Carbon fibre-reinforced ceramic products maker Surface Transforms PLC (LON:SCE) has got off to a slow start in 2020.
Customer receipts of £425,000 received in the first trading week of January 2020 were lower than expected. The company attributed this to temporary factors including the phasing of sales in the seven months, delayed payment by customers and slower than planned inventory reduction.
The company, which is in the process of changing its fiscal year-end, said revenue for the seven months to the end of December 2019 was £1.45mln, compared to £512,000 in the corresponding period of the previous year.
"This significant acceleration in sales growth in the period is very encouraging and, we believe, sustainable,” said David Bundred, the chairman of Surface Transforms.
The company, which mainly targets the aerospace and automotive sectors, said its discussions with potential original equipment manufacturing (OEM) customers are progressing well and it still expects to make “significant contract announcements” during the current fiscal year.
The company added it has now received full regulatory approval from the UK Environmental Agency for all the new furnaces in OEM Cell One. Additionally, all the furnaces have now demonstrated functional capability and the company is on target to demonstrate full system integration before the end of March.
Shares in Surface Transforms dived 3.5p to 19p in early deals.