TIDMRUA
RNS Number : 8745B
RUA Life Sciences PLC
07 June 2023
07 June 2023
RUA Life Sciences Plc
("RUA Life Sciences", the "Company" or the "Group")
March 2023 Full Year Trading Update
RUA Life Sciences plc (AIM: RUA.L), the holding company of a
group of medical device businesses focused on the exploitation of
Elast-Eon(TM), the world leading long-term implantable biostable
polyurethane, is pleased to provide an update for the year ended 31
March 2023, ahead of the publication of the Group's audited final
results for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are expected to be
released mid-July 2023.
This period has been one of sales and profitability growth in
the mature business segments of Contract Manufacture and
Biomaterials whilst further development and regulatory progress has
been made in the Vascular and Structural Heart segments.
Trading update for the 12 months to 31 March 2023
The Group is expected to report year on year revenue growth of
34% with consolidated revenues of GBP2,179,000 generated from
Contract Manufacture GBP1,625,000 and Biomaterials GBP554,000.
Segmental reporting of the Group is now focussed on the underlying
business units and it is pleasing to report underlying net profit
margins (before amortisation and taxation) of 55% for Contract
Manufacture and 89% for Biomaterials. Unaudited R&D expenditure
of the Group is expected to be GBP1,070,000 (2022: GBP887,000), an
increase of GBP183,000 over the preceding year, demonstrating
continued investment in this area.
Overall, loss before tax for the period is expected to be
similar to last year at around GBP2.3 to 2.4 million.
Cash resources have been prudently managed, and the balance
sheet is expected to show a cash balance at the period end of
GBP1,484,000 (2022: GBP2,963,000) with the cash burn reduced by the
receipt of R&D Tax Credit payments which are accounted for on a
cash basis.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is planned for Tuesday 22
August 2023. A further notice of meeting announcement will be made
in due course.
Business Segments
The two core technologies of the RUA group are implantable
textile expertise and the Intellectual Property within the ElastEon
family of biomaterials. The business is managed on a portfolio
basis with four operating segments each of which is exploiting one
or both core technologies.
RUA Biomaterials
RUA Biomaterials continues to enjoy steady growth with unaudited
revenues increasing 14% to GBP554,000. Revenues are derived from
royalty and license fees associated with the Elast-Eon technology.
Direct costs within this business are minimal and the business
segment enjoyed high net margins of 89%. RUA considers the cash
flows from the business segment as a "growing perpetuity" which at
a discount rate of 12% and growth of rate 5% would value this
business segment at around GBP7 million.
RUA Contract Manufacture
This business segment represents the third-party contract
manufacturing activities acquired with RUA Medical in 2020 . This
business has enjoyed very good growth during the year with
unaudited revenue increasing 43% to GBP1,625,000. Net profit
margins of 55% are generated within the business unit and it
continues to meet and exceed customer expectations for quality,
efficiency and value for money. New and existing customers are
actively reviewing projects with RUA that could double the current
scale of the business over a two-year period. For review and
investment purposes, management value this business on an EBITDA
multiple having observed the very attractive multiples that medical
device contract manufacture commands.
RUA Vascular
As previously reported, RUA has been undertaking a "pre-sub"
with the FDA and RUA is delighted to report that agreement has very
recently been reached with the FDA on protocols for a GLP animal
trial and a human clinical trial of the RUA vascular graft. This
has been a lengthy process but felt to be worthwhile as it limits
the risk of the FDA asking for additional information or testing
after submission. During this period of discussion with the FDA,
RUA has taken the opportunity to undertake additional development
and testing on the graft range with a view to improving performance
and maximising manufacturing yields. A detailed work plan has been
prepared for the agreed testing regime and quotations received from
third party test houses for the required work. The clinical study
will involve around 120 patients and further details regarding the
costings and timings of this work will be announced in due
course.
The other major development in the period was signing the
distribution agreement with Corcym allowing direct hospital sales
to be made on regulatory approval.
RUA Structural Heart
The objectives for RUA Structural Heart for the period was to
evaluate heart valve leaflet material and compare the performance
of 100% polymeric valves with a novel composite developed by the
Group. The computational modelling of the composite material at the
design stage suggested that its mechanical properties would be
ideal for heart valve leaflets and that there should not be a risk
of delamination. The team within the Structural Heart business
segment has very recently achieved the initial milestones set for
the composite material. The Structural Heart team has achieved the
initial milestones set for the composite material and we are
delighted to report that after 200 million cycles the material
shows no signs of delamination and cut edges remain unchanged as a
result of flex fatigue. From a performance perspective, the
composite material is very thin and flexible and little energy is
required to open a valve and once opened does not restrict blood
flow with a good EOA (Effective Orifice Area). Testing has also
demonstrated that the properties of the composite restrict crack
growth even in damaged leaflets.
100% polymeric valves rely in part on the leaflet design to
reduce stress and operate within the performance window of the
polymer meaning that polymer would not work in all designs. The
composite material retains the blood contacting properties of
Elast-Eon but is significantly stronger. This creates the
opportunity for RUA Structural Heart to become a supplier of heart
valve leaflets to other companies to incorporate in current
designs.
Bill Brown, Chairman of the Company, commented: " RUA has a
portfolio of four businesses, all of which have made good progress
during the period. The mature businesses are growing revenue and
generating attractive net margins and the development business
segments of Vascular and Structural Heart have made good regulatory
and technological progress respectively on relatively low levels of
investment. "
Caroline Stretton, Group Managing Director, added: " This period
has seen continuing sales growth from our two cash generative and
highly profitable business units, RUA Biomaterials and RUA Contract
Manufacturing, which underpin current Group valuation. We have
continued to de-risk the regulatory process and formalised the
route to market for RUA Vascular's graft range, and identified
additional positive properties within RUA Structural Heart's
polymeric heart valve technology platform"
For further information contact:
RUA Life Sciences
Bill Brown, Chairman Tel: +44 (0)1294 317073
Caroline Stretton, Group Managing Director Tel: +44 (0)1294 317073
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 7397 8900
Giles Balleny/Max Gould (Corporate Finance)
Michael Johnson (Sales)
About RUA Life Sciences
The RUA Life Sciences group was created in April 2020 when RUA
Life Sciences Plc (formerly known as AorTech International Plc)
acquired RUA Medical Devices Limited to create a fully formed
medical device business. RUA Life Sciences is the holding company
of the Group's four trading businesses, each exploiting the Group's
patented polymer technology.
Our vision is to improve the lives of millions of patients by
enabling medical devices with Elast-Eon(TM) , the world's leading
long-term implantable polyurethane. Whether it is licensing
Elast-Eon(TM) , manufacturing a device or component, or developing
next generation medical devices, a RUA Life Sciences business is
pursuing our vision.
Elast-Eon(TM)'s biostability is comparable to silicone while
exhibiting excellent mechanical, blood contacting and flex-fatigue
properties. These polymers can be processed using conventional
thermoplastic extrusion and moulding techniques. With over 8
million implants and 15 years of successful clinical use, RUA's
polymers are proven in long-term life enabling applications.
The Group's four business units are:
RUA Contract Manufacture: End-to-end contract developer and manufacturer
of medical devices and implantable fabric specialist.
RUA Biomaterials: Licensor of Elast-Eon(TM) polymers to the medical
device industry.
RUA Vascular: Commercialisation of open surgical vascular
grafts and patches
RUA Structural Heart: Development of polymeric leaflet systems for
heart valves.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
TSTUNVRROBUNRUR
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 07, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Rua Life Sciences (LSE:RUA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Rua Life Sciences (LSE:RUA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024