Nanoxplore Inc. press release

NanoXplore Reports Results for Its Q4-2026 and Full Year 2026

2026-09-15

TSX - Toronto Stock Exchange · Canada · Corporate Finance

MONTREAL, Sept. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NanoXplore Inc. (“NanoXplore” or “the Corporation”) (TSX: GRA and OTCQX: NNXPF), a world-leading graphene company, reported its financial results today for the year ended June 30, 2026.

All amounts in this press release are in Canadian dollars, unless stated otherwise.

KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Q4-2026

Total revenues of $33,905,991 compared to $31,685,923 last year, representing a 7% increase; Adjusted gross margin(1)on revenues from customers of 22.5% compared to 24.7% last year; Loss of $1,568,324 compared to a loss of $2,295,472 last year; Adjusted EBITDA(2)of $1,908,431 compared to $2,475,379 last year; Adjusted EBITDA(2)of $2,049,773 compared to $2,697,655 last year for the Advanced Materials, Plastics and Composite Products segment; Adjusted EBITDA(2)loss of $141,342 compared to $222,276 last year for the Battery Cells and Materials segment; Total liquidity of $30,048,438 as at June 30, 2026, including cash and cash equivalents of $25,048,438; Total long-term debt of $10,554,435 as at June 30, 2026, higher by $6,241,511 compared to June 30, 2025.

KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FISCAL YEAR 2026

Total revenues of $117,276,309 compared to $128,918,388 last year, representing a 9% decrease; Adjusted gross margin(1)on revenues from customers of 21.3% compared to 22.3% last year; Loss of $11,827,981 compared to a loss of $9,657,120 last year; Adjusted EBITDA(2)of $1,922,206 compared to $6,122,283 last year; Adjusted EBITDA(2)of $2,149,114 compared to $6,847,826 last year for the Advanced Materials, Plastics and Composite Products segment; Adjusted EBITDA(2)loss of $226,908 compared to $725,543 last year for the Battery Cells and Materials segment.

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

Based on the visibility we have today and the various initiatives in progress or that will begin to produce returns during the year, we anticipate total revenues for fiscal year 2027 between $130M and $140M. In addition, we expect revenues for fiscal year 2028 between $160M and $170M.

OVERVIEW

Rocco Marinaccio, President & Chief Executive Officer, stated: “After a challenging start to the year, I am pleased overall with our fiscal year 2026 performance. During the year, we had to mitigate significant volume drop by adjusting our operating cost structure while also launching new programs, managing material price increases and setting up a new plant. The entire team delivered great results in a challenging context. Fiscal year 2026 was also a transformative year for NanoXplore. We are in the strongest position we have ever been as a Company — a solid balance sheet, a robust $35 million pipeline of graphene-enhanced Solutions business launching over the next 18 months, and an innovative new product launch in our D Series graphene that is opening entirely new, high-margin markets for the Corporation. In the past year we launched our state-of-the-art facility in Statesville, North Carolina, supplying Club Car, formalized our partnership with Chevron Phillips Chemical, supplying an innovative lubricant additive for the oil and gas industry, and achieved our best safety record in Company history, reducing our total recordable injury frequency by two-thirds. Looking ahead, we see high-margin opportunities commercializing in fiscal year 2027 across insulating foams, thin films, and drilling fluids. We have also sharpened VoltaXplore's strategy around the market where our cell technology is most differentiated and where we can capture the most value: supplying high-performance cells to defence and other high-power, high-energy applications such as UAVs — a fast-growing North American market with very few domestic suppliers. Combined with the stability of our graphene-enhanced Solutions business, we anticipate fiscal 2027 revenue growth between 11-20%, with revenues between $130 million and $140 million, and expect to deliver positive free cash flow — which would represent record highs for NanoXplore.”

(1)Adjusted gross margin is a non-IFRS measure and a reconciliation can be found in the “Overall Results” section. (2)Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure and a reconciliation can be found in the “Overall Results” section.

