REG - i(x) Net Zero PLC - Portfolio and Net Asset Value Update

I (X) Net ZeroAnnouncement

22/04/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 4187L  i(x) Net Zero PLC  22 April 2024

 

22 April 2024

i(x) Net Zero PLC

 

("i(x) Net Zero" or the "Company")

 

Portfolio and Net Asset Value Update

 

i(x) Net Zero PLC (AIM: IX.), the AIM investing company which focuses on
Energy Transition and Sustainability in the Built Environment, is pleased to
announce a portfolio update up in respect of its investee companies to the
period ended 31 March 2024 and an upward revision to its 31 December 2023 net
asset value ("NAV") in respect of its holdings in these portfolio companies to
$151.3m†.

 

Portfolio NAV

 

                                           31 December 2023 (unaudited)  30 June 2023  31 December 2022 (audited)

                                                                         (unaudited)
 Portfolio NAV                             $151.3m†                      $149.1m       $63.8m
 Portfolio NAV per Share*                  142.4p†                       140.4p        65.2p
 Ordinary share price                      24.0p                         14.0p         16.5p
 Discount of share price to Portfolio NAV  83.2%                         90.0%         74.7%

† Includes Carbon Engineering investment, now sold, for comparative purposes

* Exchange rate of 0.8084 USD/GBP as at 19 April 2024 with total voting rights
of 85,877,429 in 2023 and 79,056,811 in 2022

 

 

Company Milestones and Performance Highlights (2023 and Q1 2024)

The combination of an enhanced executive team in early 2023, a focused
investment strategy and streamlined operations has enabled the Company to work
with its investee companies and has seen  a significant NAV increase from
$63.8m as at 31 December 2022 to $151.3m† as at 31 December 2023 (a $87.5m
or 2.4x NAV increase in one year†).

 

The appointment of Par Lindstrom as CEO in January 2023, and Jonathan Stearns
as Chief Financial Officer in April 2023, has enhanced the investment acumen
on energy transition and sustainability investments. Whilst continuing to work
with its investee companies. the Company's operations have been streamlined
and expense management has improved NAV to OpEx ratio from 6.5% (2H2022) to
2.3%† (2H2023).

 

Liquidity risk in a challenging macro-economic environment has been mitigated
via a secured line of credit obtained from the European Depository Bank, while
the Company has re-negotiated and increased ownership in key investee company
holdings. The first realised exit for the Company was achieved in November
2023 with a successful sale of Carbon Engineering at 7.2x multiple of invested
capital (MOIC). A robust, proprietary deal pipeline for new investment
opportunities has been further developed and the Company made its first new
investment as a public company in November 2023 in Citron Energy, which is
getting ready to scale.

Portfolio update

i(x) Net Zero offers investors access to a portfolio of investee companies
that is uniquely focused on the long-term secular trend of capital flowing
towards sustainable finance. In November 2023, the Global Sustainable
Investment Alliance published its Global Sustainable Investment Review,
finding that US$30.3 trillion is invested in sustainable assets globally
which accounts for approximately 35 per cent of all professionally managed
assets across the US, Canada, Japan, Australasia and Europe.

 

There is a growing weight of legislative and policy initiatives that offer
support to ambitious business owners around the world to invest in companies
that are pushing the boundaries of innovation and creating technologies that
have the potential to generate jobs, support communities and energise the move
towards a greener future.

 

WasteFuel

In mid-2023 WasteFuel secured a $10 million investment from bp, to further
assist WasteFuel's plans to develop a global network of plants to convert
municipal and agricultural waste into bio-methanol, a biofuel which could play
a significant role in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors like shipping.
This investment by bp was at a price which dramatically increased the NAV of
the Company's holding in WasteFuel by $84.78 million to a total reported NAV
of $131.69m as at June 30 2023, and $131.50m as at December 31, 2023.

 

WasteFuel intends to develop multiple bio-methanol plants around the world in
collaboration with local strategic partners including waste companies, with
the first project expected to be in the GCC. Ever since bp's funding,
WasteFuel has continued to proceed its projects in the GCC, with two of them
leading the way. Bp and WasteFuel have entered a memorandum of understanding
to offtake the produced bio-methanol and, working together, to help optimize
and improve bio-methanol yields and economics.  WasteFuel has a proven track
record of working with global partners as it pursues its plans for a global
network of bio-methanol plants converted from waste.  In 2022 WasteFuel
entered a commercial-scale bio-methanol partnership with A.P. Moller - Maersk,
the global container logistics company. WasteFuel also has continued to
develop its projects in the GCC, to develop the first commercial scale
municipal waste-to-renewable methanol plant in the Middle East.

