Metir: Yorkshire firm sees revenues slip as Middle East conflict delays Qatar project
Yorkshire-based Metir has seen its revenues slip as the company said one of its major projects had been delayed due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The firm, which provides water testing technology, posted revenue of around £367,000 for the six months ended June 30, below expectations and down from revenue of £919,000 a year prior.
It came as the company also saw its pre-tax losses widen from £304,000 to £542,000.
Metir said it had been impacted by lower equipment revenues and a temporary interruption to the production of its sulphate reducing bacteria kits.
The conflict in the Middle East also caused the handover to be delayed for Metir’s major water toxicity monitoring scheme in Qatar.
In September, Metir announced the completion of its project to provide a round-the-clock testing system for water toxins in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
The York-based firm said the project, which uses toxicity monitors within the city’s water pumping station network, is being used to provide parts of Doha with monitoring 24 hours a day.
But in its latest announcement, the company said the handover of the first phase of the scheme had been delayed due to the conflict in Iran and its impact on the wider region.
Bob Moore, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Metir, said: "While first-half revenue affecting cash flow was below our expectations, primarily reflecting lower equipment revenues, the temporary interruption to QuickChek SRB production and disruption to the CTM project in Qatar, the group has continued to strengthen the commercial and technology platform from which we expect to drive future growth.”
Metir said that following the issues seen in the first half of the year, it now expects full-year revenue to land below last year’s figure.
Mr Moore said: "With delays impacting the year-to-date, pushing back sales, orders and revenue recognition from equipment and reagent orders, and with limited working capital to drive growth, the Board expects full-year revenue in 2026 to be lower than in 2025.”
The firm said that it is “determined to complete a fundraise in the short term sufficient to enter 2027 with increasing confidence that the business's latent value will be realised by commercialising our new technologies and building on existing ones”.
Metir last year announced that it was partnering with fellow Yorkshire firm Aptamer Group on a new technology to detect a waterborne parasite.
The companies are working to develop technology capable of detecting cryptosporidium – a common waterborne parasite which the World Health Organisation cites as the leading cause of diarrhoeal disease globally.
Metir said in its latest announcement that the first pathogen detector phase on the scheme was now complete, adding that the second phase of development had commenced, targeting proof-of-concept performance.