THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE
INFORMATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11 October 2024
Microsaic Systems
plc
("Microsaic" or the
"Company")
Annual Report & Accounts
for the year to 31 December 2023
Microsaic Systems plc (AIM: MSYS), the
developer of micro-electronic instruments and analytical solutions,
hereby announces its audited financial results for the year ended
31 December 2023 ("FY23"). The Company's FY23 Annual Report is
included at the end of this announcement and is now available on
the Company's website at www.microsaic.com.
The Company will make a further announcement
in due course to confirm the posting of its FY23 Annual Report to
shareholders who have requested information in hard copy, along
with notice of the Company's next annual general
meeting.
The shares will, however, remain suspended
from trading until the publication of the interim results to 30
June 2024, which the Company expects to publish later this
month.
Notwithstanding the ongoing temporary
suspension of trading in the Company's ordinary shares, the Company
will continue to make announcements as and when there are
developments that require announcement in accordance with its
obligations under the AIM Rules for Companies.
Financial Highlights:
·
Total revenue decreased by 70% on the previous
year to £0.49m (2022: £1.57m) reflecting the absence of sales to
DeepVerge plc;
·
Operating expenses decreased to £2.88m (2022:
£3.27m) reflecting the inclusion of certain restructuring and
closure costs, which were more than offset by low impairment
charges of £6k in contrast to 2022 debt impairment charges of
£1.13m arising entirely due to the insolvency of DeepVerge
plc;
·
Operating loss of £2.60m (2022:
£2.55m);
·
Loss before tax of £2.60m (2022: £2.53m)
after providing for:
o Impairment of related party debt of £6k (2022:
£1.13m);
o Share-based payments of £21k (2022: £0.23m);
o Depreciation
and amortisation of £286k (2022: £281k);
·
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2023 of
£0.17m (2022: £1.24m).
Post-year end events:
·
On 12 January 2024 the Company announced the intention to
acquire certain assets and elements of the Modern Water business
from DeepVerge plc subject to successful fundraising;
·
On 15 January 2024 the Company announced the successful
placing of £1.8m in new shares;
·
On 16 January 2024 the Company shares were restored and
relisted on the AIM market;
·
On 25 January 2024 the Company announced the completion of
the acquisition of the Modern Water business from DeepVerge plc for
a consideration of £100,000.
·
On 16 February 2024 the Company announced the reactivation of
the Modern Water laboratory and production facilities in smaller
premises at Sand Hutton, York, England. The Company is also
working with a large OEM in the United States to optimise the
Company's PFAS system for commercial use.
·
On 27 March 2024 the Company announced that it had agreed
terms with GX Group, based in Usk Wales, for the continued
manufacturing and further development of Continuous Toxicity
Monitoring instruments ("CTMs") and related consumables previously
sold by the Modern Water business.
·
On 14 June the Company announced that it had reached
non-binding heads of terms with Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA)
("Aptamer") for the development of a range of Optimer® binders to
be used in its newly developed Pathogen Detector to be adapted for
the detection of multiple pathogens of serious concern to public
health that can be found in water in addition to Covid-19 (the
"Agreement").
·
On 25 June the Company announced that it had received a
research and development tax credit from HMRC of £262,000 for
qualifying costs expended in 2022.
·
Net cash balance at 4 October 2024 was £0.45m.
Outlook
As part of the Company's reset, it
has successfully raised net £1.8m, moved its headquarters to York
England on a much-reduced cost base and has engaged a new
management and operations team. The new streamlined business and
acquisition of the Modern Water business has greatly expanded and
diversified the potential sales and client base of the Company. The
Modern Water acquisition has enabled the Company to access a wide
range of valuable IP, instrumentation and consumables for water and
effluent discharge toxicity monitoring and water security. These
newly acquired capabilities are expected to provide the Company
with growth and revenue opportunities in the short term. The assets
of and equipment supplied by Modern Water are also complementary to
the Company's miniaturised mass spectrometer which can be adapted
and integrated into a broader and wider range of testing solutions
away from the laboratory including localised PFAS detection and
measurement. The outlook for water related security, toxicity
measurement and remedial actions is one of the highest sector
growth areas. The Company is committed to becoming a major water
toxicity solutions provider with our extensive range of instruments
and services and through collaborative ventures in the
sector.
The acquisition of the Modern
Water business is having a transformational impact on the Company.
Previously the Company was reliant on sales and servicing limited
to usage of our mini-mass spectrometers but with limited ongoing
after sales revenue with no consumables. Now post-acquisition the
Company has increasing revenue streams from a much broader range of
instruments and products. We now have servicing and revenue from
sales of our Microtox® brand consumable reagents used in the suite
of Modern Water toxic water measuring instruments. These
instruments include the laboratory LX, portable FX and our
automated online Continuous Toxic Monitoring device. We manufacture
sector leading Microtox® reagents for both laboratory and in-field
Modern Water instrument use. Furthermore, the Company has acquired
the rights to build and market the Pathogen Detector that we intend
to expand from proven Covid-19 detection in water to a
groundbreaking multi pathogen device to identify a much wider range
of pathogens, including viruses, in water. During the current year,
the Modern Water business has and is expected to produce the
majority of the Company's revenues.
Since the acquisition of the
Modern Water business, the Company has reset the business to reduce
overheads and to improve operational efficiencies. We have focused
on marketing and integrating the successful Microtox® reagent brand
and associated water testing instrumentation into the Company's
complementary mini-mass spectrometer portfolio. The Company has
also targeted investment and funds to upgrade the design and
electronics of our Modern Water instruments that are attracting the
most market interest and sales. The flagship project in Qatar has
progressed well in compliance with our contractual obligations to
commission the Continuous Toxic Monitoring machines installed as an
online water monitoring network around Doha and to complete local
training of operatives. The Company has positioned itself to ensure
the outsourced manufacturing of existing Modern Water instruments
will continue and can meet growing market demand together with
in-house manufacturing of our Microtox® reagents at our laboratory
in York which is fully functional. The Company intends to make a
more detailed trading statement together with the Interim Results,
which are expected to be release in the coming weeks, about how we
are positioned to move forward successfully, including the
commercialisation of our novel Pathogen Detector to rapidly detect
a wide range of pathogens in water.
As Executive Chairman, I would
like to acknowledge the support shown by new and existing
shareholders, stakeholders, suppliers to the business and by our
talented management and staff. We look forward to demonstrating the
strategic and operational progress of the business through the rest
of 2024 and beyond.
Microsaic Systems plc
Bob Moore, Acting Executive
Chairman
|
+44 (0) 20 3657
0050
via
TPI
|
|
|
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser)
Alex Bond / Oliver
Platts
|
+44 (0)20 7496
3000
|
|
|
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited
(Broker)
Andy Thacker / James
Pope
|
+44 (0) 20 3657
0050
|
About Microsaic Systems and Modern Water
Microsaic is highly experienced in
microelectronics and development of instrumentation. Having
acquired the Modern Water business it has reset, diversified and
widened its capabilities into broader based analytical equipment
supply and services company with combined technologies resulting in
comprehensive water testing capabilities. The Company has an
extensive existing and newly acquired innovative patent portfolio
in industry-leading technology designed and developed for "Industry
4.0" application serving markets in diversified Industries, Human
and Environmental Health. Microsaic's micro-mass spectrometer
system and Modern Water water testing solutions enables analytical
detection and characterisation at the point-of-need, whether within
a mobile testing capability, conventional laboratory setting, or
within a bioprocessing facility for continuous detection of data at
multiple steps in the process workflow.
Microsaic's products and solutions
are commercially available through global markets via a network of
regional and local partners, targeting its core laboratory,
manufacturing and point-of-need applications.
Annual Report
and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023
CHAIRMAN'S
STATEMENT
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
Dear Shareholders,
I hereby present the Company's
audited annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December
2023. The year 2023 commenced with the Company continuing its
transition from an R&D focused instrument business with the
development of the innovative miniaturised mass spectrometers to a
more commercially focused service business, but the Company ran
into significant financial difficulties arising from the cessation
of trading with the Company's largest related business party,
DeepVerge plc. The unexpected failure of this major customer
had a serious and material financial impact on the business during
2023 and its ability to then operate as a going concern, which
inevitably resulted in a suspension of the Company's shares from
trading on AIM in June 2023.
During the second half of 2023 the
Company implemented a major restructuring programme, affecting the
Board, senior management and staff. We subsequently successfully
refinanced the business bringing financial stability and a return
to trading of the shares on AIM in January 2024. The shares
were again suspended from trading on AIM from 1 July 2024 due to
the delay in publishing these accounts. The shares are expected to
return to trading on AIM immediately following publication of both
these accounts and the interim results to 30 June 2024.
As part of the restructuring
programme I took over as Executive Chair in September 2023 and once
we had completed the refinancing the goal of the Board was to
undertake a strategic and operational review leading to the
restructuring and reset of the Company.
The restructuring included the
resignation of one executive director and a major reduction of the
cost-base. The Company also successfully acquired the Modern Water
business in January 2024 to broaden its future offering and enhance
its revenue stream opportunities. The acquisition is becoming
transformational for the Company in both the short and long term
and will be an important part of resetting and accelerating the
business performance.
Financial Highlights:
·
Total revenue decreased by 70% on the previous
year to £0.49m (2022: £1.57m) reflecting the absence of sales to
DeepVerge plc;
·
Operating expenses decreased to £2.88m (2022:
£3.27m) reflecting the inclusion of certain restructuring and
closure costs, which were more than offset by low impairment
charges of £6k in contrast to 2022 debt impairment charges of
£1.13m arising entirely due to the insolvency of DeepVerge
plc;
·
Operating loss of £2.60m (2022:
£2.55m);
·
Loss before tax of £2.60m (2022: £2.53m)
after providing for:
o Impairment of related party debt of £6k (2022:
£1.13m);
o Share-based payments of £21k (2022: £0.23m);
o Depreciation
and amortisation of £286k (2022: £281k);
·
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2023 of
£0.17m (2022: £1.24m);
·
Net cash balance at 4 October 2024 was
£0.45m.
Post-year end events:
·
On 12 January 2024 the Company announced the intention to
acquire certain assets and elements of the Modern Water business
from DeepVerge plc subject to successful fundraising;
·
On 15 January 2024 the Company announced the successful
placing of £1.8m in new shares;
·
On 16 January 2024 the Company shares were restored and
relisted on the AIM market;
·
On 25 January 2024 the Company announced the completion of
the acquisition of the Modern Water business from DeepVerge plc for
a consideration of £100,000.
·
On 16 February 2024 the Company announced the reactivation of
the Modern Water laboratory and production facilities in smaller
premises at Sand Hutton, York, England. The Company is also
working with a large OEM in the United States to optimise the
Company's PFAS system for commercial use.
·
On 27 March 2024 the Company announced that it had agreed
terms with GX Group, based in Usk Wales, for the continued
manufacturing and further development of Continuous Toxicity
Monitoring instruments ("CTMs") and related consumables previously
sold by the Modern Water business.
·
On 14 June the Company announced that it had reached
non-binding heads of terms with Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA)
("Aptamer") for the development of a range of Optimer® binders to
be used in its newly developed Pathogen Detector to be adapted for
the detection of multiple pathogens of serious concern to public
health that can be found in water in addition to Covid-19 (the
"Agreement").
·
On 25 June the Company announced that it had received a
research and development tax credit from HMRC of £262,000 for
qualifying costs expended in 2022.
Corporate governance
I was appointed as an independent
Non-Executive Director in March 2022 and following the
resignation of the former Executive Chair Mr Brandon on 25
September 2023, I was appointed as Executive Chair. Alongside the
strategic review and business reset the Board is collectively
committed to a high standard of corporate governance. We intend to
recruit an independent Non-Executive Chair and at least one more
Non-Executive Director. With the support of this strengthened
Board, I intend to move to the executive CEO role to accelerate our
growth and business development always maintaining proper and good
governance of the Company.
Outlook
As part of the Company's reset, it
has successfully raised net £1.8m, moved its headquarters to York
England on a much-reduced cost base and has engaged a new
management and operations team. The new stream-lined business and
acquisition of the Modern Water business has greatly expanded and
diversified the potential sales and client base of the Company. The
Modern Water acquisition has enabled the Company to access a wide
range of valuable IP, instrumentation and consumables for water and
effluent discharge toxicity monitoring and water security. These
newly acquired capabilities are expected to provide the Company
with growth and revenue opportunities in the short term. The assets
of and equipment supplied by Modern Water are also complementary to
the Company's miniaturised mass spectrometer which can be adapted
and integrated into a broader and wider range of testing solutions
away from the laboratory including localised PFAS detection and
measurement. The outlook for water related security, toxicity
measurement and remedial actions is one of the highest sector
growth areas. The Company is committed to becoming a major water
toxicity solutions provider with our extensive range of instruments
and services and through collaborative ventures in the
sector.
The acquisition of the Modern
Water business is having a transformational impact on the Company.
Previously the Company was reliant on sales and servicing limited
to usage of our mini-mass spectrometers but with limited ongoing
after sales revenue with no consumables. Now post-acquisition the
Company has increasing revenue streams from a much broader range of
instruments and products. We now have servicing and revenue from
sales of our Microtox® brand consumable reagents used in the suite
of Modern Water toxic water measuring instruments. These
instruments include the laboratory LX, portable FX and our
automated online Continuous Toxic Monitoring device. We manufacture
sector leading Microtox® reagents for both laboratory and in-field
Modern Water instrument use. Furthermore, the Company has acquired
the rights to build and market the Pathogen Detector that we intend
to expand from proven Covid-19 detection in water to a
groundbreaking multi pathogen device to identify a much wider range
of pathogens, including viruses, in water. During the current year,
the Modern Water business is expected to produce the majority of
the Company's revenues.
As Executive Chairman, I would
like to acknowledge the support shown by new and existing
shareholders, stakeholders, suppliers to the business and by our
talented management and staff. We look forward to demonstrating the
strategic and operational progress of the business through 2024 and
beyond.
Bob
Moore
Executive Chairman
10 October 2024
STRATEGIC
REPORT
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
Progress during 2023
The results for 2023 need to be
considered on the basis that no further payments and no further
revenues were received from DeepVerge plc.
2023 revenues were £0.49m, a
70% decrease on the prior year (2022: £1.57m). If sales to
DeepVerge plc are excluded from these figures, the resulting sales
to customers excluding DeepVerge plc were £0.43m, being 34% higher
than in prior year (2022: £0.32m). This quantum of
business was far below that needed to achieve profitability and
accordingly the business reported substantial losses.
The overall
gross margin reflected the blend of low
margins on equipment sales, medium margins on consulting services
and higher margins on consumables. The gross profit
declined commensurately with the decline in
sales.
Operational Highlights
·
Microsaic's products and services in applications such as
water monitoring of chemicals and pathogens have been installed in
Ireland, UK, Japan and the US
·
Laboratory services for toxic shock, insulin and a range of
metabolites carried out under contract by Microsaic as mass
spectrometry services
·
Mass spectrometry units have been installed and demonstrated
in mobile monitoring vehicles
Strategic Focus
Historically the Company has served Human
Health, Environmental Health and Diversified markets with equipment
and design services for mass detection technology, which can be
used at the point of need to drive better informed, faster
decisions in real time and to solve real-world problems.
Typical point of need markets and applications
include process analytical technology for the detection of PFAS
(forever chemicals) in the food chain, manufacture of high value
biologic drugs and food contamination, including Acrylamide,
screening. The Company is also developing a longer-term capability
in point of care diagnostics.
Microsaic's technology can also be used in
standard laboratory settings, for example in the established
pharmaceutical, academic and chemical industries.
With the acquisition of the Modern Water
business in January 2024 the company has reset and repositioned
itself in the increasingly important water security and safety
market. The ability to bring the rapidity of MicroTox® toxicity
testing in combination with the discrimination possible using mass
spectrometry gives a unique offering that covers both a rapid
warning of a problem with the water supply and the subsequent
identification of the cause of the problem. The senior management
of the company also see areas to add additional techniques, both
developed in-house and in collaboration with strategic partners to
expand to a fully realised total solution to the water industry.
This has considerably extended the reach of the Company with access
to new markets to offer a much wider range of technologies and
services.
Business Model
In 2023, the Company made a successful
transition from reliance on the sale of its Mass Spectrometer
instruments, consumables and spare parts to a balanced including
solutions for end-users such as design, development and enhancement
of third-party equipment to integrate with partner hardware and
software.
Shortly after the year-end the Company raised
£1.8m in new equity to provide working capital funding which
also enabled the acquisition of the assets of the Modern Water
business from DeepVerge plc. The immediate priority in 2024
was to adopt, integrate and progress the Modern Water
work-in-progress and customer order book in tandem with fulfilling
legacy Microsaic customer orders, and this work is
ongoing.
As of mid-year 2024 the MicroTox® reagent
production laboratories were fully functional with freeze dried new
product being shipped worldwide, with increasing sales revenues.
Pre-orders are being taken for a new production run, scheduled to
start the end of 2024, of the LX laboratory instrument that
underpins the use of the MicroTox® reagents. The Continuous Toxic
Monitoring (CTM) project in Qatar is progressing well with 27
Continuous Toxic Monitoring Machines commissioned in Q3 2024 to
monitor the water purity throughout Doha. This success of
this flagship project is expected to result in increased sales of
CTMs and services in the Gulf States region during 2025.
