For personal use only

Transcription

1 2 April 2014 Manager Company Announcement Office Australian Securities Exchange Limited Level 4, Stock Exchange Tower 20 Bridge Street Sydney 2000 Green Invest Limited Green Plumbers USA (GPUSA) Business Update Since 30 th June 2013 GPUSA has seen substantial progress during the period including the following: Further development and implementation of the Green Plumber /Green City community projects. Development of the Commercial model. Initiating more flexible training processes and increasing membership Developing relations with manufacturers Restructuring of USA operations A. Green Plumbers/ Green City Projects The process which is being adopted by the Municipal/Utilities involve a two stage process which firstly, sees the commencement of pilot programmes of varying size and if results are acceptable in regard eg water savings the conversion of these programs into full projects. In relation to the Green Cities water conservation programmes the criteria involves establishing [i] that the toilet eg has the water saving in the case of the Niagara [reduction to.8gal per flush vs standard replacement of 5 gallons per flush] and [ii] quality install utilising the Licensed Green Plumber program. The program sees Niagara providing to the client manufacturers product insurance and install insurance being provided by the Licensed Green Plumber. GPUSA invoices Niagara monthly on a royalty basis on number of installs undertaken. The level of the royalty is contingent on whether the County/ Utility is a GPUSA derived program eg Cobb/Atlanta or whether Niagara eg Dallas. All of the programs listed below are complying with the criteria. [a] In respect to the programs that have completed the trial [as above] and have now been adopted as full projects by Municipality/Niagara and GPUSA :

2 Cobb County project: This was approved by Cobb in November 2013 the program includes the install of up to 175,000 toilets and other water saving devices over a 5 year period. The program also involves removal of the discarded toilet. Install has commenced in February 2014 a delay of two months primarily due to the very cold American winter. The February Cobb soft launch has been followed up with the official launch in Atlanta on the 18 th March. Substantial additional progress has been made in regard to the model with the rebate only being applicable to the Green Cities project. This action by the County confirms the importance of quality product coupled quality install through Licensed Green Plumbers. The rollout of the program is in funding groups,which means that as one grouping of funding is nearing completion it is rolled on to the next until the full refit program has been completed. Atlanta Project: An additional commendation for the program has recently been received from the full Cobb Board and the Company is hopeful this level of commendation will enable the program to be commenced in other Atlanta based municipalities. Shareholders are referred to upcoming announcements which will provide further details as negotiations continue. A Pilot will not be required for this project, with the Cobb project satisfying local Municipal and Utility Groups as to the benefits of the programme. Aurora: The Aurora program is centred around Denver [where Green Plumbers has previously undertaken pilot]. For various community based criteria, the model is slightly amended with Green Plumbers undertaking this project in association with a local community based Group and Niagara. GPUSA entitlement remains unchanged with payment platform the same as with Cobb County. The program is budgeted by Aurora and Niagara as similar in size to the Cobb County programme. Installs have taken place and marketing has been delivered to the residents of Aurora. The programs open to multifamily and single family residence customers. Invoices will commence following initial installs which will be complete within the in next days. [b] Programmes in the trial process include: American Water pilot install in Los Angeles/ San Diego and Sacramento. Program has successfully completed installs and received payment on invoices for 1st phase of beta. Cal Water has asked to move forward with a 2nd phase of installs to start in April It is likely this will be rolled over when complete, following which adoption of the full program. Further updates will be provided as the project develops up to a total of 5million referrals as previously reported. Dallas- pilot install- An initial install of 1000 toilets in a hotel environment is set to start within the next 60 days after this period the City of Dallas proposes to offer 5 million Niagara toilets to its residents with both Niagara and Dallas Water recommending a Green Plumber for install. GPUSA derives revenue from billing the Licensed Green Plumber at the time of referral.

