Revenues rise at Belfast tech firm
Audio Processing Technology (APT), the Belfast-based developer of audio technology for the consumer electronics sector, recorded a 28 per cent increase in revenues last year.
New accounts for the firm reveal that turnover reached stg£5.1 million (€5.6 million) in the year ending December 31, 2008, up from the stg£4million recorded in 2007.
A breakdown of sales within the accounts revealed that the company had grown its business in most of its major markets.
Sales to the US and Canada had risen from stg£1.4 million to stg£2 million during the year, while those to Europe were up from stg£1.2 million to stg£1.9 million.
Domestic sales rose from stg£285,000 to stg£470,000.
The only market where sales declined was Asia, where revenues dipped from stg£2.1 million to stg£1.5 million.
Increased costs across the business saw the company move into a loss-making position, booking a stg£337,000 net loss for the year after making a stg£178,000 profit last year. Cost of sales rose from stg£1.7 million to stg£1.9 million during the same period, while expenses rose from stg£3.3 million to stg£4.3 million.
The firm now has accumulated losses of stg£133,000.
Directors of the company reported that, while APT made a loss for the calendar year, it had exceeded its budgeted performance in the final quarter of 2008. They also noted that its trading performance in the first month of 2009 was ahead of budget.
APT has been in business for 20 years, having originally been spun out of research conducted at Queens University.
The company is currently led by Noel McKenna and Jonny McClintock, who fronted a management buyout from previous owners Solid State Logic in 2005.
The firm is backed by a number of investors, including Trinity Venture Capital and Crescent Capital.
