Autoantibody profiling expert Oncimmune (ONC) - whose proprietary ImmunoINSIGHTS platform helps BioPharma firms (eg Roche) discover, test and further improve their drugs - reported 'in line' H1'24 results today.
ONC said the business had delivered a "step-change" in turnover of £1.19m (38% gross margins) vs £1.15m for the whole of FY23 with operating losses also reducing significantly to -£0.76m (pre SBPs) compared to -£5.0m LY.
This improved performance comes from the successful execution of ONC's turnaround plan, rigorous cost control, and the signing of 7 new contracts as the re-energised sales team continues to make inroads in both the US and Europe.
Better still, the outlook remains positive. FY'24 revenues are anticipated to be £3m - supported by £2.5m (15) of qualified pipeline deals, despite ongoing "headwinds across the industry, with some of the large international pharma companies still undertaking restructurings and reassessing R&D programmes".
Elsewhere, cash continues to be tightly managed, with net debt closing Feb'24 at -£4.3m. Here Feb'24 gross cash of £0.91m (£3.2m Aug'23) is expected to be bolstered shortly by the receipt of £1.17m from Freenome relating to the disposal of its early stage lung cancer division (earlyCDT) back in May'23.
Looking ahead, house broker Cavendish has a 50p/share target price based on FY24 and FY25 sales of £2.8m and £6.9m respectively - corresponding to adjusted EBIT of -£2.6m and £1.2m alongside net debt of -£4.4m (Aug'24) and -£2.6m (Aug'25).
Importantly, Cavendish highlights that 75% of the Board's £3m FY24 sales estimate has been secured, with the majority of samples received to allow the laboratory work to be undertaken and revenues recognised.
Martin Gouldstone, CEO, commenting: "I am very pleased to see that the Company's performance in H1’24 has already generated revenues greater than the ImmunoINSIGHTS business during the whole of FY23, demonstrating that our new strategic approach and commercial efforts are gaining traction.
The momentum is continuing to build as our relatively new commercial team has now found its stride and I expect H2’24 to deliver further growth as we continue to execute on our refocused strategy.
I am confident that our differentiated service offering, which we continue to develop and expand, will become an important tool for our current and future customers."
ONC shares gained 4.4% on the announcement.
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