Plexus Holdings PLC (LON:POS) has reported a narrower loss and a strong upswing in sales revenue for the first half of its fiscal year.
The group, which sells its POS-GRIP wellhead sealing technology, reported an underlying (EBITDA) loss from continuing operations of £1.5mln for the six months to 31 December, less than the £1.88mln loss a year ago, while sales revenues jumped to £1.3mln from £40,000.
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Plexus also ended the six months with net cash of £9.5mln, up from £5.3mln in the first half of 2017, while reiterating its special interim dividend of 0.99566p per share that was announced earlier in March.
Looking ahead, Plexus’ chief executive Ben van Bilderbeek, said the outlook for the company was “very positive” given a recovery in oil prices and “growing calls” for operators to prevent methane gas leaks in their supply chains.
“It has been a long time since favourable cyclical and structural drivers have coincided with significant developments at the corporate level. We now have industry partners, a cash-rich balance sheet, and we are being invited to tender for large surface production projects”, van Bilderbeek said.
J Jeffrey Thrall, non-executive chairman, added that while a decision to bring forward investment costs from the next financial year would impact margins “in the shorter term”, it would enable the firm to service the “higher than expected” number of opportunities it was currently pitching for.
“The increased investment will, in our view, prove to be money well spent”.
The current fiscal year is Plexus’ first since selling its jack-up rig wellhead rental business to TechnipFMC just over a year ago for £14.2mln upfront and up to £27.6mln in future payments.
The firm is now focused on selling its POS-GRIP technology, which is designed to prevent leakages from wellheads and other connectors.