Moving forward the Company will look to engage
in strategic relationships in key areas to progress new products
and introduce existing ones to wider markets both in the UK with
domestic water companies and water authorities internationally. The
objective of the Company is to be technology driven with a social
purpose focussing on the rapidly growing sector to monitor toxins
in water and water pollution.
Stakeholder Engagement
Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006
("S.172") recognises that companies are run for the benefit of
shareholders, but that the long-term success of a business is
dependent on maintaining relationships with stakeholders and
considering the external impact of the Company's
activities.
Microsaic's key stakeholders are our
employees, shareholders, partners (including distributors, OEMs and
collaborators on new products), and our key suppliers such as our
manufacturing contractors and key R&D subcontractors. By
working with all stakeholder groups, the Company can unlock the
potential of the business and maximise the value created. The key
principles and values adopted by the Company are detailed under
Principle 8 of the QCA Corporate Governance Code (2018).
For Microsaic, engagement with our key
stakeholders is part of how we operate as a business. Actively
seeking to understand the concerns and aspirations of our
employees, how we can better engage with them, how we can work more
closely with the partners who distribute our products and those
that we collaborate with, plus the challenges faced by our
manufacturing partner and other suppliers.
The Company has shifted the focus to growth in
commercial sales across both product and service offerings
targeting solutions to meet the requirements of existing clients
and investigating markets to capitalise on the value of the new
business model. The Directors continue to engage with shareholders
and key stakeholders keeping them up to date on
progress.
Under S.172, a company's directors have a duty
to discharge their responsibilities having regard to:
a) the likely consequences of any
decision in the long term - The focus of the Board during
2023 was the restructuring of the business to ensure economic
viability and to deliver a more commercial focus with emphasis on
delivery of solutions, beyond equipment sales.
b) the interests of the company's
employees - The Board regards the expertise and
contributions of its employees as critical to its future success.
Executive management regularly update employees on the progress of
the business. The Board seeks to remunerate its employees fairly
and has adopted a flexible working hours policy to cater for
employee needs. Full and fair consideration is given to
applications for employment received regardless of age, gender,
colour, ethnicity, disability, nationality, religious beliefs or
sexual orientation.
During the year under review, major
restructuring changes were made to address the more commercial
focus of the business model. These changes were made with full
consultation with team members. We ensured that supportive HR
systems were in place and decisions on new personnel were made in
collaboration with the team and an appropriate consultation
process. Although most employees left the company, the process
enabled our commitments to them to be met, which would not have
been possible without the restructuring and refinancing of the
business.
c) the need to foster the
company's business relationships with suppliers, customers and
others - Customer satisfaction and trust are critical for
our success. By providing a high quality product, solution or
service to meet those demands, we increase customer satisfaction.
Over a 22 year period, this has allowed us to build trust within
the community we operate in and with our customers showing our
commitment to quality and continuous improvement. This includes our
ongoing commitment to ensure that our suppliers continued to be
paid on time.
d) the
impact of the company's operations on the community and the
environment - The Company meets operational efficiencies and
systematic processes that come with our certification of ISO 9001
leading indirectly to positive community and environmental
impacts.
As part of the ISO 9001 process, we are
required to consistently monitor and manage our operations. This
has led to improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.
ISO 9001 requires us to have a process for
selecting and managing suppliers. This has led us to selecting
suppliers who also have a commitment to sustainability, thus
extending the environmental and community impact.
ISO 9001 requires us to identify and address
risks in our daily operations, which indirectly benefit the
environment and the community by preventing incidents that could
have negative effects.
e) the desirability of the
company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business
conduct - the Company acted in a professional manner during
2023 liaising with key stakeholders and followed the principles and
values of the Company as outlined in the Corporate Governance
Report.
f) the need to act fairly as
between members of the company - the Board treated
shareholders fairly and made sure it kept them up to date through
regular press releases. Significant shareholders were given the
opportunity to meet and discuss with senior management and members
of the Board.
Performance Measurement
The ongoing performance of the Company is
managed and monitored using several key financial and non-financial
performance indicators as detailed below:
Revenue
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
Increase/
(Decrease)
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Products
|
286
|
207
|
80
|
Consumables and spare
parts
|
98
|
138
|
(40)
|
Product support services
income
|
48
|
55
|
(8)
|
Consultancy services
income
|
60
|
1,168
|
(1,108)
|
Total
|
492
|
1,568
|
(1,076)
|
The Company's revenue declined in 2023 due to
the cessation of Consultancy and related sales to DeepVerge plc
which comprised £1.25m in 2022. Revenue comprises the sale of
products, consumables and spare parts, product support services
income and consultancy services income (comprising
science and engineering consultancy, laboratory services and
monitoring services). The Board reviews trading
results and monitors cash on a monthly basis.
Profit/(Loss)
& Cash Metrics
|
Year to 31
December
2023
|
Year to 31
December
2022
|
Increase/
(Decrease)
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Loss from operations before share-based
payments, interest, and tax
|
(2,583)
|
(2,317)
|
(266)
|
Net cash used in operating and investing
activities
|
(1,010)
|
(2,345)
|
1,335
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
173
|
1,241
|
(1,068)
|
The Company's profitability is monitored
against budget on a monthly basis. Revenue decreased year on year
while other operating expenses decreased and there were no further
costs in relation to corporate transactions. The Company monitors
its cash position closely, and forecasts are updated on a regular
basis.
Non-financial key performance indicators
measure a number of key areas, including commercial and operational
targets, such as number of sales orders, unit production, new
products transferred to manufacturing, number of collaborations,
agreements signed with new customers and quality measures from the
Company's ISO 9001:2015 system. Given the significant change in
business model throughout 2023 and 2024, direct analysis has not
been possible but these metrics are being monitored going
forward.
Financial Results -
2023
Income and expenditure
Total revenue of £492k decreased 70% compared
to the prior year (2022: £1,568k) due principally to the
substantial decline in consulting revenues due to the absence of
any sales to DeepVerge plc.
The large decline in gross profit in 2023 to
£299k (2022: £950k) was commensurate with the decline in revenue
arising above.
Total operating expenses (excluding
share-based payments and impairment) of £2,876k (2022: £2,136k),
increased by £740k driven by the costs of restructuring the
business during Q4 2023. Impairment costs decreased
substantially from £1.13m in 2022 to £6k in 2023 as the receivable
from DeepVerge plc was impaired in the prior
year.
Share based payments of £21k were £214k lower
than the prior year (2022: £235k) and reflect limited activity
comprising the vesting of 280 million EMI options in February 2023
which subsequently lapsed as staff left employment. No
options or warrants were exercised during the year and all had
lapsed by 31st December 2023 to leave a zero balance on
the share based payment reserve.
Finance costs of £5k were slightly lower than
the prior year (2022: £7k). These costs comprised £3k in penalty
interest for late HMRC filings and £2k of interest on lease
liabilities.
Finance income of £13k decreased compared with
the prior year (2022: £23k) as higher interest rates on bank
deposits were more than offset by reducing cash
balances.
The R&D tax credit for development
activities conducted during 2023 has not yet been compiled and
accordingly the amount recognised in the financial statements is
£nil. (2022: £246k credit recognised in the statement of
comprehensive income). The R&D tax credit claim for 2022
was successfully received in full during the first half of
2024.
The total comprehensive loss for the year of
£2,597k was higher than the prior year (2022: £2,289k). The
significant decline in gross profits in 2023 arising from the
absence of any sales to DeepVerge plc coupled with business
restructuring costs gave rise to substantially higher losses than
in 2022 offset partially by an absence of any significant debt
impairment charges in 2023. The basic loss per share was
0.041 pence versus 0.036 pence per share in 2022.
Balance Sheet
Total non-current assets decreased £337k to
£166k (2022: £503k). This was principally due to an absence of any
asset additions during the year and a number of asset divestments
and scrappings pursuant to the reorganisation of the company and
the closure of the Woking office.
Current assets at £547k were down £2,076k
(2022: £2,623k). The decrease was mainly due to a substantially
lower cash balance of £173k (down £1,068k) as business losses were
absorbed coupled with rationalisations to inventory and trade
debtors.
Total assets at £713k at year end were £2,414k
lower than the prior year (2022: £3,127k), reflecting the impact of
the loss for the year reducing current assets at the year-end as
set out above.
Total equity at £144k was £2,576k less than
the prior year (2022: £2,720k), reflecting absorption of the year's
post-tax loss and the release of the share based payment
reserve.
Total liabilities of £570k were £163k higher
than in the prior year (2022: £407k) due to the timing of the
restructuring programme which generated significant closure and
severance-related costs with some remaining outstanding at 31
December 2023 and becoming settled shortly
thereafter.
Cash Flow
Net cash used in operating activities in 2023
of £1,058k was substantially lower than the previous year (2022:
£2,133k) and reflected the efforts of the Directors to improve the
financial position of the company with a concerted effort towards
cost-cutting and as well as a favourable swing in working capital
as the Company's operations reduced towards the end of the
year.
After allowing for the general absence of
asset purchases in the year and the receipt of £48k from the sale
of assets, there was a net cash inflow from investing activities of
£48k (2022: net cash used £212k).
Net cash used by financing was £59k (2022:
£122k generated) due to no major funding initiatives during 2023 in
contrast to 2022.
The net decrease in cash for the year of
£1,069k (2022: £2,223k) resulted in a cash balance as at 31
December 2023 of £173k (2022: £1,241k)
Going Concern
The Company is loss making and has raised
funds in the past by issuing equity in discrete tranches. The most
recent fundraises were completed on 5 February 2021 and January
2024 where the Company raised £5.2m and £1.8m respectively after
expenses from new and existing shareholders.
At 31 December 2023, the company held cash
balances totalling £173k and net current assets of £20k. Combined
with operating losses of £2.6m in each of the years ended 31
December 2022 and 2023, the ability of the Company to settle
liabilities as they fall due was therefore in doubt.
Following the January 2024 fundraise the
directors restructured the business to reduce the cost base and
utilised £0.1m of the fundraise to purchase the trade and assets of
the Modern Water business and have focused on reviving Microsaic's
pipeline of sales alongside the production and sale of reagents and
instruments for Modern Water.
As a result of the investment and the Company
continuing to be loss making, the cash balance at 4 October 2024
was £0.45m. The Company has been generating negative EBITDA since
the end of December 2023.
In assessing the ability of the company to
continue as a Going Concern, the directors have reviewed sales
projections and cashflow forecasts to 31 December 2025 alongside a
thorough review of the Company's reserves and working capital
requirements from the date of approval of the financial statements.
Under the base case forecast, the directors anticipate sales of
instruments and reagents to be sufficient over the 14 month period
to 31 December 2025 to allow the Company to meet its liabilities as
they fall due. Of these sales, the Company has secured a Qatar
contract as discussed in the Strategic Report (valued at €571k),
with cash inflows expected to commence in Q4 of 2024, although the
timing of this inflow is uncertain.
The directors acknowledge there are
significant uncertainties inherent in forecasting future sales,
given the requirement of the Company to effectively restart trading
during 2024 and volatile trading environments. It is
possible that the sales assumptions underpinning these forecasts
may not be achieved, or that margin assumptions may not be met.
Consequently, the directors have explored sensitivities to the
above base case to model the impact of reduced sales, including a
"severe but plausible" downside scenario.
Sensitivity Analysis
The directors believe that a severe but
plausible downside scenario, whereby no instrument sales are
included for the second half of 2025, would still allow the Company
to maintain positive cash headroom to 31 December 2025. However, in
the event that none of the unconfirmed sales (being sales not
currently contracted) realise, the Company would have insufficient
working capital to continue in operation past February
2025.
In addition to the scenarios described above,
the Directors have performed a reverse stress test ("Reverse Stress
Test") to quantify the level of sales decline and cost increases
that can be absorbed.
The Reverse Stress Test only considers cost
savings from directly attributable variable costs associated with
the reduction in sales, including production costs, Directors
salaries and marketing costs. No other cost savings are assumed to
be delivered. The Directors note however that the Company has been
able to make significant cost savings in the past with short lead
times.
The directors have concluded that, applying
the above conditions in the Reverse Stress Test, a minimum sales
level of approximately £84k per month, in addition to the Qatar
contract, is required to enable the Company to remain liquid and
with positive cash headroom over the going concern assessment
period. While the directors consider this to be an achievable
target, it is acknowledged that this exceeds the level of turnover
experienced in the year ending 31 December 2023 or in 2024 to
date.
While the directors remain confident that
there is a reasonable possibility that the forecast sales pipeline
can be converted into new customers and be cash generative for the
Company, at the date of this report the future required minimum
sales levels have not been achieved. Accordingly, there is a
material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt over the
Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
Mitigating actions
The Directors consider the scenario envisaged
under the Reverse Stress Test arising to be unlikely, and that in
the event it did arise the Company has demonstrated its ability to
deliver cost savings and seek alternative capital.
If performance deviates materially from the
base case, there are several actions that the Company could
undertake to mitigate the liquidity and profit impact. These
include:
·
Cost savings initiatives with a focus on areas of
discretionary spend such as marketing, travel and certain
professional fees. These cost savings are included within the
existing forecasts
·
Reduction in stock purchases and manufacturing levels to
reflect the lower sales projections
·
Reduction in project, IT and CAPEX spend which for a short
period of time would not adversely impact our sales and customer
proposition.
Going Concern Assessment
Having considered the forecasts noted above,
the mitigating actions available to management, recent trading
performance and having regard to the macroeconomic risks and
uncertainties to which the Company is exposed, the Directors have a
reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to
continue operating for the foreseeable future and to operate for a
period of at least 12 months from the date of these financial
statements. Accordingly, the financial statements have been
prepared on a going concern basis.
Stakeholders should be aware that there is a
material uncertainty arising on this assessment in respect of the
inherent uncertainty attached to the future sales pipeline and
projections, and the associated timing of cash receipts. The
financial statements do not include the adjustments that would
result if the Company was unable to continue as a going
concern.
Outlook
The impact of the related party
issues, in particular the failure of DeepVerge plc to pay the £1.1m
owed to the Company and to implement a debt reduction plan,
fundamentally changed the outlook for the Company. DeepVerge plc
became technically bankrupt in mid 2023 extinguishing any
likelihood of any recovery of this debt. A very significant cost
reduction exercise was implemented in Q4 2023 to transform the
Company to remain as an operating business, with access to
sufficient resources (including external contractors) to maintain
production of the current mass spectrometer machines and continue
existing trading relationships.
Shortly after the year end the
Company raised £1.8m in January 2024 to facilitate these sales and
allow operations to continue on a much-reduced cost base and to
remain on AIM. A main objective of the fund raise was to acquire
the Modern Water business which the board considered to be an
essential acquisition for the Company to be able to remain as a
going concern. As a result of the successful fund raise the Company
was able to stabilise and resurrect relationships and sales with
previous Modern Water customers. A principal contract to implement
commissioning of the 27 Continuous Toxic Measurement (CTM) machines
already delivered to Qatar was resurrected. The Company signed a
new purchase order for commissioning of and training on these CTMs
and for supply of Microtox® reagent consumables to Qatar. These
Microtox® reagents are manufactured at our newly opened laboratory
near York England. The Company was invited and participated on the
Great Britain & Northern Ireland Department of Business and
Trade sponsored stand at the Singapore International Water Week as
part of our revised marketing plan to supply comprehensive and
industry leading toxic water testing solutions with the new brand
name of 'Tethys Purity'.
We are substantially rebuilding
and redesigning our organisation as a slimmer and leaner operation,
focusing on the sale of our water toxicity testing equipment and
consumables recently acquired from Modern Water together with our
mini mass spectrometer marketed as complimentary technologies. This
broader and more diverse capability of the Company is designed to
deliver much better economic growth for the Company.
Due to market demand for Modern
Water laboratory equipment the business plan has been accelerated
to include production of the LX instrument this year with initial
sales expected late 2024 into 2025.
Additionally, we are working with
an external partner to restart production of the QuickChek SRB kit
again due to market demand in the Gulf region.
Further demand of the CTM systems
in Qatar and surrounding region is confidently expected in
2025.
The Strategic Report was approved by the Board
of Directors on 10 October 2024 and
signed on its behalf by:
Bob
Moore
Executive Chairman
DIRECTORS'
REPORT
The Directors present their report for the
year ended 31 December 2023.
Principal
activity, business review and business risks
Until January 2024 the principal
activity of the Company was the commercialisation and development
of miniaturised micro-engineering equipment, originally for mass
spectrometry instruments. Now post-acquisition of the Modern Water
business the Company is now principally focussed on monitoring
water for toxins and pathogens by integrating the wider equipment
portfolio together with manufacture of specialised Microtox®
reagent consumables. A review of the business is contained within
the Strategic Report.
Results and
dividends
The results for the Company are given in the
statement of comprehensive income. The Company is currently making
losses and has retained losses which have to be recovered before it
can pay a dividend. Therefore, the Directors do not recommend the
payment of a dividend (2022: £nil).
Business
Development & Sales
Revenues are made through OEM and distribution
sales channels with direct and collaboration partners currently in
place, covering North America, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and
Japan.
