was awarded “ESG Company of the Year” for its outstanding global achievements in the ever-important subjects of Environmental, Social and Governance. The ninth annual Small Cap Awards winners were announced on 11 November and were given across nine categories, recognising outstanding achievements of the best small and micro-cap quoted companies (sub £200m market capitalisation).
John Cronin, Executive Chairman of CyanConnode Holdings plc (LON:CYAN), discusses with DirectorsTalk, about his latest meeting of the Climate Finance boardroom organised by India Global Forum (IGF).
As one of the key stakeholders in the UK-India partnership on Energy and a key advocate of the “Global Green Recovery”, John explains in this insightful Q&A session here:
the importance of digitising the Energy Sector – Smart Meters to Smart Grids.
what more needs to be done and the timeline for replacing the existing 250 million meters with smart meters in India;
what else is the Government of India doing as a stimulus to the Smart Metering movement
What are some of the benefits of Smart Metering deployment and leveraging smart grid improvements on this massive scale?
Nanoco Group plc (LON:NANO), a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other specific nanomaterials emanating from its technology platform, has announced:
its preliminary results for the year ended 31 July 2021 here
that it has signed an agreement with an important European electronics customer for the delivery of an enhanced version of its technology here.
that it has appointed Liam Gray to the Company’s Board in the role of Chief Financial Officer with effect from 8 November 2021. Liam will continue to serve as Nanoco’s Company Secretary.
Jubilee Metals Group plc (LON:JLP) CEO Leon Coetzer joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss its results for the year ended 30th June 2021. Revenue and earnings growth was achieved during a period of substantial infrastructure investment, integration and planned operational downtime and has provided a tremendous platform for further future growth.
Total revenue for the year increased by a strong 143% to £ 133 million (ZAR 2.8 billion)1 (2020: £ 54.8 million (ZAR 1.1 billion))
Profit after tax adjusted for non-cash expenses including impairments, gain on bargain purchase and share based payments up 194% to £ 49 million (ZAR 1 billion) (2020: £ 17 million (ZAR: 331 million))
Adjusted earnings per share up 163% to 2.25 pence (ZAR 46.66 cents)
Ferro-Alloy Resources Ltd (LON:FAR) CEO Nick Bridgen joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss the progress of the expanded feasibility study for the large Balasausqandiq vanadium deposit in Southern Kazakhstan. It also recently announced here that it has made its first commercial sale of ferro-molybdenum and has completed testing of the production of ferro-vanadium.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM), global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and more sustainable”, has noted that DEFRA (the UK government department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has NOT listed oxo-biodegradable plastic in its November 2021 public consultation as a “frequently littered and problematic plastic.” The Scottish Government has likewise issued draft Regulations in November which do not list oxo-biodegradable plastic. Symphony views this as a major step in the right direction.
Symphony is also encouraged that the UK Government has given grants for the development of oxo-biodegradable technology (sometimes described as biotransformation), demonstrating an understanding that these technologies can reduce the problem of plastic litter which does not get collected for recycling.
The British Royal Family has also shown support. HRH The Prince of Wales has visited a facility developing biotransformation technology, and Symphony is a subscriber to the Prince’s “Terra Carta” Sustainable Markets Initiative.
DEFRA and the Scottish Government have now seen the evidence from the four-year Oxomar study sponsored by the French government proving that oxo-biodegradable plastics do biodegrade, even in the oceans, much more efficiently than conventional plastics. They have also seen the study by Queen Mary University London showing that the biodegradation of LDPE (low-density polyethylene) containing Symphony’s d2w was 90‐times greater than ordinary LDPE after 35 days. They are also aware that the European Chemicals Agency, after ten months’ study was not convinced that oxo-biodegradable plastic created microplastics.
Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony Environmental said, “We welcome the position taken by the UK and Scottish Governments, and we will now be putting more effort into explaining and marketing our d2w technology in the UK.”
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM) global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and more sustainable”, has announced a strategic alliance with a team of specialised and experienced people in India who understand the culture and business requirements of a country with 17.7% of the world’s population.
Symphony Environmental Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, has therefore entered into an agreement to form a joint venture company in India with Indorama India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Indorama Corporation Pte. Ltd. The JV company, called Symphony Environmental India Pvt Ltd, will have an initial share capital, the equivalent in Indian currency, of GBP 100,000. The shares of Symphony India will be held 46.5% by Symphony UK, 46.5% by Indorama and 7% by Mr. Arjun Aggarwal, an Indian citizen, who has been appointed Managing Director of Symphony India.
