Vela Technologies #VELA – Final results for the year ended 31 March 2022 September 28, 2022 – Posted in: Blog, Vela Technologies Plc (VELA) – Tags: , , , , , ,

The Board of Vela Technologies plc (AIM: VELA) is pleased to announce the Company’s final results for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Vela’s Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (“Annual Report”) and the Notice of Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) will be posted to shareholders today.

The Company’s Annual Report and Notice of AGM will be available shortly on the Company’s website at http://www.velatechplc.com/. 

The AGM will be held at 15 Victoria Mews, Mill Field Road, Cottingley Business Park, Bingley, West Yorkshire BD16 1PY at Noon on 25 October 2022. 

Highlights:

Financial:

·      Net assets increased to £7,378,151 compared to £7,201,812 at 31 March 2021.

·      Cash fell to £958,000 from £2,147,000 with the main contributors being investments made (net of disposals) during the period of £2,069,000, administrative expenditure of £354,000 (2021- £394,000) and proceeds from shareholders’ exercise of warrants of £1,234,000.

·      Loss of £1,078,202 (after £685,000 fair value reduction) compared to a profit of £379,775 (after £666,000 fair value increase in the previous comparable period), reflecting the changes in values within the Company’s investment portfolio.   

Operational:

·      Vela invested £2,331,000 in five companies and realised £262,000 from the sale of shares in two of its investee companies.

·      Emma Wilson was appointed to the Board of Vela.

Post Period Highlights:

·      On the listing on AIM of EnSilica in May 2022, Vela received shares worth £882,394 from its investment in January 2022 of £750,000 in convertible loans.

·      St George Street Capital is progressing with commercialisation talks for AZD1656 and also saw the ARCADIA Phase 2 clinical trial published in the Lancet eClinicalMedicine.

·      Antony Laiker re-joined the board as a non-executive director. 

The Board will continue to update investors on the portfolio movements and valuation in the Company’s quarterly updates, the next one being due for the quarter ended 30 September 2022.  

chairman’s statement

for the year ended 31 March 2022

I am pleased to present the Chairman’s statement for the year ended 31 March 2022.

As shareholders will be aware, the period covered by these accounts was overshadowed by two significant events. First, the on / off Covid-19 restrictions which dominated much of the financial year, and second the invasion of Ukraine at the end of the financial year. 

On top of this the macroeconomic headwinds were getting stronger with supply chain interruptions, the prospect of a substantial rise in interest rates coupled with the anticipation of a steep rise in inflation. These have weighed on stock markets in the last quarter of the period covered by these accounts, particularly impacting smaller companies and therefore had an impact on Vela’s listed investment portfolio.

Despite these negatives, during the final quarter EnSilica was reaching the final phase of its listing on AIM, with the IPO completing soon after the end of the financial year. This resulted in Vela receiving shares worth £882,394 at the IPO price, compared to the original investment of £750,000 in convertible loan notes at the beginning of 2022.

As announced on 18 August 2022, the Board of Vela received a further update from St George Street Capital (SGSC) regarding ongoing progress with commercialisation talks for AZD1656 and also the positive news that the results from the ARCADIA Phase 2 clinical trial had been published in the Lancet eClincialMedicine. The Board of Vela continues to seek further representations from SGSC regarding the commercialisation and trials of AZD1656. Vela holds an economic interest in the commercialisation of AZD1656, details of which were included in the announcement published by Vela on 20 October 2020.

Set against this, the overall value of a number of Vela’s listed investments are languishing. There have been some positive signs emanating from a few investee companies (including, EnSilica Plc, Northcoders Group plc, Skillcast Group plc and Cornerstone FS PLC), who have all produced upbeat news, which we anticipate will continue.

Just before the year end Vela acquired a 28.82% stake in Igraine Plc.  Upon this acquisition, Vela became the largest single shareholder in Igraine.

During the year we welcomed Emma Wilson to the board. Emma is a Chartered Accountant and her experience and support has already proved extremely valuable to the Company.

Post the year end, Antony Laiker re-joined the board as a non-executive director. As a significant shareholder and with extensive experience and background in the small-cap market, as well as knowledge of Vela from previously being on the board as an executive director, he will have an important role as Vela seeks to create shareholder value. 

