7 May 2024
Eden
Research
("Eden"
or "the Company")
Preliminary results for the
year ended 31 December 2023
Eden Research (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,
announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December
2023.
Commercial and operational highlights
·
Significant milestone achieved with launch of
seed treatment innovation, EcovelexÔ, and the granting of a temporary
approval in Italy for use in the 2024 growing season
·
Expansion of regulatory approvals in the US for
flagship biopesticides, Mevalone® and
CedrozÔ,
including national level EPA endorsements, leading to approvals in
17 states, including Florida and California
·
Expansion of approvals of Mevalone in New
Zealand, Italy, Colombia and Poland, the latter a significant
milestone for accessing Central European markets
·
Progress on insecticide formulation, with
promising field trials completed and ongoing discussions to select
a commercial partner
·
Proceeds of £9.9m (gross) fundraising being
utilised to accelerate product development, registration and
commercialisation workstreams, ensuring Eden can continue its path
of growth, and fully exploit opportunities available.
Financial highlights
·
Revenue for the year was £3.2 million (2022: £1.8
million)
·
Operating loss for the year was £1.9 million
(2022: £2.6 million)
·
Cash position at the year-end was £7.4 million
(2022: £2.0 million)
The Group's full Financial
Statements are available at: www.edenresearch.com.
Lykele van der Broek, Chairman of Eden Research plc,
commented:
"Eden made substantial progress
against its strategic goals in 2023, with numerous product
approvals across key markets, including the US, and the launch of
our innovative seed treatment product, Ecovelex. Developed in less
than four years, this is a groundbreaking moment for the business
and a testament to the strength of Eden's capabilities and
commercial relationships. It has contributed to our revenue growth
over the year, which we look forward to building on in the future
as we focus on expanding regulatory approvals and authorisations in
our target geographies, and the development of other product lines,
including our bio-insecticide product."
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.
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)
Charlie Combe (corporate
broking)
Michael Johnson (sales)
|
020 7220
0500
|
|
|
Hawthorn Advisors (Financial PR)
|
|
Victoria Ainsworth
Simon Woods
|
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® 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™ 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® microencapsulation system.
Eden's Sustaine® 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.
Chairman's Statement
2023 has been a very fruitful year
for Eden.
We have received numerous product
approvals in key markets such as Poland, New Zealand and
California, which directly and significantly increase our
addressable markets and, therefore, revenue
opportunities.
We have seen revenue grow by 78%
which is due, in part, to the introduction of
EcovelexÔ into
the market in December 2023 following the grant of a temporary
approval in Italy for its use as a bird repellent
seed treatment in corn for the 2024 growing
season.
In 2020, just four years ago,
Ecovelex was only an idea; a concept which was discussed at a
meeting with Corteva Agriscience
International Sàrl ("Corteva"), Eden's
commercial partner. Corteva had foreseen that an opportunity
existed for a new bird repellent seed treatment product to come
into the market to replace the existing chemistry that had known
issues, and was looking to Eden to provide a solution.
What followed, in relatively short
order, was initial formulation work undertaken by Eden's newly
created lab team in Oxfordshire, then field trials in numerous
countries to determine the efficacy of the newly developed
product.
Following those initial field
trials, it became clear that the product was efficacious, and so
further development continued apace.
Since that time, both Corteva and
Eden have worked hard, through a collaborative approach, to take
Ecovelex to a point where an EU regulatory submission could be made
to the Austrian authorities in May 2023. At around the same
time, growers, who were in need of a new solution for bird
repellency, were sufficiently confident in the product to apply for
a temporary approval in Italy.
This approval was granted in
December 2023, and led to Eden selling a significant amount of
Ecovelex to Corteva for seeds to be treated in time for the 2024
growing season.
From my years of experience in the
crop protection industry, I can assure you that taking a product
from an idea into the market in under four years is quite
exceptional.
It is a testament to not only the
teams at Eden and Corteva working very hard and well together, but
also to the diversity that Eden's technologies bring.
