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SECOS (ASX:SES) sees growth in eco-friendly products for FY20

Environment
ASX:SES      MCAP $21.47M
31 August 2020 13:30 (AEST)

Bioplastics developer SECOS Group (SES) saw double-digit growth with its compostable resins, films and bags in the 2020 financial year (FY20).

Sales growth in the company’s compostable biopolymer range was 20 per cent higher than 2019’s result.

For the year, the company had a revenue of just over $21 million, which is a 0.9 per cent change to last year. Loss after income tax for the year was just over $1.1 million, which is an improvement from 2019’s $4.1 million.

What has SECOS done throughout the year?

“During the year, the company focused on developing new resin grades and improved technology in film and product applications resulting in a substantial customer pipeline across all categories of resin, film and finished products,” Executive Chairman Richard Tegoni said.

“Joint product trials progressed well during the year which has established a strong growth platform for 2021. Already this year, major success has been achieved in feminine hygiene products, pet waste bags, and further growth in council-led organic waste business,” he added.

In July, SECOS signed a deal with supermarket giants, Woolworths (WOW) to sell its compostable bin liners.

The company also signed a supply contract with JC USA, a subsidiary of Jewett-Cameron Trading for the supply of compostable pet waste bags which will be made from SECOS’ Cardia proprietary biopolymer resins.

Food waste

SECOS is committed to the Australian Council initiatives to divert food waste from landfill to organic waste stations.

The company promotes compostable kitchen tidy bags to councils which are used for the council food waste diversion programs. These programs turn food waste into organic waste treatments which creates fertile mulch.

SECOS is also committed to replacing single-use plastics with more sustainable compostable solutions in the consumer and food packaging industry.

Why sustainable packaging?

It is no secret that waste is harming the planet we live in, National Geographic says that plastic in the ocean will nearly triple by 2024 if we don’t take drastic action.

In 2018, the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment said a total of 3.4 million tonnes of plastic was consumed in Australia, with a total of 320,000 tonnes of plastic were recycled. Even though that doesn’t seem like a lot, it is a 10 per cent increase from 2017.

Biobased, biodegradable and compostable products use renewable materials such as starch and other ingredients compared to the conventional plastics, that take years to degrade.

Global production of these products is split 55 per cent for biodegradable and compostable products verse 45 per cent for bio-based non-biodegradable products. SECOS caters for both through its Cardia and Biohybrid products.

Since China stopped accepting waste, recycling has reduced around the globe and in many countries recycling means landfill.

With less than 10 per cent of plastic recycled worldwide, the shift to remove plastics from waste streams or replace them with environmentally sustainable solutions has been a key focus for governments and global brands alike.

“2020 saw the continued unprecedented shift in government and community attitudes to address the world’s plastic waste crisis,” Richard said.

“While some conventional plastic manufacturing incumbents remain wedded to petrochemical supply chains, many others accept that “recycling” alone can no longer be promoted as the environmental fix-all it has been made out to be over the decades,” he added.

On the market today, SECOS is up 13.8 per cent and is trading for 16.5 cents per share at 2:12 pm AEST.

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