LONDON (Alliance News) - Oil re-refining firm HydroDec Group PLC said on Thursday it saw a narrowed loss for 2017, expressing high hope for a significant upside in 2018 despite a challenging first quarter.
Pretax loss for the year was GBP4.4 million, narrowed from GBP6.8 million the year before, as revenue grew slightly to GBP17.9 million from GBP16.8 million.
Performance was helped by a fall in administrative costs to GBP5.8 million from GBP6.6 million, and revenue rose on an improved product sales mix and pricing.
Sales volumes of SUPERFINE transformer oil and base oil for 2017 however was lower at 29.3 million litres from 33.3 million litres, reflecting feedstock constraints and higher feedstock inventory at the start of 2016 due to Canton plant recommissioning in the US.
For the first quarter of 2018 to the end of March, feedstock constraint hit sales volumes and revenue from the US and Australia, however, margins have continued to improve and product demand has remained strong.
"2017 was a landmark year for the company, one in which our continued focus on margins and operating efficiencies resulted in positive full year Ebitda for the first time in the company's history. While feedstock availability remains a constraint, management's key strategic focus is on securing additional and sustainable feedstock supplies to drive increased utilisation," said Executive Chairman Colin Moynihan.
"While we have had a challenging start to 2018, we have seen recent signs of improvement in the US with increased feedstock availability and demand for our end product, pricing and margins all remain strong," Moynihan added.
Shares in HydroDec were up 4.4% at 1.54 pence on Thursday.
