XTEK Ltd (ASX:XTE) has achieved year to date revenue of $8.3 million and maintains its FY2018 guidance of between $11 million and $18 million.
Furthermore, the company held cash of $3.6 million and no debt at the end of the March quarter.
During the March quarter, XTEK finalised multiple purchase orders from the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
This included a range of explosive ordnance disposal equipment, new high-performance x-ray equipment and helmets for various police forces.
READ: XTEK wins another million dollar contract with Australia Defence Force
XTEK’s managing director Philippe Odouard said: “We are excited with our continued progress, accelerating the commercialisation of our world-class product suite.
“Strong growth is forecast across all our capabilities as we further develop our product pipeline and endeavor to leverage increased defence spending both in Australia and internationally.
“Our standing with the ADF, and a number of key international customers, positions us well for rapid near-term revenue growth.”
Healthy contract revenue pipeline of $41 million
At the end of the March quarter, XTEK retained a healthy contract revenue pipeline of $41 million.
This underpins the company’s revenue growth expectations as illustrated by its FY2018 guidance.
Given the seasonality of the business, there remains a number of key contracts on track for delivery before the end of the current financial year.
Positive outlook backed by rising expenditure on defence
XTEK expects its strong performance to continue in the near term, given its status as an ADF Recognised Supplier and a member of the Defence Industry Security Program.
Further defence contract wins are expected.
Worldwide military interest in drone investment is forecast to increase exponentially in the coming years.
This expectation is underpinned by the US Department of Defense’s request for triple the number of drones for 2019 compared to 2018.
It has proposed to spend US$9.4 billion on unmanned systems defense in its FY2019 defence budget.
