Versarien Live Discussion

the_old_trout 12 Dec 2019

Interims Have to say that the fall in revenues is very disappointing but the stock has always been priced to reflect the company’s staggering growth potential and not on a p/e ratio. If you still believe in the growth potential now is the time to add rather than run for the hills. From a chart perspective the share price is currently around the support level from February. Should that fall I have the next support level around 65p, so not much downside risk at these levels imho. Tot

theprior 12 Dec 2019

Interims Yes, the number crunchers in the City don’t understand the company, only the numbers. If the numbers don’t fit their algorithm they sell. But for those who see opportunity it’s a “buy”. Topped up for a trade when it goes back to 1.20 TP

EyesonHawk2 12 Dec 2019

Interims Yes TP and certainly the cash burn is quite daunting! eyeson…onwards and upwards!

theprior 12 Dec 2019

Interims Agreed, Eyes. It’s the numbers that have spooked the market. Revenue down, losses up. Bad combination for the anal ists. Future is bright, I’ve topped up at 70. Rude not to, I can afford to wait a little while TP

EyesonHawk2 12 Dec 2019

Interims Yes I believe you are right JT something smells or is it simply the thought of Corbyn and his crew getting in. The sp is down to 70p as I write so obviously these results have hit home. My view is that they have been downplayed somewhat for what ever reason. Jinan, Biogrene, the fact that the AECOM tests are all positive…these things seem well underplayed to me! eyeson

jaytee41 12 Dec 2019

Interims After yesterdays drop into the 70s I can see it going back down. What gets me is why after months in the 90s do we get a sudden drop ? And this is not just VRS either - most of the shares that I follow but not necessary hold are going the same way. Are the MMs playing some sort of game

EyesonHawk2 12 Dec 2019

Interims Not too pretty. Was expecting more than this but maybe still a waiting game! eyeson RNS Number : 5951W Versarien PLC 12 December 2019 Versarien plc (“Versarien”, the “Company” or the “Group”) Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2019 Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced engineering materials group, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2019, a period in which the Company made further progress with its graphene commercialisation strategy. Financial Highlights · Group revenues of £4.38 million (H1 2018: £5.22 million) · Adjusted LBITDA* of £0.90 million (H1 2018: £0.36 million) · Loss before tax of £2.12 million (H1 2018: £0.79 million) · Cash of £2.64 million at 30 September 2019 (30 September 2018: £6.07 million) · Net assets of £11.87 million (30 September 2018: £12.32 million) *Adjusted LBITDA (Loss Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) excludes exceptional items and share-based payment charges Operational Highlights · First graphene company in the world to complete the US Graphene Council’s “Verified Graphene Producer” programme · Continued progress in international expansion, including receiving the first graphene orders in the US and Japan · Large-scale industrial prototype to improve rail transportation infrastructure, using Versarien’s graphene enhanced polymer technology showcased and successfully in test to date. · Successfully incorporated wholly foreign owned enterprise in China (Beijing Versarien Technology Company Limited) with a business license granted by the relevant Chinese authorities · Receipt of EU REACH approval to manufacture up to ten tonnes of graphene per annum · Significant improvement in financial performance compared to H1 2018 for the Group’s hard wear and metallic products businesses Post Period Highlights · Commercial partnership agreement signed with the Company’s textile sector collaboration partner, MAS Innovation (Private) Limited, the first demonstration