(Alliance News) - Clean Power Hydrogen PLC on Friday reported an annual fall in its net asset position as it reported a widened loss amid higher administrative expenses.
The Doncaster, England-based green hydrogen technology and manufacturing company reported a pretax loss of GBP5.1 million, an increase of 42% from GBP3.6 million posted for 2022.
Notably, total administrative expenses increased 44% to GBP5.4 million from GBP3.8 million.
Excluding exceptional items, admin costs came in 14% higher at GBP5.4 million versus GBP4.8 million. For 2022, the company had reported an exceptional net credit of GBP986,000, which did not repeat in 2023.
Administrative costs excluding the net credit reflected 12 months of post-initial public offering expansion, compared to 10 months in 2022. There was also a one-off exceptional credit of GBP1 million in 2023 that impacted profits further, "due to a share-based credit as well as expensed IPO costs".
The company's year-end net asset position was GBP21 million, of which GBP8.5 million was in cash or current asset investments. This was a decline from the GBP25.1 million in net assets from 2022, and the GBP15.3 million in cash and term deposits from 2022.
The board did not recommend the payment of a dividend, unchanged from the year prior.
Over the twelve-month period, Clean Power Hydrogen invested GBP2.8 million into research & design, and made "solid progress" towards the commercial launch of the company's membrane-free electrolyser, or MFE, technology.
Additionally, Clean Power Hydrogen entered into a ten-year licencing agreement with Fabrum Solutions Ltd, the New Zealand-based advanced technology developer and manufacturer, for the non-exclusive rights to manufacture and sell membrane-free electrolysers in New Zealand and Australia.
Clean Power Energy said that factory acceptance testing for the MFE110, the company's first scaled membrane free electrolyser, is expected to be completed in the next three months, whilst the completion and delivery of the MFE220, its one megawatt system for Northern Ireland Water Ltd, is expected within the next year.
Clean Power Energy Chief Executive Officer Jon Duffy said: "2023 has been a year of further progress for Clean Power Hydrogen, both operationally and technically. Our focus has centred on developing our unique technology for commercialisation, ensuring safety and scalability through rigorous testing of the MFE110. The successful running of the entire MFE110 system, producing separated hydrogen and oxygen gases, stands as a key milestone for Clean Power Hydrogen, proving our differentiated technology works at scale.
CEO Duffy added: "I firmly believe that our methodical and focused approach to ensuring the technology is both safe and scalable means that we are well positioned to take meaningful strides once commercialisation is achieved. Collaborating closely with our licence partners and customers, this year marks another encouraging step toward our ambitious goal of achieving 4 gigawatts of annual production by the end of 2030."
Clean Power Hydrogen shares were flat at 15.50 pence each in London on Friday morning.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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