Infrastrata interim losses widen despite huge jump in revenues

Strategic infrastructure firm Infrastrata said on Monday that it had "not been immune" to lockdowns and operational disruptions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, with operating losses widening despite posting a marked increase in interim revenues.

For the six months ended 31 January, Infrastrata posted consolidated revenues of £5.16m, representing a ten-fold increase year-on-year, with gross margins for the period standing at £1.18m, a marked increase on the £84,053 reported a year earlier.

However, while Infrastrata noted margins were "more or less in line" with expectations for achieving levels of circa 25%, the group had to inevitably reduce its margins "slightly" in light of the pandemic in order to keep vessels moving through yards and bring in repeat business.

The AIM-listed group's operating loss for the period stood at £6.20m, a significant widening of the £2.67m interim loss recorded in 2020 due to an increase in the number of personnel and overall overheads, given that, for the period, it had three asset bases to provide for.

Chief financial officer Arun Raman said: "Much work remains to be done but we have made huge progress in our quest to take the company to a level of steady revenues and achieve profitability.

"With our investments in people and systems across the group, we are better placed than ever before to bid for, and win, larger long-term contracts that we intend will provide significant returns for shareholders. The recent £26.0m contract award from Saipem validates our business strategy and provides the ideal platform to secure similar, if not larger, fabrication contracts across all our sites."

As of 1105 BST, Infrastrata shares were down 6.25% at 45.0p.