Intelligent Energy Share Discussion Threads

[ibug] 22/9/2016 09:38

THE COMPANY PRESENTATION IS VERY INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE IMO.

They expect to have cash in the bank FY 2017.

[filster] 22/9/2016 09:36

re: How many Fuel Cells have they delivered to Suzuki - actually Suzuki have their own 'production line' as per the one in Loughborough so they can assemble their own Fuel Cells. Not sure how many they've made there or what the deal is with sales of the items needed to construct the Fuel Cells.

[filster] 22/9/2016 09:33

I've had a quick scan/read of the lse forum.

I'd have to agree with their sentiment the tech is great but the company could just run out of steam before it gets over the final hurdle in the race to get to EBIDTA positivity.

FWIW I think that IEH are now focussed on sales but they need 'immediate' sales e.g. the next 6-9 months. It could happen, but of course it could well not happen...!

There is mega risk here and I will await the FY Accounts mid Nov. I'd be interested to see what their spending is on fuel as this made up a large component of expenditure in the last Accounts and the Tax Credit which is due - although I got the impression that this might be the last 'big' R&D Tax Credit they are due.. but of course that's mostly to be expected as they (hopefully) move from R&D to Selling.

[norbus] 22/9/2016 08:44

filster

excellent report, thanks. Sadly this market is all over the place and IEH need focus with sales in volume . Suzuki killed the company with Hubris .

[spike_1] 22/9/2016 08:06

filster - many thanks for this - very comprehensive. Sounds as though they are quite a way from being a fully fledged commercial enterprise, especially in terms of delivering product, and seems little concrete to look forward to near term.

Best wishes - Mike

[ibug] 22/9/2016 07:47

A poster from LSE attended yesterdays AGM as well --- his comments are also interesting imo.

Pre market open looking good:

17.50 +3.25 (22.81%)

[filster] 21/9/2016 21:34

Disappointing... hxxp://www.railwaygazette.com/news/traction-rolling-stock/single-view/view/hydrogen-fuel-cell-train-order-expected-this-year.html

Fuel Cells to be provided by : hxxp://www.hydrogenics.com/home

[filster] 21/9/2016 21:28

this may be of interest... hxxp://press.pwc.com/News-releases/global-market-for-commercial-applications-of-drone-technology-valued-at-over--127-bn/s/ac04349e-c40d-4767-9f92-a4d219860cd2

[filster] 21/9/2016 21:24

Financial Dates were mentioned. This years accounts - still open at the moment will be published a little earlier than last year around Mid November (no fixed date given)

[filster] 21/9/2016 21:18

Well the briefing was interesting to say the least. (apologies this has grown to quite a long post)

Around half of the attendees were delayed by an issue with trains from London, due to a cow (I'll say no more).

So the day was rearranged and those there had a quick tour of the facilities and the 'manufacturing' area. This was a little more rudimentary and seemed slow as a process - but of course they were demonstrating the process and each step of the process.

In a way it's encouraging that the process of assembling the elements of the is a fairly simple one. It's semi-automated (or possibly semi-manual) and takes around 1/2 hour at full speed to assemble a single cell.

We had an outside demonstration of a cabinet - such as those in the DP&G 'GTL' arrangement (not in the full contract at the moment). It was quite interesting to see one in real life, working. They did have a Drone whizzing about - although that demonstration came to a rather abrupt end when it clashed with a fence or possibly the operator..!! There was a London Taxi cab on show - although stationary and an early Suzuki scooter - again stationary. It was 'interesting' to see the packaging of the London Taxi Cab and the Hydrogen tank - basically where a 'normal' engine lump would be - the fuel cells are housed in the transmission tunnel.

Overall the major points from the discussions were as follows... (all imho)


1) Cash position - there is around 20M in cash, in hand. This is enough (with the current burn rate) to take the company through 12 months of trading. On top of this there is an expected R&D credit circa 4M so we are looking at around 15-16 months of trading on current burn rate. They were quite keen to stress that their are projects in the pipeline - but they couldn't discuss price sensitive information.

