ITM
POWER PLC
('ITM' or 'the Company')
Interim Results for the six months ended 31 October 2005
Highlights:
* Research and
development activities have exceeded expectations:
o ITM successfully achieved the first milestone set out at the time of
the IPO: the production and demonstration of a 20w flexible fuel cell
stack
o Operation of ITM's proprietary hydrophilic membrane in an electrolyser
for in excess of 500 hours without evidence of failure or degradation
of the membrane
* Yorkshire Forward
awarded ITM £800,000 development grant for expansion of
laboratory
and workshop space in Sheffield
* Loss after tax
£900,000 - within the planned expenditure budget
* New Chief Financial
Officer and Company Secretary appointed
* Agreement with
Heriot Watt University for ITM to fund a PhD student to
research
the production of hydrocarbons from renewable resources
Stephen Massey, Chairman commented:
"The main focus of our current R&D programme
is to continue to develop the technology
that will allow the production of
hydrogen at a cost that is competitive
with fossil fuels. ITM believes that
unless hydrogen can be produced
cost competitively with existing fuels, it will
be difficult for the hydrogen economy
to evolve".
"ITM's strategy is to continue to
generate value for shareholders by creating an
expanding portfolio of intellectual
property, fundamental to the development of
the hydrogen economy that can be
licensed to generate revenue. We believe that
the advances we continue to achieve
have great potential value. I am very
pleased with the Company's progress
to date and look forward to what I believe
will be another successful full
year for ITM."
For further information please contact:
Jim Heathcote
Gemma Chandler
Tim Linacre
ITM Power Plc
Tavistock Communications
Panmure Gordon & Co
Tel: 01799 532860
Tel: 020 7920 3150/ 07787 510 630 Tel: 020 7459
3600
or visit www.itm-power.com
Chairman's statement
I am pleased to report on the activities
of ITM for the six months to 31 October
2005.
Results
During the six months under review
there was an operating loss of £1.1 million,
compared with £700,000 in
the same period last year. This reflects the increased
level of research and development
activity which has taken place at our
Sheffield facilities during 2005.
The increased activity has required additional
technical staff, equipment and space,
the expenditure on which was in line with
budget. At the end of the period,
there was a further increase in activity, and
extra staff and space have been
added to the Sheffield facility, which will
result in a further increase in
operating costs during the second half year.
This increase, which is also in
line with budget, will be mitigated by the
expected receipt of the £800,000
grant awarded by Yorkshire Forward during the
first half of the Financial Year.
The loss after tax for the period amounted to
£900,000 compared with £500,000
in the same period in 2004.
Capital expenditure on facilities
and test equipment amounted to £400,000. At
the end of the period, net current
assets were £6.9 million, of which £6.8
million was in cash and short term
deposits - which is considered a satisfactory
position from which to achieve ITM's
future technical milestones.
Energy overview
The strong price of oil during the
relatively low demand months of the summer
was ominous and suggests there is
now little scope to bring on additional spare
production capacity. The "Peak Oil"
theory, about the impending historic peak in
oil production, continues to gain
supporters as the evidence in its favour
mounts.
This was highlighted in a recent
report by the Kuwait Oil Company that Burgan,
the world's second largest oil field,
had passed peak production. This news,
together with the reported declining
production profiles of countries outside
the Middle East and Russia, highlights
growing concerns that future supplies of
energy will be dependent on a small
number of fields in politically unstable
geographic areas.
The impact of Hurricane Katrina was
important for two reasons; firstly, it
highlighted the fragility of the
United States oil production capabilities and
secondly, the devastation of New
Orleans raised awareness that increasing carbon
dioxide levels may have reached
dangerous levels as global temperatures rise and
the climate changes.
It is apparent that the need for
a successor to fossil fuels as our primary
energy source is becoming more urgent
and that the atmospheric impact of any
successor must be minimal. It is
our belief that the ability to make cost
competitive hydrogen from renewable
energy sources is a critical step for the
future of the worldwide energy economy.
Review
I am pleased to report that during
the half year in review, progress in our
research and development activities
has exceeded expectations as we continue to
pursue fundamental R&D in fuel
cell and electrolyser science.
In the last few months we have made
a number of significant announcements:
* In June 2005, ITM successfully
achieved the first milestone set out at
the time of the
IPO: the production and demonstration of a 20w flexible fuel
cell stack, which
has the potential use for both military and civilian
applications.
