Announcements

Operations, Shares Lydia Knyvett Operations, Shares Lydia Knyvett

Operating Update and Issue of Shares

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 preliminary results for year ended 31 December 2018 which are anticipated to be notified in May 2019…

7 February 2019

Fox Marble Holdings plc

(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Operating Update and Issue of Shares

 

·         Unaudited sales for the year ended 31 December 2018 of c. €1.4 million, (2017 – c. €1.2million).

·         Production for the year ended 31 December 2018 of 12,561 tonnes (2017 – 8,811 tonnes) driven by an increase in production in Prilep in the last quarter of the year, not yet reflected in sales. 

·         Fundraising completed raising £2 million with the funds planned to increase capital equipment at the quarries in order to expand production and meet the confirmed demand for material in 2019. 

·         Block order book from existing customers for the year ended 31 December 2019 of around €3 million.

 

Operating 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 preliminary results for year ended 31 December 2018 which are anticipated to be notified in May 2019.

 

Sales

 

Unaudited sales for the year ended 2018 were c. €1.4 million, with a further €0.3 million in advances which have not yet been recognised in sales. Whilst sales growth has not been as strong as expected, this has been driven by lower than expected quarry production volumes in Maleshevë.  The demand for our Illirico Selene marble is currently outpacing production. We have seen encouraging signs in the development of our customer base, with a core of recurring block sale customers, with steady and regular demand for our material. We expect these customers to form the backbone of expected revenues in 2019.

·         In 2018, the Company has seen its first significant orders from China. A single Chinese customer has purchased and paid for 894 tonnes of Illirico Selene in three separate shipments.  This customer has confirmed it wishes to take 300 tonnes of this material each month for the next 12 months.

·         Turkey continues to be a consistent market for the Company, with over 1,200 tonnes of material sold in 2018. The customer has confirmed its expected demand in 2019 will be increased to 2,000 tonnes. 

 

·         In January 2019, the Company announced that it had started production of a new material at the Prilep quarry called Alexandrian Blue.  The new material has dense blue grey banding with smaller bands of white which produce a marked blue tone and is akin to the highly desirable Zebrino marble from Northern Italy.  This new material will be quarried alongside Alexandrian White which is already in commercial production at the quarry.  Fox Marble sold, and received payment for, 441 tonnes of Alexandrian Blue extracted in December 2018 to a single customer. Following this order, the Company entered into a sales agreement with this customer to purchase Alexandrian Blue with an expected value in excess of €1 million over the next twelve months. The same customer has confirmed its intention to purchase 3,500 tonnes of Illirico Selene. 

·         In 2018, the Company has established an office in Dubai to service the Gulf Cooperation Council region and has entered into a forward purchase agreement for processed marble including a $500,000 advance. The Company completed two large cut-to-size orders to a client in the UAE at the end of 2018, including the production of 50,000 10 cm x 10 cm tiles, which were secured via our new Dubai office.

 

Quarry Production

 

Our focus has continued to be on the Maleshevë quarry in Kosovo and Prilep quarry in Macedonia.  Total production has increased to 12,561 tonnes, a 42% increase since 2017. 

 

Production at the Maleshevë quarry, which produces the Illirico Bianco and Illirico Selene stone was 7,278 tonnes (2017 – 6,526 tonnes). This was below the Company’s expectations for the year, particularly in relation to the second half of 2018. The Company intends to make a significant investment in capital equipment in order to address the production shortfall and meet demand for these types of stone.  

 

In Prilep, the introduction of a new quarry team at the site in November 2018 increased the total production for the quarry to 5,282 tonnes (2017 - 2,285 tonnes). This 130% increase in production was achieved primarily in the last six weeks of the year, and provides an encouraging outlook for 2019 production at this quarry. The Company is also intending to invest in capital equipment in this quarry.

 

 

Factory

 

2018 was a transformative year for our factory.  With full slab production operational from the end Q3 2017, 2018 was focused on meeting growing demand for cut to size stone in addition to finished slabs.  The Italian Gravellona Machine Marmo Computer Numerical Control (“CNC”) machine was installed in March 2018 and was very quickly producing its first tiles for export.  Since then, cut to size capacity has been increased with the purchase of four bridge saws, two edge polishers, a cylinder (column) milling machine and a dedicated tile polishing line which will become operational in Q1 2019.  Operating processes have been consistently refined and the factory is now operating two full shifts year round.

 

The factory has been showcased as a key example of the benefits of investment in Kosovo and visited by various dignitaries including the Prime Minister of Kosovo, HE Ramush Haradinaj, the British Ambassador, Ruairi O’Connell and the Chairman of the Kosovo All Parties Parliamentary Group from Westminster, Martin Vickers MP.

 

Outlook for 2019

 

The investment in capital equipment is expected to significantly increase production, and allow further development of both major quarries. Currently the Company has confirmed orders from existing customers of approximately 16,000 tonnes of block material with anticipated gross revenue value of around €3 million for the year end 31 December 2019. 

