Nanoco rejigs Dow deal but warns of short-term revenue hit

Nanoco has rejigged its licence agreement with Dow Chemical, giving the US giant non-exclusive rights to use and market its cadmium-free quantum dots in return for a lower royalty rate on any sales Dow makes and no earn-out income.

But while this would give Nanoco more commercial control, allowing it to pursue various other routes to market in the display industry, the AIM-listed company said it expected revenues in the current financial year will be lower than previously expected.

It predicted the change will lead to higher revenues in future years, however, citing research that says cadmium-free quantum dots are expected be at the centre of a major, emerging industry in consumer electronics, with DisplaySearch forecasting that 18.7m quantum dot TVs will be shipped in 2018.

To directly capture more of this market in the near term, Nanoco said it intends to develop new partnerships to serve the display sector as well as to manufacture, market and sell its cadmium-free quantum dot products directly from the company's own plant in Runcorn.

Nanoco included a quote from Dow that assured investors that Nanoco's cadmium-free quantum dot technology "continues to fit well with what our customers want and with our desire to develop products and services that are more sustainable for the future".

Nanoco's chief executive Michael Edelman added: "We now have a multifaceted strategy in display in which we have a non-exclusive licence agreement with Dow along with the opportunity to form new partnerships and to work independently.

"We believe this is a very significant development for Nanoco as we are gaining greater control over the commercialisation of our technology in display against a very positive market backdrop."

Investors were less confident, sending the shares down 13% to 40p, not far above January's four-year low.