And this is just one example of
the numerous opportunities that the team at Eden is busy
developing.
A number of potential commercial
partners for Eden's insecticide formulation have been testing the
product in field trials throughout 2023, with promising results
seen.
We are now at the stage of
commercial negotiations to determine with whom we move that product
forward.
As time goes on, we aim to
continue to build on the firm foundations that we have created,
adding to the revenue streams we are currently receiving from our
first three products (Mevalone, Cedroz and Ecovelex) and developing
more products to address growers' needs, driven by the
ever-changing regulatory landscape.
The successful fundraise that we
completed in October 2023, at a time when the stock markets were
very challenging, has put us in a position of financial strength
and will enable us to continue on this path and to fully exploit
the opportunities that lie before us.
I remain very optimistic about
Eden's future prospects and it becoming a leader in biological crop
protection products and solutions.
I would like to thank Eden's
shareholders for their ongoing and much appreciated
support.
Lykele van der Broek
Non-Executive Chairman
2
May 2024
Chief Executive Officer's Review for the year ended 31
December 2023
Section one: Introduction
Eden's mission is to meet the
needs of global farmers by developing, registering and supplying
sustainable solutions in support of crop health and
productivity. In 2023 Eden demonstrated strong progress
towards this goal as we launched a brand new product and product
category, expanded our existing labels and continued to develop
innovative solutions for farmers. The long-term strategy that we
have set in place is beginning to bear fruit, evidenced by our
strong year-on-year sales growth. Our focus over the medium term
will be bringing the business to profitability, balanced with
meeting our new investment plans to accelerate our research,
development, registration and commercialisation workstreams as set
out at our last fundraise in the second half of 2023.
Macroeconomic
context
The importance of food
availability, cost and quality is perhaps as relevant today as it
has ever been, given the high level of uncertainty with global
inflation, unpredictable weather patterns, and, unfortunately, an
increasing level of armed conflict in some regions of the world.
Farmers across the world have not hesitated in letting their
respective governments know about the difficulties that they face -
particularly with respect to difficult-to-navigate regulations,
lack of government support and subsidies, and strained finances
driven by constrained margins and ever-increasing costs.
These issues may appear much
larger than agricultural pest and disease control, but they all
contribute to increasing strain on our food systems. While the crop
protection industry aims to bounce back to its previous heights,
the seed market is experiencing its renaissance moment, driven in
large part by new genetics and seed treatment technologies. Not
only do we find ourselves in the right place at the right time with
our new seed treatment Ecovelex, but we have also built a more
diversified platform from which to grow our business.
In this era where food supply is
at a critical point, we remain absolutely committed to empowering
farmers to use sustainable tools to grow more high-quality crops
with the same or less land, with no compromise when it comes to
soil health, the wider environment and cost-effective
production.
Section two: Delivering on our strategy
By 2027, it is estimated that the
global biopesticide market will be worth more than $11 billion,
growing at a CAGR of 15% per annum. On average, the time it takes
to bring new conventional agricultural products to the market is
estimated at around 10 to 12 years at a cost of $300 million. With
that as the backdrop, it is important to note that Eden's leverage
of its three registered active ingredients and formulation delivery
system, Sustaine®, allows us to move relatively quickly to
formulate new products and introduce new solutions to the
increasing challenges facing growers, particularly as regulatory
compliance becomes more demanding, slower and more
costly.
As the only UK-quoted company
developing plant-derived biopesticide formulations and plastic free
formulation technology, we believe that Eden is uniquely positioned
to offer investors exposure to a compelling segment of the
sustainable agricultural market.