The device operates using two liquids, which enables operation
in polluted environments,
at high altitudes, as well as under water.
* In October 2005, ITM announced
significant progress in its development
of durable modular
electrolysers, which could enable the realisation of cost
competitive hydrogen
fuel as an alternative to hydrocarbons. ITM operated
its proprietary
hydrophilic membrane in an electrolyser for a period in
excess of 500
hours without evidence of failure or degradation of the
membrane. Since
the period end, ITM has announced further longevity test
results of the
new Mark IV electrolyser, which was operated for a period of
1,000 hours without
evidence of failure or degradation of the membrane.
* In August 2005, ITM updated
the market further on the ITM-DTI alcohol
fuel cell programme,
which potentially significantly broadens ITM's
intellectual
property portfolio. The DTI provided ITM with funding to
research, develop
and patent additional materials specifically designed to
operate with
methanol as the fuel. ITM tested their low cost materials as
direct methanol
fuel cells in both acid and alkaline forms, which was
important because
alkaline conditions allow for the use of lower cost,
non-platinum
catalysts, such as palladium.
* In September 2005, the European
Patent Office formally allowed ITM's
core patent application
on electrochemical cells using hydrophilic polymers.
The application
covers both low cost materials and novel manufacturing
processes used
separately or in a combination to produce membrane electrode
assemblies for
use in fuel cells and electrolysers.
* In July 2005, ITM was delighted
to report that Yorkshire Forward, the
Regional Development
Agency responsible for sustainable economic and
regeneration
of Yorkshire and Humber area, had awarded ITM a £800,000
development grant
to encourage ITM to expand its laboratory and workshop
space in Sheffield.
The award of this grant has enabled ITM to expand into
the adjacent
building.
* Finally, ITM concluded an
agreement with Heriot Watt University for ITM
to fund a PhD
student to research the production of hydrocarbons by
combining hydrogen
produced electrolytically from renewable resources (or
electricity)
and carbon dioxide recovered from the atmosphere. ITM will own
the intellectual
property resulting from the agreement and has already filed
a patent application
covering the use of renewable hydrogen and waste carbon
dioxide to permanently
sequester carbon dioxide in commercially valuable
products such
as bitumen.
Recent developments
Since the period end, we have announced
several further developments. In
November 2005, we announced we had
filed a patent application on composite
membranes. These new membranes may
be a significant advance as there is reason
to believe they may help solve important
hydration control issues in operating
fuel cells. Using two membrane materials,
which establish and maintain two
different pH levels at the electrodes,
may increase the electrochemical
potential of the hydrogen/oxygen
reaction above 1.23 volts.
At the same time, we announced the
filing of an additional patent application
involving a composite membrane with
an electronic control grid inside the
membrane. By adjusting the voltage
applied to the grid we have developed a new
way of controlling the ion flow
through the membrane, and thus the power output
of the fuel cell. We believe that
the potential impact of this technology could
be comparable to the development
of the early electronic transistors.
In early January 2006, we announced
the early completion of the milestones that
were set out in the prospectus at
the time of the IPO and, as reported above,
the extension of our electrolyser
durability testing to in excess of 1,000
hours.
Board and staff
To enable further acceleration of
ITM's technical development activity, we have
recently recruited a further 10
new staff to our technical and support team.
In August 2005, Gervas Steele resigned
from the Board as a non-executive
director to pursue other business
interests. In June 2005, John Wreford
announced his intention to retire
from the Board as Finance Director. John
intends to step down from the Board
on 31 January 2006. I am delighted to report
that we have appointed Marcus Scott
as Chief Finance Officer to undertake the
financial planning and Company Secretariat
duties of the Company. Previously,
Marcus was Chief Finance Officer
at Antenova, which develops and sells novel
wireless applications to major blue
chip organisations.
In July 2005, 6,818,181 existing
ordinary shares were successfully placed with
existing and new investors on behalf
of the founders of ITM: John Wreford, Dr
Jon Lloyd and Dr Donald Highgate.
John's sale, of part of his interest in ITM,
was to fund his retirement. The
total shares placed represented 7.4 per cent of
the issued share capital of the
Company and were placed at a price of 88 pence
per share. Mr Wreford, Dr Lloyd
and Dr Highgate have all agreed not to sell any
further shares for a period of twelve
months.