BUSINESS UPDATE

During the year ended June 30, 2026, the Corporation continued to focus on developing markets for its graphene products as well as downstream pre-mixed additives, masterbatches, concentrates and products that facilitate customer adoption. In this regard, the Corporation has been successful integrating GrapheneBlack®into multiple product streams, both internally and externally, and has also advanced its D-Series dry-processed graphene platform for applications where different graphene characteristics are required. Through this market development work, the Corporation has determined that a single graphene product is not expected to deliver optimal performance across all applications, and that tailoring graphene characteristics to specific end-use requirements is an important differentiator of its manufacturing platform. The Corporation continues to engage with potential customers who are validating GrapheneBlack®, D-Series graphene, and related graphene-enhanced masterbatches, concentrates, and products.

Commercial Update

Drilling fluids

On September 18, 2025, the Corporation announced the signing of a multi-year supply agreement with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (“CP Chem”) for the sale of TriboGraf®, the Corporation’s proprietary carbon product used as a formulation additive in drilling fluids to increase lubricity. This was the culmination of over 18 months of collaborative work between the companies through lab tests and well trials that produced exceptional results by significantly reducing costs to the operators by saving approximately 20% drilling time and wear on drilling equipment. This formulation is marketed by CP Chem as NanoSlide®.

Following the exceptional performance of NanoSlide®in well trials, CP Chem initially expected near-term commercial activity that would have resulted in additional product shipments by the Corporation. However, CP Chem subsequently advised the Corporation that the anticipated customer opportunity did not proceed because CP Chem lost a major customer due to customer-specific commercial considerations unrelated to the performance of NanoSlide®. As a result, the timing of additional product shipments by the Corporation has shifted to the qualification and adoption timelines of CP Chem’s broader prospective customer base. As of the date of this MD&A, CP Chem has shipped NanoSlide®samples to multiple prospective customers for evaluation, and all customers that have completed laboratory testing have confirmed that NanoSlide®performs as intended. These results continue to support the technical value proposition demonstrated during the initial well trials. The next phase of customer evaluation involves well trials, which are the key determinant in advancing toward commercial adoption. Although commercialization has progressed more slowly than initially anticipated due to the loss of this initial customer opportunity, CP Chem and NanoXplore remain confident that NanoSlide®is a high-performance, cost-effective lubricant with significant market potential. As prospective customers continue to advance through testing and qualification, the companies believe NanoSlide®remains well positioned for broader market adoption.

Insulating foams

Several years ago, the Corporation initiated a development program with a Fortune 500 producer of insulating foam products to enhance thermal insulation performance through the incorporation of graphene. The formulation is currently being optimized ahead of final plant trials anticipated in early 2027. Insights gained through this collaboration have enabled the Corporation to expand its market development activities across the insulating foam sector, resulting in ongoing projects with leading manufacturers that collectively account for approximately 80% of the North American market.

Some of these programs are expected to commercialize during fiscal year 2027. One major customer intends to replace its current additive in some of its products with the Corporation’s product and is currently finalizing approvals to begin purchasing volumes for an immediate conversion. Based upon the customer’s preliminary demand indications, the Corporation anticipates approximately 1,000 MT per year of masterbatch, at a 30% graphene loading, in the first full year of production with the potential for additional volume growth thereafter.

Additionally, the Corporation recently signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with a leading global material supplier in the field of polyurethane (“PU”) foams. Pursuant to the term of the LOI, this partner is expected to purchase graphene powder from the Corporation and produce shelf-stable graphene dispersions in polyol, which are used in the manufacture of PU foams. This partner maintains an extensive customer base across the United States and Europe and has helped identify a significant opportunity in the European foam market, where graphene may reduce or replace a commonly used halogenated flame retardant that is facing increasing regulatory scrutiny as the market transitions toward more sustainable and non-halogenated alternatives.

Industrial and Consumer plastic films

On June 15, 2026, the Corporation announced a technical innovation in partnership with Techmer PM LLC (“Techmer”), its longstanding partner on graphene enhancements for plastics.

