Company Announcements

Ilika plc

("Ilika" or the "Company")

Trading Update & Notice of Half-year Results

Analyst and investor presentations

Ilika (AIM: IKA), a pioneer in solid-state battery technology, provides an update on trading and notice of results for the six months ended 31 October 2022.

Operating Highlights:

Stereax^Ò

Following completion of initial process qualification in May 2022, Ilika has been carrying out a programme of product qualification and process optimisation to increase process yield and financial margins in preparation for commercial release. M300 product qualification is now expected to complete in Q2 calendar year 2023. Commercial demand remains strongest from the miniature medical device sector, where we currently have initial orders from 18 customers. Revenue ramp-up will be commensurate with the product commercialisation timelines seen in that sector. This ramp-up is now expected to take five years to reach capacity of the UK manufacturing facility. Longer term volume demand from certain individual applications such as smart orthopaedics, neurostimulation and smart contact lenses, is still expected to exceed the total production volume of Ilika's initial manufacturing facility in the UK, creating opportunities for technology transfer and licensing.

Goliath Programme

Ilika has continued to make progress in improving the performance of its large format solid-state batteries for electric vehicles and consumer appliances. It has steadily improved the energy density of its prototype cells, increasing them by c.80% since the start of the financial year. At the rate of progress seen this year, Ilika is currently targeting lithium-ion energy density parity towards the end of the calendar year 2023, rather than early in the calendar year 2023 as previously advised. In parallel, it has progressed a series of scale-up studies, including completing a manufacturing equipment design study with COMAU, starting an economic feasibility study with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) and securing grant funding for the commencement of manufacturing equipment trials. Ilika has continued to interact with a portfolio of automotive and consumer appliance OEMs globally, demonstrating strong commercial pull for the product.

Financial Highlights

The Company expects to announce revenue of £0.2m (H1 2022: £0.2m), and an EBITDA loss of £4.5m (H1 2022: loss of £2.7m) for the six months ended 31 October 2022, due to the increase in operational costs associated with the commissioning of the Stereax manufacturing facility and an intensification of the Goliath development programme. Cash and cash equivalents at the period end were £18.6m (Cash and cash equivalents H1 2022: £27.7m). EBITDA loss is expected to be approximately £9.0m for the full year to 30 April 2023 and the cash and cash equivalents as at this date of approximately £14.0m. As described above, as a result of the revised expectations for the speed of Stereax ramp-up, revenue in FY24 and FY25 will be materially lower than in previous forecasts.

CFO Recruitment

The Company will separately announce this morning the appointment of Jason Stewart as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") to the Board of Directors, effective 3 January 2023.

Notice of Results

Ilika expects to announce Half-year results for the six months ended 31 October 2022 on Thursday 19 January 2023.

Analyst Briefing

The management team will be hosting a hybrid analyst briefing on the day, 19 January 2023, at 9.30am. Analysts who wish to attend should contact Lianne Applegarth at Walbrook PR on +44(0)20 7933 8780 or email ilika@walbrookpr.com to register. 

Investor Presentation

An investor presentation will be held on the day, 19 January 2023, at 4.30pm and will be hosted through the digital platform, Investor Meet Company. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add meet Ilika plc via the following link: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/ilika-plc/register-investor. For more information, please contact Walbrook PR at ilika@walbrookpr.com. 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.