 

Fox Marble does not expect to be significantly impacted by the expected departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, due to the location of its operations and the majority of its customer base being located outside the European Union. The Board will continue to monitor the situation in order to address and mitigate associated risks as they arise. 

 

 

Issue of shares and convertible loan notes

 

Fox Marble has issued 13,263,161 new ordinary shares in the Company (“New Ordinary Shares”) at 9.5p per share. Gross proceeds of this issue of equity amounts to £1,260,000. The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares.  Admission to AIM of the New Ordinary Shares will occur on or around 12 February 2019.

 

Fox Marble has issued a further £700,000 in Convertible Loan Notes under the same terms as existing Loan Notes issued by the Company. The Convertible Loan Notes will carry an interest rate of 8%, per annum. The Convertible Loan Notes are due for conversion or repayment on 4 February 2022 with a conversion price set at 10.5p.

 

Proceeds from the issue of shares are intended to be used to fund capital equipment at the Fox Marble’s quarry sites to expand production capabilities to supply increased demand for material in 2019.

 

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented “Our efforts in marketing our material globally are bearing fruit as we develop our markets in India, China Turkey and Italy.  We have repeat orders from multiple customers, ordering marble principally from our quarries in Prilep in Macedonia and Maleshevë in Kosovo. We have generated significant demand for our product, as such we are increasing our investment in these two quarries to increase our production capacity and grow revenues.  I expect this trend to continue this year and look forward to being able to report that Fox Marble has a stable and growing customer base with increasing revenues across the Group.

 

Our factory is now capable of processing a full range of marble products. We look forward to the sales of processed marble increasingly contributing to the bottom line throughout the year.

 

I expect to be advising the market of further sales as a result of our continuing focus on marketing selling and distributing our highly desirable premium quality stone throughout the world. Our new offices in Dubai and Mumbai will contribute to this momentum going forward.”

 

Total Voting Rights

 

In accordance with Rule 5.6.1 of the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority ("DTRs"), the Company's issued share capital at 12 February 2019 will consist of 231,148,483 ordinary shares of 1 pence each. The Company does not hold any ordinary shares in treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 231,148,483.

 

The above figure of 231,148,483 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the DTRs.

 

The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

 

 

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 / Sandy Jamieson

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

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 tons) 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.

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Shares Lydia Knyvett Shares Lydia Knyvett

Issue of Equity

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region announces that it has issued 2,800,000 new ordinary shares in the Company (“New Ordinary Shares”) at par value (1p) to a consultant and two employees of the Company in recognition of services provided to the Company and in lieu of cash payments.  Gross proceeds of this issue of equity amounts to £28,000. The issue of shares reflect the contributions made to the Company by these individuals, which has exceeded their compensation to date…

14 Aug 2018

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region announces that it has issued 2,800,000 new ordinary shares in the Company (“New Ordinary Shares”) at par value (1p) to a consultant and two employees of the Company in recognition of services provided to the Company and in lieu of cash payments.  Gross proceeds of this issue of equity amounts to £28,000. The issue of shares reflect the contributions made to the Company by these individuals, which has exceeded their compensation to date.

Name Number of new ordinary shares

Dr Etrur Albani 2,500,000

Employees 300,000 

Total 2,800,000

The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares.  Admission to AIM of the New Ordinary Shares will occur on or around 17 August 2018.

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented:

“This issue of equity recognises the contribution that these members of the Fox Marble team have made, and continue to make toward the development of the Company. I am very grateful to them for their efforts in driving the Company forward and their achievements – of which we are now starting to see the benefits.”

Total Voting Rights

In accordance with Rule 5.6.1 of the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority ("DTRs"), the Company's issued share capital at 17 August will consist of 217,885,322 ordinary shares of 1 pence each. The Company does not hold any ordinary shares in treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 217,885,322.

The above figure of 217,885,322 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the DTRs.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 and has been arranged for release by Fiona Hadfield, Finance Director of the Company.

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 / Jo Turner

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Yellow Jersey PR (PR & IR)

Georgia Colkin

Katie Bairsto

Tel: +44 (0) 7825 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 tons) 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.

Read More
Shares, Appointments Lydia Knyvett Shares, Appointments Lydia Knyvett

Appointment of Beaufort Securities as joint broker to Fox Marble and Issue of Equity and Warrants

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, is pleased to announce the appointment of Beaufort Securities Limited ("Beaufort Securities") as joint broker to the Company…

AIM:  FOX
12 July 2017

Fox Marble Holdings plc
("Fox Marble" or the "Company")

 

Appointment of Joint Broker

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, is pleased to announce the appointment of Beaufort Securities Limited ("Beaufort Securities") as joint broker to the Company.

Beaufort Securities will focus on improving liquidity and marketing the potential of Fox Marble to its network of UK retail and HNW investors, whilst in tandem providing research on the Company.

