KEY POINTS:
Mooring Systems partner Cavotec is within a whisker of achieving its full-year net profit forecast three months ahead of schedule.
Cavotec, which in January will take control of Mooring Systems by a reverse takeover, said net profit in the nine months to September 30 stood at €5.2 million
($10.06 million) and sales stood at €81.2 million.
It did not disclose comparative figures. But in documents detailing the planned merger with Mooring Systems, it projected profits to rise from €3.59 million to €5.25 million. It also forecast sales to rise from €83.3 million to €87.5 million.
Cavotec also disclosed it had written €30 million of new orders during the past three months, boosting its total order book to €96 million. The boost came as Mooring Systems disclosed a half-year loss of $31,877, down from last year's profit of $6819.
Cavotec, which manufactures and distributes a diverse range of technologies, said: "These orders are highly concentrated in Cavotec's strongest markets: Airports, maritime and general industry."
Shares in Mooring Systems rose 15c yesterday to $4.60. Mooring Systems' loss and a fall in sales, from $1.53 million to $943,567, reflects a fledgling business still in start-up phase. Once the merger with Cavotec is completed, the business will represent a small but growing part of a larger operation.
Shareholders in Mooring Systems last month voted overwhelmingly to merge with Cavotec to create a new company that will remain listed on the NZX. The merger is designed to give Mooring Systems the fire-power to commercialise its technology.
During the past six months, St Lawrence Seaway Management agreed to try a mooring unit for one of its locks - a contract worth $800,000. The testing of a trial facility in Oman has also been successful.
"The company has made solid progress during the period with a strong focus on supporting the strategically important MoorMaster 600 installation in Oman and the building of the MoorMaster 200LS for St Lawrence Seaway Management," managing director Peter Montgomery said.
After the merger, MSL will be renamed Cavotec MSL Holdings.
The company hopes the merger will also give it cash for additional research and development that has been deferred as cash has been historically funnelled towards operations
Mooring with ropes can take from five minutes to more than an hour, depending on the vessel, but Mooring Systems' technology can secure a ship in about 10 seconds with the push of a button and no personnel. However, using vacuum technology to moor ships will require a shift in thinking in an industry in which ropes have been the standard for centuries.