THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES
OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 AS IT
FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
(WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("MAR"), AND IS DISCLOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH
THE COMPANY'S OBLIGATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF
MAR.
SRT MARINE SYSTEMS PLC
(AIM: SRT)
("SRT" or the
"Company")
Change of Year end and Business
Update
SRT Marine Systems plc ('SRT'), the
AIM-quoted developer and supplier of maritime surveillance systems
and navigation safety products hereby provides a business update
and notification of a change in financial reporting
date.
In order to protect our ability to
tender for certain pending new system contracts, as explained below
the Board has resolved to move the financial year end from 31 March
to 30 June. The effect of this change is that the current financial
year will be extended by 3 months to be 15 months in length ending
on 30 June 2024. The Company intends to publish audited final
results for the 15 months ended 30 June 2024 during October 2024.
Thereafter the Company will publish unaudited interim results for
the 6 months ended 31 December by no later than 31 March
(commencing with the financial results for the 6 months ended 31
December 2024) and audited final results for 12 months ended 30
June by 31 December in each calendar year (commencing with the
financial results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2025).
The reason for this decision is that
in one specific jurisdiction we must meet certain minimum financial
ratio criteria related to the size of the target new project in
order to bid and contract. The Board believes there is a risk that
some existing system project deliveries, expected to be completed
in March, will slip into the next quarter due to the time required
for governments to complete the necessary processes and paperwork
for the deliveries, combined with the effect of the annual Ramadan
and EID periods. The consequence of this would be a reduction in
our financial ratios and therefore risk our ability to bid for
these new system projects. As we are not certain these deliveries
will complete in March, the Board considers this to be an
unnecessary risk which could exclude SRT from substantial new
projects.
In December 2023, we completed a
£10.5m equity cash raise which significantly strengthened our
balance sheet and has endowed SRT with a strong cash position that
enables us to confidently make optimal decisions in the best
long-term interest of
SRT.
As of this update, as stated above
the Company is a passive, but well informed observer whilst waiting
for the relevant government agencies in three countries to complete
their required processes to enable execution of initial revenue
milestones on projects worth an aggregate of $220 million.
Notwithstanding the above mentioned
risk of paperwork completion delay, we are pleased to report that
during the past three months there has been significant progress
across all our system project opportunities, both existing and new
prospects, with growing visibility and thus confidence on
timescales. Operationally, we have recently released and are
implementing a new version of our GeoVS maritime surveillance
system. The new version includes significant improvements in a
number of functional and non-functional areas. Non-functional
improvements include core system architectural enhancements that
result in faster system data flows and processing times which in
turn supports faster and more extensive user functionality.
Functional improvements are across multiple areas, but of
particular note are improved reporting and analysis and significant
enhancements to our proprietary D-Ai analytics engine that will
further refine our systems ability to automatically detect and
characterise maritime events such as IUU, transshipment etc, and
the introduction of a bolt on web portal function that will enable
customers to integrate, engage and share information with their
fellow government agencies and external stakeholders. Work is now
underway on the next phase of enhancements which will result in the
next major product release in early 2025.
Our transceivers business has
performed solidly, maintaining our gross profit margin as supply
chain and market conditions have normalised following COVID. Our
DAS sub-division is showing exceptional promise having built a
significant pipeline of opportunities which are now starting to
convert. Operationally our major transceiver development, NEXUS
marine voice and communications system, is now well into its test
and validation program with initial field trials also underway.
Following our soft launch of this product to dealers and
distributors at METS in November 2023, we have a growing forward
order book and interest continues to build from our 4,500 strong
value-added reseller base. The full sales and marketing program
will commence during the later part of summer with first deliveries
starting in the autumn as planned.
For the new 15 month period ending
30 June 2024, we prudently maintain our revenue expectations that
we previously had for the 12 months that would have ended on 31
March 2024.
Simon Tucker, CEO of SRT Marine Systems,
commented:
"Our recent £10.5m fundraise has
placed us in a strong cash position where we can confidently make
these decisions and maximise our market opportunities. The decision
to move our financial year end date mitigates the risk that a few
weeks delay on paperwork could exclude us from some significant new
contract opportunities."
About SRT Marine Systems plc:
SRT is a global leader in the
development and provision of next generation digital maritime
surveillance and navigation safety technologies and systems. The
Company's products and solutions are used by individual vessel
owners, port authorities, maritime infrastructure owners, coast
guards and national security agencies to enhance their maritime
domain awareness. Applications include the tracking of commercial
and leisure vessels; sustainable fishery; anti-collision; search
and rescue; waterway management, port and coast security; pollution
management; and environmental management.