Research and
development ("R&D")
R&D is important for the Company's success
and has led to the filing of over 80 patents to date. The Company
conducts periodic reviews of its patent portfolio to align it with
current business strategy. After the most recent review in 2023,
the active patent portfolio has reduced to 51 patents with 7
additional patents applications in the filing process.
Directors
Between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023, the
following Directors held office:
Gerard Brandon, Non-Executive Chairman (Age
61) 1
Dr Nigel Burton, Non-Executive Director (Age
66)
Bob Moore, Independent Non-Executive Director
(Age 67)
2
1 Resigned as a Director on 25 September 2023. Age at date of
resignation.
2Appointed as a Director on 15 March 2022. Appointed as
Executive Chairman 25 September 2023.
Directors'
interests
The Directors' historic interests in the
shares of the Company were:
|
Ordinary
shares of 0.01p
|
Ordinary
shares of 0.01p
|
Ordinary
shares of 0.25p
|
at 31
December 2023
|
at 31
December 2022
|
at 31
December 2021
|
|
Number
|
%
|
Number
|
%
|
Number
|
%
|
Gerard
Brandon1
|
190,000,000
|
2.99
|
190,000,000
|
2.99
|
140,000,000
|
2.30
|
Dr Nigel Burton
|
300,500,000
|
4.72
|
300,500,000
|
4.72
|
65,500,000
|
1.08
|
Bob Moore
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
490,500,000
|
7.71
|
490,500,000
|
7.71
|
205,500,000
|
3.38
|
1 Resigned 25 September 2023. This figure includes
50,000,000 shares by a person closely associated with Gerard
Brandon.
The above table highlights the
historic director's shareholding interests in the company at 31
December 2023 and prior years. In January 2024 all of the
company's 6,361 million ordinary shares were subjected to a 625:1
consolidation to result in 10.2 million shares in total and 10.2
million deferred shares issued in order to maintain the nominal
value of equity, with such deferred shares holding almost no
rights. A capital raise then took place with the issuance of
169 million additional ordinary shares for a net cash consideration
after costs of £1.8million. The resulting number of ordinary
shares in the company after these events in January 2024 was 178
million. The table below highlights the major shareholders at
suspension of trading on 30 June 2024 and includes the holdings of
all Directors.
|
Significant
shareholdings
In January 2024 the shares were subject to a
625 to 1 consolidation followed by a placing. Further to
this, the significant shareholdings in the company including
Directors' interests were as follows at suspension of trading on 30
June 2024.
Ordinary shares
of 0.001p each at 10 September 2024
|
|
|
Holder
|
Shares
|
%
|
Bob Moore
|
9,040,000
|
5.05%
|
Nigel Burton
|
2,480,800
|
1.38%
|
Premier Miton Group
|
16,000,000
|
8.93%
|
Unicorn
|
1,200,000
|
0.67%
|
Spreadex
|
8,000,000
|
4.46%
|
Nick Slater
|
8,000,000
|
4.46%
|
Edale Capital LLP (Edale Europe Absolute Master
Fund)
|
8,000,000
|
4.46%
|
Employees
The Board regards the expertise and
contributions of its employees as critical to its future success.
Executive management regularly update employees on the progress of
the business. The Board seeks to remunerate its employees fairly
and has adopted a flexible working hours policy to cater for
employee needs. Full and fair consideration is given to
applications for employment received regardless of age, gender,
colour, ethnicity, disability, nationality, religious beliefs or
sexual orientation.
The Board would like to thank all the
Company's employees for their contributions to date.
Company share
ownership plans
During the year the Company operated two
Employee Share Option Schemes ("ESOS"), an approved scheme and an
unapproved scheme.
The ESOS were formed to enable the
incentivisation of employees to be aligned to the performance of
the Company. Under the ESOS the Company grants employees options to
acquire the Company's ordinary shares subject to:
·
Vesting periods (normally three years for new grants) and an
exercise period of up to ten years from the date of
grant;
·
The exercise price is normally the market price of the
ordinary shares at the close of business the day before the date of
grant unless the award is linked to an equity fundraise;
and
·
Performance and time-based vesting conditions as
appropriate.
Options are granted up to the maximum amount
allowed under the limits of the Enterprise Management Incentive
("EMI") Scheme - these options are called 'Approved Options'.
The EMI Scheme is subject to the provisions of Schedule 5 of the
Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 and has tax advantages
for the employee and employer. There is an unapproved scheme, which
has no tax advantages, for those awards which do not qualify under
the Approved Option scheme.
No options were awarded in 2023. As a result
of the restructuring programme during Q4 2023, the Company had no
remaining employees at 31 December 2023 and hence no share options
were in existence at this date.
Management of
risk
The management of operational risk is covered
in the Corporate Governance Report while financial risk is detailed
under note 27 Financial Instruments.
Health and
safety and the environment
The Company is committed to providing a safe
environment for its staff and other parties for whom it has a
responsibility. It has set up systems and processes to ensure
compliance with health and safety legislation and the Board reviews
an update on health and safety matters at each main Board
meeting.
The Company is also mindful of its corporate
responsibilities concerning the impact of its activities on the
environment and seeks to minimise this impact where
practicable.
Quality
management system
The Company's mission is to deliver
miniaturised micro-electronic equipment and Internet of Things
designed to analyse data, using AI analytical services, demanded by
clients that include, but are not exclusively related to
miniaturised micro-electronic instruments that provide innovative
compact detection with high quality and reliability.
The Company's quality policy applies to the
development, marketing and support of our products. In all its
activities the Company is strongly focused on commitment to the
requirements of its customers including:
·
Management of risks to prevent operational and product
problems that may adversely impact customer satisfaction and the
interests of other parties; and
·
Management of any externally provided products and services
to ensure that they meet specified requirements including changing
needs.
To help management achieve its policy, the
business management system has been developed using a process
approach including a Plan-Do-Check cycle, risk-based thinking, and
a fundamental commitment to the continual improvement of the system
and its effectiveness and integration into the Company's
activities.
The Company's Quality Management System is
based on ISO 9001:2015. This standard puts considerable emphasis on
risk management and management involvement within the quality
management system.
Directors'
indemnity and insurance
The Company has granted an indemnity to its
Directors and Officers under which the Company indemnifies them,
subject to the terms of the deed of indemnity, against costs,
charges, losses, damages and liabilities incurred by them in the
performance of their duties. The Company also maintains Directors
and Officers liability insurance against the consequences of
actions brought against them in relation to their duties for the
Company.
Related party
transactions
The interests of the Directors are shown in
the Directors' Report while their remuneration is detailed in the
Directors' Remuneration Report. Other related party transactions
involving the Directors during the 2023 financial year are included
in note 28.
Directors'
responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for preparing
the Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with applicable law
and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare
financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the
Directors have prepared the Company financial statements in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as
adopted by the United Kingdom. Under company law the Directors must
not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that
they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Company and the profit or loss of the Company for that
period.
In preparing the financial statements the
Directors are required to:
·
Properly select and apply accounting policies
;
·
Present information, including accounting policies, in a
manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and
understandable information;
·
Provide additional disclosures when compliance with the
specific requirements in IFRS's are insufficient to enable users to
understand the impact of particular transactions, other events and
conditions on the entity's financial position and financial
performance, and
·
Make an assessment of the Company's ability to continue as a
going concern.
The Directors are responsible for keeping
adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain
the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at
any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to
ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act
2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the
Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention
and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for the
maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial
information included on the Company's website. Legislation in the
United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of
financial statements may differ from legislation in other
jurisdictions.
Statement of
disclosure to auditors
So far as each Director is aware, there is no
relevant audit information of which the Company's auditors are
unaware. Additionally, the Directors have taken all the steps that
they should have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant
audit information and to establish that the Company's auditors are
aware of that information.
Auditors
Saffery LLP has expressed its willingness to
remain in office as auditors of the Company, and a resolution for
its re-appointment will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual
General Meeting.
Future
developments
An indication of likely future developments in
the business of the Company is included in the Strategic
Report.
This Directors' Report was approved by the
Board of Directors on 10 October 2024 and signed on its behalf
by:
Bob
Moore
Executive Chairman
Company number 03568010
DIRECTORS'
REMUNERATION COMMITTEE REPORT
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
Dear Shareholders
Dr Nigel Burton chairs the
Remuneration Committee which includes Bob
Moore.
Gerard Brandon was acting CEO and
Executive Chairman and resigned on 25 September 2023. Dr Nigel
Burton continued as a Non-Executive
Director and Bob Moore was appointed Executive Chairman following
Mr Brandon's resignation.
This report has been prepared with reference
to the Quoted Companies Alliance guide "Remuneration Committee
Guide for Small and Mid-Size Quoted Companies." The Company has
sought to comply with the overarching principles of the guidance,
although not all recommended disclosures have been included on the
basis that they are not relevant to the current circumstances of
the Company.
This report sets out the Company's policy on
the remuneration of Executive and Non-executive Directors, together
with details of Directors' remuneration packages and service
contracts.
Remuneration
policy
The remuneration policy for Executive
Directors, determination of their individual remuneration packages
and their performance appraisals have been delegated to the Board's
Remuneration Committee.
Remuneration of
the Executive Directors
In setting the remuneration for the Executive
Directors, the Remuneration Committee considers several factors
including:
·
Basic salaries and benefits available to Executive Directors
of comparable companies;
·
Need to pay Executive Directors a competitive salary in line
with the nature and complexity of their work;
·
Need to attract and retain Executive Directors of an
appropriate calibre;
·
Need to ensure Executive Directors' commitment to the
continued success of the Company by means of incentive schemes;
and
·
Need for the remuneration awarded to reflect
performance.
The remuneration of the Executive Directors
consists of basic salary. There are no other payments currently in
place. A discretionary bonus scheme based on performance against
individual and business objectives did not operate during the year
(2022 bonus: Nil).
Remuneration of
the Non-Executive Chairman and Non-Executive
Directors
The Chairman of the Remuneration Committee
discusses the remuneration of the Non-Executive Directors with the
Executive Directors. The remuneration is then discussed and agreed
by the Board (excluding Directors with a conflict of interest)
following recommendation by the Remuneration Committee, having a
view to rates paid in comparable organisations. The Non-executive
Directors do not receive any pension, bonus or other Company
benefits.
Share options
and shares
There were no new share options granted to the
Directors during 2023.
Details of the shares held by Directors are
listed in the Directors' Report.
Implementation
of the remuneration policy in 2023
The following long term warrant awards were
part of the reorganisation of the Company to incentivise the new Directors appropriately. These
warrants are exercisable at the placing price of 0.1 pence per
ordinary share for 5 years from 5 February 2021, provided that the
ordinary shares have traded at a Volume Weighted Average Price
(VWAP) at or above a 50% premium to the placing price for 20
consecutive business days, at any time since their issue, or on a
change of control of the Company. The vesting conditions were met
in March 2021 and these options and warrants became exercisable in
full at that point. On 11 February 2022 Dr Burton exercised all of
his warrants.
Director
|
Number of
Options
|
Number of
Warrants
|
Gerard Brandon (lapsed on
resignation on 25 September 2023)
|
0
|
250,000,000
|
Dr Nigel Burton (warrants exercised
11 February 2022)
|
0
|
200,000,000
|
Directors'
notice periods
Details of the Director's notice periods as
per their service contract are as follows:
|
Contract
date
|
Term
|
Notice
period
|
Nigel Burton
|
5
February 2021
|
Three
years1
|
3
months
|
Gerard Brandon
|
5
February 2021
|
Three
years2
|
3
months
|
Bob Moore
|
15 March
2022
|
Twelve
months3
|
3
months
|
1 Notice cannot be given by the Directors during the first two
years of their appointment except to the end of the period to which
their fees have been paid in advance.
2 Mr Brandon resigned on 25 September 2023 and waived his rights
to notice pay.
3 The initial term is the earlier of 12 months or the first AGM.
Subject to re-election at AGM, the appointment is anticipated to
last at least 3 years.
Directors'
emoluments
Directors' remuneration in 2023 is detailed
below.
|
Salaries &
fees
|
Non-cash
payments
|
Pension
contributions
|
Share- based
payments
|
Year to 31 December
2023
|
Year to 31 December
2022
|
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
Gerard
Brandon1
|
97,820
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
97,820
|
50,000
|
Nigel Burton
|
35,000
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
35,000
|
35,000
|
Bob Moore2
|
30,000
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
30,000
|
23,750
|
Glenn Tracey3
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
38,826
|
TOTAL
|
162,820
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
162,820
|
147,576
|
1 Resigned as a Director on 25 September 2023.
2 Appointed as a Director on 15 March 2022.
3 Resigned as a Director on 31 March 2022.
Directors'
share options
There were no Share options or warrants over the
Company's ordinary shares held by the Directors at the year-end
.
The share-based payment charge in relation to
the share option grants to Directors and lapsed options during the
year was £nil (2022: £nil).
The Directors' Remuneration Report was
approved by the Board of Directors on 10 October 2024
and signed on its behalf by:
Dr Nigel
Burton
Chairman of the Remuneration
Committee
DIRECTORS'
FINANCE & AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
Introduction
This report details how the Finance &
Audit Committee ("the Committee") has met its responsibilities
under its terms of reference. The Committee is a sub-committee of
the Board. As Non-Executive Directors, the members of the Committee
are, together with the Board as a whole, responsible for the
integrity and probity of the Company. The work of the Committee is
aimed at supporting the creation of long-term value for
shareholders.
The Committee continues to act as an oversight
sub-committee of the Board, considering and challenging but not
itself performing the relevant processes. The ultimate
responsibility for reviewing and approving the Annual Report and
Accounts and interim financial statements remains with the
Board.
The Committee does not believe there is a
requirement for an internal audit function due to the Company's
size and level of complexity.
Role and
Responsibilities
The Board has established a Finance &
Audit Committee to monitor the integrity of the Company's financial
statements and the effectiveness of the Company's internal financial
controls. The Committee's role and responsibilities are set out in
the terms of reference which are available from the Company's
website. The terms of reference are reviewed regularly and amended
where appropriate. During the year, the Committee worked with
management and the external auditors in fulfilling these
responsibilities.
The Committee report deals with the key areas
in which it plays an active role and has responsibility. These
areas are as follows:
i.
Financial reporting and related primary areas of
judgement;
ii. The external
audit process;
iii. Risk management
and internal controls; and
iv. Whistleblowing
procedures.
The members of the Finance & Audit
Committee are Dr Nigel Burton and Bob Moore. The Board
considers that the Committee has an appropriate and experienced
blend of commercial, financial and industry expertise to enable it
to fulfil its duties.
Financial
Reporting and External Audit Process
The Chairman of the Committee participated in
the Audit Planning meeting held in March 2024 with the external
auditors to plan the financial audit, discussed potential key audit
matters and along with the Committee reviewed the Audit Strategy
Document.
The Board as a whole, reviewed the going
concern paper prepared by management including detailed financial
forecasts for the period 2024 to 2025, related assumptions, risks
and opportunities, sensitivities, and areas for mitigation. The
outcome of the Board's discussions on going concern is explained in
more detail in note 3.
The Committee has satisfied itself
that the 2023 Annual Report and Accounts have been prepared in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
as adopted for use in the United Kingdom, and with those parts of
the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS
and provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess
the Company's performance, business model and strategy.
Risk
Management and Internal Controls
The Board considered as part of its review of
risks those risks detailed in the Strategic Report including
mitigating actions. At the date of this report, the Company
continues to be a going concern (subject to material uncertainty
around future revenues, as set out in Note 3). As announced on 3
November 2023 and explained above, the Company implemented a
significant cost reduction exercise and in January 2024 raised
£1.8m in funds to provide additional working capital, including to
remain on AIM.
Another key responsibility of the Committee is
to review the Company's internal control systems, including
internal financial controls. An independent and qualified chartered
accountant was contracted to review and update the Company's
Financial Procedures Manual to ensure it was in line with current
practice. There were no reported instances of fraud during the
year.
The Company's auditors are encouraged to raise
comments on internal control in their management letter following
the annual audit. The points raised and actions arising are
monitored through to completion by the Finance & Audit
Committee.
Whistleblowing
The Committee had no whistleblowing incidents
reported during 2023. Dr Nigel Burton was appointed Primary
Designated Officer during the year.
Committee
Meetings
The Committee met twice in the year. Both
meetings related to the Annual Report and Accounts which the
external auditors attended.
Auditors Fees
and Non-Audit Services
The Committee reviewed and agreed to the
proposed audit fee of £62k (2022: £31k). Fees for other audit
related services during the year amounted to £4k (2022: £4k). These
fees included the review of 2023 interims and the provision of
information around accounting standards.
Auditor
Independence
The Committee satisfied itself on the
auditors' independence. Mr Roger Weston has completed his five
annual audits of the Company in the capacity as partner in charge,
and now rotates off the audit this year to maintain independence
and is replaced by Stuart Macdougall. No non-audit services have
been provided in the current financial year.
The Report of the Finance & Audit
Committee was approved by the Board of Directors on 10
October 2024 and signed on its behalf by:
Dr Nigel
Burton
Chairman of the Finance & Audit
Committee
CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE REPORT
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
Board composition
Gerard Brandon was acting CEO and
Executive Chairman until his resignation on 25 September 2023.
Dr Nigel Burton continued as a Non-Executive Director and Bob
Moore was promoted from Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
to Executive Chairman following Mr Brandon's resignation. Their
biographies are detailed under Principle 6 in this
Report.
