Ocean Power Technologies Inc. said Dec. 15 that financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended Oct. 31 were adversely affected by the federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1 and lasted for a record 43 days.
The maritime solutions and services company that provides ocean operations for the defense and security, oil and gas, science and research, and offshore wind markets and platforms for electric power said it posted a net loss of $10.8 million, or 6 cents a share, from a loss of $3.9 million, or 4 cents, for the fiscal second quarter ended Oct. 31. Revenue tumbled to $424,000 from $2.4 million from the same period a year earlier.
The company said in its financial statement that “the year-over-year decline in revenue was largely driven by timing impacts associated with the U.S. federal government shutdown. These disruptions shifted a number of OPT deliverables and development activities into subsequent quarters, which reduced our revenue. These timing effects are not indicative of underlying demand, and we expect a portion of the delayed work to convert later in the fiscal year.”
Dr. Philipp Stratmann, Ocean Power’s president and chief executive officer, said in the company statement that “despite the federal government being shut down for nearly half of our fiscal quarter, we continued to expand our pipeline and strengthen our position across our key markets. With operations now fully reopened, we are confident in the conversion of that pipeline into the backlog.”
The company said its backlog at Oct. 31 was about $15.0 million, an increase of $11.2 million and nearly 300% over the prior-year period.
During the quarter, Ocean Power shipped eight WAM-V autonomous surface vehicles, marking an important milestone for the company. In November, Ocean Power signed a strategic partnership with Mythos AI to integrate advanced AI-driven autonomy across Ocean Power’s WAM-V autonomous surface vehicles and PowerBuoy platforms.
Also in November, the company became certified by AUVSI as a Trusted Uncrewed Maritime Systems Operator Training Provider. This positions Ocean Power among a select group authorized to deliver the nation’s first industry-standardized USV operator training. In September, Ocean Power signed a strategic partnership with Gradient Marine to integrate advanced digital-twin and simulation capabilities across Ocean Power’s PowerBuoy and WAM-V platforms.