 

WasteFuel Featured on TIME and Statista's 2024 List of America's Top GreenTech
Companies.

 

Enphys

Enphys remains in talks with a leading and well-established advanced biofuels
company in Latin America and has until 8 June 2024 to consummate an initial
business combination.

 

Citron Energy

Since the Company's investment in November 2023, i(x) Net Zero has advanced
the development of multiple projects in the US. The near term opportunity to
conclude multi-year offtake and supply contracts has been accelerated by the
increasing awareness of the need to address carbon footprint and GHG emissions
for industries including cement and lime production as well as an increasing
focus on net zero recycling and limited space for new landfills. With
equipment sources in place and site development activities well advanced,
Citron expects to accelerate the development of its project pipeline over the
near term.

Carbon Engineering

Following completion of the sale of Carbon Engineering Ltd. To Occidental
Petroleum Corporation in November last year at a 7.2x realized multiple of
invested capital, the Company received the first tranche of the proceeds in
November 2023 and expects the second tranche in November this year and a final
payment in November 2025. Occidental's $1.1bn purchase of Carbon Engineering
was a landmark moment for carbon capture sequestration (CCS) startups, marking
the first major acquisition of a carbon removals company, with the transaction
regarded as one of the leading Energy Transition deals of the year in 2023,
showing the strength and investment acumen of i(x) Net Zero.

 

Context Labs

Context Labs has continued to successfully deliver on a number of projects
including the EQT, Williams, Jonah Energy and Carbon GeoCapture projects.
There were advances in discussions with Microsoft and Dell and a collaboration
began with EEMDL, a multi-disciplinary research and education center with a
mission to be the global data and analytics hub to support improved greenhouse
gas emissions accounting across energy supply chains.

 

Pär Lindström, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "i(x) Net Zero's investee
companies have shown good resilience over the past twelve months and the
ability to make continued progress in their goal of helping to decarbonise
their respective industries.

 

"Our portfolio of investee companies is helping some of the world's hardest to
decarbonise sectors, such as shipping and aviation, to make significant
strides forward with the planned provision of sustainable fuel from WasteFuel
to the likes of Maersk and NetJets.

 

"Given the tailwinds in our favour and the success of our recent 7.2x realised
multiple of invested capital on the disposal of Carbon Engineering, the
Company looks to the future with confidence."

 

Further detail will be provided in the Company's final results which are
expected to be released in mid-June 2024, along with a further portfolio
update.

 

 

- Ends -

 

 

For further information visit https://ixnetzero.com/
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/ixnetzero.com/___.YXAzOml4bmV0emVybzphOm86MWI5YTUyZmU4NmZiYWI5OGVjZjRmZWM5ZWRkZjg5OTE6NjpjYzE3OjFhMDNjOTMyMzEzNzkxYzkxY2QxYjg4YWRmYmExMjg5Y2FiNWM1YTQxYmExMjVlNDBhYTVjM2Q0YjZjZTI4NGQ6cDpU)
 or contact:

 i(x) Net Zero                               Via Buchanan below
 Pär Lindström - Chief Executive Officer
 Jonathan Stearns - Chief Financial Officer

 Canaccord Genuity Limited                   +44 20 7523 8000

 Nominated Adviser & Broker
 Max Hartley
 Harry Pardoe

 Buchanan
 Helen Tarbet                                +44 7872 604 453
 Simon Compton                               +44 7979 497 324
 Abby Gilchrist                              +44 7557 952 223

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

About i(x) Net Zero PLC

 

i(x) Net Zero PLC is an AIM quoted investing company that provides its
shareholders the opportunity to create long-term capital growth with
positive, scalable, measurable and sustainable impact on the environment and
on the communities it serves.

 

In accordance with its belief that the world's biggest problems are also the
biggest market opportunities, i(x) Net Zero focuses on two critical areas in
which it aims to make a positive impact: (i) Energy Transition and (ii)
Sustainability in the Built Environment. The Company uses a multi-strategy
investment approach, providing the companies in which it invests with the
expertise and catalytic capital to help them grow. To date, i(x) Net Zero has
invested in biofuels, direct air capture (carbon removal), renewable energy,
sustainable workforce housing and net zero construction technology.

 

i(x) Net Zero is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible
Investing. The Company has received the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy
Mark.

 

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