Industrial plastic films encompass landscape liners, protective films, pallet wraps, heavy-duty plastic bags and other industrial liners. Consumer plastic films encompass trash bags and a variety of (non-food) consumer packaging. These applications represent a substantial addressable market for graphene-enhanced materials, given the scale of film production and the industry’s ongoing focus on material reduction, recycled content and improved product performance.

This innovation has demonstrated more than 70% improvement in mechanical strength and may enable film producers to reduce film thickness by up to 20% while maintaining tensile, tear, and puncture performance. The innovation also has the potential to increase the amount of recycled content that can be incorporated into film formulations without sacrificing performance, a critical advancement for packaging manufacturers navigating increasingly stringent sustainability mandates and circular economy targets. The performance improvements observed to date are believed to result from the distinctive properties of the Corporation's dry-processed graphene (D-Series), which has shown significantly greater benefits in these applications as compared to liquid-phase-processed graphene materials (X-Series).

Techmer’s broad and diversified customer base provides the Corporation with immediate access to a wide range of potential applications within the industry. Following the announcement in June 2026, several of Techmer’s customers have requested and received samples for testing and evaluation. The Corporation expects a number of these opportunities to advance through the qualification process in the coming months, which could support commercial adoption. Accordingly, the Corporation currently anticipates graphene orders to begin in the second half of fiscal year 2027.

The global plastic bag industry is a multi billion-dollar market and represents a meaningful opportunity for the Corporation to increase graphene adoption in plastic film applications. The Corporation continues to work with industry participants, including leading brands such as Hefty and Glad, to demonstrate the performance advantages that graphene can provide in high-volume film applications.

While the inclusion rate of graphene in these applications is typically less than 1%, the associated selling price per kilogram is substantially higher than many of the Corporation's existing graphene products. Accordingly, successful commercialization of these applications could provide access to high-volume end markets while generating a higher margin profile relative to the Corporation's traditional graphene product portfolio.

Conductive graphene

On May 5, 2026, the Corporation announced the launch of xGnP™ D500-HP, a high-purity graphene powder engineered for highly conductive applications, including energy storage, conductive composites, advanced electronics and other applications where carbon black is currently a dominant conductive additive. D500-HP demonstrates the strength of the Corporation’s graphene manufacturing platform and Corporation’s ability to tailor graphene characteristics to the requirements of specific end-use applications. Through its development work, the Corporation has determined that different applications may require graphene materials with different characteristics, and that a single graphene product is not expected to deliver optimal performance across all target markets. For example, the Corporation’s X-series GrapheneBlack®product did not provide the level of conductivity required for certain highly conductive applications, leading to the development of D500-HP for these markets.

The Corporation currently sells conductive graphene to an Asian customer and is working with several others on commercial opportunities that are expected to materialize over the course of the coming fiscal year. In these applications, graphene may be used on its own or in combination with carbon black, where even partial replacement of carbon black has the potential to deliver enhanced conductivity, mechanical performance or other functional benefits. Products serving this market command a wide range of selling prices depending on performance requirements and specifications and are expected to generate a higher margin profile relative to the Corporation's traditional graphene product portfolio. As a result, successful commercialization in conductive applications could represent a meaningful growth opportunity for the Corporation, particularly in energy storage and other markets requiring high-performance conductive materials.

Graphene-enhanced molded thermoplastics

On November 12, 2025, the Corporation announced the award and start of production of molded thermoplastic parts for Club Car LLC (“Club Car”). This new customer in the recreational products market provides diversification from the transportation industry. Based on historical program performance in this market, the Corporation expects to benefit from a relatively stable and predictable level of annual demand going forward. The success of this program has also created additional opportunities within the recreational products market, and the Corporation is currently engaged in discussions with other potential customers regarding prospective commercial opportunities.

