Regulatory News

OTAQ, the marine technology products and solutions group for the global aquaculture and offshore oil and gas industries, announces its Final Results for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Financial Highlights

• 18.5% increase in revenue to £4.05m (FY2020: £3.42m)
• 17.3% increase in gross profit to £2.30m (FY2020: £1.96m)
• 16.2% increase in adjusted EBITDA to £524,000 (FY2020: £451,000)
• Cash balances of £3.1m following drawdown of a five-year £2m CBILS facility; net cash of £627,000 (FY2020: £2.86m)

Operating Highlights

• Achieved strong revenue and gross profit growth across the business
• £0.3m acquisition of ROS Technology Limited's trade and assets
  • adding revenue generating contracts and further enhancing OTAQ's aquaculture R&D capability
• Strategic investment of 15% in Minnowtech LLC 
• Focused on broadening reach through new product development including the live plankton analysis system for detecting algal blooms, in partnership with Blue Lion Labs LLC, and entering the shrimp biomass detection market through the investment in Minnowtech LLC
  

Alex Hambro, Non-Executive Chairman of OTAQ plc, commented: "Despite the general market backdrop and challenges, this was still an extremely productive period for the Group with positive movement across all of our key financial metrics. Importantly we continued to position ourselves for future growth, having invested in broadening our product suite and reach.

"We remain excited by the growth potential and new products that we are developing as we focus on increasing our market share as well as diversifying our geographic reach and revenue streams. We are building a strong portfolio of innovative aquaculture products focused on reducing production risks as well as increasing yields and sustainability, and are confident that the long-term market fundamentals remain strong. We are also well funded to continue investing in our product base and to consider any further acquisitions we view as a good fit."

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About OTAQ

OTAQ is a highly innovative marine technology company focused on the marine aquaculture, offshore energy, renewables and oceanographic research sectors. It operates in four worldwide locations: Lancaster, Aberdeen and Ulverston in the UK and Puerto Montt in Chile.

OTAQ's marine technology portfolio includes a market-leading intelligent acoustic deterrent system, Sealfence, designed to protect marine-based aquaculture sites from predation, with multiple systems deployed in Scotland, Chile, Finland and Russia.

The Company's Oceansense leak detection systems have a global reputation as the industry standard solution and have been deployed successfully on hundreds of jobs. OTAQ's Dragonfish laser measurement system is fast becoming recognised as one of the most accurate underwater precision laser measurement systems available. OTAQ also has significant experience in the design and manufacture of underwater connectors, penetrators and communication systems.

It seeks to develop and continuously improve its products using its specialist mechanical, electronic and software engineers with decades of experience in bringing underwater technology products to market. Concurrently, OTAQ seeks to expand its technology portfolio through acquisitive growth, with the aim of further expanding its aquaculture and offshore product offering.

OTAQ is proud to be fully ISO 9001:2015 accredited through DNV-GL. ISO 9001 is an internationally recognised quality management system and demonstrates OTAQ's commitment to consistency, continual improvement and customer satisfaction. The certification also demonstrates its ability to consistently deliver products and services to market whilst meeting statutory and regulatory requirements by applying an effective quality management system.