Hardide upbeat on 2017 performance to date

Developer and provider of advanced surface coating technology, Hardide, updated the market on its trading for the first six months of the current financial year to 30 September on Thursday.

The AIM-traded firm said that, as expected, sales to the oil and gas sector more than doubled compared to the same period in 2016, and overall trading was “comfortably” ahead of both the first half and the second half of the last financial year.

As a result, the board said it expected that the trading performance for the full financial year would be in line with market expectations.

“The board is very encouraged by the company's recent gain of Airbus Approved Supplier status and is looking forward to completion of discussions with Airbus about the supply of coated components,” it said in a statement.

“The Virginia facility is performing very well and activity there is expected to increase in the second half of this year.”

Management said it continued to maintain a “tight control” of the company’s cost base.