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Ceres Power expects strong revenue growth trend to continue

Published: 18:42 20 Mar 2018 AEDT

SteelCell fuel cell technology
Field trials of the SteelCell technology with an OEM partner are planned later this year;

Ceres Power Holdings PLC (LON:CWR) saw revenue and other operating income practically double in the first half and expects this trend to continue.

In the six months to the end of December, the top line shot up to £3.08mln from £1.55mln in the corresponding period of 2016.

READ: Ceres Power makes a splash at the Fuel Cell Expo

Money received from grants remained relatively stable but revenue from customer programmes really took off, rising to £2.6mln from £1mln the year before.

The fuel cell technology specialist said that due to the increased demand, it has started to invest in additional manufacturing capacity to meet near-term demand while also enabling the company to develop the manufacturing processes and capability for larger area cells and stacks for its 5kW (kilowatt) programme.

The company said it is exploring opportunities to scale the business through manufacturing partners and is discussing manufacturing partnerships with several potential partners.

As an early stage technology company, it has yet to reach a size where it can be profitable and this was reflected in the operating loss of £6.2mln, the same as the year before.

The SteelCell technology firm ended 2017 with £13.2mln of net cash and short-term investments on the balance sheet, which it said is sufficient for it to make an initial investment in the new manufacturing facility and to secure key commercialisation agreements by the end of 2018.

The directors are confident that the company can access growth capital when needed in order to continue to deliver against its strategy.  As well as its strong existing shareholder backing, Ceres is in discussions with a number of global original equipment manufacturers, which could include strategic equity investment into the company, as well as significant commercial deals.

READ: Ceres Power driving higher on the back of big name development collaborations

"We continue to hit our targets with five world-class partners now in place and more in the pipeline. We are building momentum with strong revenue growth from new and existing partners. We expect this trend to continue for the full year and beyond,” said Phil Caldwell, the chief executive officer of Ceres Power.

“Global manufacturers are increasingly looking for alternatives to conventional combustion engine and power generation technologies as the trend towards electrification continues. Demand for technologies such as batteries and fuel cells such as our SteelCell is growing as can be seen from our commercial progress.

“As we approach commercialisation we are positioning the business for future growth through investment in our core technology and additional manufacturing capacity. These are essential steps in scaling the business to meet the high standards required by our partners through early stage volumes while also maintaining our technology leadership position," he added.

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