Commenting on the results, Robert Goddard, Chairman of Hardide, said:
“Hardide has reached an inflexion point, with record sales across all geographies with a 42% year-on-year increase to £4.61m. Oil and gas revenue grew significantly, benefiting from the continued recovery in the sector, with strong sales to new and existing customers.
“We are encouraged by the potential for significant growth in sales to the civil aerospace sector. Having successfully completed technical testing, detailed discussions are underway with Airbus and its tier 1 partners regarding the supply of production parts. Parts for other US and UK aerospace manufacturers are in various stages of development, including the final stages of life testing on transmission parts for Leonardo Helicopters.
“The Board is pleased with the Group’s performance and the positive trading outlook. Our key oil and gas customers are experiencing a broad-based recovery in activity and are predicting that the current positive cycle will continue and that the supply-demand balance will remain favourable. This is positive news for Hardide and supports the Group’s strategy to invest ahead of revenue as it drives towards profitability in the coming year.”
Hardide plc (LON: HDD), the developer and provider of advanced surface coating technology, today announced its preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2018.
Highlights
Financial
· Record revenues, up 42% to £4.61m (2017: £3.24m)
· Gross profit increased by 52% to £2.41m (2017: £1.59m)
· Stronger gross margin of 52% (2017: 49%)
· EBITDA improved by £0.44m to loss of £0.30m before exceptional items (2017: loss of £0.74m)
· Successful fundraising of £2.54m (before expenses)
· Cash at bank at 30 September 2018 of £3.30m (2017: £1.21m)
Business & operational
· Significant rise in sales to oil and gas sector; supported by strong demand from the two new supply agreements previously announced
· Increased sales benefitted from new customers and the continuing recovery of the oil and gas sector
· 84% year-on-year increase in sales to customers in North America – accounting for 61% of total Group sales
· Technical work successfully completed with Airbus on production parts and final commercial discussions underway
· Investment in additional capacity: third reactor installed and being commissioned in the US, further upgrades to production equipment in US and UK
· Both US and UK sites are now accredited to aerospace quality management system AS9100 Rev D
· Awarded funding for three projects: one from Innovate UK and two from The National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (“NATEP”)
· Appointment of two new non-executive directors bringing extensive aerospace and strategic business experience
· Appointment of senior independent director
