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- The financial destruction caused by COVID-19 has derailed the long term plans for many budding companies on the Australian Securities Exchange
- Fastbrick Robotics (FBR) has upended significant plans in a bid to save up to $10 million in predicted losses
- On top of that, the company has been forced to scale back on staff
- Fastbrick is known for its novel technology — an auto-brick laying robot
- The company had plans to build a display home in Western Australia before sending the technology over to California
- However, those plans are now postponed indefinitely
- Shares in FBR on the ASX are down 12.5 per cent at 1.4 cents each
Fastbrick Robotics (FBR) has had to uproot its future development plans due to COVID-19.
Back in 2005, FBR was founded on patents filed to create a first-of-its-kind auto brick-laying robot. In 2016, the ‘Hadrian 105’ was able to build a multi-room structure with no human hands — a world first.
FBR first listed on the ASX in 2015, but this week had its growing momentum toppled. As of today, the company is still relatively small with a market cap of $28.22 million and shares floating at 1.6 cents each.
As yet another company grapples with curbing financial hurdles posed by the novel coronavirus, FBR announced on Thursday a ‘cost rationalisation program’.
FBR Chief Executive Mike Pivac says the company has implemented a swift strategy that will help pick up steam once the world recovers.
“Unfortunately, one of the measures implemented has been to reduce the size of our highly skilled and hard-working team,” he said.
“FBR wishes those departing the company all the best in their future endeavours, and they leave knowing that they made a valuable contribution to the development of the world’s first autonomous outdoor bricklaying robot and the supporting technologies that comprise the digital construction ecosystem it operates within,” Mike continued.
One of the biggest blows dealt to FBR is the uncertainty surrounding valuable government funding grants, such as the Research and Development Tax Incentive Refund Program.
Without these, growing tech companies such as FBR face major difficulties in financing their new-age software.
The company had near-future plans to commence its first display home in Dayton, Western Australia. It is no surprise that these plans were postponed.
The planned exhibition was to showcase the auto-building robot’s abilities.
According to FBR, the company also had plans to transport one of its robots to California to impress prospective clients. With COVID-19 sprawling across the globe, travel plans are now suspended for many.
Rollbacks on FBR’s expenses are expected to save up to $10 million per annum in payroll.
“FBR will still be progressing with its technology and global commercialisation plans, but with a much lower cost base to provide the company with greater financial security in this uncertain economic environment,” Mike added.
Shares in FBR on the ASX are down 12.5 per cent at 1.4 cents each at 12:32 pm AEDT.
