Is Audio Pixels Going From Good To Great?

Founded in July 2006, Audio Pixels Holdings Limited (ASX:AKP) is a world leader in digital loudspeaker technologies which is involved in generating sound waves directly from the digital audio stream using micro-electromechanical structures. The Company’s patented technologies employ entirely new techniques to generate sound waves due to which the company’s speakers deliver a performance which is much better than conventional speaker technologies. In the past few months, AKP has gained popularity among the Investors as its share price has increased by over 81 percent in the last three months.Â

Recently in December 2018, while providing the update on the digital speaker development, the company announced that it has achieved three major technological breakthroughs which can further improve the company's digital speaker technology. The first breakthrough was regarding the stiction and charge trapping problem that the company had been facing while using charge dissipation mechanism. The company has found out a specific approach which can solve the stiction and charge trapping issues, and this approach is potentially applicable across the wide variety of applications throughout the micro-electromechanical structures (MEMS) industry.

The second major breakthrough was regarding the invention of a simplified structure which generates low frequencies, and the third major breakthrough was regarding the advancement in reproducing sound. These three technological breakthroughs demonstrate significant progress that Audio Pixels has made in its digital speaker technology. The announcement of these three major breakthroughs had a positive impact on the share price of the company.

On 30 October 2018, the company announced that it has completed a placement of 769,231 ordinary shares at $13.00 per share, to sophisticated and professional investors, to raise $10 million. Petra Capital Pty Limited acted as Lead Manager and bookrunner to the capital raising. The net funds from the placement will be used for working capital and for the ramp-up of production.

For the half-year ended 30 June 2018, the company reported revenue from ordinary activities of $36,518 which was 15.3 percent higher than the previous corresponding year. In the half year, the company incurred a loss of $1.357 million which is less than the loss of $4.285 million in the Half-year ended 30 June 2017. The basic and diluted loss per share was 5.05 cents in the half-year of 2018. As at 30 June 2018, the company had total current assets of $4.136 million and total current liabilities of $9.984 million.

As at 30 September 2018, the company had net cash used in operating activities of $1.519 million, net cash from investing activities of $4k. At the end of the September quarter, the company had Cash and cash equivalents of $2.567 million. During the September quarter, the company made an expenditure of $1.055 million on research and development activities.

During FY 2018, the Company’s primary efforts were focused on commercializing its ground-breaking MEMS-based digital sound wave transducer platform into an industry compliant microchip that will propel audio loudspeakers, systems, and ultrasonic sensors from its century-old analog origins into the advanced digital era of today. During the year, the company conducted exhaustive testing and analysis which exposed a critical need to further optimize the performance and fabrication of the device’s “dissipation layers.” During the year, the company reported several technical achievements which were focused on advancing the Company’s proven prototype technologies into a mass-production product.

The Company has expanded its intellectual property portfolio to 115 granted patents by adding five additional patents which were granted during the reporting period. The Company is also exploring the utilization of the product as an ultrasonic transducer. The Management of the company continues to remain intimately engaged with its future customers, routinely conducting confidential communications as to the progress, potential, applications, and demand for its impending products.

In the past five years, the share price of the company has increased by 470.67 percent. During the past one year, the company has yielded a positive return of 18.89% by increasing from $18.0 on 22 January 2018 to $21.40 on 22 January 2019. Moreover, in the past five days, the scrip has decreased by 6.02 percent. Today (i.e., 23 January 2019), the price was down by 1.916% and is currently trading at $20.990 per share with the day's total traded volume of 8,322. The company has ~28.3 million shares outstanding with the market capitalization of circa $605.66 million. Besides achieving operational efficiencies in the recent past through three major breakthroughs and other development such as successfully raised $10 Mn via placement, the company’s shares are also performing well in the market.

Disclaimer

This website is a service of Kalkine Media Pty. Ltd. A.C.N. 629 651 672. The website has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to be used as a complete source of information on any particular company. Kalkine Media does not in any way endorse or recommend individuals, products or services that may be discussed on this site. Our publications are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold. We are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice.