Surface Transforms plc (LON:SCE), manufacturers of carbon fibre reinforced ceramic automotive brake discs, has provided the following pre-close trading and operations update for the year to 31 December 2023.
Trading update
Subject to audit, revenue for FY23 grew 63% to £8.3m (2022: £5.1m). Gross cash at 31 December 2023 was £6.1m, including the cash received from the December 2023 equity fundraising. Additionally as announced on 11 December 2023, the Company has completed a £13.2m loan agreement solely for use against capital expenditure, none of which had been drawn down at the year end. Capital expenditure in 2023 was, as forecast, approximately £9m.
The Company expects to report its audited results for FY23 in mid-April 2024.
Operational update
Sales for the fourth quarter were £3.0m, compared to £2.0m, £1.9m and £1.4m respectively in the previous three quarters. No new technical problems have arisen in recent months. Accordingly, focus remains on delivering further operational improvements, capacity installation to remove potential single points of failure, upgrading internal manufacturing processes and further strengthening operational management and supervision.
The Company continues to expect to complete the installation of £50m p.a. sales capacity by mid-year 2024 and £75m p.a. sales capacity by the end of 2025, to support existing contracts, expected growth and to build manufacturing resilience.
The successful equity fundraise, and new capital expenditure facility secured in December 2023 has given the Company the ability to accelerate orders of new capital equipment, and, to this end, discussions are underway with our equipment suppliers.
Outlook
The Company is maintaining its revenue guidance for 2024 at £23m. Overall, the outlook for 2024 to 2027 continues to remain very positive reflecting contracts in series production and recent new business announcements, with capacity being installed to fulfil these awards.
The Company expects to announce further new contract awards in H1 2024.
Kevin Johnson, Surface Transforms CEO said “After a very difficult 18 months, and whilst the need to build our resilience continues, we now believe that the worst of our growing pains are behind us. This view is shared by our customers who have agreed their schedules for 2024 which match our assessments of production capability and capacity.
We continue to be capacity constrained not demand constrained, so our factory expansion remains a crucial task in positioning the Company for the future. It is therefore pleasing that the recent debt facility provides the foundation for the programme to continue apace. At the same time we are continuously improving operations to enhance productivity, thereby driving increased output in 2024, with the new senior leadership team in place to deliver these ongoing improvements in a timely manner. We want to thank the entire team throughout the business whose tireless efforts and skills have fuelled recent progress.”.
