Earnings Release • Aug 22, 2011
Earnings Release
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Ad-hoc | 22 August 2011 07:15
Leclanché SA reports half-year financial results 2011
Leclanché SA / Key word(s): Half Year Results
22.08.2011 07:15
Leclanché SA reports half-year financial results 2011
Total consolidated revenues of CHF 6.74 million
Orders in hand increased threefold to CHF 30.1 million
Prepared entry in the home energy storage market
Ordered machinery for new 50MWh production unit
New partnership to develop next generation of Lithium Ion batteries
Expansion strategy on track and on schedule
Unchanged guidance for 2011
Yverdon-les-Bains, 22 August 2011 - Leclanché S.A. (SIX Swiss Exchange :
LECN), specialized in the production of large-format lithium ion cells and
energy storage solutions, announced today its financial results for the
first half-year 2011 and reported progress in line with anticipated
milestones. Total consolidated revenues reached CHF 6.74 million, a 8.6%
decline compared to CHF 7.37 million in 2010. While sales generated by the
distribution business declined, those of the business with large format
Lithium Ion technology more than doubled in the first half 2011. As the
company continued to invest substantially to build a large-scale industrial
production line for lithium ion cells and increase its marketing presence,
the net loss amounted to CHF 4.88 million versus CHF 4.74 in 2010,
demonstrating increased cost management. As a result of new signed
contracts, orders in hand increased to CHF 30.1 million at the end of June
2011, compared to CHF 7.2 million at the end of June 2010.
Ulrich Ehmes, Chief Executive Officer, commented:'The first six months of
2011 were marked by many concrete achievements, including the signature of
two important contracts. Beyond the utilisation of our upcoming production
capacity, the agreement with Schüco, one of the market leaders in the solar
energy, represents an important milestone to position Leclanché in the
emerging stationary home storage market. We believe there is a fundamental
macroeconomic trend in favour of renewable energies requiring new solutions
to store energy. Leclanché has the technology and products to respond to
this need and intends to take up this significant market opportunity.'
'For the remainder of 2011, our priorities remain unchanged: strengthen our
sales and marketing efforts to register additional orders for our new
production unit and expand our production capacity. In addition, we will
also be preparing our entry in the stationary home market as we expect to
deliver the first units of our storage solution towards the end of the
year. Finally, as this is a natural extension of our home storage solution,
we will also be investigating the opportunity to expand our product
offering to an industrial 'container' storage solution for smart grid
applications', Dr. Ehmes added.
Highlights during the first half year 2011
Signed a contract with Schüco, a worldwide recognized leader for
energy-efficient buildings to provide entire energy storage systems,
integrating large format Lithium Ion cells as well as the necessary
electronics. This contract is expected to use at minimum a quarter of
the in 2012 available capacity of the company's new production line and
represents an important milestone to position Leclanché in the emerging
stationary storage mass market.
Signed a long term contract of CHF 12,55 million with a large European
customer to deliver portable battery packs for use in ruggedized
applications The battery packs, for which Leclanché developed the
entire concept and battery management system integrate standard small
format Lithium Ion cells and are assembled in Yverdon. They are
expected to be delivered between 2011 and 2015.
Implemented all the necessary steps in order to increase our production
capacity for our large format Lithium Ion cells from 4 to 50 MWh
(titanate anodes) as of mid-2012: finalized the detailed specifications
of the machines, ordered them and reinforced our staff significantly.
This new production unit represents an investment of CHF 20 million for
machinery and will allow Leclanché to be one of the few European mass
producers of large format lithium Ion cells.
Pursued the development of funded development projects to stay at
forefront in research and be prepared for upcoming market
opportunities. Maintained product development activities and delivered
customized batches for specific applications across all our end
markets.
Produced over 4.000 cells which are ready for shipment according to the
requested specification for Younicos, specifically for the Web2Energy
project. However, for reasons beyond control of Leclanché, this order
was cancelled by Younicos just before shipment. Leclanché is trying to
solve this open issue directly with its counterpart.
Concluded a partnership to develop a new generation of large format
lithium-ion batteries based on lithium titanate and lithium iron
phosphate. The EUR 5 million project, which involves cooperation with
large groups such as Siemens and is half funded by the German Federal
Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMWi) is linked to the growing demand for
high-performance batteries to store renewable energies. Leclanché is
funded with EUR 0,83 million in this project by the BMWi.
Started evaluating business opportunities and needs to provide energy
storage for utilities and other power stations. Larger scale industrial
storage would be a natural extension of Leclanché's home storage
solution, hence leading to the creation of a standardized and modular
range of lithium-ion storage solutions.
Strengthened its management team and Board, notably with the
appointment of Antoine Spillmann as independent Board member.
Reinforced its production, R&D as well as Sales and Marketing teams by
hiring 11 people.
