Ceres Power tumbles after weaker first half

Fuel cell and electrochemical technology developer Ceres Power reported first-half revenue and other operating income of £9.9m on Thursday, down from £17.4m year-on-year.

The AIM-traded firm said gross profit came in at £5.3m for the six months ended 30 June, sliding from £12.2m, as its gross margin narrowed to 55% from 72%.

Cash and investments totalled £221.6m at period end on 30 June, compared to £249.6m at the end of December, after the company increased its investment in research and development by 46%, including electrolysis technology for green hydrogen.

“Energy security and the transition to cleaner energy have never been so important to the way we live,” said chief executive officer Phil Caldwell.

“Ceres' role as a leading developer of clean energy technology, enabling companies to decarbonise at scale and pace, means we are well-positioned to play our part.

“The China joint ventures represent an important milestone in our ambitions for Ceres' technology, not only in its mass deployment in systems and products for the significant Chinese market, but also accelerating the delivery of global manufacturing capacity.”

Caldwell said Ceres was also growing its opportunity with the investment in SOEC for green hydrogen, adding that its first commercial opportunity for SOEC was announced in its partnership with Shell.

“These are steps towards our aim of establishing multiple mass manufacturing facilities and generating significant royalty revenue with multi-gigawatts of Ceres technology in production.”

At 1055 BST, shares in Ceres Power Holdings were down 12.42% at 415.9p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.