Water filtration outfit Amiad joined AIM in December with a £6.5m funding at 129p, to pay down debt and fund its marketing push. Led by chief executive Yossi Katz, the Israeli-headquartered venture posted strong results for the year to December, with pre-tax profits flowing 57% north to £2.3m ($4.1m) on a 15% top line improvement to £24.4m ($42.4m).

In short, Amiad produces and supplies filters and filtration systems for two key markets, the industrial/municipal market, as well as the irrigation market. In terms of sales, its low-maintenance automatic self-cleaning filters, which can treat sea, waste, ballast and drinking water and have usage in the steel, oil and gas,  pulp and paper industries, represent the biggest part of sales.

The annual numbers reflected strong demand for these filters in Mexico, Central America, Spain and the fast-growing Chinese market. During the year, Amiad enjoyed double digit growth in the industrial and municipal sector, whilst over in the more seasonal and lower margin irrigation business, double digit growth was also scored, with inroads made into Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia.

Amiad has diverse geographic spread, selling products in over 60 countries with over 90% of sales wrought outside Israel. Demand for clean water continues to rise steadily on the back of a growing population, ongoing industrialisation, growing regulation regarding waste water, and a lack of pure water in Africa, India, China, and Asia, and should prompt investment in water infrastructure over the long-haul.

Katz insists ‘water is the new oil’ and on that basis the shares could prove a decent speculation.