Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC (LON:SYM) gave a half-time report in which the board expressed confidence that full-year results would be in line with market expectations.
The AIM-listed group, which specialises in making plastics smarter, safer and more sustainable, said group revenue in the first half of 2021 rose to £4.9mln from £4.8mln in the same period of last year, and would have shown a 13% year-on-year increase to £5.4mln had exchange rates stayed unchanged from the first half of 2020.
The group has continued to invest in its sales team and there have been increased costs, both budgeted and unbudgeted, as a result of which Symphony is expected to post a first-half operating loss of around £0.5mln, versus a profit of £0.04mln in the first half of last year.
The consensus forecasts for full-year revenue and operating profit are £11.9mln and £0.4mln respectively, according to Symphony.
Gross margins are expected to be slightly lower due to an increased mix of finished products compared to higher-margin master-batches. Also, distribution costs were higher during the period due to global vessel and container shortages and this is expected to continue for the remainder of the year.
The group said it is making strong progress in moving product enquiries regarding its d2p technology through to product trials and beyond, and although this is not as yet demonstrated in the group's financial results, the board is confident that these trials will translate into substantial commercial revenues in due course.
Net cash and cash equivalents totalled £0.6mln as at the end of June, up from £0.5mln at the end of 2020.