Saietta losses remain stable in first half

Saietta Group reported group income including grants of £1.4m in its first half on Friday, up from £1.3m year-on-year.

The AIM-traded company said gross profit remained stable at £0.1m, with a gross margin of 9%, down from 13% in the same period in 2022.

It put the decrease in gross margin down to the absence of retrofit revenues in the first six months this year, and higher manufacturing costs before the recent automation of production.

Saietta reported a gain of £0.2m from the disposal of fixed assets, resulting from the restructuring of arrangements with ConMet.

The loss from continuing operations before tax was £7.9m, narrowing from £9.4m in the first half of last year, primarily due to a lower share option charge.

Its adjusted EBITDA loss was £6.5m, compared to a £6.3m loss a year ago, while the company reported a net cash balance of £0.5m at the end of the period.

In terms of operational highlights, Saietta secured an order from AYRO Inc. for 3,000 AFT eDrives, which were to be supplied from Saietta's Sunderland facility, with shipments starting in the second quarter.

Additionally, Saietta and ConMet restructured their arrangements for developing in-wheel motor and in-wheel generator solutions for the US truck market, resulting in a gain of €200k on fixed asset disposal.

Production started at Saietta's Delhi factory facility for its Indian joint venture, Saietta VNA, which began producing AFT (Axial Flux Technology) motors for an OEM customer.

Initial production volumes for a minimum of 40,000 units over five years were expected.

Since the period ended, Saietta VNA secured an order for its new RFT (Radial Flux Technology) eDrive system from a major OEM customer in India, opening up the significant electric two-wheel market in the country, with expected minimum orders of 60,000 units over five years.

Finally, in December, Saietta successfully completed a fundraising round, raising £7.14m before expenses.

The proceeds would be used to meet the company's working capital requirements through March and support the growth of Saietta's Indian joint venture, Saietta VNA.

“The first half of the financial year has been challenging but Saietta has made significant strides towards its full transition from an R&D company to a full-scale production manufacturer,” said chief executive officer David Woolley.

“Saietta has now raised £7.14m of additional funds in the market which, with tight control over costs, will meet its working capital needs until the end of March 2024 and management continue to explore alternative sources of funds to take the company through to a cash positive position thereafter.

“I am therefore delighted to be at the helm of Saietta as it enters this exciting phase.”

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.