I would like to take this opportunity
to welcome the new recruits to ITM and to
thank John Wreford for his contributions
to our growth and wish him a long and
happy retirement. On behalf of the
Directors, I would also like to thank all of
our staff for their hard work and
commitment during the last six months.
Outlook
During the next year, the main focus
of our technical programme is to continue
to develop the technology that will
allow the production of hydrogen at a cost
that is competitive with fossil
fuels. ITM believes that unless hydrogen can be
produced cost competitively with
existing fuels, it will be difficult for the
hydrogen economy to evolve.
ITM believes that the advent of the
low cost modular electrolyser will be the
key contributor to realising the
hydrogen economy, because such electrolysers
could provide low cost on-site generation
of hydrogen using the existing
electricity network. This reduces
the need for new methods of storage and
distribution. The electrolyser could
effectively simultaneously solve the cost
and infrastructure problems that
have blocked the general adoption of hydrogen
as a fuel.
ITM's strategy is to continue to
generate value for shareholders by creating an
expanding portfolio of intellectual
property, fundamental to the development of
the hydrogen economy that can be
licensed to generate revenue. We believe that
the advances we continue to achieve
have great potential value. I am very
pleased with the Company's progress
to date and look forward to what I believe
will be another successful full
year for ITM.
Stephen Massey
Chairman
31 January 2006
Interim Results for the Six Months
to 31 October 2005
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
(UNAUDITED)
Results for the six months ended
31 October 2005
Six months Six months
ended 31 ended 31
Year ended
October 2005 October 2004 30 April 2005
(unaudited) (unaudited)
(audited)
£
£
£
Administrative expenses
- Research and development
(718,951) (355,368)
(930,525)
- Share option charges
- &
- (175,000)
- Other
(391,123) (374,781)
(745,938)
----------- ------------
-----------
(1,110,074) (730,149)
(1,851,463)
Other operating income
40,178 30,000
241,306
----------- ------------
-----------
Operating loss
(1,069,896) (700,149)
(1,610,157)
Interest receivable and similar
income
161,080 161,441
346,461
----------- ------------
-----------
Loss on ordinary activities before
taxation
(908,816) (538,708)
(1,263,696)
Tax on loss on ordinary activities
30,000 24,000
58,108
----------- ------------
-----------
Loss on ordinary activities after
taxation,
being retained loss for the financial
period
(878,816) (514,708)
(1,205,588)
=========== ===========
===========
Loss per share
Basic and diluted
(1.0p) (0.6p)
(1.3p)
=========== ===========
===========
There are no recognised gains or
losses for the current financial period and
preceding financial periods other
than as stated in the profit and loss account.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (UNAUDITED)
31 October 2005
As at 31 As at 31
October October
As at 30
2005
2004 April 2005
(unaudited) (unaudited)
(audited)
£
£
£
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets
673,596 128,223
396,481
----------- ------------
-----------
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
393,352 371,452
464,500
Investments - short term deposits
6,553,155 8,601,308
7,550,000
Cash at bank and in hand
206,749 40,177
193,469
----------- ------------
-----------
7,153,256 9,012,937
8,207,969
----------- ------------
-----------
CREDITORS:
amounts falling due within one year
(261,931) (182,630)
(161,799)
----------- ------------
-----------
NET CURRENT ASSETS
6,891,325 8,830,307
8,046,170
----------- ------------
-----------
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES, BEING NET ASSETS
7,564,921 8,958,530
8,442,651
=========== ===========
===========
CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Called up share capital
4,594,663 4,593,712
4,593,713
Share premium account
8,102,986 8,102,850
8,102,850
Merger reserve
(1,972,820) (1,972,820)
(1,972,820)
Profit and loss account
(3,159,908) (1,765,212)
(2,281,092)
----------- ------------
-----------
EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS
7,564,921 8,958,530
8,442,651
=========== ===========
===========
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
(UNAUDITED)
Results for the six months ended
31 October 2005
Six months Six months
ended 31 ended 31
Year ended
October October
30 April
2005
2004
2005
(unaudited) (unaudited)
(audited)
£
£
£
Net cash outflow from operations
(780,101) (692,904)
(1,355,823)
----------- ------------
-----------
Returns on investments and servicing
of finance
Interest received
161,080 55,233
121,503
----------- ------------
-----------
Taxation
Research and development tax credit
- &
- & 43,555
----------- ------------
-----------
Capital expenditure and financial
investment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
(365,630) (38,289)
(383,212)
----------- ------------
-----------
Net cash outflow before management
of liquid
resources and financing
(984,651) (675,960)
(1,573,977)
----------- ------------
-----------
Management of liquid resources
Cash withdrawn from (placed on)
term deposits
996,845 (8,325,832)
(7,274,524)
----------- ------------
-----------
Financing
Issue of ordinary share capital
(net of expenses)
1,086 9,126,562
9,126,563
----------- ------------
-----------
Increase in cash
13,280 124,770
278,062
=========== ===========
===========
1. Loss per share
The loss per ordinary share and diluted
loss per share are equal because share
options are only included in the
calculation of diluted earnings per share if
their issue would decrease the net
profit per share or increase the net loss per
share. The calculation is based
on information in the table shown below.
