21 September 2017
ACCSYS TECHNOLOGIES PLC
Annual General Meeting Statement
Accsys, the chemical technology group, focused on the highly sustainable acetylation of wood, today announces that in advance of its Annual General Meeting, to be held at 2.30 p.m. (UK time) this afternoon, its Chief Executive, Paul Clegg, has made the following comments:
“I am pleased to report sales of Accoya increased by 20% in the five months to 31 August 2017 compared to the same period last year, with Accoya revenue of €22.5m (2016: €18.7m) (unaudited). This represented 16,970 cubic metres of Accoya sold (2016: 14,187 cubic metres).
Demand continues to be strong, however as previously stated we are now operating at full capacity. Further growth will therefore be constrained until the third reactor is complete and we are working with our customers in order to minimise the impact of this temporary capacity limitation.
Work in respect of the first phase of the expansion of the Arnhem plant is progressing well. Full commissioning of the third reactor is expected later this financial year and the benefit of the new capacity continues to be expected to be available from the start of the new financial year enabling further significant growth in sales and production.
This will increase our Accoya production capacity to approximately 60,000 cubic metres, representing a significant increase compared to the 31,532 cubic metres of Accoya sold in the last financial year (excluding material sold to Medite for Tricoya, which will be supplied by the Tricoya plant in Hull following its completion in 2019).
Production of Accoya decreased marginally to 16,124 cubic metres for the five months to 31 August 2017 (2016: 16,220 cubic metres). Production was impacted in May by a one-off shut down relating to the expansion project with some associated costs and which was slightly longer than expected. Raw material costs have increased in the four months to 31 August 2017 compared to last year and we are currently reviewing the implementation of a price increase.
Next week we look forward to hosting the majority of our customers in Arnhem for our global Accoya sales conference where we will be focussing on the continued growth of Accoya given the imminent completion of the capacity expansion and the increasing demand for our products.
Following the formation of the Tricoya consortium with BP, Medite and our financial partners BGF and Volantis, I am also pleased to report excellent progress with construction of the world’s first dedicated chip acetylation plant in Hull for the manufacture of Tricoya. Extensive ground works including piling, have commenced on site together with detailed engineering being undertaken by Engie Fabricom and a focus on procurement of key items of equipment.”
Our interim financial statements for the six months ended 30 September 2017 are expected to be released on 22 November 2017.
Ends