VDTK.L Share News (VDTK)

(Sharecast News) - Technology company Verditek announced on Thursday that, following its recent product development activities, it has received a number of orders in the past fortnight weeks in new geographical areas, as well as new vertical markets .
The AIM-traded firm said it secured its first order for the "very profitable" marine market, selling panels in Thailand to be used on yachts.

It said the lightweight solar panels provided would be used to power the cabin electrical loads such as navigation, lighting, and communication equipment.

On the back of its first order in the marine vertical, Verditek said it was expecting to "cement" its footprint in the market in the coming months both in Thailand and in other geographies.

The marine market for photovoltaic ultra lightweight products was described as "fast growing" and "underutilised", with the board saying it was in the region of 150 to 200 megawatts per annum of sales.

In the UK, meanwhile, Verditek said it had secured its first order in the agricultural sector, with its solar panels to be installed on the roofs of barns in "the near future".

The board said that, due to the low load bearing characteristics of such structures, the installation of lightweight solar panels was "the only practical solution" to generating electricity.

In the case of both the marine and agricultural orders, shipment was being made this month out of existing stock levels.

Finally, following on from its success in Pakistan, the company said it had secured another order in the oil and gas vertical.

Verditek panels would be installed in Libya, which would be the first sale to an African state for the firm.

The purchase order had come from Italian engineering contractor Endeco, which provides oilfield facility services in Libya.

Due to the size, the project would start with procurement activities this week, and would be shipped to the client at the beginning of September.

"Powering our facilities in remote locations in the oil and gas fields of Libya is extremely challenging, using diesel fuel adds a further degree of logistic complexity to any operations," said Endeco Libya branch manager Giovanni Aloisi.

"By using the durable lightweight solar solution we are able to reliably power our operations in harsh conditions and reduce our reliance on diesel."

At 1138 BST, shares in Verditek were up 16.12% at 9.58p.