DirectorsTalk Green News and Sustainability website contains exclusive content on some of the fastest growing London-listed companies and industry sectors that are contributing to a more sustainable world. Here’s a review of DirectorsTalk’s most popular sustainability news and exclusive CEO interviews in March 2021:
Dekel Agri-Vision plc (LON:DKL), the West African agriculture company focused on building a portfolio of sustainable and diversified projects currently in Sustainable Palm oil and Cashews.
Dekel Agri-Vision delivering best ever month of production (Interview)
Executive Director Lincoln Moore joins DirectorsTalk in a wide-ranging interview to discuss first quarter palm oil production results. Lincoln shares his views on the production results, the current high palm oil price, how results compare to prior years and the next milestones as the company moves towards cashew production. Listen to the full interview here.
Dekel Agri-Vision plc provided on April 8, 2021 a first quarter production update for its 100%-owned Ayenouan palm oil project in Côte d’Ivoire. Highlights are:
· Record monthly crude palm oil (‘CPO’) production volumes registered in March 2021 – 6,895 tonnes, a 9% increase on March 2020 (6,314 tonnes), the previous best month
· Strong step-up in CPO production and sales in Q1 2021, relative to Q1 2020, driven by strong monthly performances
· 27% increase in CPO production to 15,327 tonnes (Q1 2020: 12,081 tonnes
· 26% increase in CPO sales to 13,921 tonnes (Q1 2020: 11,047 tonnes)
· 20% increase in average realised CPO prices to €794 per tonne in Q1 2021 (Q1 2020: €664)
· Tracking well to deliver a material uplift in H1 2021 financial results compared to last year due to excellent CPO production, sales and pricing performances in Q1
Lincoln Moore, Dekel Agri-Vision Executive Director, said: “In the eight years since Ayenouan has been producing palm oil, Q1 2021 represents one of the best quarterly performances recorded. Not only are volumes of CPO produced and sold significantly up on the prior year but so too are average realised prices. This combination is driving a very strong H1 financial performance.” Read the full article here.
Theo Bache, Research Analyst at Arden Partners noted: “We are greatly encouraged that Dekel have reported positive incremental numbers on all their production and sales numbers for the quarter vs Q1 2020. Dekel are in the midst of a fantastic high season and the leading Rotterdam price is filtering its way into their local market and Dekel are capitalising on this with outstanding production numbers.
The outlook is bright for Dekel. I am impressed by the quality of management whom I have spoken to, they have a clear and straight forward approach; be a first class diversified operator in the region, execute on the key fundamentals and look after the smallholders in a competitive market. As the company approaches profitability this year and making good on their promises, I believe that Dekel offer investors a very reasonable price for a diversified commodity pure play. Both Cashews and Palm Oil have structural drivers with little correlation and so I see the increasing cashew nut processing plant utilisation this year as a short term growth catalyst.”
Biome Technologies plc (LON:BIOM), a leading bioplastics and radio frequency technology business, today provided an unaudited Trading Update for the quarter ended 31st March 2021. Group revenues for the quarter ended 31st March 2021 were in line with management expectations at £1.4m (Q1 2020: £1.2m).
Bioplastics Division
- The division’s revenues for Q1 were £1.2m, 18% ahead of the comparative quarter in 2020 (Q1 2020: £1.0m) and comparable to the preceding quarter (Q4 2020: £1.2m).
- Significant further revenue growth from this division is anticipated during 2021. The necessary drivers for this growth are being successfully assembled in this half year and are expected to give rise to accelerated growth in the second half.
Stanelco RF Technologies Division
- Revenues in the RF Technologies division in Q1 were £0.2m, in-line with the Q1 2020 comparable (Q1 2020: £0.2m) and slightly lower than the preceding quarter’s revenue (Q4 2020: £0.3m).
- There are encouraging signs of a pick-up in activity within the division’s core fibre optic furnace market, with small spares orders and some larger equipment enquiries received. Whilst encouraging, this has yet to translate into more significant order intake.
Group Performance
- The Group had a cash balance as at 31 March 2021 of £1.6m (31 March 2020: £1.8m). As at 19 April 2021, the Group had cash of £1.8m and no debt.
Group Outlook
- The Board’s view of the Group’s performance remains in line with current market expectations.
Ilika plc (LON:IKA), a pioneer in solid-state battery technology, has announced on April 6, 2021 it is collaborating with Comau, part of the Fiat Group, and a world leader in the industrial automation field, to scale up Ilika’s existing Goliath pre pilot line and deliver a plant design for a Goliath manufacturing line at a mega-scale facility.
- The design study is being supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and Ilika will receive a £235,000 grant towards its related costs over the 12-month project.
- The Project, which is led by Ilika, has two objectives, firstly to design the scale up of Ilika’s existing Goliath pre pilot line to increase production of solid-state cells from 1kWh per week to 10kWh per week. Secondly, Comau will undertake a full study of Ilika’s processes and deliver a plant design for a megawatt scale solid-state manufacturing line for ultimate installation at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC).
