Hardide swings to annual loss

Shares in Hardide plunged on Monday, after the advanced surface coating technologies developer swung to a loss this year.

In the 12 months to the end of September, the group made a pre-tax loss of £207,000 compared with a £110,000 profit in the corresponding period in 2014, while revenue was flat at £3m, despite increasing 36% year-on-year in the first six months.

The London-listed company attributed the slowdown to an ongoing weakness in worldwide oil and gas markets, which saw companies offering services and products hit by a slump in orders.

Hardide added its projects in the UK and in the US remained on track, though it warned the short-term outlook remained challenging due to the difficult conditions in the oil and gas markets. However, the company sounded more upbeat on its long-term outlook, indicating it was looking to diversify its customer base.

"The continuing low oil price is a significant headwind for some of our key customers and accurately forecasting demand from this sector over the coming year is difficult,” said group chairman Robert Goddard.

“However, if the current conditions persist for the whole of the financial year to September 30, 2016, we expect revenues to be similar to those reported here.”

Hardide shares were down 18.37% to 1.00p at 1426 GMT on Monday.