Toyota, Shell and Toshiba drive revenues for Ilika in half yearly

Development projects with Toyota, Shell and Toshiba continued to drive business for cleantech company Ilika in its half-yearly results released Thursday.

The AIM-listed company, which develops green energy products, continued to progress well during the six months to the end of October thanks to ongoing partnerships and strong activity in the US, Asia and Europe.

However, revenues were down from the previous year due in part to administrative delays which held back new contracts.

Ilika reported £0.5m in total revenue, down from £0.8m the year before - putting an end to an average 30% increase since 2008.

Chief Executive Graeme Purdy said the company had been awaiting approval of contracts from regulators in various markets including Japan, which accounts for 70% of revenues and the US and Europe which contribute 15% each.

"If it were not for administrative delays we are enthusiastic it would have been a fantastic story of sustained growth," he told Sharecast and Digitallook.

Ilika was also affected by news its partner Energizer was streamlining business with a $200m cost saving programme.

Another big hit to business was the operating costs incurred by wound care division Altrika. The expenses outweighed its contribution of less than 8% to revenues, leading to the disposal of the company last December.

Purdy said most of the company's business came from the development of battery technology for hybrid vehicles. It has been working with Toyota, a leader of eco-friendly cars in the automotive industry.

Ilika and Toyota have been in partnership for the past five years and are continuing to find new ways to improve efficiency.

However, Toyota has in the past year been hit by recalls and slump in share prices. It topped the list of manufacturers for the most number of recalls in the US for the third time in four years, with more than five million vehicles called back to dealers in 2012.

Purdy said the road blocks Toyota faced caused a "bit of disruption" but failed to put a spanner in the works of product innovations. It also had little impact on Toyota as the manufacturer reported a 36% increase in net revenues for the six months ended September.

"The latest news has been very encouraging with Toyota's increased revenues," Purdy said.

"I looks like it has rebound from the recalls and realigned itself as a leader in the automotive industry."

Purdy said the outlook for 2013 was positive as administrative processes wrap-up, the company continues working on new technologies and the business recovers from the costs of Altrika.

He also sees the company benefiting from its other major partners Shell and Toshiba.

Oil giant Shell has recruited Ilika in the development of hydrogen technology and fuel cell materials while Toshiba has signed a contract for making electronics materials.

"We expect to see stronger cash flows from projects taking off this year following regulatory approvals," Purdy concluded.

RD