Shares in Nanoco Group Plc (LON:NANO) were down around 5% on Monday after the group said revenues for its most recent financial year amounted to £1.9mln, down from £2mln in the preceding year.
The Runcorn based company nevertheless told investors that these revenues were in line with its expectations.
It comes after Nanoco tore up an exclusive arrangement to supply The Dow Chemical Company with quantum-dots, the group’s main products which are a key components used in the manufacture of certain ultra-high definition televisions and monitors.
The company continues to work with Dow on a non-exclusive basis and, according to Nanoco, the new strategy has allowed it to open up additional routes to market. This has been further boosted by a substantial improvement in production processes, it added.
Last month Nanoco landed a supply and licence agreement with Wah Hong Industrial Corporation, a customer in Taiwan that makes optical films for the display market.
Separately, it has recently added a licensing deal with German healthcare and technology conglomerate Merk, which will now be building its own manufacturing facilities which will produce Nanoco cadmium-free quantum dots.
Other “potential commercial opportunities” continue to be evaluated by the company, Nanoco added.
“We expect 2017 to be a year of revenue growth for the company on the back of potential shipments from Dow to the Korean OEMs, as well as initial sales through new partners, Wah Hong and Merck,” said Janardan Menon, technology analyst at Liberum Capital.
“The market for quantum dots continues to expand within displays as well as lighting, solar and life sciences. Nanoco is well positioned in our opinion.”
The company is due to release its full year results for the twelve months ended July 31 in mid-October. It told investors that it ended the financial year with £14.4mln of net cash.
Liberum Capital rates Nanoco as a ‘buy’ and it has a 105p price target, which suggests nearly 60% upside to the current share price of 66.25p.