The Company expects to report H1 2018 sales of approximately £17.7m (H1 2017: £26.0m) and an operating loss of approximately £1.8m (H1 2017: £1.5m profit), in line with management's expectations. However, the Board now expects that results for the year ended 31 December 2018 will be below market expectations, delivering a potential loss of up to £0.5m. This is driven by a combination of certain short term transitional issues within the supply chain recently identified, the continued weakness of GBP Sterling against the USD dollar and difficult UK high street trading.
The management remains highly focused, and is confident of resolving the supply chain challenges, accelerating the ramp to scale, and new product introductions to support both current and emerging pipeline opportunities.
The Board also remains confident that the Group's ongoing transition from a hardware safety products provider to a more integrated safety solutions provider will continue to underpin the medium to longer term expectations, supported by emerging legislative driven opportunities, the continued strengthening of the connected home proposition and a strong new contracts pipeline.
At 30 June 2018, the Group had £3.4m of cash and £nil debt (H1 2017: £10.0m cash and £nil debt). In addition, the Company has in place a three year revolving credit facility with HSBC Bank plc for £7.0m to fund its working capital if required.
The Group's inventory position had reduced to approximately £11.0m at 30 June 2018 (30 June 2017: £13.2m).
The Company expects to report its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2018 on 25 September 2018 and will provide a more detailed update on trading and outlook for the remainder of this financial year.
About FireAngel Safety Technology Group plc (“FireAngel”)
FireAngel's mission is to protect, save and improve our customers' lives by making innovative, leading edge technology simple and accessible. FireAngel is one of the market leaders in the European home safety products market and launched its own connected homes product proposition at the end of 2016.
FireAngel's principal products are smoke alarms, CO alarms and accessories. The Company has an extensive portfolio of patented intellectual property in Europe, the US and other selected territories. Products are sold under FireAngel's leading brands of FireAngel, FireAngel Pro, AngelEye and FireAngel Connect.