LONDON (Alliance News) - Drone maker Strat Aero PLC on Thursday said it remains confident on its strategy and the potential for growth in the unmanned aerial services market and said it made a wider pretax loss in 2015.
In a statement to the company's annual general meeting, Executive Chairman Graham Peck said Strat Aero had sought to grow through acquisitions and partnership in the past, but this had produced mixed results and was not a sustainable way forward given the size of the company, particularly not until a solid, cash-generative foundation for the business has been established.
Peck said Iain McLure, appointed chief executive of Strat Aero in April, has been working to identify areas of the business where Strat Aero will have the opportunity to become a major provider of UAV-based services and products.
"Encouragingly, there is no shortage of sub-sectors within the UAS space where we believe we can become a leading UAV services and solutions provider. These sectors include: Commercial UAS Training & Education; Survey & Inspection Services; Security; Data Analytics; and Consultancy," Peck said.
This will provide a strong platform for growth in the future, Peck said, as the company focuses on capitalising on the opportunities presented by these sectors to build up recurring revenue streams at a relatively low capital cost by leveraging its existing technologies.
"It is also important to make a clear statement of intent on what we are aiming to achieve. As well as building a solid foundation based on revenue growth, it is critical that we continue to closely manage and control costs as well as developing cross selling opportunities, as we look to drive revenues and profitability going forward," Peck added.
Peck's statements came ahead of the company releasing its 2015 results, which showed its pretax loss widening to USD5.9 million from USD1.2 million a year earlier. Revenue declined to USD433,001 from USD630,685 a year earlier.
Strat Aero said revenue from its inspection, survey and consultancy services fell below expectations in the year due to sluggishness in converting military training and wind inspection opportunities.
Shares in Strat Aero were down 0.7% to 0.72 pence Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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