of Versarien’s graphene commercialisation strategy with a major global partner · Further global success with a collaboration agreement signed with Refractory Solutions Insertec S.L.U. a Company headquartered in Spain · Non-binding heads of terms signed with Jinan Bo Guan Building Engineering Co., Ltd (“JBG”) to form a manufacturing joint venture located in Zhucheng City, Shangdong, providing further opportunities in China in addition to the ongoing discussions and progress with Beijing Institute of Graphene Technology Co. Ltd (“BIGT”) and the China International Graphene Industry Union (“CIGIU”) · Graphene incubation facility being established in Fangshan with CIGIU/BIGT in line with AGM statement and contractual negotiations continuing Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented: "Over the period under review and subsequently, we have been progressing our business both in the UK and globally. The focus remains on our graphene commercialisation strategy and we are now actively working on 40 mainstream projects with our commercial partners, have a further 24 projects underway and active research ongoing on another 17. We continue to focus on the projects most likely to produce near-term significant revenue streams. These include graphene-enhanced transportation arches, 3D printing of concrete, aircraft interior parts, parts for down hole drilling in the oil and gas sector and graphene enhanced textiles. "The Company has scaled up its manufacturing capacity to be able to produce three tonnes of graphene per annum and with the award of Graphene REACH registration, we are now in a position to be able to supply product as we near commercialisation. The large-scale industrial prototype arch showcased clearly demonstrates the significant benefits graphene technology can bring. We are also looking at opportunities to secure long term supply agreements with high quality graphite mines. "Discussions with the Beijing Institute of Graphene Technology Co. Ltd and the China International Graphene Industry Union are still ongoing, aided by having been granted a business license for our Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (“WFOE”) in China. In line with the AGM statement, we have collaborated with CIGIU/BIGT and have registered the WFOE at the recently publicised Beijing Graphene Industry Innovation Centre Seed Incubation Park. We continue to maintain our primary position which is to ensure, so far as reasonably possible, that we protect our IP and therefore continue to assess other opportunities for factory location which are put to us in addition to any that may be proposed under the BIGT/CIGIU process. "We have also signed a non-binding term sheet with the intention of setting up manufacturing in Shangdong. under a joint venture between Versarien and Jinan Bo Guan Building Engineering Co., Ltd with controlling ownership residing with Versarien. JBG would, together with associates, be responsible for the construction of a graphene valley park over a three-year period and JBG have expressed an interest in taking a strategic investment stake in Versarien as part of any transaction. Legally binding contracts have yet to be signed and updates on progress will be made in due course. "As well as progressing our technology base it is pleasing to note that our hard wear and metallic products business has shown a significant increase in profitability on stable sales following the efficiency improvements that were implemented in the last financial year. “We continue to use the cash received from our placing last year to develop application IP through our collaborations, to expand into Europe, the USA, China and South Korea as well as to develop new products such as Biogrene. Together with our accreditation as a verified graphene producer we are confident for the future ahead and look forward to reporting further success over the coming months.”

