Highlights
Retains strong cash position – over $6.1 Million cash on hand
Burn rate drops by 24%
Revenue growth of over 70% re FY 2008
Cash inflows maintained
Operational expenditure prioritised to projects
Low capital expenditure
Solid order book for 4th Quarter and beyond
No debt
Now, three quarters through FY 2009, a year in which nearly all industrial companies have suffered a drastic drop in revenue and substantial reduction of cash, Dyesol continues to achieve revenue growth, with income at the end of the 3rd Quarter being 70% greater than that achieved for the whole FY2008. Meanwhile the company has substantially reduced cash burn rate while maintaining excellent progress on all projects. By the key measure of operational cash burn, Dyesol has reduced its expenditure by nearly $1M in the quarter, a reduction of 24% in burn. During the quarter, the company met another key milestone in our partnership project with Corus and announced the first stage commitments from projects in Korea and Turkey – moving the company closer to full commercialisation. Last week, at the Dyesol sponsored conference in Nara, Japan, attended by a record 250 delegates, Dyesol announced the achievement of over 12% efficiency for an industrial size tandem cell – demonstrating that the company is also expanding and strengthening its IP portfolio.
At the end of the quarter Dyesol has $6.137M at bank and continues to have no debt. The monthly burn rate for the quarter averaged $560K indicating that cash reserves are close to one year of operations. The employment levels at Dyesol are now steady as we have completed expansion of the team in the UK to meet the accelerated project schedule. Further business expansion in other jurisdictions will depend on additional funds being secured from partners, government or investors.
In investment activities, as announced in the previous quarter, Dyesol has continued to reduce expenditure on capital equipment as nearly all requirements for current projects have been committed.
Dyesol still holds all its cash as current deposits in top trading banks in Australia (CBA and Westpac/St George), UK (HSBC), Switzerland (Raiffeisen), Singapore (HSBC) and Italy (BPM).
During the quarter the company also confirmed supplier collaborations in Europe and commenced evaluation of outsourcing of equipment manufacture to specialist international equipment engineers, in order to reduce the need for further capital expansion.
The fourth quarter will bring further operating cash inflows from sales of services and equipment in Asia and Europe, growing materials sales and substantial grant payments in UK. Operational and investment cash flows are forecast to remain steady.
Dyesol enters the final quarter of FY2009 confident that the company will continue to grow through the current financial crisis and will be well placed to serve what the IEA and World Bank refer to as the Energy Revolution that could dominate industrial growth for the coming decades. Dyesol is well placed to address the worlds largest energy demand, the built environment due to the fact that our technology and products can operate in any light conditions and at any angle to the sun – a Unique Selling Proposition USP for Dyesol’s Dye Solar Cells.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Economic survivalists take root
By Judy Keen, USA TODAY
When the economy started to squeeze the Wojtowicz family, they gave up vacation cruises, restaurant meals, new clothes and high-tech toys to become 21st-century homesteaders.
Now Patrick Wojtowicz, 36, his wife Melissa, 37, and daughter Gabrielle, 15, raise pigs and chickens for food on 40 acres near Alma, Mich. They're planning a garden and installing a wood furnace. They disconnected the satellite TV and radio, ditched their dishwasher and a big truck and started buying clothes at resale shops.
PHOTO GALLERY: A survivalist family
"As long as we can keep decreasing our bills, we can keep making less money," Patrick says. "We're not saying this is right for everybody, but it's right for us."
Hard times are creating economic survivalists such as the Wojtowicz family who are paring expenses by becoming more self-sufficient.
Reviving "almost lost" skills and preparing for tough days make people feel more in control, says Charlotte Richert, consumer sciences educator for Oklahoma State University's Extension Service in Tulsa County.
Karen Gulliver, MBA program chair at Argosy University in Eagan, Minn., expects the movement to grow as the sour economy forces people to reassess priorities. People are asking, "Do I really want to be 100% vulnerable with no self-sufficiency skills if something happens?" she says.
