Xeros switches focus to execution phase

The Rotherham-based firm reported a £21.1m pre-tax loss for the 17 months ended December 31, 2016 while revenue for the same period was £2.5m, up from £480,000 for the year ended July 31, 2015.

Mark Nichols, chief executive of Xeros, told The Yorkshire Post that the results we’re not to be looked at as a loss but as an investment, with the Leeds University spin-out commercialising its technology.

He said that it was a testament to the investors that they can see “the long-term economic and sustainable benefits of our technology”.

Mr Nichols added: “They thoroughly understand that we have to invest significantly in order to deliver those benefits to the industries that the consumers buy from.”

In the next four years Xeros expects to be cash positive.

Mr Nichols said: “We expect our commercial laundry business to be cash positive in 2021. We anticipate our leather business being cash positive in 2020. We anticipate the whole group being cash positive in 2021.”

Xeros reduces water and chemical usage in intensive and commercial processes with its polymer technologies.

It makes polymer beads that can be used in specially designed washing machines that replace most of the water with the beads.

Yesterday, the company announced that it was inviting commercial laundry manufacturers in to work with it to incorporate its technology inside their machines.

Xeros has developed standardised pieces which can be incorporated within a unit, allowing a machine to be adapted to its polymer technology.

“What that means is instead of just our machines going into the marketplace we could have many different manufacturers putting our technology into the marketplace,” said Mr Nichols. “It represents the opportunity to really scale our business very significantly.”

The Symphony Project, as it is being called, means that Xeros will have a less capital intensive model. The manufacturers use their capital to make the machines with Xeros providing the polymer and chemistry to customers.

The company is currently exploiting its intellectual property in three areas: cleaning technologies, tanning technologies, pushing molecules into hides during leather processing, and textile technologies.

Xeros says its is now focusing on the execution phase in two of its businesses, cleaning and tanning. Textiles is still undergoing development.

Mr Nichols said: “Within our laundry and our tanning business it’s all about execution now.

“It’s about scaling up and increasing our turnover in those markets and finding industry partners who can accelerate the penetration of those markets.”