HYR.L Share News (HYR)

(Sharecast News) - Specialist re-refiner of industrial oils HydroDec on Monday reported an increase in first-half losses after deciding to scrap its costly Australian operations.For the six months ended 30 June, the AIM-traded company's total loss deepened by 28% to £3.3m driven by an increased loss of £1.2m from its discontinued operations, compared to just £26,000 in the same period last year.Indeed, at period the outfit decided to either sell or relocate its Australian operating business to the US following a group-wide business review.Colin Moynihan, executive chairman and interim chief executive of Hydrodec, said: "We have already concluded that our Australian business does not possess sufficient materiality or near-term growth prospects to merit further capital deployment when we can deliver stronger returns, especially in North America where there is a significant market for us to grow the business."However, the company's gross profit increased 35% to £1.2m, driven by an 8% reduction in cost of sales to £5.4m while revenue decreased 3% to £6.4m.HydroDec had cash and cash equivalents of £0.3m at 30 June, up 29% from the same point last year.Elsewhere, the company successfully sold historic carbon credits from 2009 to 2013 vintages during the period and is currently pursuing the sale of all further vintages up to June 2018 after receiving approval from the American carbon registry in 2016.HydroDec, which is the only oil re-refining business in the world to receive carbon credits for its output, can sell these credits on to create an incremental revenue stream."Our objective is to continue to work to put in place the platform on which to grow Hydrodec rapidly. The business review is on track and subject to board approval is expected to be announced by the end of September. We are excited about what lies ahead for the company and its shareholders," Moynihan said.HydroDec's shares were down 1.40% at 1.06p at 1148 BST.