Some signs of the trend:
•Stockpiling. When the stock market drops, orders surge for freeze-dried food, survival kits and emergency supplies, says Nitro-Pak president Harry Weyandt. One best seller: a $3,375 food reserve that feeds four people for three months.
•Gardening. Sales of vegetable seeds and transplants are up 30% from 2008 at W. Atlee Burpee, the USA's largest seed company. The National Gardening Association says 7 million more households will grow food this year than in 2008 — a 19% rise. A book on building root cellars is the top seller at Johnny's Selected Seeds in Winslow, Maine, supervisor Joann Matuzas says.
•Canning. Jarden Corp. says sales of its Ball and Kerr canning and preserving products are up more than 30% from 2008. Sonya Staffan, owner of The Jam and Jelly Lady commercial cannery in Lebanon, Ohio, is offering twice as many classes this year.
•Sewing. More people are learning to sew so they can mend clothes and make home décor, says Rachel Cohen, spokeswoman for SVP Worldwide, owner of sewing-products makers Singer and Husqvarna Viking.
•Relocating. Steve Saltman, general manager of LandAndFarm.com, a national real estate company, says more customers want to "live simply in a less-expensive place." Jonathan Rawles of SurvivalRealty.com says more people moving to rural areas "are specifically worried about economic and social instability."
Patrick Wojtowicz's family decided to transform their lives when his paycheck began to shrink last year. A truck driver, he was spending more time on the road, paying his own expenses while waiting for loads. He disliked being away from home for weeks at a time and worried about losing his job. Melissa Wojtowicz is self-employed and works from home.
Their dual paychecks allowed them to live comfortably, but they weren't satisfied, Patrick says. "We would basically buy stuff to feel good," he says. "When that stuff stopped filling the voids we had, we started analyzing what it was that we were really missing. We were missing being around each other."
The Wojtowiczes made a list of the things they could give up if Patrick quit his job and they relied on Melissa's income. They already lived in a house on property Patrick inherited from his father a few years ago.
Gabrielle "put up enough resistance to qualify as being a teenager," Patrick says, but soon she was reminding her parents to turn off lights to save electricity.
Steps such as that, and keeping the thermostat set on 63 degrees this winter, cut monthly electric bills from $300 to $150, Patrick says. He hunts deer and turkeys. Instead of buying books and going to movies, they visit the library weekly. For Christmas, they got canning gear so they can preserve the food they grow.
"The earn, spend, earn era has come to an end for us," he says on truenorthfound.blogspot.com, their blog. "The idea of living a fuller, more satisfying life seems simple to us now. ... Money, cash, credit, maybe they don't matter. Maybe, just maybe, it is those things that impede our ability to be truly happy."
Whatever happens to the economy, the Wojtowicz family hopes to remain self-sufficient. Instead of spending their tax refund, as they usually did, they used it to pay down debt. They stopped using credit cards and they're trying to build up savings. "I'm working harder than ever," Patrick says, "but it's more satisfying work and ... it's much easier to sleep at night."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2009-04-14-survivalistsinside14_N.htm
When the economy started to squeeze the Wojtowicz family, they gave up vacation cruises, restaurant meals, new clothes and high-tech toys to become 21st-century homesteaders.
Now Patrick Wojtowicz, 36, his wife Melissa, 37, and daughter Gabrielle, 15, raise pigs and chickens for food on 40 acres near Alma, Mich. They're planning a garden and installing a wood furnace. They disconnected the satellite TV and radio, ditched their dishwasher and a big truck and started buying clothes at resale shops.
PHOTO GALLERY: A survivalist family
"As long as we can keep decreasing our bills, we can keep making less money," Patrick says. "We're not saying this is right for everybody, but it's right for us."
Hard times are creating economic survivalists such as the Wojtowicz family who are paring expenses by becoming more self-sufficient.
Reviving "almost lost" skills and preparing for tough days make people feel more in control, says Charlotte Richert, consumer sciences educator for Oklahoma State University's Extension Service in Tulsa County.
