OTAQ plc

("OTAQ", or the "Company")

Pre-Close Trading Update

Notice of Results

OTAQ plc (OTAQ.AQ), the innovative technology company targeting the aquaculture, geotracking and offshore markets, announced on 15 December 2022 that the Company has changed its year end to 31 December.  OTAQ has therefore today provided a pre-close trading update ahead of its preliminary results for the nine months to 31 December 2022, which are expected to be announced on or before 19 May 2023.

The Company reported revenues of £2.0m for the first six months of the period to September 2022 and an adjusted EBITDA of £13k.  Trading in the seasonally quieter final three months of the year was broadly in line with management’s expectations and total revenues for the nine months to 31 December 2022 are expected to be approximately £2.6m with an adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately £0.3m.

The Board is pleased to confirm that trading for the first quarter of the new year is in line with management's expectations, with the second quarter on track to be ahead of plan given the Group’s current order intake. The Group's healthy order book, particularly in the Offshore division (previously reported as the Offshore and Connectors divisions), has grown through the Group’s continued investment in new products and market development activities, funded in part by the successful share placing in November 2022. The Aquaculture division is also benefitting from improved customer acquisition in its Chilean territory and from the development of new products including the recent launch of its water quality monitoring solution, which has already secured its first customers. 

The Group continues to carefully manage its cash resources, particularly in light of the well-documented inflationary pressures and supply chain challenges in the wider economy and, as at the 31 March 2023, the Company had cash balances of £1.7m. The Board remains confident of a successful performance in the remainder of the year and will provide a further update at the time of the preliminary results.

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About OTAQ

OTAQ is a highly innovative technology company targeting the aquaculture, geotracking and offshore markets. It already has a number of established products in its portfolio and is focused on further developing its presence, customer base and cross selling opportunities within core markets both organically and via acquisition.

OTAQ’s aquaculture products, which include a sonar device (developed for Minnowtech LLC) to scan shrimp in ponds and water quality monitoring, are focused on maximising welfare and production yields. Additionally, the Company is developing a potentially game changing live plankton analysis product for finfish and shellfish farmers. It also continues to target opportunities in the acoustic deterrent devices market via its Sealfence product, which is used by salmon farmers, with global opportunities in Chile, Australia, Canada and Norway.

The Company is also developing high accuracy location trackers for specialist applications. Having already added clients within safety and multiple participant sport/racing applications, the Company is investigating wider market potential - including opportunities in the seafood industry.

OTAQ’s offshore product range includes OceanSense subsea leak detection, Eagle IP camera systems, Lander seabed survey devices and Subsea electrical connectors and penetrators. It is targeting a number of growth opportunities in new territories and has a strong client base including Expro, Amphenol and National Oilwell Varco. The Company is also focused on the development of new products through this division, with the aim of increased cross-deployment of skills and technologies into the aquaculture arena.