Energy storage and clean fuel company, ITM Power PLC (LON:ITM) has significantly strengthened its capability to deliver larger industrial scale projects.
In its results statement for the six months to the end of October, the company said it has been a major transitional period as it continued its evolution from a research-focused company to one capable of manufacturing the equipment required by its expanding list of industrial partners.
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The company ended the reporting period with a strong balance sheet, including £15.6mln of cash.
Total income rose to £5.0mln from £4.4mln the year before, comprising £1.2mln of revenue (2017: £1.7mln) and £3.8mln of grant income (2017: £2.7mln).
As in previous years, revenue will be weighted more towards the second half of the fiscal year.
As of today, £23.2mln (2017: £27.0mln) of projects are under contract and a further £10.4mln (2017: £10.4mln) are in the final stages of negotiation, making a total backlog of £33.6mln (£37.4mln).
The tender opportunity pipeline has grown steadily and now totals more than £240mln, up from £200mln at the same point a year earlier, representing 36 commercial tender responses within the last 12 months.
The average project size has shot up to £6mln from £3.5mln the year before, which ITM said reflects strong industrial demand for larger systems.
The quotations pipeline is strong and industrial partnerships continue to develop in all of the company’s chosen sectors, setting ITM up for “a very active second half to the year”.
The loss from operations was higher than expected at £5.3mln (2017: £2.9mln) due to cost overruns on four “first-of-a-kind” projects as well as significant investments in growing the business and recruiting more staff – the headcount has more than doubled over the past year.
"The board is pleased with the significant progress that has been achieved over the last six months. Deploying increasing numbers of MW [megawatt] scale equipment in challenging industrial environments has certainly proved the company's credentials to many industrial partners and we look forward to a very busy second half," said Roger Putnam, the chairman of ITM Power.