Karen Gulliver, MBA program chair at Argosy University in Eagan, Minn., expects the movement to grow as the sour economy forces people to reassess priorities. People are asking, "Do I really want to be 100% vulnerable with no self-sufficiency skills if something happens?" she says.
Some signs of the trend:
•Stockpiling. When the stock market drops, orders surge for freeze-dried food, survival kits and emergency supplies, says Nitro-Pak president Harry Weyandt. One best seller: a $3,375 food reserve that feeds four people for three months.
•Gardening. Sales of vegetable seeds and transplants are up 30% from 2008 at W. Atlee Burpee, the USA's largest seed company. The National Gardening Association says 7 million more households will grow food this year than in 2008 — a 19% rise. A book on building root cellars is the top seller at Johnny's Selected Seeds in Winslow, Maine, supervisor Joann Matuzas says.
•Canning. Jarden Corp. says sales of its Ball and Kerr canning and preserving products are up more than 30% from 2008. Sonya Staffan, owner of The Jam and Jelly Lady commercial cannery in Lebanon, Ohio, is offering twice as many classes this year.
•Sewing. More people are learning to sew so they can mend clothes and make home décor, says Rachel Cohen, spokeswoman for SVP Worldwide, owner of sewing-products makers Singer and Husqvarna Viking.
•Relocating. Steve Saltman, general manager of LandAndFarm.com, a national real estate company, says more customers want to "live simply in a less-expensive place." Jonathan Rawles of SurvivalRealty.com says more people moving to rural areas "are specifically worried about economic and social instability."
Patrick Wojtowicz's family decided to transform their lives when his paycheck began to shrink last year. A truck driver, he was spending more time on the road, paying his own expenses while waiting for loads. He disliked being away from home for weeks at a time and worried about losing his job. Melissa Wojtowicz is self-employed and works from home.
Their dual paychecks allowed them to live comfortably, but they weren't satisfied, Patrick says. "We would basically buy stuff to feel good," he says. "When that stuff stopped filling the voids we had, we started analyzing what it was that we were really missing. We were missing being around each other."
The Wojtowiczes made a list of the things they could give up if Patrick quit his job and they relied on Melissa's income. They already lived in a house on property Patrick inherited from his father a few years ago.
Gabrielle "put up enough resistance to qualify as being a teenager," Patrick says, but soon she was reminding her parents to turn off lights to save electricity.
Steps such as that, and keeping the thermostat set on 63 degrees this winter, cut monthly electric bills from $300 to $150, Patrick says. He hunts deer and turkeys. Instead of buying books and going to movies, they visit the library weekly. For Christmas, they got canning gear so they can preserve the food they grow.
"The earn, spend, earn era has come to an end for us," he says on truenorthfound.blogspot.com, their blog. "The idea of living a fuller, more satisfying life seems simple to us now. ... Money, cash, credit, maybe they don't matter. Maybe, just maybe, it is those things that impede our ability to be truly happy."
Whatever happens to the economy, the Wojtowicz family hopes to remain self-sufficient. Instead of spending their tax refund, as they usually did, they used it to pay down debt. They stopped using credit cards and they're trying to build up savings. "I'm working harder than ever," Patrick says, "but it's more satisfying work and ... it's much easier to sleep at night."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2009-04-14-survivalistsinside14_N.htm
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Turkey positions for large-scale DSC manufacture
Dyesol has been engaged by Nesli Dye Solar Cells Enerji Sistemleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (Nesli) to complete a detailed feasibility study establishing a glass-based DSC volume manufacturing facility in Turkey. Nesli has secured a line of funding for a phased development program, with initial capacity growing in discrete stages to 100,000m2 before expanding to a 500,000m2 manufacturing capability in the subsequent stage. Nesli is supported in the commercialisation by the Turkish Development Bank (Turkiye Kalkinma Bankasi – TKB).
