Aeris Environmental (ASX:AEI), CEO, Peter Bush, discusses the company's FY17 results, its portfolio of smart building and coatings solutions, its installations and outlook.
Jessica Amir: Hi I’m Jessica Amir for the Finance News Network. Joining me from Aeris Environmental Limited
(ASX:AEI) is CEO, Peter Bush. Peter, welcome to the Finance News Network.
Peter Bush: Thank you Jessica, it’s a pleasure to be here.
Jessica Amir: Thanks for coming. First up, can you give us an introduction to the company for those who aren’t familiar?
Peter Bush: Aeris makes buildings operate more efficiently, healthier, safer and most importantly, more productively. With over $40 million invested to date, we help our clients, some of which are major multinationals, achieve their corporate goals. And in doing so, help us grow our business. With over a decade of research and development and experience in technology commercialisation, our focus today is on growing our revenue.
Jessica Amir: Now to your FY17 results Peter. What were some of the highlights?
Peter Bush: FY17 saw us double our revenue, as we have each of the previous two years, whilst maintaining our high sustainable margins - offered fully Australian manufacturing base. We’re very proud to say that we do manufacture in Australia. Going into FY18, we enjoy a pipeline of over $15 million of validated revenue and my job, our job, is to turn that revenue into long-term recurring growth.
Jessica Amir: Can you tell us about your key product portfolios?
Peter Bush: Aeris concentrates in three main businesses and each of those are underpinned by patents, and global registrations. Our first business is our consumables range, which companies use to clean and treat surfaces. Whether it’s an air-conditioning system, whether it’s a cool room or a refrigerator truck, or in fact a whole building, such as the one we’re staying in today.
Our second business is our corrosion prevention range. And that’s used to make assets last a lot longer, by preventing them from getting corroded. And our third core business is our smart energy control and optimisation platform, which is underpinned by our SmartHub, which is now launched. The SmartHub is a control measurement verification and visualisation platform that’s applicable at the asset level.
So Jessica our platinum partners are specialist applicators that are experts in their field. And they help their end-customers; whether it’s a hospital or a mine or a school, get the benefits of our systems. Because we’re a technology company and not a service business, we really need to work with accredited suppliers that can take our product and best apply them, in the field.
Jessica Amir: Can you tell us about the market in which you operate in, and who you’re competing against?
Peter Bush: That’s a really good question. We find that our main competitor is really bad practise – do nothing. A lot of our clients go about their business not really understanding what’s happening behind that screen, behind the wall, in the kitchen. So our job is to educate the customer and explain to them why working with Aeris, not only gives them a validated benefit, but improves their bottom line immediately.
Jessica Amir: Can you give me some examples?
Peter Bush: We work with many multinational corporations and key asset managers, all around the world. One example is Accor Hotels, where we help them optimise their air-conditioning by removing the biofield mould and bacteria from the heat exchange. And then providing long-term protection they’re enjoying, not only validated energy savings, but much better room comfort, improved temperature and humidity control. And most importantly for them, compliance with their Planet 21 environmental standards.
Outside of the room, we work with them in their kitchens because our products are uniquely hazard approved. Meaning they are not only effective, but also food safe. Outside of hotels, we’ve been working with large facility managers such as Sodexo, which is helping their mining clients become more efficient, through the use of our products that not only provide hygiene, but give them long-term protection. Another example is Visy paper. Whereas rather than throwing out a piece of mission critical equipment after eight months, they’re now using our corrosion protection to give them five years of warranted outcome.
Jessica Amir: What’s your focus for the next 12 months and what’s your long-term ambition for the company?
Peter Bush: Our focus over the next 12 months is to convert a validated pipeline opportunity, of over $15 million. To put that into context, that’s more than five times last year’s revenue. The way we’re planning on doing that is to sell more to our existing customer base, to grow our platinum partner base and to work with our wholesale distribution partners. To help them provide a point of difference to their customers.
Jessica Amir: Peter Bush, thank you so much for the update.
Peter Bush: Jessica, thank you so much.
Ends
