LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oxonica Plc., a nanomaterials group, said it is confident it can move closer to break-even by the end of the year, given its "considerable potential", even though it widened its pretax loss in the six months to June.

The company said that with its "strong pipeline of potential customers" and opportunities in Russia its Envirox product is expected to progress in the second half and its security business in the United States continues to perform well.

Richard Farleigh, chairman, said: "We are continuing to restructure the group, concluding a strategic deal with BD for the Nanoplex technology, eliminating non-essential expenses and investing in developing the security and energy businesses".

Oxonica also said it expects to meet its obligations as they fall due.

The company said that in the six months to June its pretax loss amounted to 7.02 million pounds against a loss a 3.1 million pounds a year earlier.

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