The Contract for Supply with Nesli for this initial phase is valued at €200,000 (approx. AU$400,000) and is part of a potential €60 Million program involving Dyesol providing on-going technical support, production equipment and DSC manufacturing materials. This ensures a long-term strategic relationship between the two companies, continuing demand for Dyesol materials and a defined growth path for the technology.
Gordon Thompson, Dyesol Director, says “The feasibility study provides the launching pad for a long-term strategic relationship which will be a win-win situation for both Nesli and Dyesol in seeding and growing the DSC market in Turkey”. Unal Kazak, Director of Nesli, agrees “The decision to engage the world leaders in the commercialisation of DSC to undertake this study and be our long term partners in a secure relationship is essential to achieve growth targets”.
The advantage of Dyesol’s DSC technology over conventional photovoltaic technology is its lower facility cost, lower energy for manufacture, proportionally higher output of electricity in ambient light conditions, and the ability to directly incorporate it into buildings as passive electricity generators – multifunctional building panels. This is known as BIPV or building integrated photovoltaics.
The Contract for Supply with Nesli for this initial phase is valued at €200,000 (approx. AU$400,000) and is part of a potential €60 Million program involving Dyesol providing on-going technical support, production equipment and DSC manufacturing materials. This ensures a long-term strategic relationship between the two companies, continuing demand for Dyesol materials and a defined growth path for the technology.
Gordon Thompson, Dyesol Director, says “The feasibility study provides the launching pad for a long-term strategic relationship which will be a win-win situation for both Nesli and Dyesol in seeding and growing the DSC market in Turkey”. Unal Kazak, Director of Nesli, agrees “The decision to engage the world leaders in the commercialisation of DSC to undertake this study and be our long term partners in a secure relationship is essential to achieve growth targets”.
The advantage of Dyesol’s DSC technology over conventional photovoltaic technology is its lower facility cost, lower energy for manufacture, proportionally higher output of electricity in ambient light conditions, and the ability to directly incorporate it into buildings as passive electricity generators – multifunctional building panels. This is known as BIPV or building integrated photovoltaics.
Global experts meet in Japan to advance industrialisation of Dye Solar Cells
Sydney, 16 April 2009 – For the first time since its inception in Australia in 2006, the International Conference on the Industrialisation of Dye Solar Cells (DSC-IC 2009) will be held in Asia this year, in Nara, Japan, from April 22 to 24. This is the third International Conference on the Industrialisation of DSC, building on the success of previous DSC-IC conferences in St Gallen, Switzerland and Canberra, Australia.
The strength and growth of the photovoltaic industry in Japan, together with the advancements in Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology and research within the East Asia region, make this venue the ideal place to bring together leading scientists, technologists and industrialists from the field of DSC.
Following the official opening by Nara Governor Arai, joint conference chairpersons, Professor Shozo Yanagida and Professor Tsutomu Miyasaka, will be joined by over 250 participants, including top academic, institutional, government and industry experts in DSC technology.
Leading experts from around the world spearheading the commercialisation of DSC technology, including Professor Michael Graetzel, Professor Anders Hagfeldt, Professor Laurence Peter, Professor Hironori Arakawa and Dyesol’s Dr Gavin Tulloch and Dr Hans Desilvestro, are just a few of the long list of impressive speakers confirmed for the conference next week.
More than ever, the pace of DSC commercialisation is being dictated by urgent global economic and environmental drivers. As recently as the April G20 meeting in London, governments have demonstrated their commitment to meeting the challenges of global warming through promises of new legislation and policy, thus creating significant new opportunities for DSC technologies. DSC technology is the most advanced of the third generation technologies and promises solutions where other technologies cannot deliver. G8 Environment Ministers meet in Sicily next week to determine how to accelerate the reduction of the worldwide carbon footprint through energy efficiency and low energy renewables such as DSC. .
