Hardide posts record sales amid oil & gas recovery

The company, which develops and provides advanced surface coating technology, said revenues surged 42% in the year to 30 September to £4.61m, while gross profit increased 52% to £2.41m and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation improved to a loss of £0.3m before exceptional items from a loss of £0.74m the year before.

Hardide said it had seen a "significant" rise in sales to the oil and gas sector, supported by strong demand from the two new supply agreements previously announced. Sales also benefitted from the continuing recovery of the oil and gas sector.

Sales increased across all geographies, but were particularly marked in North America, where an 84% uplift from last year was achieved.

Chairman Robert Goddard said: "We are encouraged by the potential for significant growth in sales to the civil aerospace sector. Having successfully completed technical testing, detailed discussions are underway with Airbus and its tier 1 partners regarding the supply of production parts. Parts for other US and UK aerospace manufacturers are in various stages of development, including the final stages of life testing on transmission parts for Leonardo Helicopters.

"The board is pleased with the group's performance and the positive trading outlook. Our key oil and gas customers are experiencing a broad-based recovery in activity and are predicting that the current positive cycle will continue and that the supply-demand balance will remain favourable. This is positive news for Hardide and supports the group's strategy to invest ahead of revenue as it drives towards profitability in the coming year."

At 1430 GMT, the shares were up 6.3% to 1.41p.