The Company strategy is built on
four key objectives:
a) Business line
diversification
-
Pursuit of opportunities in seed
treatments
-
Development of insecticides
-
Expand crops and diseases treated, increasing the
addressable market for existing products
-
Geographic diversification
b) Research,
development, and operations
-
Supply chain optimisation
-
Expansion of in-house screening and field trials
capability
-
Accelerate commercialisation of Sustaine for
conventional actives
-
Increase self-reliance in R&D
-
Reduce time to market
c) Commercial
growth
-
Regulatory clearance in new countries, crops, and
diseases
-
Accelerate Sustaine development
-
Partnerships for Mevalone in new
territories
-
Pursue collaboration with majors and select
national partners
-
Route to market optimisation
d) Strengthening
and growing the team
-
Added capabilities in R&D, including
microbiology, plant biology, agronomy, and analytical
chemistry
-
Robust approach to data quality
-
Expand commercial team
-
Addition of in-house regulatory expertise -
accelerating time to market and reducing regulatory
costs
Upon reviewing our targets, it's
evident that we've achieved notable advancements in the expansion
of our current product portfolio, whilst actively seeking and
capitalising on fresh opportunities via the development of new
products such as our insecticide and even new, second generation
fungicides.
New market opportunities:
the launch of Ecovelex
The unveiling of Ecovelex, our
first seed treatment innovation, stands as a significant milestone
for the first half of the year. Developed over the course of less
than four years, in collaboration with Corteva Agriscience,
Ecovelex has initially been designed as a seed treatment for maize,
offering protection against bird predation and thereby increasing
crop yields from the outset of the growth cycle.
This product emerges as a
pioneering alternative to existing bird repellent seed treatments,
which rely on conventional synthetic active ingredients facing
market withdrawal in the EU and elsewhere. With no immediate
replacements available, Ecovelex not only offers a viable solution
but also aligns with sustainable agricultural practices by
utilising naturally derived compounds without an adverse impact on
soil or avian health. Comparative field trials have underscored its
efficacy, matching or exceeding that of the current market
leaders.
In May, we communicated to
stakeholders our submission of a regulatory dossier to the Austrian
authorities, who serve as the interzonal rapporteur for EU-wide
approval. This step is crucial for market access across the
European Union, with the process subject to individual state
reviews for local authorizations. A parallel application was
submitted to the UK's Chemicals Regulation Division, marking our
intent for domestic market approval. The review process by these
regulatory bodies is anticipated to span 18 to 24 months, though
timelines are dependent upon the regulatory authorities'
capacities, workload and other factors generally beyond Eden's
control.
Our management and regulatory
teams are proactively engaging with these authorities to facilitate
the regulatory authorisation of Ecovelex. In December 2023, we were
pleased to announce that Ecovelex had received its first
authorisation in the form of a temporary approval in Italy, under
EU regulation 1107/2009. This temporary licence will permit the
treatment's use as a bird repellent in maize seeds over a 120-day
period. Since this licence approval, we have subsequently supplied
commercial quantities of Ecovelex for use during the allowed
regulatory window.
Building on this short-term
success, the company is working tirelessly to ensure its commercial
success through various regulatory approval channels (both on a
full authorisation basis and emergency authorisation basis), as
well as its potential development across new crops and
targets.
Geographic label expansion:
Mevalone and Cedroz
Our recent commercial achievements
are attributed to the strategic market expansion of our flagship
biopesticides, Mevalone and Cedroz. Focused on broadening their
addressable market and expanding their approved uses, we've made
notable progress, particularly following the pivotal EPA
authorisations received in the United States.
In the past year, national-level
EPA endorsements for both Mevalone and Cedroz set the stage for
subsequent state-level approvals in 17 states, including key
agricultural markets such as Florida and California. These states
are crucial due to their high-value crop production and a
pronounced preference for natural over conventional agricultural
inputs. Just after the year-end, Californian authorities granted
approval for Mevalone. This led to a sizeable order fulfilment for
Eden's US distribution partner, Sipcam Agro USA, setting the stage
for significantly more sales of Mevalone to come in the US in
2024.
In Europe, the approval of
Mevalone in Poland marks a strategic entry into the EU's largest
apple production market and opens doors to Central Europe - a
highly significant milestone for accessing markets in Austria,
Hungary, and Germany, known for their apple and wine production.
Our regulatory team is actively working towards gaining approval in
these jurisdictions to further the growth of our addressable
market.