The advantages of DSC over conventional silicon-based photovoltaic technology are its lower cost, lower embodied energy for both the manufacturing plant and production, greater output of electricity in ambient and low light conditions, and the ability to be directly incorporated into buildings as active electricity generating glass facades and steel roofs – building products that combine energy generation with energy efficiency.
The global solar photovoltaic market was valued at almost US $30 billion in 2008 and is forecast to reach US$100 billion in revenues by 2013.
Dyesol Limited is pleased to be the lead sponsor of the conference.
For further information contact Catherine Gleeson on +61 (0)2 6299 1592.
In Europe contact Eva Reuter, Investor Relations, Dyesol Europe on +49 177 6058804
Note to editors
The Technology – DYE SOLAR CELLS
DSC technology can best be described as ‘artificial photosynthesis’ using an electrolyte, a layer of titania (a pigment used in white paints and tooth paste) and ruthenium dye deposited on glass, metal or polymer substrates. Light striking the dye excites electrons which are absorbed by the titania to become an electric current many times stronger than that found in natural photosynthesis in plants. Compared to conventional silicon based photovoltaic technology, Dyesol’s technology has lower cost and embodied energy in manufacture, it produces electricity more efficiently even in low light conditions and can be directly incorporated into buildings by replacing conventional glass panels or metal sheets rather than taking up roof or extra land area.
The Company – DYESOL Limited
Dyesol is located in Queanbeyan NSW (near Canberra) and in August 2005 was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX Code ‘DYE”). Dyesol manufactures and supplies a range of Dye Solar Cell products comprising equipment, chemicals, materials, components and related services to researchers and manufacturers of DSC. The Company is playing a key role in taking this third generation solar technology out of the laboratory and into the community.
More detail about the company and the technology can be found at: http://www.dyesol.com
More detail about the conference can be found at: http://www.dsc-ic.com
The strength and growth of the photovoltaic industry in Japan, together with the advancements in Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology and research within the East Asia region, make this venue the ideal place to bring together leading scientists, technologists and industrialists from the field of DSC.
Following the official opening by Nara Governor Arai, joint conference chairpersons, Professor Shozo Yanagida and Professor Tsutomu Miyasaka, will be joined by over 250 participants, including top academic, institutional, government and industry experts in DSC technology.
Leading experts from around the world spearheading the commercialisation of DSC technology, including Professor Michael Graetzel, Professor Anders Hagfeldt, Professor Laurence Peter, Professor Hironori Arakawa and Dyesol’s Dr Gavin Tulloch and Dr Hans Desilvestro, are just a few of the long list of impressive speakers confirmed for the conference next week.
More than ever, the pace of DSC commercialisation is being dictated by urgent global economic and environmental drivers. As recently as the April G20 meeting in London, governments have demonstrated their commitment to meeting the challenges of global warming through promises of new legislation and policy, thus creating significant new opportunities for DSC technologies. DSC technology is the most advanced of the third generation technologies and promises solutions where other technologies cannot deliver. G8 Environment Ministers meet in Sicily next week to determine how to accelerate the reduction of the worldwide carbon footprint through energy efficiency and low energy renewables such as DSC. .
The advantages of DSC over conventional silicon-based photovoltaic technology are its lower cost, lower embodied energy for both the manufacturing plant and production, greater output of electricity in ambient and low light conditions, and the ability to be directly incorporated into buildings as active electricity generating glass facades and steel roofs – building products that combine energy generation with energy efficiency.
The global solar photovoltaic market was valued at almost US $30 billion in 2008 and is forecast to reach US$100 billion in revenues by 2013.
Dyesol Limited is pleased to be the lead sponsor of the conference.
For further information contact Catherine Gleeson on +61 (0)2 6299 1592.