- These manufacturing scale up activities are running in parallel with Ilika’s Goliath solid-state technology developments to ensure Ilika can deliver its batteries to the global marketplace cost effectively and within the quickest time frame.
Ilika Scale up of Goliath technology with Comau (Interview)
CEO Graeme Purdy joins DirectorsTalk to discuss the scale up of its Goliath technology. Graeme explains why COMAU and Ilika have chosen each other for the study, the plan for scaling up Goliath, why they have chosen to work with the UK BIC rather than build its own facility, completion of the technical development and how the Advanced Propulsion Centre is dealing with more mature projects. Listen to the full interview here.
Jubilee Metals Group plc (LON:JLP), the AIM and Altx traded metals processing company has on April 29, 2021 announced an update on progress at its copper operations in Zambia, specifically the first copper concentrate for refining at Jubilee’s Sable Refinery from Project Roan which has been delivered on schedule.
Leon Coetzer, CEO of Jubilee Metals Group, commented: “The successful delivery on time of copper concentrate from Project Roan to the fully operational Sable Refinery is the first major step in our commitment to achieve our targeted production of 25 000 tonnes per annum of copper within the next four years, and taking a leading role in the processing of surface tailings in Zambia.
“Project Roan is the first of three copper processing facilities that we target to implement to achieve this goal. Completion of Phase 1 on schedule demonstrates our team’s ability to deliver on our goals in a new jurisdiction. It provides me with great confidence that we will see significant success as our copper strategy is further implemented.
“Alongside the continued performance of our South African PGM operations, the targeted significant ramp up of our copper operation in Zambia is expected to further improve on Jubilee’s recently published record interim results for the six-month period to 31 December 2020, generating long term, quality earnings.
“Looking ahead to next steps, I am confident of the completion of Phase 2 of Project Roan on time during Q3 2021, which will further increase the copper concentrate being delivered to the Sable Refinery. With Project Elephant progressing simultaneously and on track to enter the execution phase of the project by August this year, I look forward with confidence to update shareholders as we progress.” Read the full article here.
Analyst Paul Smith at WH Ireland joins DirectorsTalk and noted: “This announcement is a very significant development. In our opinion the copper division of the company in Zambia will rival that of the chrome-PGM division in South Africa in terms of revenues and profits over the next few years. These two divisions, in two different commodities and in two different jurisdictions are a real benefit, and differentiator against peers, for the company.
We maintain our copper forecasts for the company going forward and anticipate them reaching a 25kt/yr copper cathode capacity in FY 2023. This includes the further expansion of the Roan project and the commissioning of Elephant 1 project supplemented by third-party providers. With the potential addition of Elephant 2, with the additional copper (and cobalt) units, they will be in a strong raw material supply position in country.
DirectorsTalk asked Paul Smith, “what do you expect to see next from the company and how do you view JLP’s outlook?” Paul said: “We expect more of the same: solid project execution based on what Leon, the CEO, calls “the Jubilee way”. We have been impressed with the way the company moves quickly, manages its own projects and delivers – and see this whole capability being a real strength for the company.
We expect more of the same: solid project execution based on what Leon, the CEO, calls “the Jubilee way”. We have been impressed with the way the company moves quickly, manages its own projects and delivers – and see this whole capability being a real strength for the company.”
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM)
Symphony Environmental Oxomar Study important on a global scale
CEO Michael Laurier joins DirectorsTalk on April 1, 2021 to discuss the findings of a 5 year Oxomar study. Michael explains what the study is, what it set out to achieve, the findings, what it means for the company and what else investors can expect over the coming months. Listen to the full interview here.
This study provides Symphony with further comprehensive and reliable scientific data on the performance of d2w in the oceans. The study had a multidisciplinary approach including physics, chemistry, and biology.
Highlights of the Study:
- Biodegradation proved beyond doubt in the marine environment
- Direct correlation of lab results to real-world conditions. This is critical, and hugely positive, because until now it has been alleged that laboratory results could not demonstrate performance in real life marine conditions
- Proof of transformation into more than 3,000 non-plastic biodegradable oligomers found in nature
- Non-toxic to marine creatures
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (LON:SYM), a global specialist in technologies that make plastic smarter on April 23, 2021 reported that Extrusa Pack, a Brazilian plastic manufacturer and user of Symphony’s d2w and d2p technology, has announced a donation to provide the entire public bus system in the city of Guarulhos (858 vehicles in total), with d2p anti-microbial film to cover seats and handles, protecting its 400,000 plus passengers from Coronavirus and multiple bacteria and fungi normally present on these surfaces. The donation was agreed with the City’s Mayor who personally visited the factory where the films are made.
Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony Environmental Technologies, said: “We would like to commend Extrusa Pack for this thoughtful contribution to public health in the city of Guarulhos. We hope other cities in Brazil, Latin America and the rest of the world, will follow the lead of Guarulhos and provide this kind of anti-microbial protection in their public transport systems, protecting passengers from Coronavirus and other dangerous microbes. We at Symphony, will continue to promote the use of our antimicrobial technology to protect human health and the environment in these challenging times.”
