Haydale Graphene losses to be more than expected

Advanced materials group Haydale Graphene announced that total income for the financial year to 30 June would be in line with market expectations on Wednesday, which would represent a doubling over the prior year.

The AIM-traded firm said its decision to increase investment in a number of key areas during the year would result in the group reporting a marginally higher loss before tax for the full year that what was originally expected, although the final reported loss before tax was expected to reduce due to the inclusion of negative goodwill associated with its acquisition of Advanced Composite Materials in November 2016.

In its trading update, it said the areas to have benefitted from higher investment during the year included the setup, fit out and recruitment of quality technical and sales staff at Haydale Technologies Thailand, as well as the recruitment of executive management at the group's US operation.

Haydale said it continued to invest in mixing, dispersion and processing methods for thermoset and thermoplastic resins and polymers.

Cash as at 30 June stood at approximately £2m, up from £1.1m at the interim on 31 December.

At the year end, the group's order book - being product sales orders and consulting contracts to be fulfilled over the next 3.5 years - stood at approximately £5.4m, which is at record levels for Haydale and provided “good visibility” on the group's future income.

As announced on 13 July 2017, the board was welcoming David Banks as its non-executive chairman.

“In addition to David's appointment, the group is also pleased to announce the appointment of Keith Broadbent as managing director of the resins, polymers and composites strategic business unit,” the board added.

“Keith joined Haydale on 17 July 2017 with a track record of implementing increased efficiency and significant bottom line improvement in manufacturing and field installation environments.

“Keith's experience includes having worked as operations director at Princess Yachts International and at Sunseeker where he was part of the senior management team.”

To further strengthen its management team, Roger Smith - a current Haydale non-executive director - had agreed to take on a part-time executive role, assisting with the implementation of Haydale's strategy and supporting business development within each of the group's strategic business units.