Trading Update

OTAQ plc

("OTAQ", or the "Company")

Trading Update

OTAQ plc (OTAQ.AQ), the innovative technology company targeting the aquaculture, offshore markets and geotracking, today provides a trading update in advance of the year ending 31 December 2023 (’FY23’).

The Company expects to report revenues of approximately £4.4m for FY23 (FY22: £4.0m) exceeding management’s prior revenue expectations driven by a particularly strong second half to the year. Revenues in the second half of the year are expected to be not less than £2.5m, up 93% on the same period last year (FY22: £1.3m) and up by over 40% on the first half of FY23.  The Company expects to report a reduced adjusted EBITDA loss for the year of approximately £245k (FY22: loss £331k*).

Revenue generation has been underpinned by the Offshore division, particularly benefiting from the continued demand and increased orders for its Connector solutions and OceanSense products.

The Company also benefited from strong traction during the second half of the year in its Aquaculture division, in particular delivering two orders of Shrimp Sonar Device orders, totalling 200 units, to Minnowtech LLC. Additionally, 42 Live Plankton Analysis Systems (‘LPAS’) are now deployed with customers, feeding vital plankton images back to OTAQ.  The Company anticipates that at the year-end it will have 16 of its LPAS beta systems deployed with salmon farmers in Scotland, Ireland, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand, on a trial basis.  

The Group, through careful management of its cash resources, has managed to weather the brunt of the well-documented inflationary pressures and supply chain challenges experienced by the wider economy, whilst delivering pleasing progress and, as at 18 December 2023, the Company had a cash balance of £0.4m with strong debtor book of £1.1m (30 June 2023: £0.9m cash, £0.8m debtors).  From 30 June 2023 to 18 December 2023, £189k of the CBILS loan has been repaid; the balance outstanding is £1.1m.

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

“The Board is pleased to note the progress made across the Company, and particularly the improving market backdrop in Offshore, where OTAQ is well positioned to target developing global growth opportunities for its OceanSense, Eagle IP, Lander seabed survey, and subsea electrical connector & penetrator solutions.

“With an improved reported revenue expected for year, the Board remains confident in its current growth strategy, part of which is to commercialise a number of opportunities in the Aquaculture space. With LPAS systems now live, OTAQ is in constant receipt of highly valuable data that will, through a machine learning process, further enhance the AI engine and improve customer outcomes.”

*Adjusted for one-off deposit returned in respect of SealFence and other restructuring costs

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About OTAQ

OTAQ is a highly innovative technology company targeting the aquaculture, geotracking and offshore markets. It already has a number of established products in its portfolio and is focused on further developing its presence, customer base and cross selling opportunities within core markets both organically and via acquisition.

OTAQ’s aquaculture products, which include a sonar device (developed for Minnowtech LLC) to scan shrimp in ponds and water quality monitoring, are focused on maximising welfare and production yields. Additionally, the Company is developing a potentially game changing live plankton analysis product for finfish and shellfish farmers. It also continues to target opportunities in the acoustic deterrent devices market via its Sealfence product, which is used by salmon farmers, with global opportunities in Chile, Australia, Canada and Norway.

The Company is also developing high accuracy location trackers for specialist applications. Having already added clients within safety and multiple participant sport/racing applications, the Company is investigating wider market potential - including opportunities in the seafood industry.

OTAQ’s offshore product range includes OceanSense subsea leak detection, Eagle IP camera systems, Lander seabed survey devices and Subsea electrical connectors and penetrators. It is targeting a number of growth opportunities in new territories and has a strong client base including Expro, Amphenol and National Oilwell Varco. The Company is also focused on the development of new products through this division, with the aim of increased cross-deployment of skills and technologies into the aquaculture arena.