OTAQ.L Regulatory News (OTAQ)

OTAQ plc

("OTAQ", or the "Company")

Pre-close trading update

&

Notice of results

OTAQ, the marine technology products and solutions group for the global aquaculture and offshore oil and gas industries, is pleased to announce a pre-close trading update for the six months ended 30 September 2020, together with a notice of results.

Trading update

The Company has a resilient underlying client base operating on supported rental contracts for its core product, SealFence. As previously reported, new business development and new territory penetration activities in the period have been impacted by global travel and local lock-down restrictions resulting from measures taken to contain the pandemic, particularly affecting Chile and Australia, two of OTAQ's target growth territories. The offshore oil & gas sector also continues to be impacted by both Covid-19 and a reduced oil price, resulting in sharply reduced opportunities for the division.

Notwithstanding the widespread effects of Covid-19, OTAQ expects to announce revenues for the six months ended 30 September 2020 ahead of the comparative period of approximately £2.0m (H1 2020: £1.8m) and EBITDA, similarly ahead of the prior period, of approximately £0.39m (H1 2020: £0.32m).

Despite these restrictions, the Board expects revenues and EBITDA for the full year to 31 March 2021 to be ahead of the prior year by approximately £0.6m to £4.0m (FY 2020: £3.4m) and approximately £0.05m to £0.50m (FY 2020: £0.45m), respectively.

OTAQ held cash at 30 September 2020 of £1.9m.

Notice of results

OTAQ will announce its half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2020 on Thursday 26 November 2020.

Commenting on trading, Phil Newby, Chief Executive at OTAQ, said:

"Providing an essential service to our clients gives us resilient recurring revenue and despite the headwinds of Covid-19 we look forward to continuing to develop our pipeline of innovative aquaculture products and services.

"Trading in this period however has been challenging and has resulted in the expected timescales for our growth ambitions being extended due to limitations in our ability to engage with new customers. That said, we are very fortunate in having a loyal client base under supported rental contracts, so our business model remains resilient.

"We look forward to updating further at the announcement of our interim results at the end of November."

Contacts:

About OTAQ

OTAQ is a highly innovative marine technology company focused on the marine aquaculture, offshore energy, renewables and oceanographic research sectors. It has 42 employees in four worldwide locations: Lancaster, Aberdeen and Ulverston in the UK and Puerto Montt in Chile. OTAQ's marine technology portfolio includes a market-leading intelligent acoustic deterrent system, designed to protect marine-based aquaculture sites from predation, with multiple systems deployed in Scotland, Chile, Finland and Russia.

The Oceansense leak detection systems have a global reputation as the industry standard solution and have been deployed successfully on hundreds of jobs. The Dragonfish laser measurement system is fast becoming recognised as one of the most accurate underwater precision laser measurement systems available. OTAQ also has significant experience in the design & manufacture of underwater connectors, penetrators & communication systems.

It seeks to develop and continuously improve its products using its specialist mechanical, electronic and software engineers with decades of experience in bringing underwater technology products to market.

OTAQ is proud to be fully ISO 9001;2015 accredited through DNV-GL. ISO 9001 is an internationally recognised quality management system and demonstrates OTAQ's commitment to consistency, continual improvement and customer satisfaction. The certification also demonstrates its ability to consistently deliver products and services to market whilst meeting statutory and regulatory requirements by applying an effective quality management system.