Turning to the financials, Vela reported a loss of £1,078,202 compared to a profit of £379,775 in the previous comparable period. Almost all of this difference, from an accounting perspective, reflects a £685,000 reduction in fair value of investments in the year being reported on, compared to a similar level of upwards fair value adjustment in the previous financial year.  Net assets increased to £7,378,151 compared to £7,201,812 at 31 March 2021 and cash fell from £2,147,000 at the beginning of the period to £958,000 at the balance sheet date, reflecting investments made (net of disposals) during the period of £1,318,776 and administrative expenses in the period.

Subsequent to the year end, on 2 September 2022, Vela announced a strategic update to shareholders in which, the board outlined the reinstatement of the previous strategic plans from 2019 in which Vela would be seeking other larger corporate transactions but would not divert from its current investing policy.

The board will continue to update shareholders, in line with regulatory guidelines, via its quarterly investment updates and regulatory announcements.

The directors would like to thank shareholders for their continued support.

strategic report

for the year ended 31 March 2022

Business review

At the period end the Company held cash of £958,000 (31 March 2021: £2,147,000).  It continues to keep administrative costs to a minimum so that it has sufficient resources to cover its ongoing running costs while retaining the maximum funds for further investments.

During the year, Vela received additional equity funding of £1,233,504 (net of directly attributable issue costs) as a result of the exercise of warrants by shareholders. Future equity funding can only be raised if shareholders grant the right to the Board at the next AGM (this is as a result of shareholders voting against certain resolutions at the AGM held in January 2022). Details of shares issued during the year are provided in notes 13 to the financial statements.

The Company’s loss for the year was £1,078,202 (2021: profit of £380,000). This loss has arisen primarily from fair value movements on the Company’s investment portfolio. The valuation of the investment portfolio at 31 March 2022 was £2,603,000 (31 March 2021: £1,969,000), an increase of £634,000 on 2021. This resulted from the investment of £1,580,705 in new and ‘follow-on’ investments, disposals generating proceeds of £261,929, net of a decrease in the valuation of the portfolio of £684,671. In addition to these investments the Company holds a financial asset (St George Street Capital) valued at £2,350,000 (31 March 2021: £2,350,000) and held at the year-end a £750,000 (2021: £nil) convertible loan note in EnSilica Plc.  

We update shareholders on investee company performance through the dissemination of investee company regulatory announcements.  Additionally, having started in February of this year, the Board has continued to publish quarterly investment updates on the performance of the investment portfolio and on acquisitions and sales.  This quarterly investment update will continue.  Moreover, detailed information on the investment portfolio is maintained on the Company’s website.

During the year the company made significant investments in Cornerstone FS PLC (£150,000), Northcoders Group plc (£750,000), Skillcast Group plc (£250,000), EnSilica plc (£750,000) and Igraine plc (£430,705). Further details and key points of the investments made and of the performance of the Company’s investee companies are detailed in note 8 to the financial statements.

The Company had two employees and during the period had a Board of one male Executive Director, one female Executive Director and one male Non-Executive Director.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The preservation of its cash balances and the management of its capital resources remain the key concerns for the Company.  Further information about the Company’s principal risks, covering currency, credit, liquidity and capital, is detailed in note 15 to the financial statements.

The Company remains committed to keeping operational costs to a minimum.

Approved by the Board of Directors on 27 September 2022; and signed on its behalf by:

 

Brent Fitzpatrick MBE

Non-Executive Chairman 

For further information, please contact:

 

Vela Technologies plc                                                       Tel: +44 (0) 7410 886 830

Brent Fitzpatrick, Non-Executive Chairman                   Email:info@velatechplc.com

James Normand, Executive Director

 

Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser)             Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656

Nick Athanas / Piers Shimwell

 

Peterhouse Capital Limited (Broker)                            Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930

Lucy Williams / Duncan Vasey / Eran Zucker / Lauren Riley

Novus Communications (PR and IR Adviser) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7448 9839

Alan Green / Jacqueline Briscoe 

 

About Vela Technologies

Vela Technologies plc (AIM: VELA) is an investing company focused on early stage and pre-IPO long term disruptive technology investments. Vela’s investee companies have either developed ways of utilising technology or are developing technology with a view to disrupting the businesses or sector in which they operate. Vela Technologies will also invest in already-listed companies where valuations offer additional opportunities.

For more information, please visit: https://www.velatechplc.com

Follow us on Twitter at @velatech_plc

Link here for full financial statements