TIDMEDEN
RNS Number : 3694A
Eden Research plc
22 January 2024
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU
law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the
"UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance
with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon
the publication of this announcement, this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.
22 January 2024
Eden Research
("Eden" or "the Company")
Trading Update
Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-quoted company focused on
sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free formulation technology
for use in the global crop protection, animal health and consumer
products industries, provides the following unaudited trading
update for the year ended 31 December 2023.
Highlights
-- Revenue for the year is expected to have increased by
approximately 72% to GBP3.1m, GBP0.3m, or 11%, ahead of market
expectations of GBP2.8m (FY2022: GBP1.8m)
-- Product sales for the year are expected to have increased by
approximately 63% to GBP2.6m, in line with market expectations
(FY2022: GBP1.6m)
-- EBITDA for the year, excluding share-based payments, is
expected to be approximately GBP1.2m loss, GBP0.7m, or 37%, ahead
of market expectations of GBP1.9m loss (FY2022: GBP1.7m loss)
-- Cash position at the year-end was GBP7.4m, GBP0.4m, or 5%,
below market expectations of GBP7.8m (31 December 2022:
GBP2.0m)
-- First commercial sales of Ecovelex Ô following the grant,
according to Reg. EU/1107/2009, of a temporary approval in Italy
for use as a bird repellent seed treatment in maize for the 2024
growing season
-- First commercial sales of Esseva(R) (the tradename of
Mevalone in France) to Corteva, Eden's distribution partner for
Esseva in France; a key growth opportunity
-- California state approval received for Mevalone Ò after the
period end, in January 2024
Product sales
Despite challenging growing conditions which adversely affected
demand for fungicides across many of the Company's main markets for
Mevalone, new territory authorisations and the positive impact of
label expansions in recent years have contributed to a significant
increase in product sales from GBP1.6m to GBP2.6m, a rise of
63%.
Following the appointment of Corteva France as Eden's
distribution partner for Mevalone in France (where it is marketed
as "Esseva"), Eden made its first commercial sales to Corteva
France in 2023.
France represents a significant opportunity for Eden as it is
widely recognised for its high-quality agricultural output.
France's vineyards are the country's biggest consumers of plant
protection products, including fungicides. Although viticulture
represents just 3% of France's agricultural land, the sector
consumes 20% of the country's fungicides.
There is also the potential to significantly expand the use of
Esseva for the treatment of powdery and downy mildews, for which an
application was submitted in 2023. It is currently expected that
this label expansion application will be granted in 2024, subject
to timely approval by the French regulatory authorities.
2023 also saw approval for Mevalone in New Zealand, Ireland and
Poland, the latter of which is acting as the Rapporteur Member
State on behalf of the EU central zone.
In addition, sales of Cedroz recommenced after the resolution of
production-related product issues and, at the end of 2023, Eden
made its first meaningful sales of Ecovelex to Corteva.
In the US, Eden received numerous State-level approvals for
Mevalone and Cedroz in 2023, following EPA approval in September
2022.
Sales of Mevalone in the US began in 2023, though these were
limited as Eden awaited approval from the regulatory authorities in
California, which represents more than 80% of the addressable
market for Mevalone in the US.
Just after the year-end, approval of Mevalone was granted in
California, resulting in an order being fulfilled for Sipcam Agro
USA, Eden's distribution partner in the US. As a result, Eden
expects more meaningful sales of Mevalone in the US in 2024.
Ecovelex
In May 2021, Eden signed an exclusive Commercialisation, Supply
and Distribution Agreement with Corteva Agriscience ("Corteva"),
the fourth largest agriculture inputs company in the world. The
agreement covers Eden's first seed treatment product, Ecovelex,
which relies upon Eden's proprietary, plastic-free Sustaine Ò
encapsulation technology.
Over the last three years, the companies have worked closely
together to undertake field trials and other development work and
in May 2023, Eden made a full submission for authorisation of the
product in the EU and select additional territories.
In December 2023, Ecovelex was granted a temporary approval in
Italy for use as a bird repellent seed treatment in maize for the
2024 growing season under EU regulation 1107/2009, bringing it to
the market for the first time. This allowed Eden to sell a
significant amount of Ecovelex to Corteva before the year end.
Insecticide
A number of potential commercial partners for Eden's insecticide
product ran, between them, a large number of field trials in 2023
and, so far, these have produced encouraging results.
Eden has started to see results from its potential partners come
in and we are pleased to say that they are, thus far, in line with
our own results.