Board Committees
The Finance & Audit and
Remuneration Committees are chaired by Dr Nigel Burton, and
Bob Moore is a member of both committees, as was Mr Brandon until
his resignation. Bob Moore was the Senior Independent Non-Executive
Director until his appointment as Executive Chairman following Mr
Brandon's resignation.
Chairman's
Corporate Governance Statement
The full corporate governance statement is
published and maintained up to date on the Company's website
at https://www.microsaic.com/investors/#corporate_governance.
This extract from that statement is included in the Annual Report
& Accounts as required by the Quoted Companies Alliance's
("QCA") Corporate Governance Code for small and mid-size quoted
companies (2018) (the "2018 Code").
The Board is committed to maintaining high
standards of corporate governance and, with effect
from 26 September 2018, the Board adopted the 2018
Code.
The 2018 Code sets out ten broad
principles of corporate governance.
It states what are considered to be
appropriate corporate governance arrangements for growing
companies and requires companies to provide an
explanation about how they are meeting the principles
through certain prescribed disclosures.
The Chairman leads the Board and is
responsible for its overall effectiveness in directing the
Company. He manages the Board agenda and ensures
that all Directors receive accurate, timely and clear
information and effectively contribute their various
talents and experience in the development and implementation
of the Company's strategy. He ensures that the nature and
extent of the significant risks which the Company is willing to
embrace in the implementation of its strategy are challenged
and determined by the Board. The Chairman is
responsible for ensuring that the Board implements, maintains and
communicates effective corporate governance processes and
for promoting a culture of openness and debate designed
to foster a positive governance culture throughout the
Company.
The Board has considered how each
principle is applied and provides below an
explanation of the approach taken in relation to
each principle and how they support the Company's medium to
long-term success.
The Board agenda is regularly reviewed to
ensure that all matters which the Board should consider are
addressed. This allows for presentations from the Management
Team so that the Board benefits from their input.
The Company includes a Remuneration Committee
Report and a Finance & Audit Committee Report in its Annual
Report and Accounts.
Following the Board changes in September 2023,
provided that the Company remains public, the Board intends to
recruit a further independent Non-Executive Director and at least
one executive director so that Mr Moore can return to his
Non-Executive role. The Head of Finance and Company Secretary role
was contracted to Anthony Clayden of Strategic Finance Director
Limited, although in November 2023 he was replaced in both roles by
John Mottram.
Save in respect of Principle 5 in
consideration of the independence of the Non-executive Directors,
which is considered in more detail below, the Board considers that
it does not depart from any of the principles of the 2018
Code.
PRINCIPLES TO DELIVER
GROWTH
PRINCIPLE 1: Establish a strategy and
business model which promote long-term value for
shareholders.
Strategy:
Microsaic's strategic aim is to
capitalise on its strengths in point of need detection systems, and
access high-growth and emerging Life Science and Environmental
applications, as well as niches in traditional small molecule
markets. The Company intends to achieve its strategy with a
business model built on customer focus, collaborations, and
technology innovation subject to the available
resources.
Business Model:
The Company's business model is outlined in
the Strategic Report.
Challenges:
Staying relevant to future customer needs
Customer needs
evolve rapidly. Future product specifications are
driven by end-user requirements and the Company has identified
water toxicity monitoring as its main target sector particularly
given there is a greatly increased public awareness for the
essential need for pure and safe potable water. This will
inform Microsaic's product strategy as its Mass
Spectrometer detectors move from customer laboratories into
production and front-line operating environments including the
potentially large market for PFAS (forever chemicals) monitoring .
Microsaic aims to ensure that its strategic product development
remains focused on meeting demanding life sciences and Modern
Water's toxic water testing applications.
Remaining innovative in an advancing technological
landscape
Microsaic has successfully developed and
implemented advanced technology with over 80 patents to date and
has acquired additional intellectual property and instrument
designs with the acquisition of the Modern Water business. This has
led to a solid foundation serving scientists in the laboratory i
increasingly in life and environmental science markets.
The Company conducts periodic reviews of its patent portfolio
to align it with current business strategy. After the most recent
review in 2023, the active patent portfolio has reduced to 51
patents with 7 additional patents applications in the filing
process.
The Company has recently made substantial cost
reductions via a major restructuring programme in Q4 2023. As a
result, the new and substantially smaller organisation will
continue to operate selective elements of the Microsaic Systems
business with a focus on developing this in conjunction with the
Modern Water portfolio.
The Company has extended its product
capabilities further through the acquisition of the assets of the
Modern Water business from DeepVerge plc and will invest in this
business subject to available resources.
PRINCIPLE
2: Seek to understand and
meet shareholder needs and expectations. See the
website for further disclosures concerning how the Company seeks to
engage with shareholders and how successful this has
been.
PRINCIPLE 3: Consider
wider stakeholder and social responsibilities and their
implications for long-term success. See the
website for further disclosures.
PRINCIPLE
4: Embed effective
risk management, considering both opportunities and threats,
throughout the organisation.
The Board aims to ensure that
the Company's risk management framework identifies and addresses
all relevant risks in order to execute and
deliver the strategy.
The Directors recognise their responsibility
for the Company's systems of internal control and have
established systems to ensure that an appropriate and reasonable
level of oversight and control
is provided. The Company's systems of internal
controls are designed to help the Company meet its
business objectives by appropriately managing and wherever possible
mitigating risks faced by the Company. The controls can only
provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance against material
misstatement or loss.
The Company's new Management Team,
which reports into the Executive, meets regularly to
review commercial, technical, operational, and financial risks
facing the business. These risks are assessed according to their
nature and magnitude based on the seriousness of the risk and the
likelihood of the risk occurring. The effectiveness of the controls
implemented to minimise the risks are also reviewed. The aim of
these reviews is to provide reasonable assurance that material
risks are identified, and appropriate action is taken at an early
stage to minimise or eliminate them. From this review the Company
maintains its internal risk register which is being
amended to take in to account the acquisition of the Modern Water
business.
Risk
Management
The Company manages risk from an operational
perspective, where it assesses and weighs up the potential risks to
the business and how it can mitigate these risks. The Board has
identified the following risks and associated mitigating actions as
follows:
Description
|
Risk
|
Risk rating pre-mitigation
|
Mitigating actions
|
Risk rating post-mitigation
|
Unable to grow sales required to achieve
sustainable profitability
|
Sales growth is too slow to achieve
targets
|
HIGH
|
Pursuing a new strategy involving services and
investing in solution-based business development to promote these
as well as developing new sales channels.
|
MEDIUM
|
Unable to raise additional funds if required in
the future
|
Inability to continue as a going
concern
|
MEDIUM
|
Communicate effectively with shareholders and
potential investors. Ensure the business plan is implemented
effectively with the focus on expanding sales channels and growing
revenues, whilst adjusting variable costs in line with actual
revenues.
|
MEDIUM
|
Reliance on third party manufacturing
facilities
|
A replacement manufacturer is
necessary
|
MEDIUM
|
Work closely with our manufacturing partner and
hold regular review meetings. Ensure contingency plans are prepared
and reviewed.
|
MEDIUM
|
Retention and recruitment of key
employees
|
Loss of key employees and subsequent difficulty
in recruiting suitable replacements
|
MEDIUM
|
Ensure the Company's remuneration package is
competitive and aligned to performance. Retain key staff by
investing in their development.
|
MEDIUM
|
Loss of competitive advantage in miniaturised
mass spectrometry
|
Competitors developing competing
products
|
MEDIUM
|
The Company continues to innovate, invest in IP,
and focus on its core strengths around point of care, ease of use
and simplicity of maintenance.
|
MEDIUM
|
The annual budget is reviewed and approved by
the Board. Financial results, with comparisons to budget, and
latest forecasts are reported monthly to the Board together with a
report on operational achievements, objectives and issues
encountered. Significant variances from plan are discussed at Board
meetings and actions set in place to address them.
Measures continue to be taken to review and
improve internal controls and risk management procedures. The
Company has a Financial Procedures Manual which includes approval
levels for authorisation of expenditure, potential fraud scenarios,
payment approval process, expenses guidelines etc. This is updated
as necessary.
The Company's auditors are encouraged to raise
comments on internal control in their management letter following
the annual audit. The points raised and actions arising are
monitored through to completion by the Finance & Audit
Committee.
PRINCIPLES TO MAINTAIN A
DYNAMIC MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
PRINCIPLE
5: Maintain the Board as a
well-functioning, balanced team led by the Chairman.
The Board currently consists of one Executive
Chairman, and one Non-Executive Director. An independent
Non-Executive Director, Bob Moore, was appointed in March 2022,
although following the resignation of the former Executive Chairman
Mr Brandon on 25 September 2023, Mr Moore was appointed as
Executive Chairman. Provided that the Company remains public, the
Board intends to recruit a further independent Non-Executive
Director and at least one executive director so that Mr Moore can
return to his Non-Executive role. Mr John Mottram replaced Mr
Anthony Clayden as Head of Finance (non-board level) in November
2023.
The Company held 10 Board
meetings during 2023 (2022: 8).
The Company has an equal
opportunity policy to recruitment at Board level and within
the Company at large and seeks diversity as opportunities
arise, within the framework of selecting the most suitable person,
based on relevant skills, abilities, experience and location, as
required for the role.
The principal role of the Chairman of the
Board is to manage and provide leadership to the Board of Directors
of the Company. The Chairman is accountable to the Board and
acts as a direct liaison between the Board and the management of
the Company. The Chairman acts as the communicator for Board
decisions where appropriate.
Given the Chairman's current capacity as an
Executive Chairman, the other NED provides the appropriate level of
challenge to both the Chairman and management. The recent changes
resulting from the resignation of Mr Brandon will be addressed by
the recruitment of further directors to achieve the appropriate
Board and management structure.
The Chairman is responsible for the effective
leadership, operation and governance of the Board and its
Committees. He ensures that all Directors contribute
effectively to the development and implementation of the
Company's strategy, while ensuring that the nature and extent of
the significant risks the Company is willing to embrace in the
implementation of its strategy are determined and
challenged.
The Board believes that the advice, behaviour
and character of its Chairman and Non-executive Director are
always in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.
In addition, the skills and business judgement which they possess
and regularly exercise contributes to the efficient and effective
running of the Company.
The Company appreciates that
circumstances which might or might appear to affect a Director's
judgement may well include financial dependence on the Company and
whether the Director is, or represents, a major shareholder.
The Chairman and Non-Executive Director are not financially
dependent on the Company as they have other sources of
income, although Dr Burton became a significant shareholder during
2022 following his exercise of his warrants. Mr Moore does not
represent a significant shareholder; however, Mr Brandon did have a
material interest in share warrants of the Company as detailed
below until his resignation on 25 September 2023. Dr Burton is also
a Director of DeepVerge plc and Mr Brandon was also a Director of
DeepVerge plc until December 2022, which although not a shareholder
of the Company, was strategically important to the future success
of Microsaic throughout 2022 and until its well-publicised
difficulties emerged in April and June 2023. Under the QCA
Guidelines the independence of Mr Brandon whilst Chairman and Dr
Burton as a Non-Executive Director could be challenged under the
following areas, but in all cases the Board believes that they act
in an independent manner and where a conflict of
interest could arise or be perceived to arise, they abstain from
voting. Bob Moore was appointed as Senior Independent Non-Executive
Director in March 2022, and remained in that role until his
appointment to replace Mr Brandon as Executive Chairman in
September 2023.
Name
and position
|
Potential issue
|
Comments
|
Gerard Brandon
Chairman (until 25 September 2023)
|
Held a material interest of 250 million share
warrants in the Company.
Former Director of DeepVerge plc
Temporary Executive Director capacity
|
This award was required to attract a Chairman of
the appropriate calibre to the Company. The award was approved by
shareholders at a General Meeting
DeepVerge plc was strategically important to the
success of the Company in 2022 and early 2023
Elevated senior management to develop and
implement strategy and consulting with the Non-Executive Directors
who had oversight during the period
|
Dr Nigel Burton
Non-Executive Director
|
Significant shareholder in the Company
following the exercise of warrants
Director of DeepVerge plc
|
The warrants were awarded to attract a
Non-Executive Director of the appropriate calibre to the Company.
The award was approved by shareholders at a General
Meeting
DeepVerge plc was strategically important to the
success of the Company in 2022 and early 2023
|
The Board recognises the importance of good
governance arrangements.
The Board has an established Finance &
Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee. The Company believes it
is currently too small to have a separate Nominations Committee, so
this role is taken on by the Board of Directors as a
whole.
Details and links to the terms of reference of
the Finance & Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee are
set out under Principle 9 on the website.
Details of Directors and their time commitment
are set out under Principle 6 below. The attendance of the
Directors at the regular Board and Committee Meetings during the
year ended 31 December 2023 were as follows.
Name
|
Position
during 2023
|
Regular Board
Meetings
|
Finance &
Audit Committee
|
Remuneration
Committee
|
Gerard Brandon1
|
Executive Chairman until 25 September
2023
|
6
(6)
|
1
(2)
|
0
(0)
|
Nigel Burton
|
Non-Executive Director
|
8
(8)
|
2
(2)
|
0
(0)
|
Bob Moore2
|
Non-Executive Director.
Executive Chairman from 25 September
2023
|
8
(8)
|
1
(2)
|
0
(0)
|
1 Resigned as a Director on 25 September 2023. Age at date of
resignation.
2Appointed as a Director on 15 March 2022. Appointed as
Non-Executive Chairman 25 September 2023.
Numbers in brackets denote the
total number of meetings that each Director was eligible to attend
during the year.
PRINCIPLE 6: Ensure that between them
the Directors have the necessary up-to-date experience, skills and
capabilities.
Biographical details of the Board of
Directors, their skills, suitability and availability are set out
below.
Gerard Brandon, Executive Chairman
Term of office: Appointed a Director
on 5 February 2021, resigned on 25 September 2023. Gerard was also
a member of the Finance & Audit Committee and the Remuneration
Committee until his resignation.
Background and suitability for the
role: Gerard Brandon is Chief
Executive Officer of Cellulac plc and was CEO of DeepVerge plc
until November 2022. In 1996 he became founder and CEO
of Alltracel Pharmaceuticals plc ("Alltracel"), where he
built a team which oversaw numerous patents granted on refined
cellulose. Alltracel was admitted to trading on AIM in 2001.
In 2004, he was appointed as a Managing Partner for Farmabrand
Private Equity. In March 2020, he was appointed as
Non-executive Chairman of Modern Water plc, which was subsequently
acquired by DeepVerge plc (formerly Integumen plc)
in November 2020. Gerard is a Fellow of the Ryan Academy
of Entrepreneurs in Dublin.
Dr
Nigel Burton, Non-executive Director
Term of office: Appointed a Director on 5 February 2021 at a
General Meeting of the Company. Dr Burton is also Chairman of the
Finance & Audit Committee and the Remuneration
Committee.
Background and suitability for the
role: Nigel is currently a
Non-Executive Director of BlackRock Throgmorton Trust plc and
several AIM listed companies including eEnergy Group plc and Sorted
Group Holdings plc. Nigel was a Non-Executive Director of
DeepVerge plc until becoming interim CEO in November 2022.
He spent over 14 years as an investment
banker at leading City institutions including UBS
Warburg and Deutsche Bank, including as the Managing Director
responsible for the energy and utilities industries. Nigel also
spent 15 years as Chief Financial Officer or Chief Executive
Officer of a number of private and public companies.
Mr
Robert Moore, Executive Chairman (formerly Non-Executive
Director)
Term of office: Appointed a Director on 15 March 2022 by the
Board of directors of the Company. Mr Moore is also a member of the
Finance & Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee. Mr
Moore was Senior Independent Non-Executive until 25 September 2023,
when he replaced Mr Brandon following his resignation.
Background and suitability for the
role: Bob is a UK qualified
lawyer and brings over 35 years' commercial and legal experience to
the Board. Bob has acted as Head of International Legal Affairs at
Enterprise Oil plc (a UK FTSE 100 company prior to its acquisition
by Shell in 2002) and as co-founder and Commercial Director of
Granby Oil & Gas plc, which was listed on AIM from 2005 until
its sale in 2008. Bob subsequently co-founded, and is Managing
Director of, private oil and gas exploration company Ardent Oil Ltd
(operating in the UK, Denmark and Luxembourg). Bob also acts as
Non-Executive Chairman of Mobile Streams plc, an AIM listed
company, having been appointed to the role in July 2021.
The Company uses external advisers.
The Board has retained the services of the
following advisers:
·
Singer Capital Markets as Nominated Adviser and Joint
Broker;
·
Turner Pope Investments as Joint Broker;
·
Saffery LLP for annual audit;
·
Freeths as solicitors for the Company;
·
Neville Registrars Ltd as the Company's registrar;
and
·
Menzies LLP for ongoing advice on Corporation tax, R&D
tax credits, VAT and PAYE.
PRINCIPLE
7: Evaluate Board performance based on
clear and relevant objectives, seeking continuous
improvement.
Board
Evaluation Process
The Board believes that, in addition to
dealing with any matters as they arise, it is appropriate to carry
out a formal evaluation of the performance of the Board each year.
