Biome Technologies plc (LON:BIOM), a leading bioplastics and radio frequency technology business, today provided an unaudited Trading Update for the six months ended 30 June 2021. The Company’s unaudited interim results are expected to be announced on 15 September 2021.

Group revenues for the first half ended 30 June 2021 were £2.6m (H1 2020: £2.5m) and the Group had a cash balance of £1.4m as at 30 June 2021 (30 March 2021: £1.6m) with no debt.

Bioplastics Division

The division’s revenues for the first half were £2.3m, representing an increase of 7.3% compared to the comparative prior year first half (H1 2020: £2.1m).

Whilst encouraging directionally, revenues and growth in the first half were constrained by ongoing turbulence in the global container shipping industry that delayed deliveries from Europe to North America. As detailed in the trading statement dated 1 July 2021 (the “Trading Statement”), these delays, continue to be a constraint on the division’s ability to quickly undertake the new business development work that is required to support rapid growth with customers. We factored these delays into the Group’s expectations when we published the Trading Statement and we are working hard to further mitigate their impact.

The second US end-customer of scale to deploy Biome’s proprietary compostable coffee-pod filtration material has identified an engineering solution for the delay detailed in the recent Trading Statement.  The customer is now proceeding with suitable procurement and rectification work and Biome’s team is working closely to support the customer’s current offtake levels and anticipated ramp-up following this remedial work.

Our reputation for innovative biodegradable solutions continues to rise and further new business opportunities have been under assessment in the half year; we will keep shareholders informed of progress on these opportunities as the year progresses.

Stanelco RF Technologies Division

Revenues in the RF Technologies division for the first half of 2021 were £0.3m, marginally lower than the comparative first half 2020 (H1 2020: £0.4m) being modestly constrained by component delivery delays.

There continues to be encouraging signs of a recovery within the division’s core fibre optic furnace market, with several large equipment enquiries received and contractual discussions underway.

Group Outlook

The Board’s view of the Group’s performance remains in line with revised market expectations following the Trading Statement. Demand for the Group’s products and materials continues to rise and our reputation is strong. Whilst the Group’s rate of growth will be constrained by the factors described above in the shorter-term, the Board expects a return to the higher rates of growth indicated in its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in due course.