Plexus Holdings Plc (LON:POS) has described a period of “considerable progress” as it released full-year results.
Significantly, in the year it sold its wellhead business in a £42.5mln to TechnipFMC (with an initial £14.1mln received in the period).
It delivered a cash injection and effectively focused the continuing Plexus business on it POS-GRIP technology.
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Ben van Bilderbeek, chief executive of the oil and gas services equipment specialist, in a statement said: “there has been a step change in industry recognition of our innovative POS-GRIP technology as well as orders secured for Plexus products outside of our traditional jack-up exploration market as well as expansion into new geographies.
“Our strategy is centred on rolling out POS-GRIP-enabled applications in larger market sectors, such as surface production, subsea, abandonment and in the process significantly raising standards across the industry, (particularly in the area of metal-to-metal sealing in the age of gas exploration, production and consumption), just as our best in class proprietary wellheads have done for jack-up exploration drilling.”
He added: “The results for the year and the comparative prior year period have been reported as required on a continuing and a discontinued operations basis.
“During the year to June 2018, the discontinued operation (the Jack-up Business sold to TFMC) continued to be challenging and generated sales of £3.91m compared to £4.52m in the prior year, whereas continuing operations sales revenue increased 41.3% to £318k compared to £225k in 2017.”
Plexus ended the year with £12.9mln of net cash, and, whilst acknowledging a commitment to providing dividends to shareholders it said that management believes it is prudent to continue the suspension of payments.
“Today Plexus has a strong balance sheet, a track record of delivering superior equipment to a blue-chip roster of customers and industry recognition of our technology from a top tier supplier,” van Bilderbeek.
“Together with a more positive market backdrop fuelled by a circa 50% plus an increase in the price of Brent Crude over the last 12 months, an uptick in activity and investment across the sector, and in particular gas' growing status as the preferred hydrocarbon fuel, Plexus is well placed to benefit.”