This is intended to ensure that the Board remains effective,
well-informed and able to make high quality and timely decisions
for the benefit of all stakeholders in the Company.
The usual evaluation involves each Director
completing an evaluation questionnaire which covers effectiveness
from multiple angles including: Board structure and committees;
Board arrangements, frequency and time; content of Board meetings;
Board culture; Board evaluation and succession; and individual
contributions. The completed questionnaires are anonymised and
collated independently into a summary, and comments and any areas
of concern are highlighted for discussion with the
Board.
No formal evaluation process took place in
2023.
Succession Planning
As is common with many
small AIM quoted companies, the Company does not have internal
candidates to succeed the Executive Directors. This will be
kept under review, especially when recruiting for senior roles as
vacancies arise. However, the Board does not believe it is
appropriate to recruit additional Directors or senior personnel
solely for the purpose of Board succession
planning.
Training of Directors
It is recognised that there continues to be
more regulation of which Directors need to be aware. The Board will
continue to ensure that Directors receive appropriate support to
keep up to date.
PRINCIPLE 8: Promote a culture that
is based on ethical values and behaviours.
The Company is committed to achieving the
highest possible ethical standards in conducting its business. The
Company expects all employees and Directors to maintain the same
high standards. To achieve these ends, Microsaic encourages freedom
of expression and speech whilst not accepting prejudice of any
kind.
Ethics is based on a set of principles
and clear moral and ethical values. The Company takes
its principles and values very seriously and expects
staff at all levels to look to these principles
and values for guidance.
Principles:
The Board has adopted the
following four principles:
1. Management must lead by
example. Good ethics should be most noticeable at the top. Every
employee must be accountable to the same rules.
2. Corporate values must be
implemented throughout the Company. Every forum and medium should
be used to spread the message and, most of all, the
Company must practice what it preaches.
3. Meetings with staff (both
one on one and group) to discuss the values and what they mean to
each employee must be undertaken when implementing a value system.
This will help to get everyone in the Company on the same page and
committed.
4. The values of the Company
must endure changes in leadership. The longer ethical values last,
the more ingrained they will become.
Values
The Company conducts its business
around seven core values:
1. Integrity - applying high
ethical standards and being honest. The Company
will conduct its business with honesty to all stakeholders and
will uphold high moral principles.
2. Mutual respect, empathy and
trust in dealing with others. An environment of
mutual respect, empathy and trust is necessary to promote
integrity. Trust in the workplace is critical to organisational
success.
3. Innovation - a passion
to experiment and deliver new solutions. A focus
on research and development is very important to the future success
of the Company. The Company is continually looking to
deliver innovative solutions and has a collaborative approach
to meeting customer needs.
4. Teamwork - drives high
performance. Microsaic relies heavily on
teamwork. A team approach is more efficient, faster, benefits from
multi-skills especially in problem solving, increases learning
opportunities and encourages a sense of belonging, which often
translates to a greater sense of ownership and
accountability for the work.
5. Quality - we take pride
in everything we do. The Company is strongly focused
on quality from the products it produces to the processes it
operates. The Company is ISO 9001:2015 compliant.
6. Customer focus - go the
extra mile for our customers. The Company
assigns the highest priority to customer satisfaction. We listen to
our customers and create solutions for unmet customer
needs.
7. Shareholder
value - striving to deliver
value to shareholders. The key objective of the
Company is achieving sustainable profitability. Every employee
understands how they fit into the profitability picture. Everyone's
common goal is to build a strong, profitable Company that
will endure and provide a
reasonable return to shareholders.
PRINCIPLE 9: Maintain governance
structures and processes that are fit for purpose and support good
decision-making by the Board.
See the website for further disclosures
at https://www.microsaic.com/investors/governance-new/
PRINCIPLE 10: Communicate how the
Company is governed and is performing by maintaining a dialogue
with shareholders and other relevant stakeholders.
The following committee reports are included
in these Annual Report & Accounts as shown below. They
include details of the work of those committees:
·
The Directors' Remuneration Committee Report
·
The Directors' Finance & Audit Committee
Report
The Corporate Governance Report was approved
by the Board of Directors on 10 October 2024 and
signed on its behalf by:
Bob
Moore
Executive
Chairman
INDEPENDENT
AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF MICROSAIC SYSTEMS
PLC
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of
Microsaic Systems plc (the 'company') for the year ended 31
December 2023 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income,
the statement of financial position, the statement of changes in
equity, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial
statements, including significant accounting policies. The
financial reporting framework that has been applied in their
preparation is applicable law and UK-adopted international
accounting standards.
In our opinion, the financial
statements:
·
give a true and fair view of the state of the company's
affairs as at 31 December 2023 and its loss for the year then
ended;
·
have been properly prepared in accordance with UK-adopted
international accounting standards; and
·
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the
Companies Act 2006.
Basis for
opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with
International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable
law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further
described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the
financial statements section of our report. We are independent of
the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are
relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK,
including the FRC's Ethical Standard as applied to listed entities,
and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in
accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit
evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide
a basis for our opinion.
Our approach
to the audit
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure
that we obtained sufficient evidence to support our opinion on the
financial statements as a whole, taking into account the structure
of the Company, the accounting processes and controls, and the
industry in which it operates.
As part of designing our audit, we determined
materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the
financial statements. In particular, we looked at areas where the
Directors made subjective judgements, for example in respect of
significant accounting estimates that involved making assumptions
and considering future events that are inherently
uncertain.
Key audit
matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in
our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit
of the financial statements of the current period and include the
most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether
or not due to fraud) we identified, including those which had the
greatest effect on the overall audit strategy, the allocation of
resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement
team. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of
the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion
thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these
matters.
Except for the matter described in the
material uncertainty related to going concern section, we have
determined that there are no other key audit matters to be
communicated in our report.
Our
application of materiality
We apply the concept of materiality in
planning and performing our audit, in evaluating the effect of
misstatements and in forming our opinion. Our overall objective as
auditor is to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial
statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether
due to fraud or error. We consider materiality to be magnitude by
which misstatements, including omissions, could influence the
economic decisions of reasonable users that are taken on the basis
of the financial statements.
In order to reduce to an appropriately low
level the probability that any misstatements exceed materiality, we
use a lower materiality level, performance materiality, to
determine the extent of testing needed. Importantly, misstatement
below this level will not necessarily be evaluated as immaterial as
we also take account of the qualitative nature of identified
misstatements, and the circumstances of their occurrence, when
evaluating their effect on the financial statements as a
whole.
Based on our professional judgement, and
taking into account the possible metrics used by investors and
other readers of the accounts, we applied a materiality of £55,000
(2022: £55,000). This was based on 2% of operating expenditure in
the unaudited trial balance at the planning stage of the audit for
the year ended 31 December 2023. Performance materiality was set at
75% of materiality.
Our triviality level was set at £6,000 and any
uncorrected audit differences below this level were not reported to
management, unless warranted under qualitative grounds.
Material
uncertainty relating to going concern
We draw attention to note 3 in the financial
statements, which indicates that the company's ability to continue
as a going concern is dependent upon achieving future sales beyond
those currently contracted.
Given the inherent uncertainty of securing
future sales, which are as yet unagreed and unable to be
substantiated, we concur with the directors' assessment, as stated
in note 3, that a material uncertainty exists that may cast
significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going
concern through to 31 December 2025. Our opinion is not modified in
respect of this matter.
In auditing the financial statements, we have
concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of
accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is
appropriate.
Our evaluation of the directors' assessment of
the entity's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis
of accounting included:
·
Obtaining and critically assessing for arithmetical accuracy
and consistency the Company's Board approved going concern
assessment used to model future financial performance;
·
Reviewing the projected cashflows and other available
evidence to assess the ability of the company to continue in
operation for at least 12 months from the date of signing this
report;
·
Identifying the key assumptions within the forecast, being
the existence of sales opportunities, and timing of related cash
flows and challenged management on the appropriateness of
these;
·
Obtaining corroborative support for the key assumptions and
estimates used in the cashflow forecast;
·
Reviewing the directors' sensitivity analysis on the key
assumptions underlying their going concern assessment and extended
with our own analyses;
·
Obtaining corroborating evidence for the existence of the
sales pipeline and likelihood of conversion through review of
correspondence with sales prospects, to the extent possible given
the material uncertainty set out above;
·
Assessing the sales pipeline for contradictory evidence over
the likelihood and value of future sales, by considering accuracy
of previous sales forecasts;.
·
Considering the impact of mitigating actions in the event
that forecast sales were not in line with projections, including a
reduction in recruitment and sales activity and alternative
production arrangements for Microsaic instruments, and assessing
the feasibility of implementing these actions;
·
Stress testing the model to identify the minimum level of
cash sales required to enable the Company to meet liabilities as
they fell due;
·
Enquiring with the directors regarding events after the
reporting date to assess their impact on the going concern
assumption, including comparison of the post year end cash balances
to forecast positions and understanding future plans and cash
headroom; and
·
Reviewing the disclosures relating to going concern included
within these financial statements to ensure they are consistent
with the requirements of UK-adopted international accounting
standards, and that they present a true and fair view to readers of
the financial statements.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities
of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the
relevant sections of this report.
Other
information
The other information comprises the
information included in the annual report, other than the financial
statements and our auditor's report thereon. The directors are
responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial
statements does not cover the other information and, except to the
extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express
any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
Our responsibility is to read the other
information and, in doing so, consider whether the other
information is materially inconsistent with the financial
statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or
otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such
material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are
required to determine whether this gives rise to a material
misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on
the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material
misstatement of this other information we are required to report
that fact.
We have nothing to report in this
regard.
Opinions on
other matters prescribed by the Companies Act
2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken
in the course of the audit:
·
the information given in the Strategic Report and the
Directors' Report for the financial year for which the financial
statements are prepared is consistent with the financial
statements; and
·
the Strategic Report and the Directors' Report have been
prepared in accordance with applicable legal
requirements.
Matters on
which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and
understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the
course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements
in the Strategic Report or the Directors' Report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the
following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006
requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
·
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns
adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not
visited by us; or
·
the financial statements are not in agreement with the
accounting records and returns; or
·
certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by
law are not made; or
·
we have not received all the information and explanations we
require for our audit.
Responsibilities of
directors
As explained more fully in the Directors'
Responsibilities Statement, the directors are responsible for the
preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied
that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control
as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation
of financial statements that are free from material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the
directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to
continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters
related to going concern and using the going concern basis of
accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the
company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative
but to do so.
Auditor's
responsibilities for the audit of the financial
statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are
free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and
to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable
assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that
an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect
a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise
from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or
in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence
the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these
financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances
of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures
in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect
material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including
fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent
to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including
fraud are detailed below.
Identifying and assessing risks related to
irregularities:
We assessed the susceptibility of the
company's financial statements to material misstatement and how
fraud might occur, including through discussions with the
directors, discussions within our audit team planning meeting,
updating our record of internal controls and ensuring these
controls operated as intended. We evaluated possible incentives and
opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial
statements. We identified laws and regulations that are of
significance in the context of the company by discussions with
directors and updating our understanding of the sector in which the
company operates.
Laws and regulations of direct significance in
the context of the company include The Companies Act 2006, and UK
Tax legislation, the AIM Rules for Companies and UK Tax
legislation, particularly with reference to Research Development
Expenditure Credits.
Audit response to risks identified:
We considered the extent of compliance with
these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the
related financial statement items including a review of financial
statement disclosures. We queried management on any of breaches of
laws and regulations and reviewed minutes of meetings to identify
potential material misstatements arising. We discussed the
company's policies and procedures for compliance with laws and
regulations with members of management responsible for
compliance.
During the planning meeting with the audit
team, the engagement partner drew attention to the key areas which
might involve non-compliance with laws and regulations or fraud. We
enquired of management whether they were aware of any instances of
non-compliance with laws and regulations or knowledge of any
actual, suspected or alleged fraud. We addressed the risk of fraud
through management override of controls by testing the
appropriateness of journal entries and identifying any significant
transactions that were unusual or outside the normal course of
business. We assessed whether judgements made in making accounting
estimates gave rise to a possible indication of management bias. At
the completion stage of the audit, the engagement partner's review
included ensuring that the team had approached their work with
appropriate professional scepticism and thus the capacity to
identify non-compliance with laws and regulations and
fraud.
There are inherent limitations in the audit
procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance
with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions
reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would
become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material
misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting
one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate
concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional
misrepresentations, or through collusion.
A further description of our
responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council's
website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.
This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our
report
This report is made solely to the company's
members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the
Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we
might state to the company's members those matters we are required
to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other
purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not
accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company
and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this
report, or for the opinions we have formed.
…………………………………..
Stuart Macdougall (Senior Statutory
Auditor)
for and on behalf of Saffery LLP
Statutory
Auditors
71 Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4BE
10 October
2024
STATEMENT OF
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
For the year
ended 31 December
2023
|
Notes
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
|
|
£000s
|
|
£000s
|
|
Revenue
|
5
|
492
|
|
1,568
|
|
Cost of sales
|
|
(193)
|
|
(618)
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
299
|
|
950
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impairment of related party
debt
|
28
|
(6)
|
|
(1,130)
|
Other operating expenses
|
|
(2,876)
|
|
(2,136)
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
6
|
(2,882)
|
|
(3,266)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss from operations before share-based
payments
|
|
(2,583)
|
|
(2,317)
|
|
Share-based payments
|
25
|
(21)
|
|
(235)
|
|
Loss from operations after share-based
payments
|
6
|
(2,604)
|
|
(2,551)
|
|
Financial cost
|
8
|
(5)
|
|
(7)
|
|
Finance income
|
8
|
13
|
|
23
|
|
Loss before tax
|
|
(2,597)
|
|
(2,535)
|
|
Tax on loss on ordinary
activities
|
9
|
-
|
|
246
|
|
Total comprehensive loss for the year
|
|
(2,597)
|
|
(2,289)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss per share attributable to the equity holders of the
Company
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic and diluted loss per ordinary
share (pence)
|
10
|
(0.041)p
|
|
(0.036)p
|
|
The notes form part of these financial
statements.
STATEMENT OF
FINANCIAL POSITION
As at 31
December 2023
|
Notes
|
31
December 2023
|
|
31
December 2022
|
|
|
£000s
|
|
£000s
|
ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current assets
|
|
|
|
|
Intangible assets
|
11
|
53
|
|
69
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
12
|
113
|
|
380
|
Right of use assets
|
13
|
-
|
|
54
|
Total non-current assets
|
|
166
|
|
503
|
Current assets
|
|
|
|
|
Inventories
|
14
|
103
|
|
274
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
15
|
10
|
|
594
|
Corporation tax
receivable
|
9
|
261
|
|
514
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
173
|
|
1,241
|
Total current assets
|
|
547
|
|
2,623
|
TOTAL ASSETS
|
|
713
|
|
3,127
|
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
19
|
1,731
|
|
1,731
|
Share premium
|
21
|
28,263
|
|
28,263
|
Share-based payment
reserve
|
|
-
|
|
2,401
|
Retained losses
|
|
(29,850)
|
|
(29,675)
|
Total equity
|
|
144
|
|
2,720
|
Current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables
|
16
|
519
|
|
236
|
Lease liability
|
13
|
8
|
|
53
|
Total current liabilities
|
|
527
|
|
289
|
Non-current liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
Provisions
|
17
|
30
|
|
115
|
Lease liability
|
13
|
13
|
|
3
|
Total non-current liabilities
|
|
43
|
|
118
|
Total liabilities
|
|
570
|
|
407
|
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
|
|
713
|
|
3,127
|
The financial statements were approved for
issue by the Board of Directors on 10 October
2024 and signed on its behalf by:
Bob
Moore, Executive Chairman
Company number 03568010
The notes form part of these financial
statements.
STATEMENT OF
CHANGES IN EQUITY
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
|
|
|
|
Share
|
|
|
|
|
Share
|
Share
|
-based
payment
|
Retained
|
Total
|
|
Notes
|
capital
|
premium
|
reserve
|
Losses
|
Equity
|
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
At
1 January 2022
|
|
1,703
|
28,006
|
2,889
|
(28,024)
|
4,574
|
Total comprehensive loss for the
year
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(2,289)
|
(2,289)
|
Transaction with owners:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares issued-- placing
|
19
|
28
|
257
|
-
|
-
|
285
|
Transfer in respect of directors
warrants exercised
|
|
-
|
-
|
(300)
|
300
|
-
|
Transfer in respect of lapsed share
options
|
|
-
|
-
|
(338)
|
338
|
-
|
Share-based payments-share
options
|
25
|
-
|
-
|
150
|
-
|
150
|
At
31 December 2022
|
|
1,731
|
28,263
|
2,401
|
(29,675)
|
2,720
|
Total comprehensive loss for the
year
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(2,597)
|
(2,597)
|
Transaction with owners:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares issued
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Transfer in respect of lapsed
warrants
|
26
|
-
|
-
|
(1,503)
|
1,503
|
-
|
Transfer in respect of lapsed share
options
|
25
|
-
|
-
|
(919)
|
919
|
-
|
Share-based payments
options
|
25
|
-
|
-
|
21
|
-
|
21
|
At
31 December 2023
|
|
1,731
|
28,263
|
-
|
(29,850)
|
144
|
The notes form part of these financial
statements.