EyesonHawk2 05 Dec 2019

Report from Mondays Investor event in Cardiff Jt…Does seem to be some confusion as to what exactly top 5 are but hey ho plenty of permutations to choose from! eyeson

jaytee41 05 Dec 2019

Report from Mondays Investor event in Cardiff Good reports guys. I see that batteries were not on the top 5, so I wonder where the company are with EV power ? Note that AFC have just announced that they are the official EV charging partner at next year’s British Motor Show - surely a good place to advertise any VRS capabilities.

EyesonHawk2 05 Dec 2019

Report from Mondays Investor event in Cardiff Thanks ToT…yes I did read that one too! So you are ‘skipper’ on advfn! A great write up and sounded as though it was a very positive night all round and full of future promise. We must be the most patient lth’s ever although many still pop in and out at will. I’m still confident that rewards will come to those who wait. The next step will be the interims on the 12th and maybe another RNS before then…we shall see! Eyeson PS…Over the last 24 hours or so Neill has fully turned up the heat on the trolls via twitter and have to say we have been here before! nrrrrrrrrrrr.JPG624x850 96.2 KB

the_old_trout 04 Dec 2019

Report from Mondays Investor event in Cardiff Cheers Eyeson, I also posted a report on Advfn but this week has been so hectic I haven’t had time to visit this board as well. Here it is for what it’s worth: "A nice get together with around 20 investors/prospective investors present, in the company of Neill Ricketts, his father, and colleague Nigel Laughton. NR started the question and answer session by reminding investors that he could not impart any price sensitive information that was not already in the public realm. He introduced NL, who clarified his role within the company, which included staff development and personal performance. The initial part of the Q&A focused on the recent MAS deal announcement and in particular whether this was just about graphinks. NR passed around a T shirt impregnated with graphinks and subjected to rigorous testing, which had established that it wicks sweat much faster, was anti-microbial, displayed better heat transfer and was more abrasion resistant. He stressed, however, that the deal was not just related to graphinks. An investor pointed out that MAS’s customers included global names and rattled off a few, to which NR added Victoria’s Secrets. NR clarified that the deal with MAS did not preclude VRS dealing directly with other brands, though certain companies (e.g. Nike) had their preferred suppliers, which meant it was best to work through these for quick wins, although a number of companies were now coming directly to VRS for product development. MAS first contacted VRS around two years ago and were already fairly knowledgeable about graphene’s properties but were not sure how best to proceed. VRS assisted MAS in exploring possible applications in a ‘journey of discovery’ which led to advanced product development and testing. Nike was the original target but several other brands have come aboard. The MAS production line is now ready for action. NR gave a reminder that VRS was focused on five main target priorities: Aecom - arch Aecom - concrete Oil and gas application Textiles China deal He added that around 100 other projects were now jostling for position behind the big 5. NR was asked who owns the IP associated with the MAS deal. While alluding to the complexities in this area, NR emphasised that VRS owns the IP around its material and the way it is used. He also said that VRS was introducing new customers to established supply chains. I enquired about how future news flow would work in respect of individual contract wins flowing from the MAS deal. This led to a walk through Stock Exchange reporting requirements, the materiality of news in the eyes of the Nomad (e.g. would it be likely to move the share price by more than 10% or was it better to issue a trading statement when revenues were likely to show a significant increase compared with the previous figures). Another question related to the scaling up of production capacity. NR indicated that he had no concerns about the challenge of scale up, and that VRS had already faced the issue of increasing capabilities with several products. He added that the current capacity of 3 tonnes pa was sufficient to cope with firm orders on the book, clarifying that 3 tpa was based on three shifts a day, five days a week. In order to safeguard IP the full production process was only known to a very small number of the VRS core team who were named but owing to troll acitivity I think it unwise to name them here. Obtaining bank finance for additional machinery would not be problematic, he said, on the back of firm orders. Neill was asked whether he worried about the competition. He replied that he did in the past, but now felt that the business had moved on to a point where it was significantly de-risked. Another question related to recent trading patterns in the company’s stock with both large buys and sells. NR explained that he received regular reports on share ownership and could ascertain who was engaged in each trade. This data included market makers and traders going short or buying and then selling for small percentage returns, and II’s who sometimes resorted to day trading. He pointed out that some of the latter hold shares just below agreed notifiable thresholds, i.e. 3% for UK based funds but 5% for those registered in mainland Europe or Jersey. It was confirmed that discussions were on going post Ibiza with individuals and organisations that the company would like to see on board. Going back to the issue of protecting IP in the deal with China, NR said that there were five ways to protect it: Patents - but not particularly relevant any more. Equipment - it is not just about one machine producing; it is a system involving several different machines and processes. Political pressure - a breach would be a national embarrassment to the host government, regional organisations, universities. The ‘recipe’ - remains a very closely guarded secret Someone observed: ‘But at some stage, you have to hand everything over to the Chinese’. NR gave an emphatic NO to this prospect, explaining that VRS had WOFE status through its currently inactive company in Hong Kong and that chemicals would be dispatched to this company first and thence to JV organisations. He added that the different machines in the production system were in constant communication and would ‘die’ if operated outside of production parameters and they could be shut down at any time from the UK. At the end of the evening, Nigel Laughton auctioned for charity a set of Media Devil earphones and a signed guide to grapheme and everyone thanked him and Neil for spending an hour longer than the alloted time with us. Obiously the above is heavily condensed and I am sure that others could add to it if they are looking in here, but I left in the sure and certain knowledge that this company has a very bright future ahead of it." ATB, Tot

