The Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price dipped into the red during afternoon trade on Thursday as the lithium-ion company reported its FY21 earnings.
Novonix shares closed the day at $4.10 apiece, a 5.53% drop from the open.
Let's delve a little deeper.
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Novonix share price sinks despite revenue growth and narrowing net loss
- Revenue from ordinary activities of $5.2 million, a 22.9% year on year increase
- Loss before tax of $18 million, down 9.7% from the year prior
- Basic earnings per share (EPS) of (4.9 cents), an improvement from (14.7 cents) in FY20
- Net asset growth to $184.4 million from $66.5 million the year prior
- Net tangible assets per share of 41 cents, up from 14 cents a year ago.
What happened in FY21 for Novonix?
In what could be a positive for the Novonix share price, the company recorded net asset growth from $66.5 million to more than $184 million over the year.
This comprised around $137 million in cash and cash equivalents as of 30 June 2021. Novonix also grew revenue by 23% year over year which narrowed the statutory after-tax loss to $18 million (down from $20 million this time last year).
In addition, the company was selected to receive US$5.6 million in funding from the US Department of Energy to "support the development of new, continuous high-efficiency furnace technology".
This would be used for the "production of lithium-ion battery synthetic graphite material". The company is partnering with Phillips 66 for the funding opportunity, as per the report.
Novonix is also partnering with Emera Technologies to "tap into the significant opportunities that are available throughout North America" when it comes to "manufacturing energy storage systems for community microgrids". The pair is developing a "battery pack" to support these microgrids' requirements.
Finally, the company announced in June that it is under "conditional contract" to purchase and retrofit the "former Alstom building". This will be the company's "second facility Tennessee".
The facility would accommodate a "planned 8,000+ tonne per year production operation", as per the release. As such, the expansion would bring the company's total production capacity of anode materials to 10,000 tonnes a year. It is expected to come online by FY23.
What did management say?
Speaking on the release, Novonix's directorship said:
We are focused on the development of technologies that support key ESG criteria in the field of battery materials and technologies, including: longer life batteries, higher energy efficiency, reduced chemical usage, reduced waste generation, and cleaner power inputs. Our vision is to accelerate adoption of battery technologies for a cleaner energy future.
Regarding the year that was, it added:
Fiscal Year 2021 has been transformational for NOVONIX. The company continued to execute against its long-term strategic and operational roadmap, strengthen its capital structure, and explore additional avenues to create value for shareholders.
What's next for Novonix?
The company outlined its "growth strategies" for FY22 in the report. It hopes to "execute on development of synthetic graphite production", with a plan to expand to 150,000 tonnes per annum.
In fact, the company is targeting a capacity of 10,000 tonnes per annum in "early 2023". It then intends to expand capacity to 40,000 tonnes in 2025 and 150,000 tonnes in 2030.
In addition, Novonix is also aiming to commercialise its "proprietary pipeline" of advanced battery materials. Here it is seeking to "meet key testing milestones" over the coming year and a half.
The Novonix share price has posted a year to date return of 238%. This far outpaces the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)'s return of about 14% over the same time.