3 Alameda pilot install on affordable housing has started and we expect 2,000 installs to be completed in a 60 day period in which water savings will be tracked and potentially expanded to consumer base. Green Plumbers will commence invoicing Niagara within 30 days. Palm Desert Water Hilton Hotel 1000 installs have commenced and will be viewed as a pilot for future programes in the Palm Desert Water District. [c] The Commercial Models Los Angeles/ Long Beach GPUSA in conjunction with a national Licensed Green Plumber has undertaken a refit program involving water saving and other product. It is initially located in Los Angeles and involves the following components: The program is based off a local water rebate program and during the initial stages will be marketed through Property Management Companies where Ryan Dills our CFO [and special projects] has considerable experience. On site marketing will be assisted by the appointed Licensed Green Plumber. Product is passed through GPUSA and 30 days after install Green Plumbers receives local rebate covering all expenses including Green Plumbers Install. Pace Programme As reported, GPUSA and Niagara have embarked on a financed model initially located in Sacramento which involves a greater product suite and hence external funding from sources other than the Utility or County. Typically this is financed by an external financier which arranges with the municipality to have repayment through rates and taxes. Niagara has expended a considerable sum based upon the Green City marketing model where the unit price averages $350 compared with the PACE model where the unit price averages $5000. It is apparent that although enquiry is high, local presence is required to achieve optimal conversion. This aspect of the marketing template is being addressed by involving local Green Plumber in the process. Projections have been updated accordingly. B. Expanded Staff Given the coming on stream of the above projects together with expansion of the business into other project streams, the Company has expanded its staff with the addition of Ryan Dills as CFO/ Special Projects and John Smith COO/Training. Their activities include as follows: Ryan Dills : Special projects Los Angeles. Property Management / Home Owner Association Partnerships. Financial analyst of all projects ROI. Commercial Projects and liaison to new members

4 interested in Green City programs. Oversees Green City Coordination and development of Green Plumber Managed Programs. Approves Manufacturer Partnership Contracts John Smith: Utility and contractor Education. New Member Recruitment. Local Presence for Green City Programs and acting as local Energy Advisor for pre inspection of all eligible properties for install. Manages Client Services for Licensees and Utilities. Negotiates Contractors position with in Contract for Programs I.e Green City. C. Training/ Membership GPUSA in association with IAPMO has reviewed the training program with the objective of increasing those plumbers who are trained to be Green Plumbers and once trained become Licensed Green Plumbers which will enable them to have the ability to tender for various work programs arranged by GPUSA as well as other benefits. It is essential for the ongoing success of the Green Cities and other models that competitive bidding is assured and this can only be done if sufficient Green Plumbers are located in a project area. Training revenues from that activity will be included in GPUSA revenue. The restructure of part of the training program will see a more active role taken by GPUSA in converting trained Green Plumbers to become Licensed Green Plumbers. A new membership agreement has been put in place to deal with some historic matters relating to the old membership agreement which will enable GPUSA to more properly control the flow of work to the relevant plumbers. [D] Manufactures : Niagara : Niagara continues to be a strong partner that supports the restructuring of Green Plumbers. The importance of being a partner with Green Plumbers is made stronger by the fact that local utilities are not able to solely source to any one company but are able to promote and make mandatory the Green Plumber as the installer. Niagara is looking to expand its relationship with Green Plumbers as GP USA takes the lead in program management in retrofit programs in various areas of the country. There is also a strong interest to utilize GPUSA as a route to market for product to contractor members not involved in Green City programs. Alternate Energy Technologies Inc (AET): The Company has expanded its relationships with various US manufacturers, including AET (solar hot water). In February 2014 the Company signed a strategic partnership agreement with AET which will

5 see AET product being offered through the Green City projects as well as to Licensed Green Plumbers. Others: The Company is also looking to expand these relationships with other US manufacturers e.g. air conditioning and solar PV, which will allow for an expanded product suite offering as well as separate community based programmes utilising some of the principles of the Green Plumber /Green Cities Model. Announcements will be made as negotiations have been completed. The attraction to manufacturers remains that the community based model provides an alternate but unique route- to market involving large number of sales and quality install. The Licensed Plumber membership model also provides an additional route for sales. There is current programs being discussed in the Connecticut Market for an Install program utilizing Green Plumbers as well as discussions for the AET product to follow our Green City Toilet Instal Programs. [E] Restructuring of USA operations The Company has resolved to restructure the corporate ownership of the US operations. The Company has resolved to incorporate a new entity in Oregon and this is underway. This will see the incorporation in the US of an operating company which will be wholly owned by GNV. This structure will make it easier to deal with United States based manufacturers and other Groups. The Board of Green Invest Limited is also reviewing its group structure, with a view to consolidate the number of group entities within its structure that no longer serve a purpose due to a refined business model in both the USA and Australia. Further announcements on this will be made shortly. Peter McCoy Chairman