Pandemic dampens FireAngel full-year revenues
Coventry-based home safety products developer FireAngel has said its full-year revenues for 2020 look likely to drop by around £6m.
In a trading update this morning (February 25), the company blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for reporting reduced sale of approximately £39.5m and for the delay in making progress on its Connected Homes strategy.
Despite this, the firm said that trading in the second half of the year had been “encouraging”.
No profit or loss figures were supplied in the trading update. Last year, FireAngel announced a loss of £11m for 2019.
FireAngel said that in December 2020 it negotiated with its bank a revised repayment schedule due under the CLBILS loan in order to aid cashflow. The company has also applied for an increased CLBILS loan in order to provide further headroom and to support the revenue growth expected this year.
John Conoley, executive chairman of FireAngel, said: “The impact of Covid-19 held the company back from achieving what would almost certainly have been a significantly improved performance in 2020. The great progress made towards the end of 2019 and in the first months of the 2020 before the pandemic struck augured well for the Year. Combined with the growing momentum of our Connected Homes pipeline and sales-driven gross margin improvement plan, 2020 would have seen a material improvement in both revenue and profitability.”
“Notwithstanding the enhanced lockdowns in the various markets we sell in, trading in January is in line with the board’s expectations. Despite the obvious Covid-19 related uncertainty, the board is targeting improved performance and sales growth in 2021 versus 2020.”
“Our compelling proposition to protect and save lives with innovative, cutting-edge home safety technology remains intact. Our strategic ambition to achieve this through margin improvement and a focus on investing in Connected Homes technology remains unaltered. We look forward to making further progress against our priorities in FY21.”
