New Jersey-based wave power company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has started the fiscal first quarter of 2019 with a 16% higher net loss than in the same period a year before, associating the negative results to business scale-up and other developments.
Namely, OPT reported the net loss for the current fiscal year of $3.2 million, compared to a net loss of $2.7 million for prior-year period. The increase in net loss was a direct result of costs associated with scaling business development, engineering, and marketing for focus towards commercial contracts, according to OPT.
The company has also reported the decrease in revenue for the quarter. Compared to $195,000 reported for the 2018 period, OPT collected $31,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, stating the decline is due to the timing of the new contracts signed with Eni and Premier Oil in the current quarter, and other contracts being completed last fiscal year.
Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities were $8.4 million as of July 31, 2018, down from $12.2 million on April 30, 2018. Net cash used in operating activities was $3.8 million during the first 2019 quarter, as compared to $4.2 million during the prior-year period, OPT reported.
Commenting on the financial results, the President and Chief Executive Officer of OPT – George H. Kirby – said: “For the first time, our company is executing multiple contracts to supply PowerBuoys in new markets across multiple applications. Likewise, our new plant, people and processes position us to deliver high quality products and services to our customers.
“We successfully shipped our PB3 PowerBuoy for deployment in the Adriatic Sea, fulfilling a key milestone with Eni. We are also preparing to deliver a PB3 PowerBuoy to Premier Oil for our upcoming deployment in the North Sea.
“Given our robust pipeline of opportunities, brand recognition as an innovator in offshore power, and broadening demand for our solutions, we anticipate securing additional orders to deliver PB3 PowerBuoys to prospective partners around the world.”
OPT has developed the PowerBuoy device which uses ocean waves to provide clean electric power and real-time data communications for remote offshore applications in markets such as oil and gas, defense and security, science and research, and communications.