8-K

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 _____________________

Form 8-K _____________________

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event Reported): March 31, 2020

NANOPHASE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

(630) 771-6700 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2). Emerging growth company [   ]

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [   ]

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On March 31, 2020, the Registrant issued a press release, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

Exhibit 99.1. Press release dated March 31, 2020

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

EdgarFiling

EXHIBIT 99.1

Nanophase Reports 2019 Revenue

Solésence Performs Well, First Half 2020 Outlook Positive

ROMEOVILLE, Ill., March 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nanophase Technologies Corporation (OTCQB: NANX), a leader in minerals-based personal care ingredients and formulated products for protecting skin from environmental aggressors, such as UV light and pollution, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

“Nanophase and Solésence continue to move forward during this difficult time for all of us,” said Jess Jankowski, President and CEO of both companies. “We are taking necessary precautions to protect our employees, their families, and our community during this disruption, while continuing to manufacture products and ingredients within sectors that are part of our nation’s critical infrastructure.  We are both honored and proud to be able to contribute to our national public health, economic security, and safety through the materials we make for use in medical diagnostics.”

“Year-over-year, our Solésence business grew 35%. We expected stronger 2019 volume, but a good portion of sales were moved from Q42019 into Q12020.  Demand for our fully formulated products has grown, and we expect that to continue through the second quarter.  Given the current situation, we don’t have good enough visibility for the second half of 2020 yet to share our expectations for what full year 2020 results will look like.”

Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2019 Financial Highlights

• Revenue for fiscal year 2019 was $12.5 million, vs. $14.2 million reported during the same period of 2018.
• The net loss for fiscal year 2019 was $3.0 million, or a loss of $0.08 per share, compared to a net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.06 per share, for the comparable period of 2018.
• The Company finished the year with approximately $1.2 million in cash and cash equivalents; which included $0.5M from a short-term line of credit.

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights

• Revenue for the fourth quarter was $2.4 million in 2019, vs. $3.2 million in 2018.
• The net loss for the quarter was $1.0 million in 2019, or $0.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.03 per share, for 2018.

Jankowski continued, “Late in 2019, we started to see some benefits from changes we’ve made to our organization to reduce costs and increase efficiency.  We will continue to be focused on improving cost and efficiency during 2020, while simultaneously driving growth in our core personal care businesses.  There have been, and will continue to be, startup challenges as we bring new products to market, however we have been gratified to see that we continue to meet these challenges, and reduce their impact on our bottom line, as our new products continue to gain market traction. We have seen no indication that our primary market drivers will change in the longer term.”

“Our top priorities are our people and their families, our neighbors, our customers, and contributing in any way that we can to help our nation in these difficult circumstances.”

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Nanophase believes that the presentation of results excluding certain items, such as non-cash equity compensation charges, provides meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors, facilitating the evaluation of performance across reporting periods. The Company uses these non-GAAP measures for internal planning and reporting purposes. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, generally accepted accounting principles and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or net income per share prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

About Nanophase Technologies Nanophase Technologies Corporation (NANX), www.nanophase.com, is a leader in minerals-based personal care ingredients and formulated products for protecting skin from environmental aggressors, such as UV light and pollution, as well as providing solutions for industrial product applications. Using a platform of patented and proprietary integrated technologies, the Company creates products with unique performance attributes from two ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 registered facilities. Nanophase delivers commercial quantity and quality engineered materials both as ingredients, and as part of fully formulated products, in a variety of formats.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains words such as “expects,” “shall,” “will,” “believes,” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements in this announcement are made based on the Company’s current beliefs, known events and circumstances at the time of publication, and as such, are subject in the future to unforeseen risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s results of operations, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following: a decision by a customer to cancel a purchase order or supply agreement in light of the Company’s dependence on a limited number of key customers; uncertain demand for, and acceptance of, the Company’s nanocrystalline materials; the Company’s manufacturing capacity and product mix flexibility in light of customer demand; the Company’s limited marketing experience; changes in development and distribution relationships; the impact of competitive products and technologies; the Company’s dependence on patents and protection of proprietary information; the resolution of litigation in which the Company may become involved; the impact of any potential new government regulations that could be difficult to respond to or too costly to comply with while remaining financially viable; the ability of the Company to maintain an appropriate electronic trading venue; and other factors described in the Company’s Form 10-K filed March 30, 2020. In addition, the Company’s forward-looking statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates. Except as required by federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events, uncertainties or other contingen cies.

COMPANY CONTACT Investor Relations 630-771-6708

All values are in US Dollars.