Modern Water revenues rocket but OP slides

Full-year accounts released today by Modern Water Group (MWG) reveal an impressive jump in group revenue and a strong financial position despite an operating loss of almost £5m.


Revenue for the 12 months to December 31 2011 for the water technology group reached £1.2m, up from just £27,000 in 2010 and £56,000 the year before that. The group also revealed a cash value of £11.3m and the fact it is debt free.

However, while gross profit was up from £25,000 to £460,000, the group made an operating loss of £4.9m, compared with a loss of £4.5m in 2010 and £4.3m in 2009.

The group made two acquisitions in the year. In February 2011 it acquired Cogent Environmental Limited and in December, paid $4.5m for Strategic Diagnostics’ (SDIX) water quality division.

Their integration is expected to drive cost savings across the business, but it appears from filed figures that an efficiency drive may already have been underway, as the salaries bill for the group dropped some £320,000 to £1.8m in 2010. However, full accounts for the 2011 financial year have not yet been filed so a salaries figure for 2011 is currently unavailable.

MWG executive chairman Neil McDougal, said: “Modern Water expects to benefit from the division’s steady revenue stream and we are confident of potential sales growth, particularly in China, where spending in the next five years on urban waste water infrastructure is expected to reach $60bn.

Carys Matthews

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