TIDMAEG
RNS Number : 5207X
Active Energy Group PLC
22 February 2017
Active Energy Group Plc / EPIC: AEG / Sector: Alternative
Energy
22 February 2017
Active Energy Group plc ("Active Energy", "AEG" or the
"Company")
Operations and Trading Update
Active Energy, the London quoted international renewable energy,
forestry management and timber processing business, provides an
operations and trading update regarding its three standalone but
complementary divisions; AEG CoalSwitch, AEG TimberLands and AEG
WoodFibre.
AEG CoalSwitch
The Directors are confident that AEG's CoalSwitch division will
be the Company's primary area of growth in 2017, as management
focuses on commercialising this revolutionary technology.
CoalSwitch utilises low value wood, timber, forestry and pulp mill/
saw mill by-products to produce the world's first 'drop-in' biomass
fuel that can be mixed in any ratio with coal or completely replace
coal in existing coal powered fire stations globally. Locations
have been identified for the first reference plant in North America
and management are confident the reference plant will be
operational before the end of 2017.
In addition, the recent advancement of the CoalSwitch coal
reduction initiative being developed by the Metis Settlements of
Paddle Prairie, Peavine and East Prairie (the 'Metis Settlement
Partners'), in collaboration with Active Energy provides further
encouragement for the division's growth outlook. A series of
meetings and discussions have taken place in recent weeks between
representatives of the Métis Settlement Partners, officials
representing the interests of the Government of Alberta and members
of the Active Energy board to discuss the requisite regulatory,
legal, operational issues and establish the corporate framework for
the CoalSwitch initiative.
In addition, the Company announces that it has expanded its
commercial development pipeline with numerous groups, in North
America (United States and Canada), as well as in Europe and Asia.
Based upon these discussions, the Company hopes that an additional
reference plant will also be established either in Malaysia or in
the Baltic States during 2017, subject to available funding.
Further announcements regarding the additional reference plant will
be made as appropriate.
AEG Timberlands
The Company currently has harvesting rights over more than
100,000 hectares of forestry assets in Alberta and acquiring
additional assets is currently a particular strategic focus as
management aim to secure sufficient volumes of sustainable
feedstock to complement AEG's CoalSwitch product.
As such, AEG Timberlands' remit is to identify and negotiate
with governmental or private owners for significant tracts of
timberland in logistically convenient locations in order to provide
feedstock to the CoalSwitch plants located within or nearby these
forestry assets. Management are currently in discussions with
potential partners regarding the acquisition of additional
harvesting rights for forestry assets in North America and Europe.
Further information regarding these assets will be announced as
appropriate. There can be no guarantee that these discussions will
result in a favourable outcome for AEG.
AEG WoodFibre
AEG WoodFibre is centred on the sourcing of feedstock from
forests and constructing and operating its WoodFibre processing
plant at the Yuzhny Port, near Odessa in Ukraine. AEG remains the
most significant supplier of wood fibre on the Black Sea region and
supplies Turkey's largest MDF producers. However, as a result of
the military coup in Turkey in July 2016, the Company experienced a
slow-down in trading momentum. As such, AEG's revenues for this
division for the financial year ended 31 December 2016 are
anticipated to be lower than the revenues of $24.378 million
reported in the 2015 financial year. Despite these lower revenues,
the Company expects gross profit to show an increase on a year on
year basis. Following the events in Turkey, it was decided to
complete the final stages of the installation of the softwood line
as circumstances allowed. As such, management expect the final
components for the completion of the softwood line will be in place
by the end of April 2017.
The Company is focused on improving the trading prospects for
AEG WoodFibre and, with the market having settled following the
disruption in H2 2016, is executing its long-term investment plan
to increase production output to meet demand for both hardwood and
softwood in the region.
Richard Spinks, Chief Executive Officer of Active Energy said,
"Given the significant global market opportunity for AEG CoalSwitch
and international interest regarding the CoalSwitch development
programme, we believe that this area of the Group's activities has
the potential to experience significant growth in 2017 and beyond.
AEG's CoalSwitch division is also attracting interest from regional
and national governments globally and we intend to develop our
management team and financial structure accordingly to accommodate
future developments.
"Our AEG Timberland division focuses on securing forestry assets
internationally. The business complements the CoalSwitch division
and I look forward to providing shareholders with updates as we
seek to acquire new forestry assets for this division as part of
our overall growth strategy.
"AEG WoodFibre has often had the backdrop of political and
economic uncertainty to contend with, but we have persevered
through many challenges in Ukraine over the past three years,
developing a strong business and great relationships in the
region's wood fibre industry. We were stymied by political unrest
within our core sales market, Turkey, for the first time in 2016,
when the attempted coup unsettled our customers and the Turkish
currency markets for a period during the second half of 2016. We
are disappointed with the impact this has had on our revenues
during this period but anticipate a recovery in these markets in
2017.
"I believe that we are at an exciting juncture in AEG's
development and I look forward to providing our shareholders with
further updates as appropriate."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
**ENDS**
Enquiries & Further Information
Website LinkedIn Twitter
---------------------- -------------------------------------- -----------------------
www.active-energy.com www.linkedin.com/company/activeenergy www.twitter.com/aegplc
(@aegplc)
---------------------- -------------------------------------- -----------------------
Enquiries
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active Energy Richard Spinks richard.spinks@aegplc.com
Group Plc Chief Executive Int: +380 503
Officer 942 702
------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------------
Brian Evans-Jones brian.evans-jones@aegplc.com
Chief Financial UK: +44 (0)7500
Officer 861 696
Ukraine: +380
955 227 745
------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------------
Northland Capital Patrick Claridge/David Office: +44 (0)20
Partners Limited Hignell/Gerry Beaney 3861 6625
Nominated Adviser (Corporate Finance)
& Broker
John Howes/Rob Rees
(Sales and Broking)
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St Brides Partners Susie Geliher/Megan info@stbridespartners.co.uk
Financial PR Dennison/ Elisabeth Office: +44 (0)
Adviser Cowell 20 7236 1177
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About Active Energy Group
Active Energy Group Plc (AIM: AEG.L) is a London Stock
Exchange-listed international renewable energy business based upon
forestry assets. Its model is focussed on capturing the entire
forestry value chain through sourcing, utilising and
commercialising assets, and setting a new standard in the
sustainable management and optimisation of timber resources. This
is achieved through three complementary divisions each with
intrinsic value as standalone operations:
-- AEG CoalSwitch, which is commercialising a revolutionary biomass coal replacement fuel;
-- AEG TimberLands, a sustainable international forestry
management business targeting Europe and Canada; and
-- AEG WoodFibre, an established wood fibre production business with global roll-out potential.
The Company is led by a highly technical and commercial team
with the experience to execute its defined growth strategy and
build its visibility, primarily as a London-listed timber
opportunity with a revolutionary biomass fuel technology.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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