PipeHawk PLC on Tuesday announced that it had made a loss in the financial year, but has seen a large number of orders and shift in market sentiment since September.

PipeHawk, a Hampshire, England-based provider of technology for highways and for the automotive, rail and aerospace industries, announced a pretax loss of £1.6 million for the financial year ending June 30, swung from a profit of £79,000 in 2021.

Revenue for the group fell by 7.1% to £6.2 million in financial 2022, from £6.7 million a year ago, while the company also reported a loss per share of 2.42 pence, in comparison to a profit per share of 150p a year ago.

Chair Gordon Watt said: ‘Just when we thought we were getting over the vicissitudes of the Coronavirus (’COVID-19‘) pandemic with its consequent delays caused by material shortages, extended lead times and increased costs, all suffered without the furlough buffer - then Russia invades the Ukraine, fuel costs soar and suddenly the world realises that energy is the key to our standard of living and economic livelihood at all levels.’

‘Despite the disappointing results for the financial year, the directors believe, for the reasons outlined above, that this merely represents a temporary blip in our growth trajectory,’ Watt said.

Despite the reported loss, PipeHawk said that large orders, that had previously been in abeyance had been placed, with the order intake of QM Systems - one of PipeHawk’s subsidiaries - in excess of £3 million for the first four months of financial 2023.

Adien, another PipeHawk brand, has seen an increase in orders since the beginning of September, while Adien’s Ministry of Defence projects are also progressing and it is now fully engaged in 5G work.

The company said that it had also expanded, with QM Systems having moved to a more modern facility, which provides 200% more office space and 600% more manufacturing capacity, while another of its brands, Thomson Engineering Design has also moved into larger premises, increasing its footprint fourfold.

‘Notwithstanding this result, this financial year has been critical for the Group as seen by our underlying positive direction of travel,’ Watt said.

PipeHawk was down 12%, trading at 13.18p per share on Monday afternoon in London.

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