# Hardide Plc Q&A with CEO Phil Kirkham: Final Results (LON:HDD)

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/hardide-plc-qa-ceo-phil-kirkham-final-results-lonhdd/412742081
- Published: 2017-12-13T12:36:33+00:00
- Author: Amilia Stone

**Hardide Plc** (LON:HDD) Chief Executive Officer Phil Kirkham caught up with DirectorsTalk
for an exclusive interview to discuss their final results for the year ended 30th
September 2017.

 

**Q1: Now, this morning we saw your results published, can you talk us through the
highlights?**

**A1**: Certainly. I think it shows real solid growth within the business, it’s 
a record revenue year of £3.24 million which is 51% higher than the last financial
year and it shows really a good trajectory. Our second half, H2, was 14% increase
in sales on the first half of the year and if you look at the last 4 half-years,
we’ve shown steady growth, half-on-half in both sales and gross profit. During the
year, we’ve benefited from a recovery in the oil and gas markets, our oil and gas
sales in this year were 92% higher than the previous year.

So, overall, it’s a really good trajectory, really solid growth, really good figures
and we’re very well positioned for the future.

 

**Q2: You recently had an over-subscribed fundraising of £2.54 million, can you 
tell us how the money is being used?**

**A2**: We’ve got a projected expansion of our business in the year to date which
indicates that we’ll need more capacity in 2018, North America already accounts 
for about half of the total group sales. So, we have actually ordered 1 new coating
reactor for the Martinsville, Virginia facility which takes the number of coating
reactors from 2 to 3 and that’s due to be commissioned in August 2018. We’ve also
got, or we will have, the money in the bank to fund an additional reactor, over 
and above the one we’ve just ordered, when the time is right, when we see the increase
in demand which we expect to be in 2019.

In addition to that, we also want to get the US facility up to aerospace standards
and get the AS9100 approval for the site, similar to what we have in the UK so that’s
one of the main areas we’re spending the money on. In addition to that, we’ve got
a number of process improvements in the UK and the US that we want to put into place
as well as some more significant laboratory equipment.

Of course, having a strong balance sheet, having cash on the balance sheet, is very
important for our customers to see.

We need to just mention that part of the fundraising has not yet been received because
it’s subject to further EIS/VCT clearance from the HMRC, which we are currently 
waiting for, which will bring in another £800,000 to make the £2.5 million in total
once that’s all received.

 

**Q3: Hardide reported its gained full Airbus Approved Supplier status and achieved
Nadcap accreditation, how will this add to Hardide’s operation?**

**A3**: We’re always very pleased to have gained the significant accreditations 
and approvals this year, both the Airbus Approved Supplier status and the Nadcap
accreditation, both for the Bicester site, these have really put a really good platform
for securing future aerospace business.

Of course, at the moment, we’re still in discussions with Airbus and others, there’s
tests going on, live testing on wing components for the Airbus A320, A330 and the
A380 family of aircraft and also on landing gear parts as well as other fixed and
rotary wing aircraft components.

Unfortunately, progress is slow due to the nature of the business, the aerospace
industry, but also the critical nature of the components that we’re being asked 
to coat.
 So, that in addition to getting on the plan to bring the US facility up
to the aerospace standard during 2018 is really where we’re going forward.

 

**Q4: Going forward then, what are the main focus areas, let’s say over the next
few months?**

**A4**: Well, we’re continuing to work on our aerospace business with Airbus, Leonardo
and many other primes and tier 1 subcontractors to the industry and getting this
US site to AS9100 approval.
 We’ve also recently signed supply agreements with some
major oil and gas customers which we believe will become significant business for
us in the forthcoming months and years.

 

**Q5: How is trading going and what’s the outlook for the next financial year for
Hardide?**

**A5**: We’re building on the achievements that we’ve achieved in 2017 and we plan
to grow the business further and plan to diversify both in North America and in 
Europe. We see a very positive future during 2018 and beyond.

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