EyesonHawk2 04 Dec 2019

Report from Mondays Investor event in Cardiff Report by Mike from a private thread. "Versarien Investor Event 2 Dec 2019 Neill Ricketts came to the Pantmawr Inn, Cardiff for an Investor evening on Monday 2 December. The meeting was well organised at short notice by LTH ‘Schmally’ who lives locally. NR says he was expecting 5-7 people and was pleased when over 20 turned up, mostly from the local area, and including some guests. Neill brought Nigel Laughton with him to organise the Charity Raffle (which raised over £400), and also, to our delight, his Dad, who he described as a better rugby player than himself. We started with a Q&A: My question - ‘On the recent deal with MAS we’ll be supplying Graphinks to the manufacturer, but we have the freedom to strike deals directly with some of their clients, which includes some of the biggest global sports brands. What form would these deals take?’ NR (paraphrased): Firstly is not just Graphinks involved with MAS, it could later be Nanene and other future products. This agreement will enable VRS to agree marketing deals directly with the MAS client companies, and any other clothing brand. MAS are cool about this, because we may in future bring new clients to them, as we are getting enquiries about textiles from companies who are not MAS clients. (NR explained this better in his VOX Markets video yesterday, describing the ‘pyramid’ process of contracting with a top firm in an industry, like MAS, and letting the lesser players come to VRS/MAS for their Graphene textile solutions). What is VRS’ relationship with the City? (we got a bit side-tracked into this) NR: ‘We must be the most unpopular quoted company with the City, because while sticking with the AIM rules, I don’t play their games. We don’t control the deal flow, so it happens when it happens, so we don’t mention big names prematurely which would just send the share price higher - the metrics will catch up eventually. This is completely at odds with the way of the West Coast where I spent some time, That was bonkers, and it’s not our style although my way does not suit the likes of Lucien Meirs’. [hence the attention from the TW brigade; the naivety of some investors who follow them seems not to be lost on NR] The Big 5. As quoted by NR (and now modified on his advice!) these are: Textiles AECOM polymers and concrete Oil & Gas Aerospace China These are the ‘quickest to market’, but behind these 5 are 30 other priority targets with about 100 coming along behind. Scale Up: He’s not worried about the scale up, because of the diversity, there is Nanene in two of the Big 5, Graphinks in 2 [ and presumably both of them in the 5th!] VRS has drawn down money from InnovateUK to scale up Graphinks, and all the collaborators know the current capacity and know how we can scale up. The much-mentioned 3T/yr capacity is 3 shifts per day for 5 days per week, so some spare capacity. New non-exec Susan Bowen is a scale-up expert and is skilled at holding NR’s ‘feet to the fire’, but of course is not personally involved in the production process, which is only known to three men, NR and two very long term colleagues, JT and SJ, rewarded with potentially life-changing share options, both knarly engineers. Protection of IP is critical. China would love to have our technology This is what caused the change of game in China. We were unable to deliver the deal by the AGM, as hoped, while making sure all our protection is in place, this is ongoing. There are the levels of protection we are insisting on being in place: Patents, but which are vulnerable to abuse and circumnavigation The equipment is not a single machine but several from different suppliers. They would have control systems back to UK; any tampering, machines die The recipe - controlled by only 3 men including NR (as with CocaCola) Political oversight from the very top, from both governments. National embarrassment if something goes wrong locally. Strong sanctions for transgressors. WFOE formed in China with VRS subsidiary in HK, a supply channel to ensure IP control and security Maintenance done by VRS, machines leased to Chinese clients if possible If you mess up with the IP, you can’t have what’s coming down the line. I’ve already posted about NR’s motivational priorities: Duty to family, duty to company and its shareholders, duty to the BRITISH technology which is not to be lost or sold abroad. We asked about his health. Stupid question some might say, as he looks pretty robust and totally on top of his game (to the extent of sporting a black eye from last week’s rucking as a tight-head prop at the Drybrook RFC). However, he’s a big boy and says he’s aware of his own mortality, and is far more conscious of his health, with more frequent checks and much less global travel and more down time with family (as we have seen on Twitter). This is just a distillation of the essentials. We had lots of wonderfully warm asides and funnies about buying an Aston Martin from a frustrated shareholder; he should really go on stage one day with all of this, and we know he’s going to write the book. Bring it on, I say. What a great evening."

EyesonHawk2 03 Dec 2019

RNS Commercial Textile agreement Video podcast on the MAS partnership. Vox Markets Q&A with Versarien (VRS) CEO Neill Ricketts - Vox Markets Versarien (VRS) Chief Executive Officer Neill Ricketts talks about the commercial agreement it signed with MAS Innovation, part of a large privately held apparel and textile manufacturer.

EyesonHawk2 27 Nov 2019

RNS Commercial Textile agreement Todays Podcast:

walrog 27 Nov 2019

RNS Commercial Textile agreement Excellent news. Just what we needed. ATB WR