Mr Aggarwal is one of India’s prominent young entrepreneurs, who has introduced a portfolio of modern technologies that are in line with the aspirations of India’s young demographic profile.
Symphony UK has awarded Symphony India an exclusive Distribution Agreement to market and sell Symphony’s d2w and d2p masterbatches in India. Symphony India will also be promoting the importance of Symphony’s scientifically-proven d2w technology to protect the environment, and its d2p technologies to protect human health. The parties are already preparing an active programme of media communications and direct selling.
The use of plastic in India is increasing because it is the lowest cost option, and is by far the best material for protecting food and water from contamination and preventing food waste and disease. However, India also has an environmental problem in common with most of the world with plastic pollution. Trying to ban plastic is not the answer, but using d2w technology could effectively and significantly reduce the issue of plastic pollution without job losses, factory closures or increases in Co2 emissions. In future, if d2w enhanced plastic does escape into the environment the plastic will safely biodegrade instead of lying or floating around for decades and creating microplastics.
The products sold by Symphony India will be produced mainly in India, under licence from Symphony UK, as this will be both cost-effective and environmentally-friendly. The parties have negotiated a Manufacturing and Product Development Agreement with the Bihani Manufacturing Company Ltd., (“Bihani”) in New Delhi, who have been supplying Symphony UK for nearly ten years. Their manufacturing facilities have been and will continue to be audited by Symphony’s Technical Dept.
Amit Lohia, Group Vice Chairman of Indorama Corporation, said: “Protection of the natural environment, and the health and safety of the people are very important objectives in India today, and Symphony’s technologies will help to address those objectives.”
Arjun Aggarwal, MD of Symphony India said: “The formation of a Joint Venture company in India is an important milestone for both Symphony and Indorama. It will lay the foundation of a truly Swachh Bharat (clean India), the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Plastic biodegrading automatically will ensure that our planet’s newest continent – plastic waste – does not grow any further.”
Jaideep Bihani, Director of Bihani said: “Innovation and sustainability have always been an integral part of Symphony’s portfolio, and Symphony’s tried and tested d2w products resonate with the Indian Government’s vision, initiatives and policies. At the same time, d2p masterbatch technology will change product conception and design in agriculture, food packaging, healthcare, and many other applications. We will be working closely with Symphony India to ensure efficiency and maintaining the high standards of quality set by Symphony UK.”
Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony Environmental said: “For the Group to expand successfully in India it was essential for us to form an alliance with a strong Indian partner. We have no doubt that Indorama is the right partner, as it is a substantial company well respected in India, with the right commercial credentials. This is an expansion of our current activities in India and we consider the Indian market to be ripe for significant sales growth.”
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM), global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and more sustainable” has been awarded “ESG Company of the Year” for its outstanding global achievements in the ever-important subjects of Environmental, Social and Governance.
The ninth annual Small Cap Awards winners were announced on 11 November and were given across nine categories, recognising outstanding achievements of the best small and micro-cap quoted companies (sub £200m market capitalisation).
Symphony’s CEO, Michael Laurier said: “We are honoured to have been recognised for our efforts to make the world a safer and better place, particularly at a time when the attention of the world is focussed on the environment by the COP 26 Summit. Our team continues to work hard to invent and apply technical solutions for plastic pollution, and threats to public health.
“This award follows Symphony attaining the “Green Economy Mark” by the London Stock Exchange, recognising that we derive 50%+ of our activity from the Green Economy.
In addition, in Brazil this week, Symphony Environmental’s distributor, RES Brasil, won the Plástico Sul Award for Innovation & Sustainability, for plastic bags produced with d2w oxo-biodegradable and d2p antimicrobial technology.”
DirectorsTalk Sustainability and Green Stocks website contains exclusive content on some of the fastest growing London-listed and Green Economy Mark companies and industry sectors that are contributing to a more sustainable world. Sectors include sustainable agriculture, advanced materials, bioplastics, battery storage and electric vehicles, energy efficiency and smart metering, recycling and sustainable investment funds.
Here’s a roundup of our most popular Sustainability-related news and interviews in October 2021.
