TIDMFOX
RNS Number : 2738W
Fox Marble Holdings PLC
31 July 2018
31 July 2018
Fox Marble Holdings plc
("Fox Marble" or the "Company")
Operational Update
Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying
and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, is pleased to
provide the following operational update ahead of the publication
of its unaudited interim results for 6 months to 30 June 2018 which
are anticipated to be notified on 25 September 2018.
Sales for the six months to 30 June 2018 are EUR614,000 (2017 -
EUR329,000), a significant increase compared with the same period
in the previous year. In addition, the Company has started the
second half of the year strongly and expects to see continued good
revenue growth through the balance of the year.
The newly installed state-of-the-art Computer Numerical Control
("CNC") machine has allowed the company to expand its cut to size
and shape capabilities for its own marble. The machine is capable
of automatically processing many varied shapes and thicknesses of
material from slabs to small blocks, including 1,500 square metres
of marble tiles per day. The CNC machine was supplied by Gravellona
Machine Marmo, one of the leading manufacturers of dimensional
stone cutting and polishing machinery based in Northern Italy. The
machine is the only one of its kind in the Balkans.
This has allowed the Company to win and complete several large
bespoke cut to size tile orders in the first half of this year,
including:
-- 3,000 square metres of "cut-to-size" Alexandrian White tiles
to a large manufacture in Greece, Rekalis G Gregarios Marble. This
order consists of more than 8,000 tiles, each measuring 60x60 cm
and weighing 250 tonnes in total.
-- 7,500 square metres of "cut-to-size" 60cm x 60cm Alexandrian
White tiles to large scale retailer based in Mumbai in India.
Following additional capital expenditure, new equipment has been
delivered to the quarries, and despite an extended winter break
arising from a late thaw, production was an encouraging 5,429
tonnes over the 6 months to June 2018 (2017 - 3,817 tonnes). We
expect production levels to continue to improve over the remainder
of 2018.
Sales of block marble are again focused primarily on Illirico
Selene and Alexandrian White material.
Fox is pleased to announce that in July it sold 300 tonnes of
its Illirico Selene marble to a new Chinese customer following a
visit to the quarry site. The customer has indicated their
intention to take a further 300 tonnes of this material each month
for the next 12 months. This is the first significant order from
China and represents a breakthrough in that market. Fox understands
that this material is for a project that its customer is supplying
and will require a minimum of 5,000 tonnes to complete the
project.
In June 2018 the Company announced that it had completed the
delivery of over 2,000 tonnes of marble to Simsekler Mermer Company
("Simsekler") with Fox Marble supplying 850 tonnes of marble to
Simsekler in the current year, thereby fulfilling the original
agreement. Simsekler's latest purchase of over 600 tonnes of block
marble represents the largest single order that the Company has
completed since it opened its quarries in 2012. Fox Marble is now
well placed to meet the demand for an additional minimum quantity
of 2,000 tonnes.
The Company has recently opened a new showroom for its material
in London. The showroom exhibits slabs from the complete range of
Fox Marble stone, including Illirico Selene, Illirico Bianco, Rosso
Cait, Breccia Paradisea, and Alexandrian White. It is intended that
the showroom will support the marketing of material to projects in
the United Kingdom and Northern Europe.
The showroom is conveniently located for European sales being
less than 10 miles from Heathrow Airport and 35 miles from
Stanstead Airport. Located at 2 Courtenay Road, East Lane, Wembley
HA9 7ND, it is also very close to North Wembley Station, and can be
visited by appointment.
In addition, a natural stone cleansing plinth designed by Studio
Juju and carved from Fox Marble stone was recently featured in an
exhibition by Wallpaper which toured the Far East. The altar was
carved from a single block of Alexandrian White marble, whose fine
dolomitic structure lends itself to intricate carving, and featured
one raised and one sunken basin.
The strong demand for the Company's range of white and grey
stone has lead to the need for additional capital expenditure to
increase production in the quarries as well as to finance increased
working capital requirements now that the factory is operating at
higher capacity.
The Company is pleased to announce that the holders of the
series 3 and 5 Loan notes have subscribed for an additional
GBP300,000 of Loan notes on the same terms as previously
announced.
The Company's cash balance as at 27 July 2018 amounted to
EUR289,000.
Chris Gilbert, CEO of Fox Marble, commented: "We are pleased to
update the market on the progress made in the first half of this
year. Additional capital expenditure and the installation of new
machinery has enhanced our production and processing capabilities,
enabling us to complete and win a number of new sales orders. As we
move into the second half of the year our focus will remain on
capitalising on growth, increasing our capacity and enhancing our
product range in order to strengthen our position in the
market."
For more information on Fox Marble please visit
www.foxmarble.net or contact:
Fox Marble Holdings plc
Chris Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380
0999
Fiona Hadfield, Finance Director Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380
0999
Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)
Oliver Stansfield Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463
5000
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
Liam Murray Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213
Jo Turner 0880
Yellow Jersey PR (PR & IR)
Georgia Colkin Tel: +44 (0) 7825
Katie Bairsto 916 715
Tel: +44 (0) 7946
424 651
Notes to Editors:
Fox Marble (AIM: FOX), is a marble production, processing and
distribution company in Kosovo and the Balkans region.
Its marble products, which includes Illirico Bianco, Illirico
Selene, Grigio Argento and are gaining traction globally both to
international wholesale companies as well as being supplied
directly into luxury residential properties. In the UK these
include among others St George's Homes and Capital and Counties
Plc's Lillie Square development. In Sydney, Australia Rosso Cait,
Alexandrian White and Breccia Paradisea marble have been used in
what is expected to be Australia's most expensive residential
property. These sales serve to demonstrate the desirability of
Fox's premium marble products as the stone of choice in some of the
most prestigious and expensive residential developments around the
world.
Fox Marble holds 40 year mining licences for six separate marble
quarries with a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ
valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Fox has taken three
of the six sites into production (the Drini and Maleshevë quarries,
both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia) and
continues to increase production. Notably, Fox has access to over
300 million cubic metres (over 1bn tonnes) of premium quality
marble.
Marble demand continues to grow with stable pricing,
predominantly driven by the construction and real-estate
industries, on which Fox is looking to capitalise.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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