STATEMENT OF
CASH FLOWS
For the year ended 31 December 2023
|
|
Year to
31
December
2023
|
|
Year to
31
December
2022
|
|
|
£000s
|
|
£000s
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from operating activities
|
|
|
|
|
Cash absorbed by
operations
|
31
|
(1,311)
|
|
(2,133)
|
Corporation tax received
|
|
253
|
|
-
|
Net
cash used in operating activities
|
|
(1,058)
|
|
(2,133)
|
Cash flows from investing activities
|
|
|
|
|
Purchases of intangible
assets
|
11
|
(11)
|
|
(27)
|
Purchases of property, plant and
equipment
|
12
|
(2)
|
|
(208)
|
Proceeds from sale of Non-current
assets
|
|
48
|
|
-
|
Interest received
|
|
13
|
|
23
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
48
|
|
(212)
|
Cash flows from financing activities
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds from share
issues
|
|
-
|
|
200
|
Share issue costs
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
Repayment of lease
liabilities
|
13
|
(59)
|
|
(78)
|
Net
cash generated by / (used in) financing
activities
|
|
(59)
|
|
122
|
Net
(decrease) / increase in cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
(1,069)
|
|
(2,223)
|
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the year
|
|
1,241
|
|
3,465
|
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
year
|
|
173
|
|
1,241
|
The notes form part of these financial
statements.
NOTES TO THE
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the year
ended 31 December 2023
The principal activity of the Company
continues to be the research, development and commercialisation of
miniaturised mass spectrometry instruments that are designed to
improve the efficiency of pharmaceutical R&D. The Company is
incorporated as a public limited company (plc) in England and its
registered address is GMS House, Boundary Road, Woking, Surrey,
GU21 5BX. The Company has no subsidiaries, so the
financial information relates to the Company only.
1. Accounting
policies
The following principal accounting policies
have been used consistently in the preparation of these financial
statements.
Basis of
preparation
These financial statements have been prepared
in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards
(IFRS) in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act
2006.
The financial statements have been prepared in
sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary
amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest
£000.
These financial statements have been prepared
under the historical cost basis.
Revenue
recognition
IFRS 15 provides a single, principles based
five-step model to be applied to all contracts with customers. The
five-step framework includes:
1) Identify the contract(s)
with a customer;
2) Identify the performance
obligations in the contract;
3) Determine the transaction
price;
4) Allocate the transaction
price to the performance obligations in the contract;
and
5) Recognise revenue when
the entity satisfies a performance obligation.
The Company recognises revenue from the
following four sources:
1) Sale of
products;
2) Sale of consumables and
spare parts;
3) Product support services;
and
4) Consultancy
services.
All revenues and trade receivables arise from
contracts with customers. Revenue is measured based on the
consideration which the Company expects to be entitled in a
contract with a customer and excludes amounts collected on behalf
of third parties. The sale of products, consumables
and spare parts is recognised when the sole performance obligation
is met which is usually on delivery to the customer. For product
support services and consultancy services revenue, the performance
obligation is satisfied over the duration of the service period and
revenue is recognised in line with the satisfaction of the
performance obligation.
Sale of
products
The Company sells compact mass spectrometers
(Microsaic 4500 MiD®) mainly through OEMs and Distributors. A
small proportion of its sales are direct to the customer. Discounts
are offered and agreed as part of the contractual terms. Terms are
generally Ex Works so control passes when the customer collects the
goods. Payment terms are generally 30 days from the date of
invoice.
Sales of
consumables and spare parts
The Company sells consumables and spare parts
mainly through OEMs and Distributors. Terms are
generally Ex Works so control passes when the customer collects the
goods. Discounts are offered and agreed as part of the contractual
terms. Payment terms are generally 30 days from the date of
invoice.
Product
support services revenue
Product support services to our OEMs and
Distributors includes training their sales and service teams and
servicing the products from time to time. Discounts are offered and
agreed as part of the contractual terms. Terms are Ex Works
so control passes when the customer receives the service. Payment
terms are generally 30 days from the date of invoice.
Usually, there is no obligation
on the Company for returns, refunds or similar arrangements. Also,
the Company does not manufacture specific items to a customer's
specification and no financing component is included in the terms
with customers.
The Company provides assurance warranties
which are 15 months from the date of shipment for OEMs and
Distributors. These warranties confirm that the product complies
with agreed-upon specifications. The Company is looking to provide
service warranties in the future to direct Europe customers, where
the revenue from such warranties will be recognised over the period
of the service agreement.
Consultancy services revenue
Consultancy services comprises
science and engineering consultancy, laboratory services and
monitoring services. These services are delivered over a period of
time usually in accordance with a master services agreement and/or
statement of works with an agreed outcome at the end of the project
or project phase. Payment terms are
generally 30 days from the date of invoice.
Consultancy services revenue is recognised by
reference to the stage of completion of the project or project
phase at the balance sheet date as follows:
·
Where there are defined project or project phase milestones,
the revenue is recognised in full on completion of the project or
project phase and on a time basis for the stage of completion where
the project or project phase is not completed at the balance sheet
date. The stage of completion is recognised as the proportion of
time spent on the project or project phase compared with the total
time anticipated to complete the project or project phase;
and/or
·
Where the project is defined with the client in terms of time
spent, the revenue is recognised on the basis of consulting time
spent on the project by the Company at the time-based rates agreed
with the client.
Cost of
sales
Cost of sales of products
The cost of sales of mass spectrometers and
related equipment is the bought in purchase cost of the product or
the transfer value from stock value if a unit has been previously
written down. Usually, the sale is made on an Ex-Works basis but if
it were not the cost of delivery to the customer is also included
in cost of sales.
Cost of sales of consumables and spare parts
The cost of sales of consumable and spare
parts is the bought in purchase cost of the consumable or spare
part or the transfer value from stock value if an item has been
previously written down. Usually, the sale is made on an Ex-Works
basis but if it were not the cost of delivery to the customer is
also included in cost of sales.
Cost of sales of product support services
The cost of sales of product support services
income is the time-based apportionment of the employment costs of
the relevant staff spent on the delivery of the product support
services income plus any related costs of fulfilment such as travel
expenses and any externally incurred direct costs. For the purposes
of cost of sales, the employment costs are considered to be
salaries, pensions and employers national insurance but cost of
sales does not include share-based payments nor any apportionment
of training or overheads.
Cost of sales of consultancy services
The cost of sales of consultancy services
(comprising science and engineering consultancy, laboratory
services and monitoring services) is the time-based apportionment
of the employment costs of the relevant staff spent on the delivery
of this revenue plus any related costs of fulfilment such as travel
expenses and any externally-incurred direct costs. For the purposes
of cost of sales, the employment costs are considered to be
salaries, pensions and employers national insurance but does not
include share-based payments nor any apportionment of training or
overheads.
Segmental
reporting
The Company currently has one business
segment, being the research, development and commercialisation of
scientific instruments. This is undertaken wholly within the United
Kingdom. Revenue by geographical market is analysed in note
5.
Intangible
assets
Trademarks and patents are stated at historic
cost of registration less accumulated amortisation and any
accumulated impairment losses. Amortisation is charged to operating
expenses and calculated to write off the cost in equal annual
instalments over five years, which is a prudent estimate of their
useful economic lives.
Certain software is stated at historic cost
less accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment
losses. Amortisation is charged to operating expenses and
calculated to write off the cost in equal annual instalments over
three years, which is considered to be a prudent estimate of its
useful economic life.
Property, plant
and equipment
Items of property, plant and equipment are
stated at cost of acquisition or production costs less accumulated
depreciation and impairment losses. Depreciation is charged to the
statement of comprehensive income on a straight-line basis to
write-off the carrying value of each asset to residual value over
its estimated useful economic life as follows:
Plant and equipment - 33.3% on a
straight line basis
Fixtures and fittings - 33.3% on a straight
line basis
Software - 33.3% on a straight line
basis
Pensions
The Company has an auto-enrolment pension
scheme for employees. Contributions are charged to the statement of
comprehensive income in the period they are payable.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost
and net realisable value. Cost is based on the first-in first-out
principle and includes expenditure incurred in acquiring the
inventories and bringing them to their present location and
condition. The cost of finished goods and work in progress
comprises raw materials, direct labour and other direct costs. Net
realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary
course of business less applicable selling expenses. The inventory
provision is based on identifying slow moving stock items from
recent historic and anticipated future sales and providing where
appropriate for those items which may be surplus to anticipated or
identifiable demand.
Taxation
Current taxes are based on the results of the
Company and are calculated according to local tax rules using the
tax rates that have been enacted by the balance sheet
date.
The Company recognises research and
development tax credits receivable in cash as a current asset under
the heading corporation tax receivable. Any difference to amounts
received are dealt with as adjustments to prior period tax.
In respect of the year-ending 31st December 2023 the
R&D tax credit claim has not yet been made and no amount has
been recognised.
Deferred tax is provided in full using the
balance sheet liability method for all taxable temporary
differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities
and their carrying values for financial reporting purposes.
Deferred tax is measured using currently enacted or substantially
enacted tax rates. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent
the temporary difference will reverse in the foreseeable future and
that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available
against which the asset can be utilised.
Foreign
currency translation
Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in
foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of
exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign
currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of
transaction, or forward contract rate, if applicable. All
differences are taken to the statement of comprehensive
income.
Financial
instruments
Financial assets and financial liabilities are
recognised in the Company's statement of financial position when
the Company becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the
instrument. Examples of the Company's financial instruments
include:
Cash and cash
equivalents
The fair value of cash and cash equivalents is
considered to be their carrying amount due to their short-term
maturity.
Trade
receivables
The Company's trade receivables do not carry a
significant financing element as defined by IFRS 15. Therefore,
trade receivables are recorded at transaction price (e.g., invoice
amount excluding costs collected on behalf of third parties) and
throughout the life of the receivable at an amount equal to
lifetime expected credit losses ("ECL"). The Company has applied a
simplified formula for calculating expected credit losses as a
practical expedient.
Under IFRS 9 impairment for receivables
including trade receivables is assessed using an expected loss
model. For trade receivables this focuses on the risk that, and an
extent to which, a receivable will default. Accordingly, the
Company calculates the allowance for credit losses by considering
the cash shortfalls it would incur in various default scenarios and
multiplying the shortfalls by the probability of each scenario
occurring. The Company only has short-term receivables and has
adopted a simplified approach in assessing impairment.
The Company has applied a simplified formula
for calculating expected losses as a practical expedient (e.g., for
trade receivables), as the Directors believe that this is
consistent with the general principles for measuring expected
losses. The formula is based on an entity's historical default
rates over the expected life of the trade receivables and is
adjusted for forward-looking estimates.
Given the immaterial value of trade
receivables at 31st December 2023 the Company is not
disclosing the details of its simplified formula for calculating
expected credit losses.
The risk profile of related party debts is
considered to differ from the wider trade receivables pool, and so
the simplified formula is not applied to the amounts owed by
DeepVerge plc subsidiaries.
Financial
liability and equity
Financial liabilities and equity instruments
are classified according to the substance of the contractual
arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract
that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the Company
after deducting all its liabilities.
Bank
borrowings
The Company had no bank borrowings at 31
December 2023 and 2022.
Trade
payables
Trade payables are not interest bearing and
are stated at their nominal value.
Equity
instruments
Equity instruments issued by the Company are
recorded at the value of the proceeds received net of direct issue
costs including the fair value of any warrants issued in lieu of
issue costs. The Company has no derivative financial assets or
investments in equity instruments.
Leases
For all leases, the Company recognises a right
of use asset and corresponding lease liability on the balance
sheet, which are depreciated and amortised respectively over the
lease term. However, where leases are low value or of less than 12
months old, the Company has taken advantage of the practical
expedient allowing the expense to be recognised on a straight line
basis over the lease term.
Research and
development
Expenditure on research is recognised as an
expense in the period in which it is incurred.
Development costs incurred on specific
projects are capitalised when all the following conditions are
satisfied:
·
Completion of the intangible asset is technically feasible so
that it will be available for use or sale;
·
The Company intends to complete the intangible asset and use
or sell it;
·
The Company has the ability to use or sell the intangible
asset;
·
The intangible asset will generate probable future economic
benefits. Among other things, this requires that there is a market
for the output from the intangible asset or for the intangible
asset itself, or, if it is to be used internally, the asset will be
used in generating such benefits;
·
There are adequate technical, financial and other resources
to complete the development and to use or sell the intangible
asset; and
·
The expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during
its development can be measured reliably.
Costs incurred which do not meet all of the
above criteria are expensed as incurred. No development costs have
been capitalised to date.
Share-based
payments
In accordance with IFRS 2 "Share-based
payments", the Company reflects the economic cost of awarding
shares and share options to Directors, employees and advisors by
recording an expense in the statement of comprehensive income equal
to the fair value of the benefit awarded; fair value being
determined by reference to option pricing models. The expense is
recognised in the statement of comprehensive income over the
vesting period of the award.
The fair value of warrants issued to advisors
as remuneration for their services in a fundraising will be charged
to share premium over the vesting period of the award.
2. Adoption of
new and revised standards
During the financial year, the Company has
adopted the following new IFRSs (including amendments thereto) and
IFRIC interpretations, that became effective for the first
time.
Standard
|
Effective date, annual period beginning
on or after
|
IFRS 17 - Insurance Contracts
|
1 January 2023
|
Amendments to IFRS 17 - Insurance Contracts;
and Extension of the Temporary Exemption from
Applying IFRS 9 (Amendments to IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts)
|
1 January 2023
|
Disclosure of Accounting Policies (Amendments to
IAS 1 Presentation of Financial
Statements and IFRS Practice Statement 2 Making Materiality
Judgements)
|
1 January 2023
|
Definition of Accounting Estimates (Amendments
to IAS 8 Accounting Policies,
Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors)
|
1 January 2023
|
Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities
arising from a Single Transaction (Amendments to IAS 12
Income Taxes)
|
1 January 2023
|
International Tax Reform - Pillar Two Model
Rules (Amendments to IAS 12)
|
1 January 2023
|
Their adoption has not had any material impact
on the disclosures or amounts reported in the financial
statements.
Standards
issued but not yet effective:
At the date of authorisation of these
financial statements, the following standards and interpretations
relevant to the Company and which have not been applied in these
financial statements, were in issue but were not yet
effective.
Standard
|
Effective date, annual period beginning
on or after
|
Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback
(Amendments to IFRS 16)
|
1 January 2024
|
Classification of Liabilities as Current or
Non-Current, Non-current Liabilities with Covenants: amendments to IAS 1
|
1 January 2024
|
Supplier Finance Arrangements (Amendments to IAS
7 and IFRS 7)
|
1 January 2024
|
The directors are evaluating the impact that
these standards will have on the financial statements of the
Company.
At the date of authorisation of these
financial statements, the following standards and interpretations
relevant to Company and which have not been applied in these
financial statements, have not been endorsed for use in the UK and
will not be adopted until such time as endorsement is
confirmed.
Standard
|
Effective date, annual period beginning
on or after
|
Lack of Exchangeability (Amendments to IAS
21)
|
1 January 2025
|
IFRS 18 - Presentation and Disclosure in Financial
Statements
|
1 January 2027
|
IFRS 19 - Subsidiaries without Public Accountability:
Disclosures
|
1 January 2027
|
The directors are evaluating the impact that
these standards will have on the financial statements of the
Company.
3. Going
concern
The Company is loss making and has raised
funds in the past by issuing equity in discrete tranches. The most
recent fundraises were completed on 5 February 2021 and January
2024 where the Company raised £5.2m and £1.8m respectively after
expenses from new and existing shareholders.
At 31 December 2023, the company held cash
balances totalling £173k and net current assets of £20k. Combined
with operating losses of £2.6m in each of the years ended 31
December 2022 and 2023, the ability of the Company to settle
liabilities as they fall due was therefore in doubt.
Following the January 2024 fundraise the
directors restructured the business to reduce the cost base and
utilised £0.1m of the fundraise to purchase the trade and assets of
the Modern Water business and have focused on reviving Microsaic's
pipeline of sales alongside the production and sale of reagents and
instruments for Modern Water.
As a result of the investment and the Company
continuing to be loss making, the cash balance at 4 October 2024
was £0.45m. The Company has been generating negative EBITDA since
the end of December 2023.
In assessing the ability of the company to
continue as a Going Concern, the directors have reviewed sales
projections and cashflow forecasts to 31 December 2025 alongside a
thorough review of the Company's reserves and working capital
requirements from the date of approval of the financial statements.
Under the base case forecast, the directors anticipate sales of
instruments and reagents to be sufficient over the 14 month period
to 31 December 2025 to allow the Company to meet its liabilities as
they fall due. Of these sales, the Company has secured a Qatar
contract as discussed in the Strategic Report (valued at €571k),
with cash inflows expected to commence in Q4 of 2024, although the
timing of this inflow is uncertain.
The directors acknowledge there are
significant uncertainties inherent in forecasting future sales,
given the requirement of the Company to effectively restart trading
during 2024 and volatile trading environments. It is
possible that the sales assumptions underpinning these forecasts
may not be achieved, or that margin assumptions may not be met.
