7th Dec 2015 08:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - Advanced surface coating technology developer Hardide PLC on Monday said it swung to a loss in the year to the end of September following a significant slowdown in oil and gas markets in the second half.
Hardide said it made a GBP207,000 pretax loss for the year to September 30, swung from a GBP110,000 profit a year earlier.
Revenue for the year was GBP3.0 million, flat year-on-year but marking a significant slowdown in the second half, after first-half revenue had increased 36%. The slowdown was due to the weakness in oil and gas markets, where all companies offering services and products to the industry have been hit by a collapse in orders amid the low oil price.
Hardide said its investment projects in the UK and US are on track but said its remains cautious on its outlook given the challenges posed by the oil and gas sector downturn. Its longer-term prospects, however, appear brighter as it works to diversify its customer base.
"After a record first half, Hardide's performance in the second was, as expected, affected by weak demand from the oil & gas sector, particularly reduced expenditure in exploration," said Robert Goddard, Hardide's chairman.
"The continuing low oil price is a significant headwind for some of our key customers and accurately forecasting demand from this sector over the coming year is difficult. However, if the current conditions persist for the whole of the financial year to September 30, 2016, we expect revenues to be similar to those reported here," he added.
The results sent Hardide shares tumbling lower early Monday, down 18% to 1.01 pence to sit among the worst performers in the AIM All-Share.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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