Symphony makes additives which, when added to plastic products, allows them to biodegrade naturally. Chief executive Michael Laurier says: “All these political campaigns are flawed. People aren’t going to stop using plastic.
“What are we going to wrap our food in? We can’t go backwards in time. The solution needs to be smarter.” The tendency western governments have to ban and tax plastic (in particular bags) instead of tackling the root cause has meant that Symphony’s progress has been slow.
It floated back in 2001 but it is only since the start of last year that its share price has picked up.
The major turning point came in December 2016 when Saudi Arabia passed legislation making it compulsory for all plastic products to be made with biodegradable material. Such was the demand from the Saudis that Symphony upgraded its profits estimates last October and this month added that the company’s revenues would finish the year somewhere in the vicinity of £8.2 million, significantly ahead of the £6.8 million posted 12 months earlier.
Symphony believes that the UK and EU should follow Saudi Arabia’s lead and Symphony director Michael Stephen has had meetings with officials in Brussels and intends to brief the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Gove.
Buying Symphony could appear a risky punt but investors will be hoping for a move away from “tax and ban” policies in the West to avoid another 15 year wait.
