LONDON (Alliance News) - Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd Monday said its pretax loss narrowed slightly in its first half as revenues improved and it has received a large BlueGEN unit order.
The developer of fuel-cell technology generators to convert natural gas into electricity and heat for homes and other buildings, said its pretax loss for the six months ended December 31, 2013 narrowed to AUD11.9 million from a loss of AUD12.6 million the previous year as the company increased revenues by 31% to AUD3.4 million from AUD2.6 million in 2012.
Ceramic Fuel Cells said sales volumes in its first half increased 38% on the same period in the previous year to 124 units sold. However, cost of sales increased by 29% to AUD4.9 million from AUD3.8 million.
The company booked an impairment reversal payment of AUD2.0 million, compared to a charge of AUD342,000 the previous year, helping the company's finances.
However, the company continued its policy of not paying dividends, as it continues its development. It also noted that it is disappointed by the previously announced news that a major deal with Synergy International OU fell apart in February, after Synergy failed to make necessary payments.
In a separate statement, the company announced that it has received an order for 100 of its BlueGEN units, for delivery within 12 months, from the German company Avilos GmbH.
Ceramic Fuel Cells said Avilos will purchase the units on a take-or-pay basis and sell them to private and small commercial customers.
BlueGEN is a ready to install a 'modular' generator designed for a number of markets and configurations, which co-generates energy for consumption and export along with heat for hot water.
Ceramic Fuel Cells shares were up 6.0% to 0.980 pence Monday.
By Tom McIvor; tommcivor@alliancenews.com; @TomMcIvor1
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