Consequently, the directors have explored sensitivities to the
above base case to model the impact of reduced sales, including a
"severe but plausible" downside scenario.
Sensitivity Analysis
The directors believe that a severe but
plausible downside scenario, whereby no instrument sales are
included for the second half of 2025, would still allow the Company
to maintain positive cash headroom to 31 December 2025. However, in
the event that none of the unconfirmed sales (being sales not
currently contracted) realise, the Company would have insufficient
working capital to continue in operation past February
2025.
In addition to the scenarios described above,
the Directors have performed a reverse stress test ("Reverse Stress
Test") to quantify the level of sales decline and cost increases
that can be absorbed.
The Reverse Stress Test only considers cost
savings from directly attributable variable costs associated with
the reduction in sales, including production costs, Directors
salaries and marketing costs. No other cost savings are assumed to
be delivered. The Directors note however that the Company has been
able to make significant cost savings in the past with short lead
times.
The directors have concluded that, applying
the above conditions in the Reverse Stress Test, a minimum sales
level of approximately £84k per month, in addition to the Qatar
contract, is required to enable the Company to remain liquid and
with positive cash headroom over the going concern assessment
period. While the directors consider this to be an achievable
target, it is acknowledged that this exceeds the level of turnover
experienced in the year ending 31 December 2023 or in 2024 to
date.
While the directors remain confident that
there is a reasonable possibility that the forecast sales pipeline
can be converted into new customers and be cash generative for the
Company, at the date of this report the future required minimum
sales levels have not been achieved. Accordingly, there is a
material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt over the
Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
Mitigating actions
The Directors consider the scenario envisaged
under the Reverse Stress Test arising to be unlikely, and that in
the event it did arise the Company has demonstrated its ability to
deliver cost savings and seek alternative capital.
If performance deviates materially from the
base case, there are several actions that the Company could
undertake to mitigate the liquidity and profit impact. These
include:
·
Cost savings initiatives with a focus on areas of
discretionary spend such as marketing, travel and certain
professional fees. These cost savings are included within the
existing forecasts
·
Reduction in stock purchases and manufacturing levels to
reflect the lower sales projections
·
Reduction in project, IT and CAPEX spend which for a short
period of time would not adversely impact our sales and customer
proposition.
Going Concern Assessment
Having considered the forecasts noted above,
the mitigating actions available to management, recent trading
performance and having regard to the macroeconomic risks and
uncertainties to which the Company is exposed, the Directors have a
reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to
continue operating for the foreseeable future and to operate for a
period of at least 12 months from the date of these financial
statements. Accordingly, the financial statements have been
prepared on a going concern basis.
Stakeholders should be aware that there is a
material uncertainty arising on this assessment in respect of the
inherent uncertainty attached to the future sales pipeline and
projections, and the associated timing of cash receipts. The
financial statements do not include the adjustments that would
result if the Company was unable to continue as a going
concern.
4. Critical accounting
estimates and judgements
Accounting estimates and judgements are
continually evaluated and are based on past experience and other
factors, including expectations of future events that are believed
to be reasonable under the circumstances.
The Company makes estimates and assumptions
concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates could, by
definition, differ from the actual outcome.
The estimates and assumptions that have a risk
of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets
and liabilities within the next financial year are summarised
below:
Carrying value of
inventories
It is the intention of the
directors that the Company will move away from the sale of goods as
its primary revenue stream, instead developing new lines of service
revenue. As such, there is a risk that the inventory holding may
not recover its full carrying value.
On closure of the Company's Woking
office, inventories were reviewed and disposed of where felt
unlikely to be sellable. Additionally, the inventory has recently
been reviewed in detail and the carrying value of remaining
obsolete items has been written down to zero. As such, the
directors believe that all inventories held at 31 December 2023
will ultimately be sold above their carrying value, and the
provision for stock obsolescence at 31st December 2023 was £nil
(2022: £62k).
The detailed breakdown of
inventories can be seen in note 14.
Allocation of staff benefit expense to
Cost of Sales
In line with the Company's disclosed
accounting policies, an element of staff benefit expense is
allocated to Cost of Sales to reflect the time-based apportionment
of the employment costs of the relevant staff spent on the delivery
of product support and consultancy services income. In the current
year, this allocation has been estimated based on the level of
service income in the current year and prior year, and the gross
margin achieved on service income in the prior year. The resultant
reallocation was £35k (2022: £420k).
These assumptions are reviewed at each balance
sheet date and amended if required.
5.
Revenue
Throughout 2023, the Company operated in one
business segment, that of research, development and
commercialisation of mass spectrometry instruments. Revenue
comprises the sale of products and the supply of services.
Products are sold ex-works and the attribution of revenue is based
on the country or group of countries to where the goods are
shipped. Services are generally delivered at the
customer's site of installation. In 2023 the revenue of our largest
customer amount to 45% of the total Company sales (2022:
79.7%).
The geographical analysis of revenue (by
shipment destination) was as follows:
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
UK
|
109
|
1,354
|
USA
|
10
|
104
|
EU
|
137
|
68
|
China
|
215
|
31
|
ROW
|
21
|
11
|
|
492
|
1,568
|
The analysis of revenue by product or service
was as follows:
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Equipment units
|
286
|
207
|
Consumables
|
63
|
12
|
Service spares
|
35
|
108
|
Accessories
|
-
|
18
|
Product support
|
48
|
55
|
Consulting services
|
60
|
1,168
|
Total Reported Sales
|
492
|
1,568
|
Less: Sales to DeepVerge
plc
|
(65)
|
(1,249)
|
Total Sales to customers (excluding
DeepVerge plc)
|
427
|
319
|
6. Expenses by
nature
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
|
|
Loss from operations after
share-based payments is stated after
charging/(crediting):
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Amortisation and impairment of
intangible assets
|
27
|
30
|
Depreciation of right of use
assets
|
76
|
73
|
Impairment of related party
debt
|
6
|
1,130
|
Expected credit losses (excluding
impairment of related party debt)
|
-
|
(3)
|
Movement in inventory
provision
|
(62)
|
(28)
|
Loss on disposal of fixed
assets
|
(48)
|
-
|
Inventory items expensed
|
158
|
313
|
Staff benefit expense
|
1,186
|
1,375
|
Depreciation of property, plant and
equipment
|
183
|
178
|
Research and development
expenses
|
87
|
784
|
Professional fees (including audit
fees detailed below)
|
267
|
221
|
Pension costs
|
132
|
144
|
Exchange loss/(gain)
|
-
|
1
|
Directors' emoluments (before
pensions and share based payments)
|
96
|
60
|
7. Expenses by
nature
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Services provided by the Company's auditors
|
|
|
Fees payable to the Company's
auditors for the audit of the financial statements
|
62
|
31
|
Fees payable in respect of prior
years
Fees payable to the Company's
auditors for other services
|
-
|
7
|
- Audit
related services
|
4
|
4
|
|
66
|
42
|
8. Finance income and
Finance cost
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Bank interest receivable
|
13
|
23
|
Interest cost under IFRS
16
|
(2)
|
(7)
|
Other Interest
|
(3)
|
-
|
|
(5)
|
(7)
|
9. Tax on loss on
ordinary activities
|
Year to
31 December
2023
|
Year to
31 December
2022
|
|
Domestic current period tax
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
|
UK corporation tax charge
|
-
|
(246)
|
|
Tax
on loss on ordinary activities
|
-
|
(246)
|
|
Factors affecting the current tax
credit for the period:
|
Year to
31 December
2023
|
Year to
31 December
2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Loss before tax
|
(2,597)
|
(2,535)
|
Loss before tax multiplied by
standard rate of UK corporation tax of 23.5% (9months at 25% and 3
months at 19%) (2022: 19%)
|
(610)
|
(482)
|
Effects of:
|
|
|
Expenses not deductible for tax
purposes
|
2
|
29
|
Fixed asset differences
|
1
|
(7)
|
Additional deduction for R&D
expenditure
|
-
|
(194)
|
Movement in deferred tax not
recognised
|
642
|
318
|
Other tax adjustments, reliefs and
transfers
|
(37)
|
(8)
|
Surrender of tax losses for R&D
tax credit refund
|
-
|
81
|
Adjustments to tax charge in respect
of previous periods
|
2
|
15
|
Current tax credit
|
-
|
(248)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
The Company has estimated tax losses of
£29,236k (2022: £26,930k) available for carry forward against
future trading profits. Deferred tax is detailed in note
18.
10.
Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share
|
Year to
31 December
2023
|
Year to
31
December
2022
|
Loss after tax attributable to
equity shareholders £000s
|
(2,597)
|
(2,289)
|
Weighted average number of ordinary
0.01p shares for the purpose of basic and diluted loss per
share
|
6,361,365,146
|
6,324,666,516
|
Basic and diluted loss per ordinary
share
|
(0.041)p
|
(0.036)p
|
The basic loss per share increased to 0.040p
per share versus 0.036p per share in the prior year. This reflects
the increase in the loss after tax to equity shareholders in the
year ended 31 December 2023 compared to year ended 31 December
2022.
Under IAS33 the calculation of basic and
diluted earnings / (loss) per ordinary share is adjusted
retrospectively when the number of issued ordinary shares changes
after the balance sheet date but before the financial statements
are authorised for issue. As detailed in Note 30,
existing shares were subject to a 625:1 consolidation into
10,178,185 new ordinary shares of 0.001p nominal value and then
169,000,000 new ordinary shares of 0.001p nominal value were then
issued. This brings the total issued ordinary shares to
179,178,185. The basic and diluted loss per share taking into
account the consolidation and number of new ordinary shares in
existence at the date of publishing the Annual Report and Accounts
would be 1.449 pence. (computed as £2,597k loss divided by
179,178,185 shares).
Potential ordinary shares are not treated as
dilutive as the Company is loss making, therefore the weighted
average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of the basic and
diluted loss per share are the same.
11.
Intangible assets
Intangible assets comprise patents, trademarks
and software owned by the Company. The cost is amortised on a
straight-line basis over their estimated useful life.
Year ended 31 December 2023:
|
|
£000s
|
Cost
|
|
|
At 1 January 2023
|
|
628
|
Additions
|
|
11
|
Disposals
|
|
(15)
|
At 31 December 2023
|
|
624
|
Amortisation
|
|
|
At 1 January 2023
|
|
558
|
Charge for the year
|
|
27
|
Disposals
|
|
(15)
|
At 31 December 2023
|
|
570
|
Net
book value
|
|
|
At 31 December 2023
|
|
53
|
Year ended 31 December
2022
|
|
£000s
|
Cost
At 1 January 2022
|
|
621
|
Additions
|
|
27
|
Disposals
|
|
(21)
|
At 31 December 2022
|
|
627
|
Amortisation
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022
|
|
547
|
Charge for the year
|
|
30
|
On Disposals
|
|
(19)
|
At 31 December 2022
|
|
558
|
Net
book value
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022
|
|
69
|
12.
Property, plant and equipment
Year ended 31 December 2023:
|
Plant
and equipment
|
Fixtures
and fittings
|
Total
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2023
|
1,277
|
178
|
1,455
|
Additions
|
2
|
-
|
2
|
Transfers
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Disposals
|
(240)
|
(178)
|
(418)
|
At 31 December 2023
|
1,039
|
-
|
1,039
|
|
Plant
and equipment
|
Fixtures
and fittings
|
Total
|
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
Depreciation
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2023
|
896
|
178
|
1,074
|
Charge for the year
|
183
|
-
|
183
|
Disposals
|
(154)
|
(178)
|
(332)
|
At 31 December 2023
|
925
|
-
|
925
|
Net
book value
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2023
|
113
|
-
|
113
|
Year ended 31 December 2022:
|
Plant
and equipment
|
Fixtures
and fittings
|
Total
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022
|
1,068
|
178
|
1,246
|
Additions
|
208
|
-
|
208
|
Transfers
|
44
|
-
|
44
|
|
Disposals
|
(43)
|
-
|
(43)
|
At 31 December 2022
|
1,277
|
178
|
1,455
|
|
Plant
and equipment
|
Fixtures
and fittings
|
Total
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Depreciation
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022
|
761
|
178
|
939
|
Charge for the year
|
178
|
-
|
178
|
Disposals
|
(43)
|
-
|
(43)
|
At 31 December 2022
|
896
|
178
|
1,074
|
Net
book value
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022
|
380
|
-
|
380
|
Transfers from plant and equipment were moved to
stock and then sold to a customer.
13.
Lease reporting
Right of use lease assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
Server
|
Property
|
Equipment
|
Total
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2023
|
-
|
319
|
10
|
329
|
Additions
|
22
|
-
|
-
|
22
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
At 31 December 2023
|
22
|
319
|
10
|
351
|
Depreciation
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2023
|
-
|
270
|
4
|
274
|
Charge for the year
|
22
|
48
|
6
|
76
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
At 31 December 2023
|
22
|
318
|
10
|
350
|
Carrying amount
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2023
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Server
|
Property
|
Equipment
|
Total
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022
|
-
|
319
|
10
|
329
|
Additions
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
At 31 December 2022
|
-
|
319
|
10
|
329
|
Depreciation
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2022
|
-
|
201
|
1
|
202
|
Charge for the year
|
-
|
69
|
3
|
72
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
At 31 December 2022
|
-
|
270
|
4
|
274
|
Carrying amount
|
|
|
|
|
At 31 December 2022
|
-
|
49
|
6
|
55
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Lease liability
|
|
Server
|
Property
|
Equipment
|
Total
|
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
At 1 January 2023
|
|
-
|
50
|
6
|
56
|
Repayment of lease
liabilities
|
|
(5)
|
(51)
|
(3)
|
(59)
|
Additions
|
|
22
|
-
|
-
|
22
|
Interest on lease
liabilities
|
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
2
|
Disposals
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
At 31 December 2023
|
|
18
|
-
|
3
|
21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Server
|
Property
|
Equipment
|
Total
|
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
At 1 January 2022
|
|
-
|
118
|
9
|
127
|
Repayment of lease
liabilities
|
|
-
|
(75)
|
(3)
|
(78)
|
Additions
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Interest on lease
liabilities
|
|
-
|
7
|
-
|
7
|
Disposals
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
At 31 December 2022
|
|
-
|
50
|
6
|
56
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Lease liability maturity analysis
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2023
|
2022
|
|
|
Server
|
Property
|
Equipment
|
Property
|
Equipment
|
|
Gross lease payments
due:
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
|
Within one year
|
5
|
-
|
3
|
52
|
3
|
|
Between two and five
years
|
14
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
|
|
19
|
-
|
3
|
52
|
6
|
|
Less future financing
charges
|
(1)
|
-
|
(-)
|
(2)
|
(-)
|
|
|
18
|
-
|
3
|
50
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
14.
Inventories
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December
2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Raw materials
|
80
|
267
|
Finished goods
|
23
|
69
|
Subtotal
|
103
|
336
|
Provision for inventories
|
(-)
|
(62)
|
Total
|
103
|
274
|
Inventory consists of raw materials and
finished goods which are held on consignment with two of the
company's trading partners. During 2023, a significant amount
of inventory was reviewed and written down to £nil
value.
15.
Trade and other receivables
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Amounts falling due within one year
|
|
|
Trade receivables
|
8
|
1,519
|
Provision for expected credit
losses
|
(6)
|
(1,130)
|
Other receivables
|
8
|
205
|
|
10
|
594
|
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Not past due
|
8
|
267
|
1 to 30 days past due
|
-
|
145
|
31 to 60 days past due
|
-
|
137
|
61 to 90 days past due
|
-
|
120
|
91 to 120 days past due
|
-
|
217
|
121 to 150 days past due
|
-
|
147
|
151 to 180 days past due
|
-
|
77
|
Over 180 days past due
|
-
|
409
|
|
8
|
1,519
|
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Provision for expected credit losses on trade
receivables:
|
|
|
Balance brought forward
|
(1,130)
|
(3)
|
Utilised in year
|
1,130
|
|
Written back to P&L during the
year
|
-
|
-
|
Provided during the year
|
(6)
|
(1,127)
|
Balance carried forward
|
(6)
|
(1,130)
|
The provision for expected credit losses on
trade receivables is mandatorily measured at an amount equal to the
lifetime expected credit losses. The Company's approach to
calculating the lifetime expected credit losses is described in
note 1.
16.
Trade and other payables
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Amounts falling due within one year
|
|
|
Trade payables
|
182
|
99
|
Other taxes and social
security
|
92
|
44
|
Other payables
|
67
|
12
|
Accruals and deferred
income
|
178
|
81
|
|
519
|
236
|
Included within other payables is a sum of
£65,000 in respect of an onerous contract which reflects the
maximum amount that the Company might pay in
settlement.
17.
Provisions
|
Dilapidations
|
Warranties
|
TOTAL
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Balance at 1 January 2023
|
92
|
24
|
116
|
Provided for/(reduced) during the
year
|
(22)
|
(4)
|
(26)
|
Settled during the year
|
(60)
|
-
|
(60)
|
Balance at 31 December
2023
|
10
|
20
|
30
|
|
Dilapidations
|
Warranties
|
TOTAL
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Balance at 1 January 2022
|
76
|
24
|
100
|
Provided for/(reduced) during the
year
|
16
|
(-)
|
15
|
Balance at 31 December
2022
|
92
|
24
|
115
|
The provision for anticipated dilapidations is
in respect of the Company's former leasehold premises at Woking
which were vacated on 23 December 2023. The dilapidation charge was
agreed in the amount of £70,000 and was substantially settled in
December 2023 through the non-return of the deposit of £60,000 and
a balance of £10,000 owing at the year-end.
