LifeSafe (AIM:LIFS), a fire safety technology business with innovative fire extinguishing fluid and fire safety products, reports its maiden unaudited Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2022 ('H1 2022' or 'the Period').
Highlights:
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Successful IPO and Admission to AIM on 6 July 2022 raising gross proceeds of £3.0 million |
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Revenue up significantly to £1.3 million (H1 2021: £41,000), almost twice the revenue of FY21 in H1 2022 |
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Gross profit of £709,000 at 56% margin (H1 2021: gross loss of £61,000 at (149%) margin) |
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Underlying loss from operations1 of £729,000 (H1 2021: £661,000) |
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Non-underlying costs of £895,000 (H1 2021: nil) comprising IPO costs charged to the income statement of £725,000 and share-based payment charges of £170,000; finance expenses of £573,000 (H1 2021: 18,000) largely relating to interest on convertible loans converted to equity on Admission to AIM after the Period end |
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Cash and cash equivalents of £22,000 (H1 2021: £40,000) with £3.0 million of committed subscriptions to the Company's placing of shares at 30 June 2022, received on 6 July 2022 |
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Launched in the US on Amazon in February 2022 and in Canada through the LifeSafe website in April 2022, building on the position of Amazon Prime's top selling fire extinguisher in the UK |
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UK patent granted post period end for the Group's FER1000 eco-friendly fire extinguishing fluid |
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Three further patent applications for derivations and new uses of the Group's core fluid filed post period end, showing the strength of the Group's R&D including extensive development and successful testing of the Group's new lithium-ion battery fire extinguishing fluid |
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The effectiveness of the new lithium-ion battery fire extinguishing fluid has been demonstrated through a series of live fire tests to a number of industry leaders to help and support the commercialisation of the fluid into the industrial market sector |
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Strong pipeline of innovative new products and fluid derivatives expected to launch in H1 2023 |
1 Underlying loss from operations represents loss before tax, finance expense and non-underlying items (which comprise IPO listing costs and share-based payment charges).
Commenting on the Interim Results, Dominic Berger, Executive Chairman of LifeSafe, said: "We are pleased to report today our maiden set of Interim Results since our Admission to AIM in July 2022. The Group has delivered strong operational and strategic progress in H1 2022, which reflects the successful commercialisation of our StaySafe 5-in-1 product since its launch in August 2021. In H1 2022, we have almost doubled the revenues that we generated in all of 2021 and this strong momentum has continued into H2 2022 with revenues continuing to grow ahead of the Board's expectations.
"With the funds raised at IPO now underpinning our expansion, we look forward to 2023 where we are confident of further consolidating our leading direct to consumer strategy, of growing sales in the UK, North America and Europe and of accessing new markets. In addition, our continued development and optimisation of our eco-friendly fire extinguishing fluids is beginning to resonate in the wider B2B fire safety market, where we are very excited about the potential game-changing opportunities in the industrial supply of LifeSafe's fluids.
"Not least of course, is the opportunity the Group has in working with industry leaders and innovators to address the very real and present threat of dealing with lithium-ion battery fires, a market we believe to have significant potential.
"As such, the Group is well placed to drive further growth and are confident of delivering shareholder value."
Notes to Editors
LifeSafe is a fire safety technology business that develops eco-friendly, novel and innovative fire extinguishing fluids with a range of life-saving fire safety products. LifeSafe has a highly experienced management team which is seeking to create new markets for the Group in fire safety through new technologies, digital marketing, multi-channel sales and the LifeSafe App.
LifeSafe has developed what the Directors believe to be a market disrupting range of eco-friendly fire safety protection products to both protect (via fire extinguishers) and detect (via carbon monoxide, smoke and heat alarms) fires. At the centre of the Group's product range is the FER1000 extinguishing fluid, for which the Group has been granted a patent in the UK. The FER1000 fluid has been developed by LifeSafe to extinguish five different types of fire: electrical, paper, textiles, cooking oil, and petrol and diesel.
The Group's best-selling product using this extinguishing fluid is the StaySafe 5-in-1 fire extinguisher. It was launched on Amazon Prime in the UK in August 2021 and subsequently became Amazon Prime's top-selling fire extinguisher in the UK in the same month. The StaySafe 5-in-1 and the PanSafe pan fire extinguisher were launched in Screwfix in Spring 2022 with the StaySafe range of smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors.
LifeSafe is developing new fluid derivations and products for launch in 2023.
LifeSafe was admitted to trading on AIM in July 2022 with the ticker LIFS.L. For additional information please visit https://www.lifesafeholdingsplc.com.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifesafe-technologies
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LifesafeT
Chairman's Statement
Business Review
I am very pleased to report on the strong operational and strategic progress made by the Group in H1 2022. This achievement is particularly significant given the huge time and effort demanded of the management team and its advisors in preparing the Group for the IPO and Admission to AIM on 6 July 2022. It is testament to the hard work of the team, and the significant potential of the business model and proposition, that LifeSafe was one of only a handful of successful AIM listings this year. This was a superb achievement given the worsening domestic and international macro-economic landscape as the year progressed.
Notwithstanding the inevitable time commitments imposed by the IPO process and the deteriorating global economic scenario, LifeSafe made excellent progress in achieving its operational and strategic goals in H1 2022. The latter was achieved by creating and meeting increased demand for the Group's consumer products via its proven digital international multi-channel sales strategy. Following the successful UK launch on Amazon in August 2021 of the Group's best-selling StaySafe 5-in-1 fire extinguisher, followed by selected European countries in October 2021, the Group launched on Amazon in the US in February 2022 and, through its LifeSafe website, began to sell products into Canada in April 2022.
