Plant Impact

IC says buy : 22.10.10: -1, (21.5) IC says buy : BULL POINTS Need for better agricultural yields - Deals with major companies - Milestone payments... read more

IC says buy : 22.10.10: -1, (21.5) IC says buy : BULL POINTS Need for better agricultural yields - Deals with major companies - Milestone payments could lift share price BEAR POINTS No certainty on timing of trial results - Profits some years off

announces it signed a major new agreement for its crop nutrient products with its existing partner Arysta Life Science Corp., in a deal... read more

announces it signed a major new agreement for its crop nutrient products with its existing partner Arysta Life Science Corp., in a deal that gives it access to a much bigger potential market. Plant Impact, which already has a deal with Arysta for its BugOil insecticide, said it entered an evaluation, development and distribution agreement with the Tokyo-based agrichemical company covering its InCa, Balance and cocoa stress tolerance products. Financial terms weren?t disclosed. Plant Impact said Arysta plans to carry out 350 field trials of the products and if successful will have the rights to sell them in up to 52 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The products will initially be tested and marketed in horticulture, although this could be extended to include some arable crops, Plant Impact said. "With this agreement our company has significantly expanded its route to market and continues to prove efficacy and commercial viability," said Chief Executive Officer Peter Blezard. Religare Hichens Harrison analysts said in a research note Plant Impact?s route to market for its products was a key concern about the business and this deal substantially solves that problem. "This is potentially an important breakthrough for Plant Impact," the broker said. At 1059 GMT, shares in Plant Impact were flat at 25.5 pence, underperforming a 0.04% higher FTSE All-Share index. Plant Impact Friday said it was in talks with a maker of fertilizer used on golf courses about a possible technology deal, after results from a U.S. trial suggested its PiNT fertilizer might make a better fertilizer than standard products with less nitrate pollution.

15.06.09 :-5.5, (36) Plant Impact PLC reported a wider full-year pretax loss because of higher spending on research and the expansion of... read more

15.06.09 :-5.5, (36) Plant Impact PLC reported a wider full-year pretax loss because of higher spending on research and the expansion of its sales teams. hief Executive Peter Blezzard told Dow Jones Newswires the company intends to scale back spending on research this fiscal year but will keep investing in key personnel to boost sales of its products, which include crop nutrients and insecticides. "We want to get these products to market rapidly," he said. Plant Impact reported a pretax loss for the year to March 31 of GBP2.5 million, compared with a loss of GBP1.8 million a year earlier. Higher spending on trials of its products and hiring new sales people for key regions like the Netherlands, France and Germany pushed up costs, said Blezzard. However, revenue almost tripled to GBP828,616 from GBP284,853, an increase Plant Impact credited to a rise in direct sales of its products to farmers in the U.K. and Europe, and U.S. sales. It said those direct sales have also boosted its gross margin to 47.6% in the current fiscal year, up from 35.8% in the year to March 31. The company, which has licensing deals with Japan?s Arysta Life Science Corp. and Miller Chemical and Fertilizer Corp. of the U.S., has reached the stage where additional funding of about GBP5 million could allow it to fully exploit the value of its portfolio of technologies, said Hybridan analysts in a research note Monday. Blezzard said Plant Impact doesn?t need to raise fresh capital if it doesn?t want to. The firm reported cash at the fiscal year-end of GBP756,000. However, he said if the company wants to accelerate growth then it might seek to raise equity, although he said he couldn?t comment on any specific plans the firm might have. Last week, Plant Impact said the U.S. Department of Agriculture intends to begin trials of the company?s PiNT nitrogen control technology. Blezzard said nitrate pollution is a big problem, and endorsement of Plant Impact?s technology by the U.S. Department of Agriculture could potentially boost sales significantly. Field tests are also underway of BugOil, its all-natural insecticide, by partner Arysta. Commercial launch is expected in late 2010, Blezzard said.