LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Ceres Power reported 96% growth in revenue and other income in its first half on Thursday, to £17.4m, which it put down to strong progress in commercial partnerships.
The AIM-traded firm said gross profit improved to £12.2m for the six months ended 30 June, from £7.1m a year earlier, at a "sector-leading" gross margin of 72%.

It raised net proceeds of £179m in March through an equity fundraising of 17.1 million new shares, to support its growth into electrolysis for green hydrogen, and further SOFC applications.

Weichai at 20% and Bosch at 18% were fully supportive of the fundraising and the company's strategy.

The group said it had £263m of cash and investments at the period end on 30 June, while its order book totalled £42m and its pipeline was of £43.8m.

Looking ahead, Ceres said it was on track to achieve revenue in line with consensus estimates of £31.5m for the year ending 30 December, subject to no significant constraints on its operations.

Doosan recently announced that it had completed development of its 10kW SOFC system using Ceres' technology, with a soft commercial launch planned for 2022.

The company said it had also been successful in two separate projects awarded UK grant funding as part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, to explore the use of its technology in marine applications.

On the executive front, Caroline Hargrove was joining as chief technology officer with Mark Selby appointed to a new role as chief innovation officer, both with effect from 25 October.

Ceres also noted that it was planning to move up to the London Stock Exchange Main Market, with a premium listing on track for mid-2022.

"We are pleased to report a strong performance for the company in the first half of 2021, including a notable increase in our revenues at sector-leading gross margins," said chief executive officer Phil Caldwell.

"The outlook for clean technology innovation and hydrogen remains strong, buoyed by growth in strategies, regulation and green investment.

"Our partners continue to announce significant developments in the scale and application of our technology and the high level of interest and early engagement around its use for electrolysis to produce green hydrogen is very promising."

At 0949 BST, shares in Ceres Power Holdings were down 0.6% at 1,108.34p.

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