Teesside firm Applied Graphene Materials (AGM) saw operating losses widen as "disappointing" commercial revenues were hampered by Covid and it was slower to secure new customers.
In an update on trading to the end of January, investors were told that operating losses increased to £1.9m from £1.8m although overall revenue increased from £42,000 to £46,000.
The innovative firm said that its key market - the industrial coatings sector - had slowed down as customers' focus shifted away from research and development. Supply chain issues had also caused a "severe impact".
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Despite the difficulties, AGM said there had been steady growth in potential pipeline projects over the past 12 months with an increase in engagements from 135 to 192, including 24 completed products. The firm said it believed more potential customers were becoming interest in both graphene as a novel material and its practical use.
And now further space at its Wilton manufacturing base is being leased and new equipment acquired to accommodate anticipated increased demand.
AGM also noted that emerging opportunities in battery technology and hydrogen fuel and storage were progressing as it developed its offer to this sector.
Adrian Potts, chief executive officer, said: "We continue to make excellent progress with our graphene nanoplatelet dispersion technology for a broad range of applications in the protective coatings, composites and functional materials sectors alongside our longer-range development activity into green energy.
"Despite the Covid-19 legacy, we have managed our in-house resources well which has enabled the development of new applications for the chemical resistant coatings and composites industries. We look forward to actively marketing this data to the industry soon.
"Commercial revenues have been slower to develop than we would have liked for the period due to the compound effects of COVID-19 and supply chain challenges across the liquid resins industry. Many of our customers have been challenged to source the raw materials needed for their standard products and have temporarily refocused resources away from research and innovation, which has led to a slowing of customer evaluation, formulating and testing of our products.
"We have worked hard with our distributors through this period to support their efforts technically with their customers and we see this as a good investment for future potential. With the progressive re-emergence of the industry, we are anticipating increasing engagement with our graphene nanoplatelet products."
Since the period under review, AGM has partnered with Rayoung Chemtech as its distribution partner in Taiwan, targeting the coatings and composites market. It also expects to add further distributors in Latin America and India.
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