27 June 2024
Eden Research
plc
("Eden"
or "the Company")
AGM
Statement
Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the
AIM-quoted company focused on sustainable biopesticides and
plastic-free formulation technologies for use in the global crop
protection, animal health and consumer products industries, will
hold its Annual General Meeting today at 11:00 am BST at 1
Bartholomew Close, London EC1A 7BL.
At
the meeting, Eden's Chairman, Lykele van der Broek, will make the
following statement:
Since the last AGM, Eden has made
tremendous strides in delivering against its strategic growth
objectives and value creation model. Much of the groundwork that
our team has put in place over the past few years is now bearing
fruit as we enter new markets, continue to expand the labels of our
existing products, and introduce new products to the market to help
diversify our revenue streams.
The 2023 financial results reflect
the progress we have made, showing revenue growth of 78% compared
to the previous year, our third consecutive year of growth,
exceeding market expectations. Much of this growth has been derived
from the launch of our innovative bird repellent seed treatment
product, Ecovelex™. This received a temporary authorisation in
Italy for use on maize triggering a significant order from our
commercial partner Corteva. Ecovelex is the result of a four-year
intensive development programme by the Eden and Corteva teams -
bringing a regulated product such as this to market in a relatively
short period of time is quite an achievement for both companies and
testament to the levels of cooperation.
There is still much more to be
excited about with Ecovelex as we await full regulatory
authorisation in the various countries in which we have applied,
including the EU and the UK. In addition, we are further developing
Ecovelex to pursue new markets and uses in order to grow the
overall addressable market for this innovative product.
Our growth strategy for our other
two flagship products, Mevalone® and Cedroz™, continues to reap
rewards, particularly in the wake of various US state approvals. We
were pleased to have received regulatory approval at the start of
this year for Mevalone in California - the largest grape-growing,
wine-producing state in the US by a considerable margin. Supported
by Sipcam Agro USA, our distribution partner for Mevalone in the
US, we expect to add meaningful product sales revenue in the coming
years.
We are also progressing well with
the development of our insecticide product, and are pleased with
the encouraging results from field trial results received to date.
The size of Eden's addressable insecticide market cannot be
understated, particularly considering the increasing scrutiny that
conventional products face from regulators for their potential
impact on the environment. This morning, we announced detailed
information about these developments which will soon be available
on our website.
Towards the end of last year, we
successfully completed a fundraise at a very challenging time for
the capital markets, which has provided us with the financial
resources needed to accelerate existing workstreams, increase our
development capacity, and, importantly, grow our commercial team.
We are grateful to our new investors who participated in this
fundraising process, and to our existing shareholders who continued
to show unwavering support of the Company through both the
institutional and retail offerings.
The business as it stands today is
very different from just a few years ago. As we continue to deliver
against our strategic objectives, it is important that we have the
capacity and resources available to us to help maintain our
positive growth trajectory, steer the Company towards
profitability, and help realise the Company's full
value.
Earlier this month, we welcomed the
first new addition to our commercial team in some time, and in the
coming months, we will announce a further strengthening of the
team. Working together with our executives, these new colleagues
will be responsible for leading Eden's commercial expansion efforts
and driving revenue growth through both the expansion of our
existing business and the pursuit of new opportunities.
I want to take this opportunity to
welcome to the Board Derek McAllan who joined as Non-Executive
Director last month. Derek brings with him considerable experience
in advising growth companies such as Eden in his current capacity
as a Partner of the audit firm RSM. Derek will assume the role of
Chairman of the Audit Committee following the conclusion of today's
meeting, with Robin stepping down from the role. Robin will remain
on the Board as a non-executive director and will continue to play
a critical role in this capacity providing continuity and
historical perspective, as well as transaction support, where
appropriate.
To conclude, I'd like to thank all
our investors once again for your support over the past year.
Finally, I'd also like to extend my personal gratitude to the Eden
team who has worked tirelessly to get us to the stage we are at
today.
For further information
contact:
Eden
Research plc
|
|
Sean Smith
Alex Abrey
|
www.edenresearch.com
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
|
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.