In the Southern Hemisphere, we've
secured regulatory approval for Mevalone (marketed as Novellus) in
New Zealand, capitalising on the region's susceptibility to
Botrytis due to its damp, variable climate. This approval
complements our existing presence in Australia's wine regions, with
significant demand for our products anticipated.
Our expansion into South America
through a partnership with Anasac for the distribution of Mevalone
in Colombia represents our first strategic move in the region.
Targeting the ornamental crops sector, notably cut flowers, our
approach aligns with Colombia's status as a major exporter to the
US, which imports over $1.35 billion in cut flowers annually. This
move, coupled with our established presence in Mexico, underscores
our strategic intent to broaden our presence and commercial
activity across Latin America.
Closer to home, Mevalone was
granted its first regulatory approval for non-professional use in
Italy. By extending the availability of sustainable biopesticides
to home gardeners, we're not only broadening our market but also
contributing to the wider adoption of biocontrol solutions against
common plant pathogens like Botrytis cinerea and powdery
mildew.
In summary, our strategic
expansions supported by regulatory approvals across key markets
reflect our commitment to broadening the accessibility and
application of our biopesticide portfolio, aligning with our growth
objectives and reinforcing our position in the global biopesticide
market.
Section three: Financial review
Revenue for the year was £3.2
million which marked a 78% increase on the previous year (2022:
£1.8m). This reflects a significant increase in product sales which
were £2.6m, a 63% rise on last year's product sales (2022:
£1.6m).
Our operating loss also improved.
In 2023, we recorded a reduced operating loss of £1.9m which
compared favourably to the previous year's performance (2022: £2.6
million loss).
Administrative expenses increased
in line with expansion of the development and commercialisation
team to £3.0 million (2022: £2.7 million), while additions to
intangible assets, including development costs, increased to £1.7
million from £1.0 million in 2022.
While the loss before taxation
increased to £6.9m loss (2022: £2.6m loss), this was after a
significant non-cash impairment of intangible assets of £5.0m
(2022: nil) - see note 12 to the financial statements.
Our cash balance at year-end was
£7.4 million (2022: £2.0 million).
In Q3 2023, Eden concluded a
successful fundraise of £9.9 million (before expenses), which will
allow the Company to expedite the development of its new and
existing products and expand into new geographies. It also serves
to strengthen our balance sheet and provide greater flexibility
during this high-growth period.
At present, there is currently no
near-term plan to pay a dividend. However, the Board continues to
review the Company's dividend policy.
Section four: 2024 outlook
As we look to continue our
positive momentum from 2023, Eden expects to see a healthy increase
in existing product sales throughout 2024, driven by new regulatory
approvals and label extensions in key geographies and supported by
our key partnerships with industry-leading partners.
Accelerating development and
commercial growth
Following the completion of the
£9.9 million fundraise in Q3 2023, the use of net proceeds of £1.3m
raised from the firm placing and retail offer has, in part, been
allocated towards the funding of materials to build up stocks for
our new seed treatment. We also intend to grow the Ecovelex label
through further development work and field trials. Further,
we plan to expand our activities in new regions such as Latin
America and South-East Asia. Lastly, we intend to strengthen our
commercial team with the appointment of a new commercial lead and a
market development and product manager.
Additionally, a significant
proportion of the net proceeds from the conditional capital raise
of £7.7m will be dedicated towards the development efforts for our
bio-insecticide, a project initiated with the capital raised three
years prior. This product is designed to target critical
agricultural pests including spider mites, whiteflies, aphids, and
thrips. Through extensive greenhouse and field trials conducted by
Eden and its partners over the past two years, we have observed
promising efficacy and consistency in combating these pests. Eden
is now in the midst of discussions with various potential partners
in order to finalise our commercial partnership strategy. Our
strategic plan also includes submitting regulatory applications as
soon as practicable, aiming for a market launch initially in the US
and ultimately in the EU and elsewhere, conditional on favourable
regulatory review and trial outcomes.
