Fuel cell technology specialist AFC Energy is still at the pre-sales stage for its alkaline fuel cell technology, with a rigorous round of testing and evaluation still to come. The next step - under the leadership of new chief executive Ian Williamson - will be to incorporate refinements into its final product and to complete a production facility in Essex. But, while AFC's technology holds promise, profitability remains a distant prospect - leaving little near-term upside for the shares.
The company completed a series of laboratory trials on two Beta+ fuel cell units installed at the AkzoNobel plant in Bitterfeld, Germany, which yielded enough new information to drive improvements to the eventual commercial product. In addition, the company's long-time partner Waste2Tricity (W2T), which hopes to harness domestic waste to generate electricity, exercised a £1m option to exclusively represent the company in the UK. The first £150,000 instalment was received in the half, with the rest payable over four years. The company also received a one-off grant of €405,600 (£324,000) as part of an EU research project to develop the high volume production of alkaline fuel cells.
Broker Xcap expects a full-year pre-tax loss of £3.35m, giving a loss per share of 1.66p (2011: £3.3m loss/1.6p loss per share).
AFC ENERGY (AFC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 21.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £39.7m | |
| TOUCH: | 21-22p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 50.5p | LOW: 20p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | Nil | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 3p | NET CASH: | £4.49m | |
| Half-year to 30 Apr | Turnover (£000s) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 7.97 | -1.99 | -1.06 | nil |
| 2012 | 180 | -2.10 | -1.04 | nil |
| % change | +2158 | - | - | - |
Ex-div:- Payment:- | ||||