The Company provides OEMs and distributors
with a 15-month warranty on Mass Spectrometer products. The
provision represents the anticipated cost of servicing those
warranty claims. The provision is based on historical costs
including product, replacement parts and the cost-of-service
engineers that may have to be incurred over the warranty period.
The provision for warranty at the end of the year was £20k (2022:
£24k).
18.
Deferred tax
Deferred taxation provided in the financial
statements:
|
|
|
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Accelerated capital
allowances
|
28
|
95
|
Tax losses carried
forward
|
(28)
|
(95)
|
|
-
|
-
|
A deferred tax asset in respect of tax losses
has only been recognised to the extent of the deferred tax
liability in respect of accelerated capital allowances at a tax
rate of 25% (2022: 25%). The Company has estimated tax losses of
£29,236k (2022: £26,930k) available for carry forward against
future trading profits.
19.
Share capital
The total share capital of the Company
comprises Ordinary and Deferred shares as follows:
|
2023
|
2023
|
2022
|
2022
|
Allotted,
called up and fully paid:
|
Number
|
£000s
|
Number
|
£000s
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ordinary
shares of 0.01p each
|
6,361,365,146
|
636
|
6,361,365,146
|
636
|
Deferred
shares of 0.24p each
|
456,365,146
|
1,095
|
456,365,146
|
1,095
|
As at 31
December
|
6,817,730,292
|
1,731
|
6,817,730,292
|
1,731
|
The Ordinary share capital of the
Company comprises:
|
2023
|
2023
|
2022
|
2022
|
Allotted,
called up and fully paid:
|
Number
|
£000s
|
Number
|
£000s
|
Ordinary
shares of 0.01p (0.25p) each as at 1 January
|
6,361,365,146
|
636
|
6,076,365,146
|
608
|
Effect of
share split and deferment
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Issue of
ordinary share capital of 0.01p each
|
-
|
-
|
285,000,000
|
28
|
As at 31
December
|
6,361,365,146
|
636
|
6,361,365,146
|
636
|
There were no issuances of equity during the
year.
Shortly after the year end the company
executed a 625:1 share consolidation to yield 10,178,185 new shares
of 0.001p and 10,178,185 deferred shares of 6.249p nominal
value.
A fundraising took place immediately
thereafter via a placing with the issuance of 169,000,000 new
shares at a price of 1.25p raising total gross proceeds of £2.1m
and net proceeds of £1.8m. The resulting number of shares
immediately after this placing was 179,178,185.
The Deferred share capital of the Company
comprised:
|
2023
|
2023
|
2022
|
2022
|
Allotted,
called up and fully paid:
|
Number
|
£000
|
Number
|
£000s
|
Deferred
shares of 0.24p each as at 1 January
|
456,365,146
|
1,095
|
456,365,146
|
1,095
|
As at 31
December
|
456,365,146
|
1,095
|
456,365,146
|
1,095
|
After the year end and as part of the share
consolidation an additional 10,178,185 deferred shares of nominal
value 6.249p were created.
20.
Reserves
The share premium account represents the
excess over the nominal value for shares allotted less issue costs.
The share option reserve represents accumulated charges made under
IFRS 2 in respect of share-based payments. Where share options that
have vested expire, lapse or are exercised, the amounts within the
share-based payments reserve relating to those options are
transferred to retained earnings as shown in the Statement of
Changes in Equity.
21.
Share premium
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December
2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Opening balance brought
forward
|
28,263
|
28,006
|
Share issue in the year
|
-
|
257
|
Share issue costs - Cash
|
-
|
-
|
Share issue costs - Broker
Warrants
|
-
|
-
|
Closing balance carried
forward
|
28,263
|
28,263
|
22.
Commitments
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Contracted for but not provided in
the financial statements
|
560
|
652
|
The commitment above relates to purchase
orders placed on, and related contractual arrangements and
obligations, with third-party manufacturers. Following the year
end, a long term contract with a supplier responsible for
assembling and testing Microsaic instruments was terminated, in
return for the Company agreeing to make a modest monthly payment,
allowed for in the going concern assessment, over the next 2 years.
At the year end, the commitment relating to this contract was
£0.5m, but subsequent to the year-end following negotiation a
revised settlement agreement was reached.
23.
Directors' emoluments
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Salaries and fees
|
163
|
60
|
Non-cash payments
|
-
|
-
|
Pension costs
|
-
|
2
|
Employment related share-based
payments
|
-
|
85
|
|
163
|
147
|
There are no key management personnel other
than the Directors. The highest paid Director, Mr Gerard Brandon,
received emoluments of £97,820 as disclosed in the Directors'
Remuneration Report.
24.
Employees
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
Number
|
Number
|
Directors
|
3
|
3
|
Other staff
|
15
|
19
|
Average Headcount
|
18
|
22
|
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Employment costs (including Directors)
|
|
|
Wages and salaries
|
986
|
986
|
Social security costs
|
110
|
134
|
Termination payments
|
69
|
21
|
Pension costs
|
132
|
144
|
Employment related share-based
payments
|
21
|
235
|
|
1,318
|
1,520
|
25.
Share-based payments
The share-based payments charge
comprises
|
Year to
31 December 2023
|
Year to
31 December 2022
|
|
£000s
|
£000s
|
Directors' fees settled in
shares
|
-
|
85
|
Vesting of share options
|
21
|
150
|
Employment related share-based
payments
|
21
|
235
|
Brokers' fees settled in
shares
|
-
|
-
|
|
21
|
235
|
The Directors' fees settled in shares in
respect of the previous financial year ended 31 December 2022 were
in respect of fees incurred. The Directors' fees relate to annual
fees.
Share option
schemes
The Company operated an EMI and an unapproved
share option scheme as a means of encouraging ownership and
aligning interests of staff and shareholders. The table below shows
the number of options outstanding and exercisable at 31 December
2023 and 31 December 2022 and the weighted average exercise
price. All staff were made redundant during Q4 2023 and
accordingly all share options have been
forfeited.
|
Year to 31 December 2023
|
Year to 31 December 2022
|
|
Number
of options
|
Weighted
average exercise price
|
Number
of options
|
Weighted
average exercise price
|
Outstanding at the beginning of the
year
|
605,000,000
|
0.1p
|
1,125,000,000
|
0.1p
|
Granted during the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Forfeited/expired during the
year
|
(605,000,000)
|
0.1p
|
(320,000,000)
|
0.1p
|
Exercised during the year
|
-
|
-
|
(200,000,000)
|
0.1p
|
Outstanding at 31
December
|
-
|
-
|
605,000,000
|
0.1p
|
Exercisable at 31
December
|
-
|
-
|
325,000,000
|
0.1p
|
Options and warrants over 1,125 million
ordinary shares were awarded to Directors, staff and a consultant
on 5 February 2021. These options granted were exercisable at
the price of 0.1p for five years from the 5 February 2021 but have
now been forfeited.
The table below illustrates that there were no
options in issue at the year-end:
Date of grant
|
Exercise
price
|
Latest exercise date
|
Estimated fair value
|
Number
of options 31 December 2023
|
Number
of options 31 December 2022
|
February 2021
|
0.1p
|
February 2026
|
0.150p
|
-
|
325,000,000
|
February 2021
|
0.1p
|
February 2026
|
0.153p
|
-
|
280,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
-
|
605,000,000
|
The weighted average share price at the date
of grant for share options was 0.25 pence. There were no
outstanding options at 31st December 2023.
The estimated fair values of the share options
were calculated by applying the Black Scholes or Monte Carlo
models.
In line with the application guidance in IFRS
2, the Directors considered the most appropriate method of
calculating volatility to be the use of the historical volatility
of comparable listed companies. The model inputs are detailed
below.
In respect of cancelled options that had
vested, £919k (2022: £338k) was transferred from share-based
payment reserve to the retained losses reserve. In respect of
exercised options, £nil (2022: £300k) was transferred from
share-based payment reserve to the retained losses reserve.
The resulting balance on the share based payment reserve was £nil
at 31 December 2023.
26.
Warrants
Broker warrants to subscribe for up to
997,000,000 ordinary shares, which represented 20 per cent of the
placing shares, were granted to Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd
as part of the fundraising in February 2021. The broker warrants
were capable of exercise for a period of two years from 5 February
2021. These warrants lapsed during the year. The fair market
value of the warrants charged to share based payment reserved was
calculated at £1,503,008 based on the following inputs:
Date of grant
|
Exercise
price
|
Share
price
|
Risk
free rate
|
Expected
volatility
|
Gross
dividend yield
|
February 2021
|
0.1p
|
0.25p
|
0.03%
|
33%
|
-
|
The expected volatility for the February 2021
grant was based on the 2-year volatility of comparable
companies.
In respect of lapsed warrants, £1,503k (2022:
£nil) was transferred from the share-based payment reserve to the
retained losses reserve.
27.
Financial instruments
The Company's financial instruments comprise
cash and various trade receivables and trade payables that arise
directly from its operations. No trading in financial instruments
is undertaken. The main risks arising from the Company's financial
instruments are liquidity, currency and interest rate. The Board
oversees the management of these risks, which are summarised
below.
Liquidity
risk
The Company finances its operations from
equity funding provided by shareholders and revenues generated by
the business. The Company seeks to manage liquidity risk to ensure
enough funds are available to meet working capital
requirements.
The Company invests its cash reserves in bank
and money market deposits as a liquid resource to fund its
operations. The Company's strategy for managing cash is to balance
interest income with counterparty risk ensuring the availability of
cash to match the profile of the Company's cash flows.
In reviewing the Company as a going concern,
as outlined in note 3, management prepared alternative business
scenarios where performance falls below management expectation.
Contingency plans and mitigating actions have been identified in
case actual results differ from the Company's business plans. The
business scenarios include exploration of the use of
export trade financing, short term debt, letters of credit,
performance/surety bonds on larger orders and equity funding
options. Reduction of overhead by staff reduction, suspend
discretionary spend on projects under development and initiate
contingency plans to address the potential need for additional
resources to achieve cashflow positive. There can be
no guarantee that the of the Company will be achieved.
Inflationary
risk
The directors believe that the recent risks to
the business arising from the higher inflationary environment have
subsided as world economies have now emerged and progressed beyond
the post-Covid recovery boom.
Interest rate
risk
The Company does not face any significant
interest rate risk as it has no borrowings. Surplus funds are
invested to maintain a balance between accessibility of funds,
competitive rates, and counterparty risk while investing funds
safely.
Credit
risk
The Company manages its credit risk in cash
and cash equivalents by spreading surplus funds between
creditworthy financial institutions. The Company is also exposed to
credit risk attributable to trade and other receivables. The
maximum credit risk in respect of the financial assets at each
period end is represented by the balance outstanding on trade and
other receivables. The Company monitors the credit worthiness
of its customers on a regular basis.
Prior to the RNS of 26 June 2023 issued by
DeepVerge plc, management had actively engaged to manage the
outstanding debts. A repayment plan was in place to pay down the
debt, and services provided in 2023 were settled in line with the
standard payment terms.
Credit control with related parties is managed
by direct communication with the counterparty and all significant
transactions required the approval of the Board of Directors of the
Company.
Foreign
currency risk
The majority of the Company's transactions are
denominated in pounds sterling. The Company has no long-term
commitments to purchase goods or services in foreign currencies.
Purchases denominated in foreign currency are expensed at the
exchange rate prevailing at the date of the transaction and
represents an immaterial proportion of the Company's total
expenditure.
The only assets and liabilities denominated in
foreign currencies relate to trade receivables and trade payables
with overseas counterparties together with small balances of US
dollar and Euro currencies to settle these liabilities. The
risks and sums involved are immaterial.
Fair
values
The Directors consider that there is no
material difference between the book value and the fair value of
the financial instruments on 31 December 2023 and 31 December
2022.
Capital
management
The Company's capital base comprises equity
attributable to shareholders. As the Company's focus has been
on establishing itself as a successful supplier of equipment design
and engineering services, the primary objective in managing cash
spend has been to achieve progress on product development and
commercialisation in a cost-efficient manner and in managing
liquidity risk to ensure the Company continues as a going
concern.
28.
Related party transactions
Microsaic and DeepVerge plc had one director
in common at the start of 2023: Nigel Burton. Nigel Burton is a
Non-executive Director of Microsaic and was a Non-executive
Director of DeepVerge plc until becoming interim CEO on 3 November
2022.
Microsaic traded with two subsidiaries of
DeepVerge plc during the prior year, which for the purposes of this
note are combined as a total. In summary for the year ended 31
December 2023, revenue from DeepVerge plc sales totalled £50k
(2022: £1,248k) and purchases from DeepVerge plc totalled £57k
(2022: £nil).
At 31 December 2023, £nil (2022: £1,511k)
inclusive of VAT was owed by DeepVerge plc to Microsaic relating to
the supply of goods and services recognised as revenues for the
year ended 31 December 2022.
During the year DeepVerge plc issued an RNS
casting significant doubt on its ability to settle this debt. It
was the opinion of the directors that the conditions leading to
this were in existence at 31 December 2022, and so a provision for
expected credit losses of £1,130,169 (2021: £nil) was recognised
against this debt in the prior year. This represented the amount of
outstanding debt at 26 June 2023, less recoverable VAT. This
debt was then written off in the current year, partially netted-off
by the sum of £65k owing by Microsaic to DeepVerge plc.
29.
Control
As at 31 December 2023, no individual
shareholder had a controlling interest in the Company.
30.
Events after the Reporting Date
Adjusting events subsequent to 31 December 2023:
·
None
Non-adjusting events subsequent to 31 December
2023:
·
On 12 January 2024 the company announced the intention to
acquire certain assets and elements of the Modern Water business
from DeepVerge plc subject to successful fundraising.
·
On 15 January 2024 the company announced the successful
placing of £1.8million via the issuance of 169,000,000 in new
shares. This was pursuant to a capital reorganisation that
had been announced on 3 December 2023 and implemented on 15 January
2024 to consolidate the existing shares of 6,361,365,625 by 625:1
into 10,178,185 shares. Accordingly, upon completion the
company had 179,178,185 issued ordinary shares.
·
On 16 January 2024 the company shares were restored and
relisted on the AIM market.
·
On 25 January 2024 the company announced the completion of
the acquisition of the Modern Water business from DeepVerge
plc. The transaction comprised the acquisition of various
items of intellectual property including patents and the trading
name as well as customer listings, customer contracts and adoption
of work-in-progress. The total cost of the acquisition was
£100,000 and the expected impact on the 2024 financial performance
of the company is expected to be in the region of £300,000 in
additional sales and £150,000 in additional gross
profits.
·
On 25 January 2024 the Company announced the completion of
the acquisition of the Modern Water business from DeepVerge plc for
a consideration of £100,000.
·
On 16 February 2024 the Company announced the reactivation of
the Modern Water laboratory and production facilities in smaller
premises at Sand Hutton, York, England. The Company is also working
with a large OEM in the United States to optimise the Company's
PFAS system for commercial use.
·
On 27 March 2024 the Company announced that it had
agreed terms with GX Group, based in Usk Wales, for the continued
manufacturing and further development of Continuous Toxicity
Monitoring instruments ("CTMs") and related consumables previously
sold by the Modern Water business.
·
On 14 June the Company announced that it had reached
non-binding heads of terms with Aptamer Group plc (AIM: APTA)
("Aptamer") for the development of Optimer® binders to be used for
the detection of pathogens of serious concern to public health that
can be found in water (the "Agreement").
·
On 25 June the Company announced that it had received a
research and development tax credit from HMRC of £262,000 for
qualifying costs expended in 2022.
31.
Cash absorbed by operations
|
|
Year to
31
December
2023
|
|
Year to
31
December
2022
|
|
|
£000s
|
|
£000s
|
Total comprehensive loss for the
year
|
|
(2,597)
|
|
(2,289)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjustments for:
|
|
|
|
|
Amortisation of intangible
assets
|
|
27
|
|
30
|
Depreciation of right of use
assets
|
|
76
|
|
73
|
Depreciation of property, plant and
equipment
|
|
183
|
|
178
|
Transfer of property, plant and
equipment to cost of goods
|
|
-
|
|
(44)
|
Loss /(Profit) on disposal of fixed
assets
|
|
38
|
|
2
|
Decrease / (Increase) in provisions
for dilapidations & warranty
|
|
(85)
|
|
16
|
Increase in provision for expected
credit losses
|
|
6
|
|
1,127
|
Share-based payments
|
|
21
|
|
235
|
Remuneration paid in
shares
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
Tax on loss on ordinary
activities
|
|
-
|
|
(246)
|
Interest on lease
liability
|
|
2
|
|
7
|
Interest received
|
|
(13)
|
|
(23)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Movements in working capital
|
|
|
|
|
Decrease in inventories
|
|
170
|
|
10
|
Decrease/(Increase) in trade and
other receivables
|
|
577
|
|
(1,090)
|
Increase/(Decrease) in trade and
other payables
|
|
282
|
|
(118)
|
Cash absorbed by operations
|
|
(1,313)
|
|
(2,132)
|