2) AC vs EC (Air Cooled vs Evaporate Cooling) - this was discussed but basically EC is mothballed and AC is generating funds. Of course if someone came along wanting EC tech then they can have it - the core team has been retained so it would be possible to re-start and their knowledge and skills have not left.

3) Drones - this is seen as a quick win. There are interested parties from Drone-con - or whatever it was called (the recent trade show) and a team was left in place to actively discuss needs after the show ended... No details as yet. The market is expected to be big by 2020 - there is a real case for Drones which can fly for 1 1/2 hours - mainly specialist applications - but this is where the money is. I think a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Drone costs around double a standard one (high end) but has more than double the flight time. Doubling the flight time is a big enabler. This could add money to the balance sheet in the next financial year. Although it's unclear about how much.

4) GTL - Operating on an interim Agreement at the moment. Once/if it comes to the full agreement it can move from 7 operating units (305s?) to 50 more and the rest. At the moment the IEH team are more than happy with the performance. Each unit can house between 1 and 6 fuel cells, housed as a sealed unit which can be 'pulled' and replaced by a single person. They are deceptively simple. They operate between 15 and 35 degrees (optimum operating temp) but can operate 0-50 degrees C but outside of the optimum window the performance tails off. All the units have seen a full year of operation - all four seasons, monsoon, heat, high humidity and low humidity. They were very pleased with the operation of them and they had exceeded their expectations but also they were looking at improving the operation of them. Theft was raised - but mostly batteries were being stolen (each Hydrogen Fuel Cell cabinet has an accompanying battery cabinet) and the Earth cable - but not as bad as when the diesel generators were in place which they replaced. It was and has been mentioned about the full agreement not necessarily coming to fruition - hopefully that will not be the case. The product has been shown to work and the units were being monitored live in Loughborough whilst we were there.

5) Automotive - apart from Suzuki nothing that can be discussed. The European Premium Manufacturer was raised - but nothing seems to be happening here, the option is on their side of the agreement but it isn't

6) Mobile devices - 'nothing to see' here, but nothing was possible to be discussed... Upp was mentioned but it seems like a non-starter at the moment. There are ongoing discussions but nothing that could be discussed.

8) Smile - the Suzuki initiative.. It was asked that why were other manufacturers getting to market with products when partners of IEH seemingly weren't... Especially if the tech is class leading..

9) Assembly... At the moment it seems very small scale. Although it was stressed that they felt they could meet all their current and expected needs with the facility they have. It would be possible to 'Flex' the space they have at their disposal so IEH could assemble more onsite. Shiftwork was mentioned as a possible route to ramping up assembly as well.. An extra facility would take 9-12 months to get up and running and train extra staff etc...

Power Generation - I would say that the cabinets are almost beta prototypes in themselves - and can be reconfigured - but basically they operate as they have been specified by the customer and environment... They work fully but the 7 that have been out in the field will be evolved from - nothing major but small updates here and there.

There's only 'one' product!!! A standard fuel cell. The fuel cell can be resized - somewhere between 24 and 200 elements a standard sized one is around 74. Those are used for power generation. Drones and automotive fuel cells can be made (more expensively) for 1/3 the weight. The standard fuel cell is class leading and the light weight ones (mostly the chassis which holds the elements together to form a cell) are even further ahead of the market.

There was some confusion about JDAs and getting paid for tech.. The fuel cells are for sale - beforehand they were telling interested parties that they couldn't purchase them - but they are now 'for sale'. Licensing doesn't necessarily seem to be a primary focus of the company. They seem to be wanting to sell products and get money in. Simple as.

The team presented well and engaged well. There were a few pointed questions and they were handled well, but certainly there are a number of challenges ahead. The management team and staff have been trimmed, realigned and refocused - but could it be slightly too late...? Only time will tell.

