(Alliance News) - Shares in FireAngel Safety Technology Group PLC dropped on Tuesday as the interim loss widened on exceptional costs, leading to expectations of a loss for 2019.
Shares in the home safety products supplier were 18% lower at 20.00 pence on Tuesday.
Also, FireAngel announced the appointment of Simon Herrick as a non-executive director with immediate effect. He will be replacing William Payne, who has resigned after nine years in the role.
Herrick's most recent executive role was as interim chief financial officer at data security company Blancco Technology Group PLC for a year since 2018. Prior to that, he was interim CEO at Blancco from 2017 to 2018.
For the six months to the end of June, FireAngel reported a pretax loss of GBP3.6 million, widened from GBP2.0 million the year before, mainly due to exceptional costs of GBP1.7 million.
The exceptional charges includes an increased provision for an isolated legacy issue related to a third party supplier identified in April 2016. Other one-off costs relate to restructuring and fundraising.
Revenue for the period however, grew 14% to GBP20.7 million on strong performances across the group's businesses, particularly UK Trade, where revenue grew by 32% to GBP7.0 million on new contracts.
Looking ahead, FireAngel is cautious on when strategically significant trials in progress will be completed. This trials are expected to generate revenue in 2020 and beyond.
Although revenue for 2019 is also expected to be higher from the year before, FireAngel expects to report an underlying operating loss in the range of GBP1.0 million to GBP1.5 million.
Including an increase in amortisation, the loss would be between GBP1.9 million to GBP2.4 million.
In 2018, FireAngel reported an underlying operating loss of GBP2.0 million.
"We have continued to make progress in repositioning the business during the first half of 2019. The board's focus over the next 18 months is on leveraging the investment made in differentiating our technology and establishing the processes to deliver the large and more strategic opportunities this investment is opening up," said Executive Chair John Conoley.
"Although the completion of certain significant trials is now likely to take longer than originally expected, thereby negatively impacting the final results for 2019, the trials represent an important commercial validation of the Group's strategy and investment in differentiating technology," Conoley added.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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