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LONDON (Alliance News) - Graphene-based products firm Directa Plus PLC on Thursday reported a rise in both customer numbers and revenue for 2017 as well as a narrowed loss.
Total revenue, which includes government grants, rose to EUR1.2 million from EUR820,000 the prior year. Excluding this, revenue increased to EUR952,199 from EUR738,028, while customer numbers increase to 35 from 16.
Directa Plus's pretax loss narrowed to USD3.9 million from USD6.4 million, mainly as a result of a drop in finance costs to EUR151,808 from EUR2.2 million.
The results are Directa Plus's first full set of annual figures since listing on AIM in May 2016, and it said it has been a transformational year with the company believing it now has a "clear" lead of competitors.
Directa Plus said it has laid the foundations for "strong" revenue growth into 2018 and beyond, and it is confident in securing further orders. Given the rise in active clients and an expectation for more, Directa Plus is "well-placed" to deliver "significant" year-on-year revenue growth.
The company also announced Thursday Non-Executive Director Luca Lodi-Rizzini has left with immediate effect for personal reasons.
Chief Executive Giulio Cesareo said: "We are excited about Directa Plus' commercial prospects in the coming year. While the textile and environmental markets are expected to continue to be the main contributors to revenue, we expect to experience strong growth in activity within our other two target markets of composite materials and elastomers.
"As a result, we anticipate increased revenue generation from our active clients and with more customers preparing to launch products incorporating G+, the business is well-placed to deliver significant year-on-year growth in 2018 in line with market expectations."
Shares were down 2.5% on Thursday at 48.25 pence each.
