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(Alliance News) - Shares rose in Surface Environmental Technologies PLC on Monday as it swung to a profit in the first half of 2020 amid solid revenue growth.
The company, which develops additives to make ordinary plastic biodegradable, also noted positive results from a test of Symphony's d2p masterbatch against the bovine form of the coronavirus.
Shares in Symphony Environmental were 24% higher at 27.90 pence on Monday in London.
The d2p product range is used for antimicrobial purposes, with one of its uses in wrapping bread.
In late July, Eurofin Laboratories had tested the group's d2p masterbatch in a polyolefin film against the bovine form of the coronavirus.
Further tests were conducted by Institute of Biology at Unicamp University in Sao Paolo, Brazil, using the same film with d2p masterbatch in further testing at 1, 2 and 24 hour-contact intervals.
All three contact testing intervals had a 99% reduction in the virus, leading to the Institute of Biology at Unicamp University in Sao Paolo, Brazil recommending that "the products were shown to be virucidal, thus, we recommend the use of such products as potential virucidal agents against coronavirus".
"This is another important breakthrough for Symphony, that leads to an exciting commercial phase that will help accelerate our global sales pipeline for d2p already in development. Plastic, unlike many other materials in common use, can be given anti-microbial properties, and d2p can be included in almost all the plastic products which we touch every day," said Chief Executive Officer Michael Laurier.
"These results demonstrate the efficacy against viruses of d2p anti-microbial technology in plastic products, and the importance it has in helping governments to control the spread of the virus, and saving lives," he added. "This technology goes beyond short-term protections such as washing with soap, sanitising hands, or wiping surfaces; being embedded in the plastic itself, d2p provides protection for the lifetime of the plastic product."
For the first half of 2020, Symphony Environmental reported pretax profit of GBP18,000, compared to a loss of GBP86,000 the year before.
This was on revenue that grew by 17% to GBP4.8 million from GBP4.1 million the prior year, driven by higher d2w sales across Symphony's main markets.
Looking ahead, Symphony said that invoicing in the third quarter started out slow due to disruption caused by Covid-19 and holiday season delays. However, recent activity within the group's pipeline has hinted at a pick up for the rest of the year, and into 2021.
"The board is confident that the group is in a strong position, and is, with its suite of highly relevant technologies, well placed in the current environment to deliver meaningful revenue growth," said Chairman Nicolas Clavel.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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