17th Jun 2014 12:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - Oxford Advanced Surfaces Group PLC Tuesday posted a widened pretax loss for 2013, as it complete a strategic review of its business and transitioned from a development company to a commercially focused business.
The company posted a pretax loss of GBP1.9 million, widened from GBP1.7 million in the previous year, as it saw revenue decline to GBP3,000 from GBP86,000 in the previous year, hit by the suspension of work on its anti-reflection coating technology.
The company undertook a strategic review in August 2013 and concluded that, due to market and competitive changes, it would no longer invest in its VISARC anti-reflection coating technology.
It opted instead to look into generating value from its mesoporous silica nanoparticle manufacturing method, which had underpinned VISARC, and from its intellectual property portfolio.
As a result of this shift, the company looked to restructure its business and make cost savings. It cut its technical team to seven from 16, and reduced its laboratory space. The company said its reduced costs would ensure it will have sufficient funds to commercialise its Onto technology products.
Oxford Advanced launched its first product Onto EP1000 in February, and said it was currently being evaluated by over 15 commercial partners. The Onto EP100 products are surface treatments to bond materials such as engineering plastics, thermoplastic composites and carbon-based materials.
The company said it believes there is "strong market potential" for the Onto technology platform, driven by the take up of plastics and polymers. It is targeting the automotive, aerospace, electronics and renewable energy markets.
Oxford Advanced said it has recently shown it can modify graphene using its Onto platform, which has seen an encouraging level of interest. Graphene is a pure carbon material that is very thin, at one atom thick, but also very strong and able to conduct heat and electricity efficiently.
Oxford Advanced said it would seek to strengthen its patent coverage during the year, and will continue to investigate adjacent and synergistic technology to strengthen its technology portfolio.
Shares in Oxford Advanced Surfaces were trading up 0.5% at 2.89 pence Tuesday, though still near its 52-week low of 2.50p.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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