Woodbois shares return to AIM following key appointments

Woodbois (WBI) Follow | WBI, an Africa-focused forestry and timber trading company, announced the appointment of Allenby Capital as its new nominated advisor, effective today. Following the appointment, trading of WBI ordinary shares on AIM was restored as of 7:30 AM London time on November 11, 2024.

Additionally, WBI announced the appointments of Paul Shackleton and Clive Roberts as non-executive directors. Their focus will be on corporate governance and engagement with stakeholders, allowing WBI's leadership to focus on restarting  the company's core business in Gabon and developing carbon credit income in the medium term.

Woodbois said a further non-executive appointment would be made "in due course" to allow the separation of the CEO and Chairman roles and balance the board in terms of non-executives vs executives in accordance with QCA code.

A further appointment was announced today of Emmanuel Henriquet as new director general of Woodbois Gabon, to strengthen WBI's position in the country and ramp up production and sales.

Guido Theuns, Executive Chair and CEO, commenting: "The company regrets that trading in its shares was suspended, and accordingly we are pleased that these appointments allow for the listing to continue, which the Directors recognize is extremely important to shareholders. We will provide further updates as we progress and we look forward to the 2024 AGM to be held in December, and for which we will publish a notice shortly. Our team are fully committed to driving returns for our shareholders through profitability, efficient operations, sustainable responsible forestry practices and value-adding growth."

View from Vox

Woodbois shares have been readmitted to trading on AIM following the appointment of Allenby Capital as the company's nominated advisor. Woodbois took the opportunity to introduce several new appointments to its corporate team, including new non-exec directors Paul Shackleton and Clive Roberts. Both have significant capital markets and regulatory experience that should take pressure off the executives to deal with operations in Gabon. Investors should expect a 3rd nomination in the near term to divide the CEO and Chairman roles.

Meanwhile in Gabon, WBI announced the appointment of French national Emmanuel Henriquet with 30 years of experience in forestry, multi-country financial management, government relations, strategic development and restructurings across sub-Saharan Africa. WBI has been restructuring its Gabon operations, aiming to reduce costs and streamline its workforce for near-term revenue, including the introduction of flexible employment contracts.

The goal of these initiatives is to significantly scale up production and sales in the coming months. Today, WBI reported a new shipment of pre-sold stock, paving the way for a material uplift in production and future exports of its veneer and sawn timber on improved sales terms that should yield higher cashflow and lower counterparty risk. WBI also confirmed receipt of £484k from its placing in October 2024, which will be used to ramp up production to 50 containers per month.

In its most recent interim results for the 6 months to June 30, 2024, WBI reported a much improved EBITDAS of US$(0.6)m, down from a US($2.8)m loss in H1 2023. Gross profits more than tripled year-on-year to US$1.8m, up from US$0.5m in H1 2023. Working capital was also up to US$2.5m from US$9.0m LY, and group borrowing declined to US$4.1m from US$5.6m LY. WBI maintained a cash balance of $0.7m at the end of the period on June 30, 2024.

The positive performance in H1 indicated a successful turnaround, with the company well-positioned for continued growth. We expect even stronger full-year performance, driven by forecast improved revenue in H2 as well as continued progress on operational efficiency and cost control. Profitability should follow soon thereafter given the much narrowed loss in H1.

Follow News & Updates from Woodbois: Follow | WBI