Establishment in Sundsvall according to plan – moving from preparations into construction and mounting of equipment

July — September

Financial information

  • Net sales for the period amounted to SEK 636 thousand (328).
  • The loss after financial items amounted to SEK -24,538 thousand (-15,877).
  • Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -31,567 thousand (-13,529).
  • Cash flow from investing activities was SEK -131,039 thousand (-371).
  • Earnings per share, before and after dilution, amounted to SEK -0.8 (-0.8).
  • The net cash position equaled SEK 425,842 thousand (17,379).

Significant events during the interim period

  • On July 2, Renewcell received an approved environmental permit for the planned operations in Ortviken in Sundsvall. The permit is valid with immediate effect.
  • On September 3, the Extraordinary General Meeting approved the Board’s proposal to establish a warrantbased incentive program for key personnel and to enter into a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB).

 

January—September

Financial information

  • Net sales for the period amounted to SEK 1,465 thousand (1,221).
  • The loss after financial items amounted to SEK -67,205 thousand (-47,651).
  • Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -64,985 thousand (-38,903).
  • Cash flow from investing activities was SEK -218,934 thousand (-704).
  • Earnings per share, before and after dilution, amounted to SEK -2.1 (-2.5).

Significant events after the interim period

  • On October 12, Levi’s® announced that it will launch a version of its iconic 501® jeans partially made with Circulose®.
  •  On October 19, Renewcell signed a letter of intent with Kelheim Fibers GmbH on anual sales of up to 10 000 tonnes Circulose®.
  • During October, the Company received the first loan disbursements corresponding to approximately SEK 320 million.

CEO’s comments

Establishment in Ortviken according to plan — moving from preparations into construction and mounting of equipment.
The work with the establishment in Ortviken has now entered a new phase, meaning that Renewcell’s new operations in Ortviken is beginning to take physical shape. At the beginning of the quarter the old Paper machine 5 (PM5) removed and the machine hall mostly empty. Since then, we have carried out preparatory work as planned, such as demolition of unusable installations and later piling and casting of foundations for the machines to be installed. We are happy to conclude that Ortviken has once again proved to provide excellent conditions for the establishment of Renewcell’s operations as problems with basic civil work often means costly delays for companies in new establishments. We have continued our investments in machinery, equipment and organization during the quarter. For the most part, we have been able to manage the general cost increases for building materials by changing to more cost-effective materials in places where appropriate. Despite the fact that costs have increased slightly, we are still in a good position in relation to our budget. The project has so far not been affected either by the supply shortage because our larger orders were placed before the disturbances struck with greater force during the summer and late summer. So far, the global imbalance in commodity flows have not affected us. Nevertheless, our major logistics flows will start around Q2 2022, so we will follow the development for container shipping prices carefully. All in all, we therefore still have so far seen no reason to change our financial planning.

The market’s interest in Circulose® remains strong. After planned test runs and optimization work as well as a summer break at the facility in Kristinehamn, we got off to a strong
start during the third quarter and are well in phase in relation to our goals regarding availability and quality. We continue to sell industrial quantities to customers for both commercial fiber production and testing.

In line with our “pull strategy” in the value chain, we have during the period worked intensively with both existing and new brand partners. With the relatively low supply of Circulose® at present, it is a matter of allocating existing volume to pilot collections and quality tests, and at the same time deepening conversations about how we can help brand partners achieve their stated goals of becoming sustainable during this decade.

World leaders will soon gather in Glasgow for the delayed COP26 climate summit. In the words of the IPCC, it is now code red humanity and the 1.5-degree target may soon be out
of reach. Sustainability is probably the strongest macro trend right now, and which is even stronger than digitalisation. There are few heads of state or company leaders who do not put sustainability extremely high on the agenda. We are confident that humanity has the opportunity to solve the climate crisis. Renewcell’s message is that the situation is serious, but that with boldness, innovation and hard work we can actually build a long-term sustainable world. Here, Renewcell is well positioned for many years of development to create a sustainable textile and fashion industry

Stockholm, November 2021
Patrik Lundström – CEO