In addition to this, the StaySafe 5-in-1 and the PanSafe pan fire extinguisher were introduced into 740 Screwfix trade stores nationwide in Spring 2022 with the StaySafe range of smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors also now available on www.screwfix.com. LifeSafe also successfully trialled the StaySafe 5-in-1 on the TJC shopping channel in the UK after the period end in August 2022 demonstrating the potential that this sales channel could bring to the Group's consumer strategy. Further European TV shopping channel activity is planned this year.
The speed of progress has meant that the Group's revenues are slightly ahead of, and margins in line with, the Board's expectations.
Although LifeSafe has adopted a consumer and digital first approach to driving growth in the business, the Group remains very mindful of the game-changing potential its eco-friendly and novel fluids have in the wider fire-related market. Consequently, it is particularly pleasing to see increasing enquiries from major players with interests in the fire safety sector intent on understanding more about the potential applications of the Group's current fluid as well as those in development. Although LifeSafe believes every home should have a StaySafe 5-in-1, in itself a huge addressable market, it is already clear from initial enquiries that the Group's current and planned fluids have even bigger potential across a wide range of industries and their markets.
Results
LifeSafe's revenue for H1 2022 increased significantly to £1.3 million, compared with £41,000 in the same period last year as the business successfully began the commercialisation of a number of years' investment in developing its innovative, market disrupting eco-friendly fire extinguishing fluid.
Gross profit for H1 2022 increased to £709,000 (H1 2021: gross loss of £61,000) at a gross margin of 56% in line with the Board's expectations.
The Group recorded an underlying loss from operations2 of £729,000 (H1 2021: £661,000) before non-underlying items totalling £895,000 comprising IPO costs and share-based payment charges.
Finance expenses of £573,000 were recorded in the Period (H1 2021: £18,000), of which £569,000 related to interest on convertible loans which subsequently converted to equity on Admission to AIM after the Period end.
The underlying loss before tax was £1,302,000 (H1 2021: £665,000). The basic and diluted earnings per share were (£0.14) (H1 2021: (£0.04)).
Cash and cash equivalents as at 30 June 2022 were £22,000 (H1 2021: £40,000). Included within Trade and other receivables in the statement of financial position as at 30 June 2022 is £3.0 million of committed subscriptions to the Company's placing of shares and Admission to AIM on 6 July 2022. The committed subscriptions were in the form of placing letters held by the Company's Broker and Nominated Adviser with funds received by the Company on Admission to AIM.
Trade and other payables as at 30 June 2022 were £1,583,000 (H1 2021: £279,000). Included within this balance were IPO costs of £984,000 which were paid after the Period end.
On Admission to AIM, the Company issued 4,000,000 new Ordinary Shares and 2,716,550 Ordinary Shares to the providers of convertible loans, taking the number of Ordinary Shares in issue to 22,108,050. The total gross proceeds amounted to £3.0 million. The costs of issue, which were committed as at 30 June 2022, amounted to £1,092,000 of which £725,000 was recognised as a non-underlying expense in the consolidated income statement in H1 2022 and £367,000 was recognised as a deduction from committed share issue proceeds of £3.0 million in equity in the consolidated statement of financial position as at 30 June 2022.
2 Underlying loss from operations represents loss before tax, finance expense and non-underlying items (which comprise IPO costs and share-based payment charges).
Research and development
As set out in its Admission Document published on 1 July 2022, the Group has a strong pipeline of innovative new products and fluid derivatives which are expected to be launched in H1 2023. Given the strong interest from major industry players in the potential applications of the fluids within LifeSafe's development pipeline, the Group has taken steps to accelerate the programme of innovation. Accordingly, capitalised expenditure on technology development during the six-month period increased to £184,000 (H1 2021: £10,000).
Technology and intellectual property
The FER1000 extinguishing fluid is at the centre of the Group's product range and has been developed by LifeSafe to extinguish five different types of fire: electrical, paper, textiles, cooking oil, and petrol and diesel.
Following a successful testing programme, an initial patent application for this fluid was submitted in April 2017, with the patent being granted with effect from 17 August 2022. The additional protection afforded by the patent grant lasts for 20 years from the date of the initial patent application in 2017.
The Group recognises the importance of appropriately protecting its innovative intellectual property and has taken out intellectual property defence and pursuit insurance to protect its investment.
New lithium-ion battery fire extinguishing fluid
Subsequent to the Period end, LifeSafe has also filed three further patent applications for derivations and new uses of the Group's core fluid, including fluid developed to extinguish lithium-ion battery fires, to further enhance and protect its novel fire extinguishing fluid capabilities.
The effectiveness of the new lithium-ion battery fire extinguishing fluid has been demonstrated through a series of live fire tests to a number of industry leaders to help and support the commercialisation of the fluid into the industrial market sector.
Outlook
Following the IPO, LifeSafe's revenues continue to grow ahead of the Board's expectations, with margins and costs continuing in line. LifeSafe is looking forward to 2023 where the Board is confident of further consolidating the Group's leading direct to consumer strategy, to grow sales in the UK, North America and Europe and to accessing new markets.
The continued development and optimisation of the Group's eco-friendly fire extinguishing fluids is beginning to resonate in the wider business-to-business fire safety market, where the Board is very excited about the potential game-changing opportunities in the industrial supply of LifeSafe's fluids.
Not least of course, is the opportunity the Group has in working with industry leaders and innovators to address the very real and present threat of dealing with lithium-ion battery fires, a market we believe to have significant potential. As such, the Group is well placed to drive further growth and is confident of delivering shareholder value.
Dominic Berger
Executive Chairman
27 September 2022
For access to the Unaudited consolidated statements of financial position click here
Further copies of this interim announcement are available on the LifeSafe Holdings plc investor relations website, www.lifesafeholdingsplc.com.
