Acta : Trading Update

25 November 2014

Acta S.p.A. ("Acta" or "the Company")

Trading Update

Following the departure of the former Chief Executive, Paolo Bert on 22 November 2014, the Board of Acta S.p.A. (AIM; ACTA), the hydrogen energy company, has commissioned an operational review of the market opportunities and business performance for the 2014 financial year. 

The Board has concluded after reviewing the initial findings of that review that the cash and revenue performance in FY2014 will fall significantly below the Board's previous expectations.

The Board remains confident that the market opportunity for Acta's electrolysers and Acta Power systems remains encouraging but the Company has seen a significant delay in orders due to evolving customer technical requirements.  Following a series of successful trials completed during the H1 2014, discussions with prospective customers are continuing.

The Board has commenced a number of measures to reduce costs and conserve cash until the anticipated orders arrive.  The Company remains very confident in its core technology and sees a number of encouraging opportunities in the telecoms and automotive sectors. 

The Board continues to work on the prompt appointment of a new chief executive officer and settlement of the outstanding legal dispute and hopes to provide a further update shortly.

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About Acta S.p.A.

Acta S.p.A. is a developer and manufacturer of a range of clean energy products.  Based on its world-leading expertise in alkaline membrane technology, the Company has developed a unique range of low-cost, compact hydrogen generators (electrolysers) which produce pure, dry compressed hydrogen at high efficiency from renewable or grid power.

In April 2013 Acta launched the Acta Power, an integrated electrolyser and fuel cell system for use in back-up power and renewable energy storage applications.  Best understood as a "Hydrogen Battery", the system converts energy from renewable or grid power when it is available and stores it in the form of hydrogen, and then converts the hydrogen back to electrical power when needed due to grid black-out or lack of solar / wind power. 

This system has extensive application as a back-up power unit for telecommunications base stations, where it competes on cost against traditional battery and diesel solutions, while offering a cleaner solution and better service.  In particular, the use of rainwater and the generation of hydrogen on-site removes the cost and logistical barriers of fuel delivery, while also avoiding the theft risk associated with diesel, methanol and battery systems. 

The supply of fuel cell back-up power systems for telecommunications base stations represents a large and fast-growing market, especially in extensively bad-grid and off-grid locations such as in Asia and Africa.  Battery sales to the Chinese telecoms industry are currently valued at $4.7 bn to $7.8 bn per annum (Fuel Cell Today, China).

Acta holds a portfolio of patents and patent applications on its key technologies, manufactures its products through a combination of production, component subcontracting, and final product assembly and quality control, and has established distribution channels through partnerships in China, India, SE Asia, Australia, Africa, Middle East, Germany, UK, USA and South America.

Acta S.p.A. is based near Pisa, Italy, and was admitted to trading on AIM in October 2005.