Nanoco Group - shares on the move as investors await results and delisting update
Shares in Nanoco Group (LSE: NANO) have found themselves near the top of the daily leaderboard today, up 28% to 3.2p as we write, despite no news. The company is a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots (CFQD®) and other specific nanomaterials for use in the electronics industries. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Runcorn, UK, Nanoco has built a world-class, patent-protected IP portfolio alongside its existing scaled up production facilities for commercial orders.
Nanomaterials are materials with dimensions typically in the range of 1 to 100 nanometres. They have a range of useful properties, including optical and electronic. Meanwhile, quantum dots are a subclass of nanomaterial that have size-dependent optical and electronic properties. Nanoco exploits different characteristics of the quantum dots to target different performance criteria that are attractive to specific markets or end-user applications such as the sensor, electronics and display markets.
The company’s CFQD® quantum dots are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals, and can be tuned to emit light at different wavelengths across the visible and infrared spectrum, rendering them useful for a wide range of display applications. Its HEATWAVE™ branded quantum dots can be tuned to absorb light at different wavelengths across the near-infrared spectra, rendering them useful for applications including cameras and image sensors.
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Trading on track
Back in August, Nanoco reported in a trading update that unaudited revenue of £11.3 million is expected for FY2026, in line with market expectations. Excluding revenue from licence agreements, unaudited revenues of £1.5 million are expected, also in line with market expectations. At the profit level, underlying unaudited adjusted EBITDA is expected to be £6.1 million and cash at year end £9.3 million, both slightly ahead of market expectations. For reference, the house broker had forecasts of £11.3 million of revenue, adjusted EBITDA of £5.8 million and cash of £8.8 million.
These figures are an improvement on FY2025's revenues of £7.6 million and EBITDA of £1.5 million. The revenue fall that year followed the cancellation of a contract with a European customer in 2024.
Following a reorganisation and reduction in the cost base completed during the financial year, the gross cash cost base remains at £0.3 million - £0.4 million per month, down from £0.5 million in FY2025 and the firm continues to monitor the cost base to assess whether further reductions can be made.
If last year’s timetable is matched, investors should see the full year results some time in November.
Nanoco 5-year share price chart
Customer and delisting developments
Elsewhere, Nanoco’s August update revealed that it is set to achieve all milestones in the first year of its three-year Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with its first Asian chemical customer, with volumes expected to more than double in FY2027 from a relatively small base. Discussions are continuing with a second Asian chemical customer, following a small programme extension in June 2026. There is said to be ongoing engagement with a number of other potential customers to secure further JDAs or material supply contracts, primarily in sensing.
Back in May, Nanoco announced that, mainly to reduce its ongoing costs, it intended to delist from the London Stock Exchange. This followed the termination of a process to find a buyer for its trading business, with the focus being moved to delivering comparable or superior value by carefully investing resources in existing high-potential business areas. However, the general meeting to approve the delisting was adjourned in June, the reason given being recent changes in the shareholder register and the high number of retail investors on the books. A shareholder consultation exercise regarding the matter is ongoing.
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Wickes Group is not a corporate client of Optimo Research Ltd.
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