In Europe contact Eva Reuter, Investor Relations, Dyesol Europe on +49 177 6058804
Note to editors
The Technology – DYE SOLAR CELLS
DSC technology can best be described as ‘artificial photosynthesis’ using an electrolyte, a layer of titania (a pigment used in white paints and tooth paste) and ruthenium dye deposited on glass, metal or polymer substrates. Light striking the dye excites electrons which are absorbed by the titania to become an electric current many times stronger than that found in natural photosynthesis in plants. Compared to conventional silicon based photovoltaic technology, Dyesol’s technology has lower cost and embodied energy in manufacture, it produces electricity more efficiently even in low light conditions and can be directly incorporated into buildings by replacing conventional glass panels or metal sheets rather than taking up roof or extra land area.
The Company – DYESOL Limited
Dyesol is located in Queanbeyan NSW (near Canberra) and in August 2005 was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX Code ‘DYE”). Dyesol manufactures and supplies a range of Dye Solar Cell products comprising equipment, chemicals, materials, components and related services to researchers and manufacturers of DSC. The Company is playing a key role in taking this third generation solar technology out of the laboratory and into the community.
More detail about the company and the technology can be found at: http://www.dyesol.com
More detail about the conference can be found at: http://www.dsc-ic.com
Sunday, 12 April 2009
GE, Vestas Lead U.S. Wind Turbine Sales, Taking 56% of Market
April 12 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. and Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s two largest suppliers of wind turbines, sold a record 4,648 megawatts in the U.S. last year, taking 56 percent of the total market, an industry group said.
Installations rose 58 percent to 8,300 megawatts. Wind turbines accounted for 42 percent of all new generating capacity in the U.S., almost matching the additions of natural gas fueled plants, the Washington-based American Wind Energy Association said today in a statement.
Juno, Florida-based FPL Group Inc.’s NextEra Energy Resources ranked first among companies that install wind turbines, with 25 percent of U.S. generation totaling 25,300 megawatts, enough to power 7 million homes, the group said. That’s about 2.5 percent of total U.S. power supply. The U.S. leads the world in wind-power capacity.
Texas and Iowa have the most wind generation, followed by California and Minnesota. Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. leads regulated utilities in wind-power production. Minnesota leads the nation in the share of power coming from wind at 7.5 percent.
President Barack Obama set a goal of doubling U.S. renewable energy over three years. Wind turbines are typically the cheapest source of renewable energy.
Employment in the wind industry rose 70 percent from a year ago to 85,000, the trade association said.
GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, retained the lead in largest number of wind turbines installed, with a 43 percent market share, the group said. Randers, Denmark-based Vestas had 13 percent, followed by Siemens AG and Suzlon Energy Ltd. with 9 percent each.
Developers were taking advantage of federal and state incentives to encourage renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Installations this year have stalled as a credit crisis dried up financing, the wind association said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aU5YTxhhDvIE&refer=home
Installations rose 58 percent to 8,300 megawatts. Wind turbines accounted for 42 percent of all new generating capacity in the U.S., almost matching the additions of natural gas fueled plants, the Washington-based American Wind Energy Association said today in a statement.
Juno, Florida-based FPL Group Inc.’s NextEra Energy Resources ranked first among companies that install wind turbines, with 25 percent of U.S. generation totaling 25,300 megawatts, enough to power 7 million homes, the group said. That’s about 2.5 percent of total U.S. power supply. The U.S. leads the world in wind-power capacity.
Texas and Iowa have the most wind generation, followed by California and Minnesota. Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. leads regulated utilities in wind-power production. Minnesota leads the nation in the share of power coming from wind at 7.5 percent.
President Barack Obama set a goal of doubling U.S. renewable energy over three years. Wind turbines are typically the cheapest source of renewable energy.
Employment in the wind industry rose 70 percent from a year ago to 85,000, the trade association said.
GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, retained the lead in largest number of wind turbines installed, with a 43 percent market share, the group said. Randers, Denmark-based Vestas had 13 percent, followed by Siemens AG and Suzlon Energy Ltd. with 9 percent each.
Developers were taking advantage of federal and state incentives to encourage renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Installations this year have stalled as a credit crisis dried up financing, the wind association said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aU5YTxhhDvIE&refer=home
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