Elsewhere, we are actively
evaluating the potential of our biopesticide portfolio against a
broader spectrum of crops and pests, such as cannabis, black
sigatoka, potato blight, and wireworm, with initial assessments
yielding optimistic results.
Finally, we have allocated funds
to establish a US-based team to help support the Company's growth
across the Americas in the coming two years.
Section five: Driving positive impact
Sustainability lies at the heart
of what we do at Eden. We are focused on providing innovative and
sustainable solutions to the global agriculture industry and
beyond. It is with this philosophy that we aim to perform a
fundamental role for farmers looking to adopt sustainable farming
practices without adversely impacting their output or bottom
line.
Sustainability can often pose a
systematic challenge for the agricultural industry as it looks to
feed a growing population while also protecting our planet and
complying with increasingly stringent regulations. Our growing
portfolio of products helps farmers to protect natural ecosystems,
as well as their high value crops, meeting the growing demands of
both consumers and regulators. The ingredients we use to formulate
our products; geraniol, eugenol and thymol, are naturally-occurring
materials used by plants themselves as a part of their own defence
systems.
Moreover, our products have been
certified as organic in the EU. This is a valuable classification
for Eden as we are seeing rising demand for organic produce amongst
consumers and growers, a trend also reinforced by regulation. Under
its Farm to Fork strategy, the EU has proposed that at least 25% of
the EU's agricultural land should be farmed organically by 2030,
and the action plan supporting this change has now reached the
public consultation phase.
Increasingly, regulatory
restrictions over crop protection product usage and a drive towards
organic farming is apparent across the globe and demonstrated quite
clearly in the UK with the introduction of the Department of
Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs' new Environmental Land
Management Schemes (ELMS). Under ELMS, farmers in England will be
entitled to a Sustainable Farming Incentive payment which focuses
on soil health and reducing the use of damaging inputs such as
fertilisers and insecticides. In the context of our regulatory
applications in the UK, we continue to review the associated
opportunities and risks. Moving forward, we look forward to working
with our distribution partners and local farmers as these
regulations evolve in a post-Brexit environment.
TerpeneTech (UK)
Sales of geraniol into the biocide
sector have continued to increase year on year and TerpeneTech (UK)
is investigating the potential to register additional active
ingredients under the EU's Biocide Directive.
TerpeneTech (Ireland)
TerpeneTech (Ireland) was
established in 2019 to hold the registration of geraniol under the
EU's Biocidal Products Regulation due to changes brought about by
Brexit. As such, TerpeneTech (Ireland) receives royalty income from
TerpeneTech (UK) on the sales of geraniol but is otherwise
non-operational.
Section six: Summary
In reviewing the past year, it's
evident that our financial and operational strategy has yielded
positive outcomes, particularly in sales, market position,
regulatory advancements, and our product development pipeline,
which contains opportunities that will fuel future growth. Despite
the challenges that our industry has faced over the past year, we
have successfully brought one new product, Ecovelex, to the start
of commercial use within an extremely short timeframe.
Additionally, we have also witnessed a notable increase in sales
growth across our flagship biopesticides - Mevalone and Cedroz.
This growth is a testament to the commitment and support that our
team and shareholders have provided towards our long-term
objectives and reflects the level of ambition of our management
team and Board of Directors in building the company's business and
market presence in the rapidly-growing bio-pesticides
industry.
As we deploy our company's
resources through 2024 and beyond, we are dedicated to continuing
our trajectory of growth and green innovation. I am very proud of
the team that we have built in only the last four years, and I look
forward continuing the expansion of our mission-critical
capabilities and capacity, all in support of our objective to
become a leader in sustainable crop protection solutions. It
is only with the support of our shareholders that we have been able
to evolve Eden into the company that it is today, with far greater
capabilities and an expanding platform for future growth. On
behalf of the Board of Directors and the Management Team, I'd like
to express our gratitude to our staff, industry partners, and
shareholders for their continued support and
contribution.
Sean Smith
Chief Executive Officer
2
May 2024