Specialist engineering group Pressure Technologies records strong performance in defence, nuclear and hydrogen energy markets

The group, which has provided a trading update for the 52 weeks ended 2 October 2021, said it expects to report full-year results in line with market expectations.

The statement said: "Revenue of approximately £25 million (2020: £25.4 million) and an adjusted operating loss of c.£0.8 million (2020: £2.4 million loss) reflect a strong performance in defence, nuclear and hydrogen energy markets, offset as expected by the impact of difficult trading conditions in the oil and gas market, supply chain disruptions and the delay of integrity management deployments from the second half of the year into FY22 and FY23."

Chesterfield Special Cylinders (CSC) delivered revenue of approximately £18.6 million and is expected to report an adjusted operating profit of around £2.5 million.

The phasing of major defence contracts resulted in significantly higher revenue and profitability in the first half of the year.

The statement added: "As expected, momentum has continued to build in the fast-developing hydrogen energy market, with revenue of approximately £2.2 million driven by the success of CSC’s optimised Type 1 steel cylinder designs that meet customer demand for safe and efficient hydrogen storage across projects in the UK, Europe and Australia.

"As governments increasingly acknowledge the role of hydrogen in net zero carbon targets for transportation and in decarbonising industry, hydrogen energy storage remains a strategically important market for the group. The pipeline of opportunities for static and mobile hydrogen storage systems continues to grow and the visibility of future demand is improving.

"Collaboration with our major steel tube suppliers has been strengthened further to support competitive product development and to underpin the delivery of our future order book. The

purchase of strategic steel tube stock for popular hydrogen cylinder designs in early 2021 has proved to be important in mitigating raw material cost escalation, supply chain disruption and increasing lead times."

Sir Roy Gardner has informed the company of his intention to step down as chairman and non- executive Director before the next Annual General Meeting in March 2022, considering his other personal commitments, the statement added.