Since the end of fiscal Q1-2026, sales volumes for Paccar and Volvo have steadily increased. While volume levels remain below fiscal years 2024 and 2025, they continue to increase and provide NanoXplore with steadily increasing revenue. New Volvo programs awarded to the Corporation and expected to start part production in the second half of fiscal year 2027 have been delayed by Volvo and are now expected to begin during fiscal year 2028. The Corporation expects to generate annual revenue of approximately $25M at mature volumes from these 2 programs.

In January 2026, the Corporation was awarded a new program from Volvo to produce sheet molded compound parts (“SMC”) with expected annual revenues of $9-10M at mature volumes. This award includes tooling revenues which began recognition this past quarter and are expected to conclude in late fiscal 2027 or early fiscal 2028 with part production expected to start during fiscal year 2028. The Corporation intends to produce the part with graphene-enhanced SMC material.

Graphene-enhanced recycled plastics

Recycled plastics are an increasingly important input for industrial and consumer products as customers respond to sustainability mandates, circular-economy targets, and demand for lower-emission materials. The recycling process inherently degrades the mechanical performance of the polymer. The addition of graphene can restore these lost properties, allowing recycled content to be used in applications that would otherwise require virgin resin. Both post-consumer and post-industrial recycled streams can benefit from the addition of graphene. This capability benefits the Corporation directly through its subsidiary, Canuck Compounders Inc., which supplies recycled compounds, as well as external customers seeking to increase recycled content in their products without sacrificing performance.

The addition of the Corporation's dry-processed graphene (D-series) has created additional opportunities in this area. Certain applications that were not previously achievable, based on their technical requirements, are now possible using dry-processed graphene. From the outset of conversations with Club Car, the intent was not only to supply parts but ultimately to convert certain products to graphene-enhanced recycled compounds. The Corporation is currently working with Club Car on formulations with the goal of matching or exceeding the performance and quality of the current product. The Corporation expects conversion to graphene-enhanced recycled compounds to begin in early calendar 2027 with our graphene and recycled compounds from Canuck Compounders.

Finally, developments in graphene-enhanced recycled compounds since the acquisition of Canuck Compounders is expected to replace carbon black in the majority of the product offerings, improving mechanical performance while supporting customers' sustainability objectives.

VoltaXplore Update

VoltaXplore Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation. Through VoltaXplore, the Corporation manufactures silicon-based, graphene-enhanced lithium-ion battery cells. VoltaXplore operates a 1 MWh cylindrical battery production facility in Montréal, Québec, producing cells in the 21700 format. The cells are designed for high energy density and high-power applications to address the common stability and cycle life challenges associated with high-silicon anodes. Additionally, the recently improved tab configuration reduces the internal resistance of the cell, supporting both high-power and high-energy performance. VoltaXplore can adjust cell design and materials to meet specific customer energy-storage requirements.

During the year, management undertook a strategic review of VoltaXplore and refocused the business on validated near-term market opportunities in drone and defence applications. Consistent with the Corporation's capital-protection discipline and capital-allocation objectives, VoltaXplore has been restructured to operate under a specialty model focused on selected target markets. The repositioning is supported by growing demand for domestically produced battery cells driven by trade and geopolitical developments, as well as the procurement preferences and requirements for Canadian-manufactured products.

The repositioning represents a shift from VoltaXplore's earlier focus on electric-vehicle applications toward defence and dual-use platforms. Targeted end markets include UAVs, UGVs, portable electronics, and other applications serving Canadian and U.S. defence customers.

VoltaXplore's existing production capability has enabled it to begin supplying cells to interested parties for testing and qualification. VoltaXplore's technology development has been supported by contributions under federal programs, including Natural Resources Canada's Energy Innovation Program and the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (“IRAP”), both of which remain active.

For fiscal 2027, VoltaXplore intends to continue pursuing additional grants and subsidies. It is also seeking to leverage its Canadian operations in order to supply the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence (DND), and other Government of Canada purchasers, either directly or through its partners and customers, typically module and pack manufacturers, with whom letters of intent have been executed.