Powerhouse Energy Reports Half-Year Growth and Strategic Progress

Powerhouse Energy’s H1 2025: Revenue Up, Loss Wider, and Real Commercial Steps

Powerhouse Energy Group (AIM: PHE) has posted its unaudited half-year numbers to 30 June 2025. The headline: revenue grew, margins improved, but losses widened as the business invested in people, shares-based incentives and its commercial toolkit. The period also saw clear strategic pruning of old projects and fresh momentum behind Ballymena, Australia, and the newly commissioned Feedstock Testing Unit.

What stood out in the RNS

• Group revenue rose to £474.9k (H1 2024: £385.7k). Gross profit improved to £166.2k (H1 2024: £98.2k).
• Operating loss widened to £1.83 million (H1 2024: £1.16 million), with administrative expenses including £947k of non-cash share-based payments.
• Cash ended the half at £1.47 million (30 June 2024: £2.73 million). Net assets were £4.88 million (31 December 2024: £4.40 million).
• March placing and retail offer raised gross proceeds of approximately £1.375 million.
• Feedstock Testing Unit (FTU) completed and already proving out client waste streams.
• Ballymena advancing – lease legalities pending – and PHE now seeking project finance for this site as an exception to its usual capital-light approach.
• Australia FEED completed with National Hydrogen Limited (NH2). The Longford JV was dissolved after the land option was lost, and the Protos option was not renewed.
• Engsolve, the in-house engineering consultancy, delivered a strong H1 order book and has brought in an experienced industrial sales originator to accelerate pipeline.

Strategy and pipeline: tighter focus, clearer control

Ballymena project finance: why this is different

PHE’s default strategy is to earn licensing fees, royalties and engineering services revenue without owning assets. For Ballymena, the company plans to raise project finance because management believes the commercial risk is favourable, with feedstock and offtake foundations, plus local authority support. The logic is straightforward: funding this one gives PHE greater control and a more favourable delivery timeline.

For investors, this marks a pragmatic tilt rather than a policy shift. If executed well, it could accelerate first commercial revenues from PHE’s DMG process – the company’s waste-to-syngas technology – while preserving the broader capital-light model elsewhere.

Australia and south-east Asia: FEED done, conversations active

Front-end engineering design (FEED) has been completed with NH2 in Australia, which is an important step towards project definition. The company also flags ongoing interest in south-east Asia and active support for Altec Energy in Thailand. Timelines or contract values are not disclosed, but the direction of travel is positive.

Portfolio pruning: Longford and Protos off the slate

PHE has closed out Longford (land option lost) and chosen not to renew the Protos option, citing cost and commerciality. That is sensible discipline: focus time and cash on projects with clear line-of-sight to returns. It will sting for holders who hoped those sites might deliver near-term milestones, but strategically it reduces drag.

Engsolve: the cash generator in the group

Engsolve’s orders exceeded expectations in H1 and the team has brought in a specialist sales originator to deepen industrial client access. That should help underpin near-term revenue while PHE progresses licensing and project opportunities. In short, Engsolve remains the commercial engine while DMG projects scale.

Technology catalysts: FTU commissioned, patents granted

Feedstock Testing Unit is now live

The FTU at the Powerhouse Technology Centre has been completed and has already verified multiple waste streams for interested parties. That matters commercially: the ability to test a client’s specific waste on PHE kit shortens sales cycles, de-risks designs, and could open up fee-paying testing services. Management also notes learnings from the FTU are optimising DMG performance, aiming to improve efficiency and commerciality.

IP building and new markets

Further patents were granted across Indonesia, the USA, Australia and Europe. That strengthens the defensibility of PHE’s process. The team is also exploring supplying gasification technology into Sustainable Aviation Fuel – early-stage, with details not disclosed, but a potentially valuable adjacency if economics stack up.

Cash, costs and runway: what the numbers imply

• Operating cash outflow was £920k for H1 2025.
• Investing cash outflow was £258k, mainly on tangible and intangible assets.
• Financing inflow totalled £1.34 million, reflecting the March fundraise.
• Cash increased by £162k in the half to £1.47 million.

Loss per share was 0.04p (H1 2024: 0.03p), with the weighted average share count rising to 4.21 billion following the 275 million shares issued in March. The board states it has prepared 12-month cash flow forecasts and considers the group a going concern based on cash at 30 June 2025. That said, with operating cash burn at £920k for the half, near-term revenue conversion from Engsolve, FTU-related work and project milestones will be important to sustain headroom.

Post period, the CFO acquired 6,907,520 shares, taking his holding to 13,440,527 (0.30%). Small in percentage terms, but it signals alignment.

Why this matters for PHE shareholders

The positives

• Revenue and gross profit growth show Engsolve traction and improving activity levels.
• FTU commissioning is a genuine milestone that should accelerate client engagement and help win work.
• Ballymena moving towards project finance could bring earlier, more controllable project delivery.
• Patents across multiple jurisdictions bolster the IP moat.

The watch-outs

• Operating loss widened, largely due to investment and a £947k share-based payment charge in admin expenses.
• Cash is modest at £1.47 million, so timely conversion of the pipeline and disciplined costs remain critical.
• Project churn (Protos, Longford) underlines execution risk in site control and commercial terms.

What could move the shares next

• Signed lease and financing clarity at Ballymena.
• New Engsolve contract wins and FTU-driven testing revenues.
• Progress updates with NH2 in Australia and early steps in south-east Asia.
• Grant funding outcomes for the Technology Centre and R&D activities.

Key numbers at a glance (six months to 30 June 2025)

Revenue	£474,879
Gross profit	£166,207
Operating loss (pre-exceptional)	£1,833,233
Loss after tax	£1,840,078
Administrative expenses (incl. share-based payments)	£1,676,091 (includes £947k share-based payments)
Operating cash outflow	£920,001
Cash at bank (period end)	£1,470,111
Net assets	£4,879,891
Loss per share	0.04p
Weighted average shares	4,210,038,074
Gross fundraise in March 2025	£1.375 million

My take

This is the shape of a company moving from R&D into commercial execution. The FTU commissioning gives PHE a credible, near-term way to validate client waste streams and nurture a pipeline. Engsolve is doing the heavy lifting on revenue while the project portfolio is trimmed and refocused on sites with better risk-reward. Losses are still meaningful and cash is not abundant, so delivery discipline remains the name of the game.

If PHE lands the Ballymena lease, lines up project finance on acceptable terms, and converts FTU-led interest into fee-paying work, the story looks a lot more tangible. For now, it is a case of cautious optimism backed by a clearer strategic compass and some practical milestones achieved in H1.