Hardide plc (LON:HDD), the developer and provider of advanced surface coating technology, has announced its results for the six-month period ended 31 March 2021.
Highlights
Financial
· Revenue of £1.8m (H1 2020: £3.0m), in line with H2 2020 and the Board’s expectations
· Gross profit of £0.7m (H1 2020:
£1.7m)
· Gross margin of 37% (H1 2020: 55%)
· EBITDA loss of £0.9m (H1 2020: breakeven)
· Cash at bank at 31 March 2021 of £2.3m (£4.9m at 31 March 2020)
Operational
· Airbus final approval of the Longlands Road site due July 2021
· Encouraging progress with aerospace customers:
· Airbus approvals gained for various A320, A330, A380 and A400M components
· Regular Airbus orders for A300 ‘Beluga’ door components
· Orders for BAE Eurofighter Typhoon canopy locking components five times higher than the same period last year
· New pipeline projects for aircraft landing gear, helicopter and business jet applications
· Exciting development underway with a very large, US-based manufacturer of electric vehicles
· New UK site at Longlands Road functioning as planned and now certified to aerospace quality management system AS9100D and environmental system ISO14001
· Gas turbine blade developments well advanced with a major European manufacturer
Post-period
· Positive signs of recovery in demand starting to be seen across all key markets
· Long term agreement with a major German Tier 1 supplier to Airbus is in final stages of preparation for the coating of multiple Airbus A320 and A330 components
· Second CBILS loan of £0.25m received in April 2021
Commenting on the interim results, Robert Goddard, Chairman of Hardide plc, said:
“Whilst the Group has had a challenging first half and the ongoing effects of COVID-19 remain unclear, there are signs of improvement across all of our key markets. Revenue from energy, flow control and aerospace customers all increased in the first half compared with H2 2020 with sales to aerospace customers increasing by 26% and to energy and flow control by 4% each. Predictably, the recovery in demand from oil and gas customers is slow. The overall rate of recovery will depend largely on the speed of roll-out of the vaccination programme, and the associated recovery of air travel and industrial energy consumption, both of which are already being seen across the Far East and North America. The Board believes that a number of factors, including diversification of our customer base, product differentiation, increased awareness of the benefits of the coatings and strong customer relationships position us well for medium- and long-term growth.
“Meanwhile, the Board and management has made excellent progress in developing further the Group’s strategy to build its position in the transition to alternative energy sources, and are pursuing new growth opportunities in various fields. Several applications have been identified already, just one being the exciting development with a large, US-based manufacturer of electric vehicles. Testing is progressing well and at a swift pace.
“Looking ahead, the Board remains confident of an improvement in revenues in H2 and into full year 2022. The Group’s cash position remains sufficient to meet the Company’s working capital requirements for the foreseeable future.”