Six months Six months
ended 31 ended 31
Year ended
October October
30 April
2005
2004
2005
(unaudited) (unaudited)
(audited)
£
£
£
Loss (£)
(878,816) (514,708)
(1,205,588)
=========== ===========
===========
Weighted average number of shares
91,877,761 87,253,433
89,501,418
=========== ===========
===========
2. Reserves and reconciliation of
movement in shareholders' funds
Called up Share
Profit and
share premium
Merger
loss Shareholders'
capital account
reserve account
funds
£
£
£
£
£
At 1 May 2005
4,593,713 8,102,850
(1,972,820) (2,281,092)
8,442,651
Issue of shares
950
136
- &
- & 1,086
Retained loss for the period
- &
- &
- (878,816)
(878,816)
----------- ------------
----------- ------------
-----------
At 31 October 2005
4,594,663 8,102,986
(1,972,820) (3,159,908)
7,564,921
=========== ===========
=========== ===========
===========
3. Basis of interim figures
This interim financial information
does not constitute statutory financial
statements within the meaning of
section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The
financial information for the six
months ended 31 October 2005 and 31 October
2004 has not been audited. The information
relating to the year ended 30 April
2005 is an extract from the audited
financial statements for that year on which
the auditors gave an unqualified
audit report and did not contain a statement
under s237(2) of the Companies Act
1985. A copy of those financial statements
has been filed with the Registrar
of Companies.
INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO ITM
POWER PLC
Introduction
We have been instructed by the company
to review the financial information for
the six months ended 31 October
2005 which comprises the profit and loss
account, the balance sheet, the
cash flow statement and related notes 1 to 3. We
have read the other information
contained in the interim report and considered
whether it contains any apparent
misstatements or material inconsistencies with
the financial information.
This report is made solely to the
company, in accordance with Bulletin 1999/4
issued by the Auditing Practices
Board. Our work has been undertaken so that we
might state to the company those
matters we are required to state to them in an
independent review report and for
no other purpose. To the fullest extent
permitted by law, we do not accept
or assume responsibility to anyone other than
the company, for our review work,
for this report, or for the conclusions we
have formed.
Directors' responsibilities
The interim report, including the
financial information contained therein, is
the responsibility of, and has been
approved by, the directors. The directors
are also responsible for ensuring
that the accounting policies and presentation
applied to the interim figures are
consistent with those applied in preparing
the preceding annual accounts except
where any changes, and the reasons for
them, are disclosed.
Review work performed
We conducted our review in accordance
with the guidance contained in Bulletin
1999/4 issued by the Auditing Practices
Board for use in the United Kingdom. A
review consists principally of making
enquiries of group management and applying
analytical procedures to the financial
information and underlying financial data
and, based thereon, assessing whether
the accounting policies and presentation
have been consistently applied unless
otherwise disclosed. A review excludes
audit procedures such as tests of
controls and verification of assets,
liabilities and transactions. It
is substantially less in scope than an audit
performed in accordance with United
Kingdom auditing standards and therefore
provides a lower level of assurance
than an audit. Accordingly, we do not
express an audit opinion on the
financial information.
Review conclusion
On the basis of our review we are
not aware of any material modifications that
should be made to the financial
information as presented for the six months
ended 31 October 2005.
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Chartered Accountants
Cambridge
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