Modern Water Plc (MWG), which completed the world’s first commercial forward-osmosis desalination plant last year in Oman, said revenue tripled as the company competed with more reverse-osmosis water purifiers.

Modern Water, whose shares trade in London, supplies advanced systems for water monitoring and treatment, touting benefits of its membrane-based forward-osmosis technology that includes lower energy consumption for highly contaminated waters.

The company said today that revenue rose to 3.8 million pounds ($5.7 million) in 2012 from 1.2 million pounds a year earlier, it has no debt and its cash improved with 9.5 million pounds of net proceeds this year from a share placement. It said water-stressed countries in the Middle East and China are key markets for its technology.

To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Hackley in London at rhackley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Randall Hackley at rhackley@bloomberg.net