Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC on Tuesday said revenue and profit suffered in 2022 after it experienced ‘unexpected and lengthy’ delays.

The Hertfordshire-based developer of sustainable plastics and rubber reported revenue for 2022 of £6.2 million, down 33% from £9.2 million the year prior. The company said the decrease in revenue was due to short-term logistics and resources issues, as well as destocking issues that predominantly affected the Middle East due to a delay in certification for its partner’s new UAE-based factory.

Symphony said these issues have been resolved, with the factory becoming fully operational in December, but it said this was too late to boost 2022’s results.

Pretax loss was £3.0 million, widening from £1.5 million in 2021. Symphony noted that profit margins were hurt by higher raw material costs during the first half of the year.

The company did not declare a dividend for 2022, unchanged from 2021.

Looking forward, Symphony said it expects to move back into profit this year, as global sales increased by a quarter and administrative costs were cut by a quarter in the first three months of 2023. The company said it expects a ‘significantly stronger’ financial result in the first half, having seen a 27% increase in revenue In the first quarter.

Chief Executive Michael Laurier said: ‘After the unexpected and lengthy delays experienced during 2022, we are encouraged by the sharply improved momentum, activity and trading performance across the Group and are confident that we will be able to announce further positive updates in the coming months.’

Symphony shares were up 1.6% to 7.11 pence each in London late on Tuesday morning.

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