XTPL S.A. sums up the first six months of 2021: continued commercialization and a gradual increase in product sales
XTPL S.A., a global supplier of breakthrough nanoprinting solutions for the world’s electronics market, has published its H1 2021 report. This was a fruitful period for the Company as it continued evaluation of its technology for industrial implementations, acquired the first distributors on Asian markets and on the British islands, and sold another Delta Printing System. New orders for nanoinks were also completed.
South Korea, China, Great Britain and Ireland are the markets where XTPL acquired three distributors of its products and technologies over the last six months of 2021. New, joint projects are the first important outcome of these collaborations. Furthermore, thanks to the distributor’s activity on the Chinese market, the value of the Company’s technology was noted and awarded during the Display & Touch Industry Conference 2021 (DTIC 2021) – one of that market’s most important industry events for display manufacturers. The Company’s Management Board has announced further expansion of the group of ambassadors of the XTPL technology to help put the Company’s solutions on industrial lines of global electronics manufacturers.
Late June/ early July this year saw successful commercialization of another Delta Printing System device, acquired by the Light Technology Institute (LTI) – a unit operating within the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), a prestigious technical university in Germany. A few months earlier, the device was acquired by the Institute for Large Area Microelectronics at the University of Stuttgart. Importantly, XTPL is constantly implementing new commercial orders for its nanoinks. Seven such orders were executed during the first six months of 2021, including for clients from Europe and the United States. In total, ever since the commercialization of nanoinks began in 2020, XTPL has completed 16 orders for these products.
“XTPL has transformed from a typical R&D company into a company that commercializes its solutions. This year, we sold another Delta Printing System printer and continued the sale of nanoinks. With these two business lines in place, we have started to generate operating cash flows to support continued development until commercialization of the key business line, namely implementation of our technology in the form of the Epsilon printing head on industrial lines of global producers of new generation electronics,” says Filip Granek, CEO of XTPL S.A.
The Company has achieved further milestones in its technology evaluation processes for its partners.
The technological achievements include extending the life of the printing nozzle, successful printing of ultra-thin conductive lines (5 μm in width) with high density and the same pitch on a substrate received from the client, as well as confirmation of the technological possibility of repeated deposition, previously unattainable by means of other methods of printing conductive lines (1 µm in width), which means achieving technological readiness of the XTPL solution for use in repairing defects in open electrical structures of new generation OLED displays.
“Currently, nine of the current evaluation processes to bring our technology onto industrial lines are at more advanced stages. In the course of our work and discussions with clients who were looking into the capabilities of the XTPL technology, we can identify three projects that are likely to be successful in the short-term. For example, since the beginning of 2021, we have been working on implementation of the UPD technology for use in new products in the area of advanced integrated circuits. In a specific target application, our solution was the only additive method available in the market to have met the key requirements of a client from the semiconductor industry,” Filip Granek says.
One of the significant values of XTPL S.A. is the persistently expanded portfolio of patents for the developed technological solutions to ensure intellectual property protection.
At present, 23 patent applications help in securing the Company’s technological inventions. So far, in 2021 alone, the Company has submitted three patent applications, which allow IP protection to be firmed up from the moment of filing the application with the patent office.
“As we have repeatedly said: the key goal is to commercialize our solutions, but building the Company’s value by expanding the patent cloud is not without significance. Part of XTPL’s activity will still be based on the development of our solutions, as only in this way can we leave the competition behind. The world of modern technologies is developing much faster today than any other time in history. We want to ensure that XTPL continues to have a place among industry leaders, providing clients with state-of-the-art solutions that respond to the constantly emerging industrial production problems,” Filip Granek declares.
In H1 2021, XTPL also participated in industry events, including the Display Week and Nanotexnology, attended by numerous representatives of global industry players, e.g. manufacturers of advanced electronics and representatives of recognized research centers. With its presence, the Company successfully builds awareness about the XTPL technology and innovative nanoprinting solutions.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
In H1 2021, XTPL generated consolidated sales revenue of PLN 748 thousand, including PLN 136 thousand from the sale of its products. This is a several-fold increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Consolidated revenue from grants was PLN 605 thousand, compared to PLN 893 thousand reported at the end of H1 2020. The operating result (EBIT) for H1 2021 was PLN -4,469 thousand (compared to PLN -5,572 thousand year-on-year), an improvement of nearly 20% year-on-year.
During the first six months of 2021, the Company effectively managed capital expenditures related to the development of its UPD technology and the building of products for commercialization. This ensured a safe level of cash flows: PLN 6,574 thousand at the end of June 2021 (compared to PLN 10,298 thousand at the end of 2020).
“It should be emphasized that the commercialization of Delta Printing System printers and nanoinks has a significant market potential for us, although it’s not the main goal of our business. In this regard, we are consistently seeking to finalize projects with the potential for industrial implementations. However, thanks to future sales, grants and appropriate cash flows, we’re able to secure the Company’s continued operations. Taking into account the anticipated sales related to the commercialization of products, at the end of June 2021 the value of consolidated inventories was PLN 382 thousand. We already use those inventories, including during the process of preparing and supplying the second printer to the client,” says Jacek Olszański, Member of the Management Board and Financial Director of XTPL S.A.
The XTPL technology is a response to the three megatrends in the production of modern electronics.
The industry is currently strongly focused on further miniaturization of the size and weight of electronic devices, modifying their forms and properties, and moving towards an increased flexibility and three-dimensionality. The recent global trend is also environmental protection by efficient use of limited resources while reducing the production waste, which is enabled by additive technology. XTPL develops its proprietary innovative nanoprinting solutions that support those trends, offering them to global players in the rapidly growing printed electronics industry. In 2020, its value was USD 41.2 billion (+11.0% YoY), and in 2025 it is forecast to grow to USD 63.3 billion, while 2030 it is expected to reach even USD 74.1 billion (source: IDTechEx). This means an increase in the market value at a CAGR of 9.0% in 2020–2025.