14 May 2024
Aurrigo International
plc
Contract agreed for fleet of
four autonomous baggage handling vehicles at Singapore Changi
Airport for SGD $4.2m (~£2.5m), notice of results and trading
update
Aurrigo International plc (AIM:
AURR, the "Company" or "Aurrigo"), a leading international provider
of smart airside solutions, has signed a SGD $4.2m (~£2.5m)
agreement with Singapore Changi Airport Group (CAG) that will see a
'fleet' of automated baggage handling vehicles piloted for
underwing operations during 2024 and 2025.
This follows the successful
completion of Phase 2a which tested the Company's
Auto-DollyTug® at Changi Airport,
showcasing its resilience in challenging conditions including wet
weather, heat, humidity, alignment to airport equipment, automated
transfer of baggage containers and close quarter operations to
aircraft on stand.
This latest contract, Phase 2b, will
focus on using four Auto-DollyTugs to trial fleet communication
through Aurrigo's Auto-Connect® platform,
enabling them to be scheduled and monitored to support the
turnaround of a widebody flight.
It is expected that these new
generation airport baggage handling vehicles, designed, engineered
and built by Aurrigo in the UK, will begin arriving in Singapore
from July 2024.
Professor David Keene, Chief
Executive Officer at Aurrigo, commented: "This is a milestone
moment for the aviation sector and paves the way for the future
adoption of our Auto-DollyTug for the servicing of live flights in
the near term. Changi Airport Group has been exploring this
technology with us since 2020 and the results of significant
testing through extreme weather conditions has given them the
confidence to place this contract with us."
Ms Poh Li San, Senior Vice
President, Terminal 5 Specialised Systems at Changi Airport Group,
said: "We look forward to trialling the fleet of four
Auto-DollyTugs in Phase 2b and to validate our new concept of
operations to support the turnaround of a widebody
flight."
Notice of Results for the year ended 31 December
2023 and Trading Update
The audited results for the year ended 31 December
2023 will be announced at the end of May and will be in line with
market expectations*.
Additional customer requirements for
vehicle capability and the resulting testing that occurred during
Phase 2a have been completed and incorporated into Auto-DollyTug
deliveries for FY24. The design upgrades in Phase 2a have resulted
in the Phase 2b period now extending beyond the end of the current
financial year and into FY25. As a result, some of the revenues
anticipated from Phase 2b in FY24 will now be recognised in Q1
FY25.
Notwithstanding this, the Directors
are confident that the Aviation Division should deliver at least
£3m of revenues in FY24, together with a further minimum of £6m
from the Automotive Division*.
Although Phase 2a has taken longer
to complete, the Auto-DollyTug now has significant feature
enhancements and the contract award for Phase 2b is recognition and
confirmation of that fact. The vehicle can now perform tasks which
current ground handling vehicles are not able to achieve. These
advancements unlock operational and financial benefits of a
complete end-to-end autonomous baggage handling solution for our
customers.
The requirement to autonomously
navigate to a baggage loader at the cargo doors of the aircraft and
to operate with more agility in the baggage hall has resulted in
the need for the Auto-DollyTug to have sideways drive motion and
full 360° rotation capability. Additionally, the vehicle now has
the capability of autonomously loading or unloading a baggage/cargo
container from either the right or the left-hand side adding to its
flexibility of operations.
Auto-DollyTug can also now operate
in heavy rain following the development of Aurrigo's software-based
'rain filtering algorithm'. During testing the vehicle surpassed
the requirement set by Changi Airport with the full autonomous
operational level now being achieved at 50mm/hr.
New customer wins in FY23 and FY24
to date indicate that the Company remains ambitious to grow the
Aviation Division. In addition to Changi Phase 2b contract, the
Company is in various stages of discussions with existing and
potential new airport customers internationally with a view to
crystalising and accelerating commercial traction with Aurrigo's
smart aviation solutions.
*Market expectations for FY23 are for total revenues of £6.5m
and EBITDA £(3.8)m and for FY24, prior to this announcement were
for total revenues of £11.7m and EBITDA £(2.0)m.
The information contained within
this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as
stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014.
Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information
is now considered to be in the public domain.
Enquires
|
Aurrigo International plc
David Keene, Chief Executive Officer
Ian Grubb, Chief Financial Officer
|
+44
(0)2476 635818
|
|
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Sole
Broker)
Phil Davies, Rick Thompson, Alaina
Wong, Jalini Kalaravy
|
+44 (0)20
7496 3000
|
|
Cucumber PR
Russ Cockburn
|
+44 (0)78
1260 0271
|
About Aurrigo International plc
Aurrigo International plc is a
leading international provider of smart airside
solutions.
Headquartered in Coventry in the UK,
it designs, engineers, manufactures and supplies automated vehicles
to the aviation industry for use in airside operations.
It is highly regarded as a
specialist in automated technology for the aviation, ground
handling and cargo industries.
Aurrigo has developed technology and
vehicles which can be utilised to reduce costs, resolve operational
issues, increase safety, tackle labour shortages, whilst also
improving sustainability.
For more information, see
www.aurrigo.com