OPT cuts first quarter losses

Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has reported a decrease in net loss of 29% for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, compared to the same period a year earlier.

The net loss reported by US-based wave energy developer OPT for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 was $2.7 million, compared to a net loss of $3.8 million for the corresponding period in 2017.

The company attributed the decrease in losses primarily to lower product development costs and the decline in the fair value of the company’s warrants liability, partially offset by slightly higher selling, general, and administrative expenses.

The revenue for the quarter ended July 31, 2017 was $195,000, which was relatively flat compared to revenue of $202,000 filed for the same period a year before, with a decrease of 3.4%.

OPT said the revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 came from contracts with Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding (MES) and the Department of Defense Office of Naval Research, while the revenue for the matching period in 2017 came from the contract with MES.

George Kirby, President and Chief Executive Officer of OPT, said: “Production is underway on two new commercial PB3 PowerBuoys. These will be our third and fourth units and they are being built to meet anticipated demand from potential new customers. We are continuing to pursue additional opportunities to identify markets and applications for the PB3 PowerBuoy that could contribute to increased sales and financial performance for OPT.”

As reported earlier, OPT’s first commercial PowerBuoy, the PB3, has been deployed off Japan in April this year as part of the lease with MES.

In June 2017, OPT informed the device is meeting all of its performance requirements after eight weeks of deployment.