Nanophase Reports Record 2018 Revenue,

Outlook for Solesence and Mineral UV Absorbers Strong

 

The company's financial conference call is scheduled for March 28th at 11am EDT

 

Romeoville, IL, - March 27, 2019 - Nanophase Technologies Corporation (OTCQB: NANX), a leader in minerals-based personal care ingredients and formulated products for protecting skin from environmental aggressors such as UV light and pollution, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.   

“We are in the right markets at the right time," commented Nanophase CEO and President Jess Jankowski.  The markets for our minerals-based personal care ingredients and Solesence products continue to improve, with consumers and regulators recognizing the health and environmental advantages of our technologies." 

"Our Solesence business just enjoyed another product launch through a leading natural skin and body care products company, resulting in low six-figure revenue for the first quarter of 2019.  This product has already received recognition as being one of the best in its class.  We are expecting a number of additional brands to launch products through Solesence in the second quarter."

"We achieved record revenue in 2018, representing growth of 14% year-over-year, driven by a temporary increase in personal care ingredients sales, and $1.3M in revenue from 2018 Solesence product launches.  In 2019, through new launches and re-orders, we expect Solesence volume to be a multiple of 2018's."

2018 Q4 Financial Information

Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018 Financial Highlights

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights

  •    -Revenue for the fourth quarter was $3.2 million in 2018, vs. $2.6 million in 2017.  
  •    -The net loss for the quarter was $1.1 million in 2018, or $0.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.2 million, or $0.01 per share, for 2017.
Jankowski continued, "Clearly, the financial results in 2018 were not indicative of the progress we've made in our Solesence-driven growth strategy.  A series of costs related to our first consumer-ready product launches, as well as other variables, resulted in a poor bottom line.  We don't expect these results to reflect future performance.  We are making exciting and life-enhancing products that the markets desire, and we expect 2019 to reflect that with the continued growth of Solesence." 

Fourth Quarter and 2018 Fiscal Year Conference Call

The Nanophase conference call, to be hosted by Jess Jankowski, the Company’s President & CEO, is scheduled for March 28, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. CDT, 11:00 a.m. EDT. The conference call dial-in number for U.S. callers is 877-312-8776 and for international callers is 408-774-4007.  The conference ID is 5399757.  Please dial in to the conference at least five minutes before the call is scheduled to begin.  

The call may also be accessed through the company’s website, at www.nanophase.com, by clicking on Investor Relations, Investor News and the link in the conference call announcement release.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Nanophase believes that the presentation of results excluding certain items, such as non-cash equity compensation charges, provides meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors, facilitating the evaluation of performance across reporting periods. The Company uses these non-GAAP measures for internal planning and reporting purposes. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, generally accepted accounting principles and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or net income per share prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. 

About Nanophase Technologies

Nanophase Technologies Corporation (NANX), www.nanophase.com, is a leader in minerals-based personal care ingredients and formulated products for protecting skin from environmental aggressors, such as UV light and pollution, as well as providing solutions for industrial product applications.  Using a platform of patented and proprietary integrated technologies, the Company creates products with unique performance attributes from two ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 registered facilities. Nanophase delivers commercial quantity and quality engineered materials both as ingredients, and as part of fully formulated products, in a variety of formats.   

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains words such as “expects,” ”shall,” “will,” “believes,” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements in this announcement are made based on the Company’s current beliefs, known events and circumstances at the time of publication, and as such, are subject in the future to unforeseen risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s results of operations, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following: a decision by a customer to cancel a purchase order or supply agreement in light of the Company’s dependence on a limited number of key customers; uncertain demand for, and acceptance of, the Company’s nanocrystalline materials; the Company’s manufacturing capacity and product mix flexibility in light of customer demand; the Company’s limited marketing experience; changes in development and distribution relationships; the impact of competitive products and technologies; the Company’s dependence on patents and protection of proprietary information; the resolution of litigation in which the Company may become involved; the impact of any potential new government regulations that could be difficult to respond to or too costly to comply with while remaining financially viable; the ability of the Company to maintain an appropriate electronic trading venue; and other factors described in the Company’s Form 10-K filed March 30, 2018. In addition, the Company’s forward-looking statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates. Except as required by federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events, uncertainties or other contingencies.