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented: 

"We are pleased to welcome Beaufort Securities as Joint Broker to the Company. We believe their expertise and relationships with the retail market will compliment the Company's existing advisers and provide a more balanced and wide reaching audience. We believe their appointment is particularly timely given the recent success Fox Marble has enjoyed in bulding up its sales order book and look forward to outlining both this and anticipated future newsflow to a broader audience."

Issue of Equity and Warrants

Fox Marble has today issued 277,777 new ordinary shares of 1p each ("Ordinary Shares") in the Company to Beaufort Securities Limited at a deemed price of 9p per share, being the closing bid price on 11 July 2017, in lieu of annual broking fees.

In addition Beaufort Securities has been granted performance warrants, in each case subject to the mid-price of the ordinary shares trading above the exercise price for a consecutive period of more than 3 months, as follows:

100,000 exercisable at 15p per share

75,000 exercisable at 20p per share

These warrants may be exercised for a period of up to 3 years from their date of issue.

Application has been made for the 277,777 new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected that admission will take place with effect from commencement of business on 19 July 2017.

Total Voting Rights

In accordance with Rule 5.6.1 of the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority ("DTRs"), the Company's issued share capital at 11 July 2017 will consist of 181,344,851 ordinary shares of 1 pence each. The Company does not hold any ordinary shares in treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 181,344,851.

The above figure of 181,344,851 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the DTRs.

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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad) Liam Murray

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0883

Brandon Hill Capital (Joint Broker)

Oliver Stansfield  Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Beaufort Securities Limited (Joint Broker)

Elliott Hance  Tel: +44 (0) 207 382 8300

Yellow Jersey PR

Felicity Winkles Tel: +44 (0) 7748 843 871

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble Holdings Plc is an AIM quoted natural stone extraction Company operating in Kosovo and the Balkans region, with headquarters in the United Kingdom.

The Company has been granted mining licences in relation to six separate marble quarries and completed a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Established in 2011, Fox Marble has access to over 300 million cubic metres of premium quality marble.

Fox Marble also has rights to extract marble from the Drini and Malesheva quarries, both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia.

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Shares, Directors' Dealings Lydia Knyvett Shares, Directors' Dealings Lydia Knyvett

Issue of Equity, Directors’ Dealings and Total Voting Rights

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, announces that on 31 October 2016 it issued 460,361 ordinary shares of 1p each (“Ordinary Shares”) in the Company to the Non-Executive Directors of the Company, and to Executive Directors Christopher Gilbert and Dr Etrur Albani, at a price of 9.9 pence per share, being the 30-day volume weighted average price as at 27 October 2016…

AIM:  FOX
1 November 2016

Fox Marble Holdings plc
 (“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, announces that on 31 October 2016 it issued 460,361 ordinary shares of 1p each (“Ordinary Shares”) in the Company to the Non-Executive Directors of the Company, and to Executive Directors Christopher Gilbert and Dr Etrur Albani, at a price of 9.9 pence per share, being the 30-day volume weighted average price as at 27 October 2016. 

As announced on 13 May 2016, from 1 January 2016 the Non-Executive Directors of the Company have agreed to utilise their fees (net of tax) to subscribe for Ordinary Shares in the Company.  In addition, from 1 March 2016, Executive Directors Christopher Gilbert and Dr Etrur Albani have agreed to utilise fifty per cent of their remuneration (net of tax) to subscribe for Ordinary Shares in the Company. 

This issue of Ordinary Shares to Andrew Allner, Sir Colin Terry, Roy Harrison and Christopher Gilbert is in respect of the remuneration for the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 September 2016.

This issue of Ordinary Shares to Dr Etrur Albani and Amati Global Partners LLP is in respect of the remuneration for the period from 1 July 2016 to 20 September 2016.

Ordinary Shares of 1p were issued as follows:

Andrew Allner 80,628

Sir Colin Terry 45,638

Roy Harrison 41,835

Amati Global Partners LLP(1) 67,606

Christopher Gilbert 107,186

Dr Etrur Albani 117,468

(1) Shares were issued to Amati Global Partners LLP in recognition of the services provided by Dr Paul Jourdan.  

Application has been made for the 460,361 new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected that admission will take place with effect from commencement of business on 4 November.

Total Voting Rights

In accordance with Rule 5.6.1 of the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority (“DTRs”), the Company’s issued share capital at 4 November 2016 will consist of 181,067,074 ordinary shares of 1 pence each. The Company does not hold any ordinary shares in treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 181,067,074.

The above figure of 181,067,074 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the DTRs.

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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
Liam Murray
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)
Oliver Stansfield
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Yellow Jersey PR
Dominic Barretto
Tel: +44 (0) 77 6853 7739

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble Holdings Plc is an AIM quoted natural stone extraction Company operating in Kosovo and the Balkans region, with headquarters in the United Kingdom.

The Company has been granted mining licences in relation to six separate marble quarries and completed a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Established in 2011, Fox Marble has access to over 300 million cubic metres of premium quality marble.

Fox Marble also has rights to extract marble from the Drini and Malesheva quarries, both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia.

Read More