Personally I feel that Suzuki just aren't big enough - you don't see that many on the roads (well certainly in the UK).

They did stress that they are focussing on Japan and China to sell products. A question was raised about potential copying of the products - but it was felt that it would take someone years to reverse engineer all the components to the same standard. It wasn't asked about how long it would take to reverse engineer the elements to a lesser (but acceptable) standard...

The team certainly have ideas and the company is going forward - other markets are being investigated and actively sought, Asia mostly. The UK was mentioned, but is probably tentative at best (power generation). The current products aren't the finished article - there are improvements to be made (resilience, configuration, components(pricewise) and operation improvements) and therefore the company will improve on all fronts.

The team were keen to stress that they are focussing on getting products to market - basically will it improve the balance sheet..? I get the feeling that the company was still a bit academic in it's approach but it has now been shaken up and given a business-like focus to what it does.

[ibug] 21/9/2016 13:44

NO CASH IMPACT FROM GTL ON UK COMMERCIAL PLANS

Cash and cash burn

• Underlying entry cash burn rate expected to narrow over FY 17/18

• Expected to exit 30 September 2017 with cash on the balance sheet

• Cash profile after FY16/17 depends on FY17/18 trading

Budgeted KPI’s

• Our annual report will set out our KPI’s

Should the GTL transaction not complete, this would not be expected to materially impact the above points

[ibug] 21/9/2016 13:38

• Customers in many energy markets:

a. Want to buy our core stack products and fuel cell modules

b. Not co-develop the technology through a JDA

c.Which we will provide together with a reference design

d. Especially in Asia - fuel cell adoption is expanding rapidly, systems integration capabilities are widespread and there is adequate finance

e. Many of these will integrate our technology into their finished product

f. This will lead to a different form of partnership for us

[ibug] 21/9/2016 13:28

HFC ASIAN CARS ARE STILL ON THE AGENDA --- FURTHER DOWN THE LINE.





Strengthened the Commercial team

• Bringing in new people

• Reorganising the team to encompass distributed energy/back-up power globally

• Resources for Japan and China

The new strategy will all be about outcomes, especially commercial outcomes

[ibug] 21/9/2016 13:27

FY15/16 Restructuring

Focus on Air Cooled (AC) platform

• Continued development of Suzuki relationship

• Continued JDA with emerging market smartphone OEM to develop embedded solutions

• Withdrew from selected partly grant funded activity, maintained involvement in ZERE programme

• Activity with other Asian automotive OEMs limited in the period

Evaporatively Cooled (EC) platform development on hold

• EPCM Option License Agreement relates to EC

Divisional structure replaced

• CE, DP&G and Motive moved to common commercial and delivery platform

Employee headcount 138 excluding the Indian Operations (30 Sept 15, 355 excluding Indian Operations)

[mrphiljones] 21/9/2016 13:25

The share price says not....;-(

[scrutable] 21/9/2016 13:16

The presentation is up now on the IEH home page, and is very much worth a look..



The presentation as expected lacks detail. IMO the visitors to Loughborough today will return home, breathing conviction that the company has a future.

Had I been able to get there today, I would have asked "How many fuel cells have they delivered to drone manufacturers and to Suzuki? Is there much development work still to be carried out for these applications before there is forward visibility over future business volume for any application. How suitable is the application already for mobile phones. if not how much needs still to be done?

And why is the IEH FC any better than one from CWR, or AFC, or ITM etc? Did the day today, bring any answers to these questions?

[ibug] 21/9/2016 13:12

Intelligent Energy revenues up

21 September 2016 | 09:09am

StockMarketWire.com - Intelligent Energy expects revenue for the year to the end of September to be over £90m (FY 14/15 £78m).

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be c£(35)m (FY 14/15 £(46)m), reflecting the group's larger costs base prior to the recent restructuring.

Cash balance at 30 September is expected to be over £20m.

The company says the business restructuring programme announced on 4 April has now been broadly completed.

This currently places the business, excluding the operations in India, with the following underlying financial profile on an estimated exit run rate basis:

- Adjusted EBITDA, c£(1.1)m a month

- Cash burn, adjusted EBITDA - capex, c£(1.3)m a month

- Cash burn, adjusted EBITDA - capex - interest c£(1.6)m a month on average

At 9:09am: [LON:IEH] Intelligent Energy Holdings Plc share price was +1.63p at 18.13p

Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

[norbus] 21/9/2016 11:51

This company is better than many in the field technically, but sadly lacked an owner's oversight and prudence when its first stumble came to pass. Rescue package handy but really tight, with the company's plans handicapped by lack of clarity and the greed of the rescuing director.

I wish it greater luck going forward and it was a shame to break up a real true blue team as it had before. GTL is not certain and they can't stretch too far having lost Singapore as the great quality backer they had.

It would be a mistake to follow blind enthusiasm that overflows on this thread. It does the company no good at all , to have its share price gyrate to a degree so as to lose cred to raise any money before the £30million loan stock conversion. Good luck to IEH and the industry as a whole.

[ibug] 21/9/2016 11:32

THERE PROMISES TO BE PLENTY OF REVENUE FROM DRONES:

JAN 2016 DRONE RNS

Major Drone Manufacturer Snaps Up Intelligent Energy’s Game-Changer for Drone Range

LOUGHBOROUGH, England--(BUSINESSWIRE)--

CES showstopper Intelligent Energy has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a major drone manufacturer to develop hydrogen fuel cell powered drones. The deal will see the two companies work together in the first quarter of 2016 to develop technological solutions to increase drone flight time.

The goal is for the deal to lead to a formal commercial arrangement for the solutions’ rollout.

[uni hall] 21/9/2016 11:08

That is it. The company is maturing and everyone knows - it is developing valuable technology, in need of commercial exploitation, successfully.

[ibug] 21/9/2016 11:05

QUESTIONS REMAIN about what is going to happen to their much heralded 90KW HFC for cars and the other high powered generating systems?.

Perhaps going to be sold as Intellectual Property or maybe spun off?.

[filster] 21/9/2016 11:04

I've arrived. All good so far, but will switch my mobile off quite soon.

[scrutable] 21/9/2016 10:53

It looks as though IEH was previously run like a science lab in a university, with everyone pursuing their own ideas in all directions. Martin Bloom seems to have got the horses together and formed a team with a sense of direction. This should produce commercial progress next year by more directed exploitation of the existing knowledge base.

Maybe some news will emerge today from presentations and 'any questions' of where they lead technologically speaking and how quickly they can exploit any lead they have. The Indian business looks even worse - completely out of control. Giving up financial control in India is probably a good thing. IEH can no doubt get more out of the UK by concentrating with the 80:20 rule.

Today's RNS radiates a bit of confidence that things have changed , but it's still difficult to see where their best hopes lie and how effective they can become at exploiting what must be a jumble of valuable IP.

i am still in, but cannot really afford to tie up too much capital while they get their act together. However I think it's too late now. I should have sold at 08.00 am. Will the share price soon begin to reflect the hopes for next year. More to the point will those visiting Loughborough today return, actually excited by technological lead and imminent progress?

[ibug] 21/9/2016 10:48

The objective is to grow shareholder value and the Company believes the most appropriate way to achieve this goal is by simplifying and commercialising the business and driving revenue growth by focusing on near term sales opportunities.

The core UK business is now focused on Air Cooled (AC) fuel cell commercial opportunities with a power requirement of sub 1W to 20kW. It is the intention to grow the business from the restructured base in FY 16/17 and reduce cash burn from the current run rates over the course of the forthcoming financial year.

[microscope] 21/9/2016 10:44

Buy on the rumour...? little double top, can see these back to 8-10p in the next week or so