additional operational adjustments will be required to achieve continuous production in 2025
financial capacity strengthened by a new €10 million Sustainability-Linked Loan1
AFYREN's cash position around €33 million as of December 31, 2024
CLERMONT-FERRAND, France & LYON, France, January 08, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
AFYREN (Paris:ALAFY), a greentech company offering manufacturers biobased, low-carbon ingredients through a unique fermentation technology based on a circular model, provides a business update and announces a new €10 million financing for its subsidiary AFYREN NEOXY. AFYREN aims to start continuous production of AFYREN NEOXY in 2025, compared with its initial forecast of 2024, and reports a cash position of around 33 million euros at the end of 2024.
Nicolas SORDET, Chief Executive Officer of AFYREN, stated: "AFYREN NEOXY is a pioneering plant in the bioeconomy sector and a model for future biorefineries. Now that the plant has reached the commercial production stage, we are addressing some typical issues associated with the startup phase of innovative technology. With our production launch and first sales in 2024, we realized extra time was needed to reach continuous production levels, which we now expect during 2025. Against this backdrop, securing a new non-dilutive financing from our investment banks and new partners is excellent news, enabling us to approach the days ahead with real confidence. Indexing the loan to CSR criteria - a pioneering move for a young industrial company - reflects our strong commitment to our stakeholders -employees, customers and investors- and the challenges of decarbonization."
Business update: AFYREN NEOXY's continuous production to start in 2025
In the second half of 2024, AFYREN NEOXY produced and sold several dozen tons of biobased acids, meeting the quality standards of strategic markets. At the same time, the validation of our acids by clients continues, with positive feedback from multiple customers and business prospects, in particular in the Nutrition and Flavors & Fragrances markets.
In recent weeks, new production campaigns have been carried out to get the AFYREN NEOXY plant running on a continuous basis. The reliability work on the separation-purification stage, our main challenge, has shown progress: there is good control of process management while some equipment for product extraction requires improvement and proofing to ensure stable, long-term continuous operation. As a result, the plant is expected to be in continuous production during 2025, compared with its initial forecast of 2024, with the break-even expected after a few quarters of activity.
A new "Sustainability-Linked" financing1 to support the start-up and subsequent ramp-up of the AFYREN NEOXY plant
AFYREN is pleased to announce that it has obtained a new €10 million loan, of which €6 million has already been paid up and €4 million will be paid up, subject to conditions, at a later date, on behalf of its subsidiary AFYREN NEOXY, from a banking syndicate comprising long-term partners BNP Paribas -lead bank and ESG coordinator- and Banque Populaire Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, plus new partners Société Générale, Caisse d'épargne et de prévoyance Rhône-Alpes and Crédit Lyonnais.
In line with its commitment to adopting and promoting best CSR practices, AFYREN has decided to link the cost of credit to its CSR performance by means of a "Sustainability-Linked Loan"1. The credit margin will therefore be adjusted according to objectives relating first to the company's social pillar and CSR rating, followed by its environmental impact.
Following the securing of a €9 million "Prêt Nouvelle Industrie" loan at the end of November 2024, this new €10 million loan strengthens AFYREN NEOXY's financial structure to support the continuous production and industrial ramp-up. The transaction also expands the list of banking partners that can be mobilized around future industrial projects of AFYREN.
Strong cash position of parent company AFYREN
AFYREN had a solid cash position of around €33 million on December 31, 2024, compared with €50 million as of December 31, 2023. AFYREN's annual cash outflow from operations was about €7 million. AFYREN also granted a €10 million shareholder loan to its subsidiary AFYREN NEOXY. AFYREN has therefore enough cash to support AFYREN NEOXY through the start of the continuous production phase and has capital available for future development.
About AFYREN
AFYREN is a French greentech company launched in 2012 to meet the challenge of decarbonizing industrial supplies. Its natural, innovative and proprietary fermentation technology valorizes local biomass from non-food agricultural co-products, in order to replace petro-sourced ingredients typically used in many product formulations. AFYREN's 100% biobased, low-carbon and sustainable solutions can meet decarbonization challenges in a wide variety of strategic sectors: human and animal nutrition, flavors and fragrances, life sciences and materials, and lubricants and technical fluids. AFYREN's plug-and-play, circular technology combines sustainability and competitiveness, with no need for manufacturers to change their production processes.
The Group's first French plant, AFYREN NEOXY, a joint venture with Bpifrance's SPI fund, located in the Grand-Est region of France, at Saint Avold, serves mainly the European market.
AFYREN is also pursuing a project in Thailand with a world leader in the sugar industry, and is developing its presence in the Americas, following up on previously signed distribution agreements.
At the end of 2024, the AFYREN Group employed about 130 people in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Carling Saint-Avold. The company invests 20% of its annual budget in R&D to further develop the range of sustainable solutions.
AFYREN is listed on the Paris Euronext Growth® exchange since 2021 (ISIN code: FR0014005AC9, Ticker symbol: ALAFY).
