Neotronics Technology Plc, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire suffered a bit of a bloody nose in the year to September 1995, with the group seeing increased competition in its core gas detection business, while it continued to search for financial backing for its olfactory sensing equipment, or electronic nose. It also put in place a considerable restructuring, resulting in a number of redundancies at all levels. The company turned in losses of ú697,000, against a profit last time of ú937,000, on turnover that just crept up 1% to ú20.1m. North America seems to have been the company’s blackest spot, with both sales and profitability of its Solomat gas detection units falling, due to what it terms fierce competition. However, the company has also ‘relieved’ the president of the US operation of his duties, taken control back in the UK and changed the US middle management, which it says should help to revitalise the flagging sales. In the rest of the world, it says that sales of its gas detection, water and air purification products have increased, and its investment in the Far East is seeing significant increase in business, particularly in Taiwan and Thailand. Neotronics is still seeking backing for its electronic nose, but says this is now a marketable product with applications in many markets including food quality testing, and petrochemicals, and it achieved sales of ú278,000 in the year. Chairman Paul Gotley said the company is stepping up its sales and marketing of the product, and has reduced expenditure in the electronic nose division to a minimum, so that even without the external funding it is seeking, the product will be able to continue to finance itself. The company says that the costs incurred to finance its restructuring are now generating sales and profit growth, and it believes that, in the face of difficult market conditions, it is now well placed to exploit every upturn in the market. With continuing losses, the company will not pay a final dividend.
