Announcement
Water Intelligence : Joint Technology Development Agreement
RNS Number : 5286S
Water Intelligence PLC
26 June 2018
Joint Technology Development Agreement and Expansion of Municipal Services
Water Intelligence plc ("Water Intelligence" or the "Group") (AIM: WATR.L), a leading multinational provider of precision, minimally-invasive leak detection and remediation solutions for both potable and non-potable water is pleased to announce an exclusive joint development agreement with Reece Innovation Centre Limited ("RIC"). RIC is a manufacturing and innovation company headquartered in the UK. The Group and RIC plan to develop a range of proprietary, leading edge technology products under the Water Intelligence brand for the municipal services market. RIC also will provide Water Intelligence with preferred manufacturing capabilities that the Group needs in order to grow its solutions offerings worldwide. Such new technology product capabilities reinforce the strong growth trajectory of the Group's municipal services business - Water Intelligence International ("WII") - to be detailed in the Group's 1H market update.
The first product being launched under the Joint Development Agreement is a ruggedized and water proof acoustic device that rapidly assesses the condition of sewer pipes and identifies the location of blockages with greater precision than available in the market. The product is currently being tested at a major water utility in the UK. Water Intelligence plans to combine the product's acoustic capabilities with video technology and artificial intelligence provided by its Tagasauris partnership, announced earlier this year, to provide technology leadership to the municipal market.
The Joint Development Agreement is the next step in the Group's strategy to expand its municipal services business under the WII brand, first across the Group's current sales footprint in the US, UK, Australia and Canada and then into new geographies as the problem of crumbling water infrastructure, especially in urban areas, is a world-wide problem.
The Group's plan is to leverage the substantial market presence of its American Leak Detection ("ALD") residential and commercial subsidiary across the US and Australia to sell additional municipal services from WII in those serviced localities. Earlier this year, the Group announced such commercial expansion in Australia with respect to Hunter Water. During 1H, WII also won several additional contracts in different states of the US - Maryland, Michigan, Missouri and Virginia. Such additional contracts are accretive as they would not have been executed by ALD given sharply increasing demand for its higher margin solutions for the residential and commercial markets. During 1H, WII has also led the way in opening new markets for the Group with contract wins in Ireland and Romania. Ultimately, these new territories may be converted into residential and commercial opportunities under the ALD brand. Cross-selling between ALD and WII contributes to the Group's growth in a more efficient way.
Commenting, Dr Patrick DeSouza, Executive Chairman of Water Intelligence, stated:
"The Joint Development Agreement provides the Water Intelligence brand with a leading-edge product to sell and a manufacturing capability for more technology products to supplement our service offerings. We are excited by the opportunities to fuel further growth with Reece Innovation Centre. This transaction delivers against one of the three operating priorities for 2018-2019 identified in our recently released Annual Report. As noted in the Chairman's Statement from that Report, 'since our business solutions DNA always has been focused on the use of technology, especially acoustic and infrared, we will continue to enhance our technology profile through new product partnerships and investments in cutting-edge solutions for our customers.'"
Commenting, Alistair Kitching, Operations Manager of Reece Innovation, stated:
"Reece Innovation is delighted to be partnering with Water Intelligence, a forward thinking and rapidly growing international company which shares our ambition to develop novel, leading edge technologies to tackle real-world problems. Reece Innovation work in partnership with industry leading stakeholders to develop engineering solutions across a wide range of highly diverse sectors, and Water Intelligence's specialist water sector knowledge, combined with Reece Innovation's world class research and development, production and manufacturing facilities, make this a particularly valuable alliance for both parties. We very much look forward to working closely with Water Intelligence in order that both parties achieve their objectives and meet their ambitious growth targets."
For further information about this announcement please contact:
Water Intelligence plc Patrick DeSouza, Executive Chairman Tel: +1 203 654 5426
finnCap Ltd Adrian Hargrave / Giles Rolls (Corporate Finance)
Stephen Norcross (Corporate Broking) Tel: +44 020 7220 0500
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.rns.com.
END
NRADGGDLDGDBGIU
;