First Graphene Ltd (ASX:FGR, OTCQB:FGPHF) closed out the last quarter of the 2022 financial year with record revenue of A$359,000, thanks to several significant orders, sending its full-year revenue soaring 111% to A$723,000 from a year ago.
This strong revenue growth includes sales of its PureGRAPH® materials and application/research development services across a broad range of materials technologies.
The company has significant forward orders of A$160,000 for fiscal 2023, predominantly across the cement/concrete and composites/plastics segments.
Segmental highlights
The composites and plastics segment contributed 46% of revenue during the quarter, followed by cement/concrete with 31%, coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE) with 12% and energy storage and other revenue stream with 11%.
The company’s strategy to focus on segments that offer the greatest potential for continued global commercial gains drove robust sales.
It noted some segments were more commercially advanced than others but that each provided a strong pipeline of opportunity over the coming financial year.
First Graphene has combined the inks/coatings and rubbers/elastomers/foams segments into one area of focus to better align with the industry standard segment of coatings, adhesives, solvents and elastomers (CASE).
The company is planning to develop low-cost graphene-enhanced solar cells with Australia-based Greatcell Energy Limited.
These companies will jointly develop graphene composites and formulations and pending the successful outcome of the R&D phase, will commercialise the technology.
A 2021 report by MarketWatch, the market for Perovskite Solar Cells, where Greatcell has expertise, is expected to register a 42.1% compounded annual revenue growth to reach a global market size of about US$1.4 billion by 2026.
The cement and concrete segment, which contributed A$112,000 to quarterly revenue, provides one of the most significant potential commercial opportunities for First Graphene.
A full-scale trial at the Breedon Hope Works cement plant, one of the largest programs for graphene-enhanced cement/concrete undertaken globally to date, is on track to commence in November 2022.
Meanwhile, in the composites and plastics segment, orders from early adopter clients and new opportunities accounted for A$166,000 of fourth-quarter FY22 revenue.
The company continues to make progress in its collaboration with UK-based Senergy Innovations on the development of PureGRAPH® enhanced polymer solar thermal cells. Commercial-scale compounding trials have been successful and Senergy will next move to product trials across the UK.
Similarly, commercial testing of the High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) masterbatch with Malaysian-based DSP has recently been concluded, and material properties are being evaluated. More updates are expected in the next quarter.
The newly-expanded CASE segment is seeing strong interest from upstream and downstream manufacturers who now have a better understanding of the benefits of graphene-enabled solutions.
The segment delivered about A$41,000 to quarterly revenue, made up of orders from both early adopter clients and new opportunities.
No supply chain issues
First Graphene has been able to avoid the current global supply chain challenges by maintaining good reserves of feedstock and uninterrupted shipping.
It currently sources high-grade graphite from mines and partners in Sri Lanka, with ongoing shipments scheduled and no disruptions anticipated from the current unrest in the country.
At current output rates, and with a local stockpile of more than 600 tonnes of graphite, the company is not expecting interruptions to the production of PureGRAPH® from its Western Australian facility as well as for research, development and manufacturing of specific, custom graphene formulations, at least for the next several years.
New hires
A search for a global commercial director to focus on driving growth in the cement and concrete segment has ended with the appointment of a candidate from a construction chemicals company focused on cement grinding aids and concrete admixtures.
The commercial director will begin work in mid-October to further drive adoption of First Graphene’s products and services with the world’s leading cement and concrete additive formulators.
First Graphene has also appointed additional research resources based in the UK to drive the battery and supercapacitor materials research in order to achieve commercial adoption.