The Company expects there to be a high level of interest for
this product, particularly in the key markets of Europe and the
US.
Eden has now started commercial discussions with various
potential partners to begin the evaluation of who to appoint as
distribution partner for the insecticide product and shall update
the market during 2024, as appropriate.
Outlook
Eden expects to see further, strong product sales growth in
2024.
This is driven by an expectation of repeat Ecovelex sales,
subject to further regulatory clearances, but also increasing sales
of Mevalone and Cedroz due to increasing market share and off the
back of approvals in additional territories.
In late 2023 Eden concluded a successful fundraise of GBP9.9m
(before expenses), which will allow the Company to expedite the
development of its new and existing products and expand into new
geographies.
Sean Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Eden Research plc,
commented:
"In 2023 Eden achieved several key regulatory and commercial
milestones resulting in solid sales performance and revenues which
have exceeded market expectations.
A particular highlight was the granting of a temporary approval
of Ecovelex in Italy for use as a bird repellent seed treatment in
maize for the 2024 growing season, marking the first commercial
sales of not only a new product, but an entirely new product
category; an exciting milestone which gives an early indication of
the long-term commercial viability of that product.
The commencement of sales of Mevalone for use in California
following regulatory approval was also an important event and
provides us with access to a significant addressable market, which
we hope to further capture in 2024.
Looking forward, our successful fundraise in 2023 will allow us
to expedite the development of our existing product portfolio,
expand into new geographies and develop new product opportunities.
In 2024 we will continue to build on the progress made this year to
drive sales growth, step-up commercial activity and push forward
apace with our product plans.
I look forward to updating shareholders throughout the year with
news of the exciting, significant progress we expect to make."
For further information contact:
Eden Research plc www.edenresearch.com
Sean Smith
Alex Abrey 01285 359 555
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated
advisor and broker)
Giles Balleny / George Lawson (corporate
finance)
Michael Johnson (sales) 020 7397 8900
Hawthorn Advisors (Financial PR)
Victoria Ainsworth eden@hawthornadvisors.com
Notes to Editors:
Eden Research is the only UK-listed company focused on
biopesticides for sustainable agriculture. It develops and supplies
innovative biopesticide products and natural microencapsulation
technologies to the global crop protection, animal health and
consumer products industries.
Eden's products are formulated with terpene active ingredients,
based on natural plant defence metabolites. To date, they have been
primarily used on high-value fruits and vegetables, improving crop
yields and marketability, with equal or better performance when
compared with conventional pesticides. Eden has three products
currently on the market:
Based on plant-derived active ingredients, Mevalone (R) is a
foliar biofungicide which initially targets a key disease affecting
grapes and other high-value fruit and vegetable crops. It is a
useful tool in crop defence programmes and is aligned with the
requirements of integrated pest management programmes. It is
approved for sale in a number of key countries whilst Eden and its
partners pursue regulatory clearance in new territories thereby
growing Eden's addressable market globally.
Cedroz (TM) is a bionematicide that targets free living
nematodes which are parasitic worms that affect a wide range of
high-value fruit and vegetable crops globally. Cedroz is registered
for sale on two continents and Eden's commercial collaborator,
Eastman Chemical, is pursuing registration and commercialisation of
this important new product in numerous countries globally.
Eden's seed treatment product, Ecovelex was developed to safely
tackle crop destruction caused by birds - a major cause of losses
in maize and other crops. Ecovelex works by creating an unpleasant
taste or odour that repels birds, leaving the seeds safely intact
and the birds unaffected and free to find alternative food sources.
The product is based on Eden's plant-derived chemistry, registered
in the EU, U.S. and elsewhere, and formulated using Eden's
Sustaine(R) microencapsulation system.
Eden's Sustaine (R) encapsulation technology is used to harness
the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by
plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and
synthetic compounds to enhance their performance and ease-of-use.
Sustaine microcapsules are naturally-derived, plastic-free,
biodegradable micro-spheres derived from yeast. It is one of the
only viable, proven and immediately registerable solutions to the
microplastics problem in formulations requiring encapsulation.
Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades
under the symbol EDEN. It was awarded the London Stock Exchange
Green Economy Mark in January 2021, which recognises London-listed
companies that derive over 50% of their total annual revenue from
products and services that contribute to the global green economy.
Eden derives 100% of its total annual revenues from sustainable
products and services.
For more information about Eden, please visit:
www.edenresearch.com . You can also follow Eden's latest
developments via its social media channels: X (Twitter) and
LinkedIn .
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