Dialight plc (LON:DIA), world leader in LED industrial lighting, Group CEO, Fariyal Khanbabi presents its H1 2021 results presentation, including a financial review by Interim CFO, Clive Jennings. The presentation includes an overview of Dialight’s business performance & strategy, product innovation and how the company supports its clients progress to Net Zero carbon emissions.
Since the results, Dialight launched on 26 October, the world’s most efficient commercially available heavy industrial rated lighting fixture, the Ultra-Efficient Vigilant® LED High Bay. Fariyal Khanbabi noted: “It can generate a rapid payback in as little as 12 months for some customers.” Read more on the product launch here.
Tirupati Graphite plc (LON:TGR), the fully integrated, revenue generating, specialist graphite producer and graphene and advanced materials developer, held its Annual General Meeting on 28 October. Shishir Poddar, Executive Chairman & Managing Director announced: “Responding to the growing demand for clean, green graphite for EV batteries, Tirupati is thus increasing production at its two primary graphite mining and processing projects in Madagascar. Last month, we announced the commissioning of our second plant and are also in the process of developing the third, which will take capacity to 30k tonnes per annum (‘ktpa’) next year. But that’s not the end of the story; it’s just the beginning. Immediately after we complete the third plant, we’ll start on the fourth with the intention of reaching our ambitious target of 84ktpa by 2024.”
Ilika plc (LON:IKA) is a pioneer in a ground-breaking solid state battery technology able to meet the specific demands of a wide range of applications in MedTech, Industrial IoT, Electric Vehicles and Consumer Electronics. VP of Sales and Marketing John Tinson joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss the company roadmap. John chats about a discussion he hosted on the role of the Government in battery innovation, Ilika’s view on international versus local supply chains, the effect on plans, electrification and its place on the roadmap, the effect the latest Faraday-led consortium to develop Solid State Batteries will have, what’s next for the company and where it is on the company roadmap.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM), global specialists in technologies that make plastic and rubber products “smarter, safer and sustainable” and Faust Innovations have announced on 25 October a new Distribution Agreement for the sale of finished products made with Symphony’s technologies. Faust Innovations is a new company established by Roberto Fama and Henry Uscinski.
Symphony Environmental’s CEO, Michael Laurier said: “Symphony provides a wide range of innovative products under its d2w and d2p brands which will be very useful in the hospitality industry. We are pleased to be working with two very experienced businessmen who are well placed to introduce our products to this important market, initially in Japan, Thailand, the UAE and Hong Kong. We wish them every success.” In this short exclusive interview, Michael expands on the news and why it provides rapid expansion of their channels to market for their finished products.
Eden Research plc (LON:EDEN) is an AIM-quoted company focussed on sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free encapsulation technology for the use in global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries. CEO Sean Smith presents the company’s strategy, investment case, financials and outlook hosted from Milton Park in Oxfordshire.
Pensana plc (LON:PRE) set about establishing three years ago the world’s first fully sustainable and independent magnet metal supply chain in the UK. Pensana plc has again been named a top stock ahead of COP26 as published in The Sunday Times on 24 October 2021. The article, titled Five shares you can buy to hitch a ride on the EV boom, notes Saltend’s globally unique location in a Freeport and that the Company’s £15m equity fundraising kickstarted early works on site in June 2021, among other strengths.
Earlier this month, British investment bank Liberum also picked Pensana as a top pick for COP26 and as one of three UK companies that meet the climate leaders gold standard.
Pensana’s Chairman, Paul Atherley, said: “The electrification of motive power is the biggest energy transformation in history and is dependent on the supply of powerful rare earth magnets which is dominated by China. Rare earth prices continue to rise and have pushed through US$100,000 per tonne as the awareness grows that China is going to need all of its magnet production for its $11 trillion Carbon Neutral plan. Building a rare earth processing hub in a Freeport in the UK will be a major step in establishing an independent and sustainable supply chain for these critical magnet metals.”
Biome Technologies plc (LON:BIOM) Bioplastics division has announced the commencement of large-scale UK-wide field testing and initial commercial sales by Suregreen of biodegradable tree shelters using Biome’s proprietary bioplastics materials.
Paul Mines, Biome Technologies’ Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Extensive field testing is the next step to commercialisation of the novel biodegradable tree shelter at scale. We’re looking forward to validating our results over the coming years in a diverse range of climates by demonstrating how our biodegradable materials can protect saplings in the early years after planting and are confident that biodegradable tree shelters will play a meaningful role in sustainable forestry and the UK’s net-zero ambitions.” Read the full RNS here.
