17 January 2020
Itaconix plc ("Itaconix" or the “Company”)
Termination of Chelates Agreement
Itaconix (LSE: ITX) (OTCQB: ITXXF), a leading innovator in sustainable specialty polymers, announces that the Company and Nouryon have mutually agreed to terminate their agreement for Nouryon to exclusively distribute Itaconix polymers with chelating properties worldwide for detergent applications.
The parties signed a supply agreement in January 2019 after conducting encouraging joint technical assessments of Itaconix’s polymers in detergent applications. An initial marketing trial by Nouryon indicated, however, that the agreement was not mutually attractive for accessing available customer opportunities.
The Company’s agreement to supply Itaconix’s proprietary bio-based polymer to Nouryon for personal care applications continues unchanged.
The Company’s direct sales of polymers and pipeline of active customer projects with detergent brands and producers also continue unchanged.
Detergent polymers sold directly to detergent producers by Itaconix generated £0.7 million of the £1.1 million in 2019 unaudited revenues announced by the Company last week, representing 68% of total revenues and 37% revenue growth from 2018. Current detergent revenues and prospects for future revenues from the Company’s project pipeline are not affected by the termination of the agreement.
John R. Shaw, Chief Executive Officer, stated: "We greatly appreciate our working relationship with Nouryon and look forward to continuing to work with them in the personal care market. A healthy sign of an effective collaboration is knowing when a particular arrangement is unlikely to meet joint expectations. Our direct efforts to advance our customer projects for detergent polymers have produced strong revenue growth and a deep pipeline of new opportunities that we are confident will generate continued success in 2020 and beyond.”
Ends
For further information please contact:
Itaconix +1 (603) 775 4400
John R. Shaw / Laura Denner
N+1 Singer +44 (0) 207 496 3000
Richard Lindley / James Moat (Corporate Finance)
Tom Salvesen (Corporate Broking)
About Itaconix
Itaconix plc (LSE: ITX) is a leading innovator in bio-based functional ingredients for improving the safety and performance of homecare, personal care, and industrial products. Its proprietary polymer technology generates a growing range of new ingredients with unique functionality that meet consumer demands for value and sustainability.