Quadrise Fuels focused on commercialisation and funding deals

Quadrise Fuels' shares dipped on Monday as it reported an interim loss and just £1m of cash, though it has various new irons in the fire as it tries to commercialise its low-cost alternative to heavy fuel.

Quadrise had cash and cash equivalents of roughly £1.0m at the end of December, down from £3.4m at the same point the year before. Management said it was "very clear on the requirement for near-term business development milestones and for additional funding" and has been "actively engaged in delivering on both fronts" in recent months.

This followed a six-month period where the AIM-listed company, which has yet to report any revenue, booked a loss before tax of £1.7m, which was down from a LBT of £2.0m in the same period the year before.

There was plenty of business development action during the half-year, with Quadrise entering into agreements with "well-placed agents" to pursue opportunities for the use of its MSAR emulsion technology and fuels in certain key markets, it was also signed up by an unnamed oil major for a pilot programme, signed a project development deal with Free Point Commodities and is in talks over trials with potential customers in the marine industry.

Since December, Quadrise has also signed agreements to pursue opportunities for MSAR in the power generation markets in Kuwait, Morocco and other African countries, while there were also said to be is discussion with "a number of market participants" regarding potential trials of MSAR as a marine bunker fuel.

Mike Kirk, executive chairman, said: "We continue to believe that our MSAR technology has significant potential, and recent announcements demonstrate that an increasing number of participants in the energy, power and marine markets are aligned to this view and are incentivised to deliver value for Quadrise and our shareholders."

"The positive shifts in the liquid fuels markets, together with the initiatives announced in the final quarter of 2018 and in the first quarter of 2019, are building significant momentum for Quadrise and we intend to accelerate this to ensure that we can meet the requirement to obtain further funding before Q4 2019, and progress to MSAR commercialisation," said Kirk.

Quadrise Fuels' shares were down 5.17% at 3.30p at 1249 GMT.