Set-up a new organizational structure focused on five distinct market
segments: stationary, industrial solutions, off-road, automotive and
distribution.
The appointment of two committees on the Board of Directors: the Audit
Committee, to monitor of the Group's financial reporting process and
system of internal control, and the Chairman's Executive Committee to
assist notably the Board for nomination and compensation matters.
Orders in hand
As of the end of June 2011, Leclanché had orders in hand of CHF 30.1
million, compared to CHF 10.5 million as of February 2011 and CHF 7.2
million in June 2010. The orders are for delivery as of the end of 2011
until 2015.
Outlook
Leclanché is convinced that storage of renewable energy is a growing market
in which it can play a significant role. The company is ready, has the
right concept and the right technology and a very important long term
contract with one of the big players in the home energy storage market.
To further penetrate the home energy storage market and seize upcoming
opportunities as well, Leclanché will continue investments to refine its
technological leadership, to further develop its product offering, to
register additional sales orders and to expand production of high capacity
lithium cells.
In view of the planned investments and headcount increase in the coming
months, Leclanché maintains its guidance for the year 2011, which
anticipates a loss in the same magnitude as last year.
Taking into account installment payments for the new 50 MWh production
unit, cash and short term deposits represented at the end of June 2011 CHF
10.8 million. Accordingly, and provided market conditions are supportive,
the company plans to return to the capital market in the second half of
this year to respond to its future financing needs and to seize upcoming
market opportunities.
Leclanché S.A. Consolidated Figures for the 1st half-year 2011
in million CHF 2011 2010
[IFRS] 1st half- 1st half-
year year
Revenue 6.74 7.37
EBITDA -3.86 -4.03
EBIT -4.73 -4.78
Profit / Loss -4.88 - 4.74
At June 30 2011 At June 30 2010
Equity Capital
As percentage of total assets 32.87 22.04
87.5% 87.1 %
Cash in hand 10.79 3.84
Employees (FTE) 94 94
Analyst and Investor call
Leclanché S.A. will discuss its half-year 2011 financial results and
achievements during a live audio webcast taking place Monday August 22nd
at 11:00 AM CET.
The audio webcast, including the slides, will be accessible on the
Leclanché web site and by using the following link:
http://leclanche220811-live.cyber-presentation.de.
A replay of this teleconference will be made available one hour after the
conference.
Analyst and investors wishing to ask questions during the webcast should
use the following conference-ID: 4467447 and one of the dial-in numbers
indicated below:
Switzerland: +41 (0) 22-592-73-12
UK: +44-207-153-2027
Media contact:
Christophe Lamps, Dynamics Group S.A.: Telephone: +41 79 476 26 87,
[email protected]
Contact for German media:
Markus Wieser, CNC AG: Telephone: +49 89 599 458 114,
[email protected]
About Leclanché
Leclanché specializes in the production of tailor-made energy storage
solutions and is a leading manufacturer of large-format lithium ion cells
in Europe. Through a unique, licensed separator technology, the core
element of lithium ion cells, Leclanché is capable of manufacturing cells
with above-average safety features and a significantly increased life in an
automated production process. The company's core markets are industries
which have highest demands on energy storage systems. They include energy
storage solutions, which allow better utilization of the power supply
system, large hybrid diesel engines and electric vehicles.
Leclanché has an installed annual production capacity of up to 4 MWh or
100,000 large format lithium-ion cells. To prepare for the increasing
demand for this technology, the company has decided to install an
additional production unit with a capacity of up to 50 MWh or 1 million
cells per year as of 2012.
Leclanché was founded in 1909 in Yverdon-les-Bains. Through the integration
of a spin-off from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 2006, the company
developed from being a traditional battery manufacturer to becoming a
leading developer and manufacturer of lithium ion cells in Europe.
Leclanché currently employs 94 staff and recorded revenues of CHF 15.05
million in 2010. The company has its headquarters in Yverdon-les-Bains
(Switzerland) and has production and development facilities in Willstätt
(Germany). Leclanché is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LECN).
Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to
Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as
'strategic', 'proposes', 'to introduce', 'will', 'planned', 'expected',
'commitment', 'expects', 'set', 'preparing', 'plans', 'estimates', 'aims',
'would', 'potential', 'awaiting', 'estimated', 'proposal', or similar
expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up
of Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing
products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or
potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business
units. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such
forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding
future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché's products will
achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that
Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular
financial results.
22.08.2011 News transmitted by EquityStory AG.
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Language: English
Company: Leclanché SA
Av. des Sports 42
1400 Yverdon-les-Bains
Switzerland
Phone: +41 (24) 424 65-00
Fax: +41 (24) 424 65-20
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.leclanche.com
ISIN: CH0016271550, CH0110303119
Swiss Security Number: 812950 , A1CUUB
Listed: SIX
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