BEDE plc, a leader in the design and manufacture of specialist x-ray instruments, has announced its first results since floating on the London Stock Exchange in November.

The Durham business recorded a pre-tax profit of £25,000 in the year to December 31, 2000, compared to a loss of £75,000 in 1999.

The flotation raised £29.6m, resulting in £16.4m of proceeds for the company. After the payment of outstanding loans to venture capital group 3i and other creditors, the company has a bank balance in excess of £11m.

Dr Neil Loxley, chief executive of Bede said: "I believe that following the flotation, the group is well positioned to capitalise on the years of investment and hard work that have brought us to this point.

"We are in a strong financial position from which to seek new partners for our products, particularly in the areas of x-ray optics and x-ray detection.

"The group will aim to acquire such partners if the directors believe that this is the most effective way of securing a particular technology in order to maximise future shareholder value."

He added: "The group has leading edge products and services serving large and growing markets and the technical capabilities and vision to develop new products along with the financial resources to realise our ambitions."

Revenues for the Bede Group grew more than 46 per cent to £4.9m in the year, compared to £3.3m, previously.

The performance and improvement of the past year is a direct result of the group's focused development strategy and investment in research and development over the last five years.

Bede has confirmed orders worth more than £2.5m, compared with £1m worth of orders in 1999.

It is planning to move its headquarters in Bowburn, to the other side of Durham, to a 27,000 sq ft custom built factory at Belmont Industrial Park, close to the Philips factory.

It will feature expanded clean production facilities, demonstration and applications laboratories and office accommodation. It is expected to be complete by November.

The relocation is expected to create up to 30 jobs.

About 13 jobs have been created since November, taking the total global workforce to 90, two thirds of them in the UK.

Bede's other operations include sites in Denver, in the US, and Prague in the Czech Republic.

Dr Loxley said: "The Bede Group is focused on maximising opportunities from its existing businesses and plans to develop on the basis of organic growth."

Looking to the current year, Dr Loxley said prospects were good for the company, despite the slowdown in the semiconductor industry.

He said: "A leading semiconductor manufacturer has placed a five-year contract for the supply of x-ray characterisation tools.

"This continuing growth is in large part due to the unique product offerings of the group which are creating new markets for x-ray tools in both existing and new semiconductor applications.

"Our future performance is therefore not predominantly dependent on massive semiconductor growth."