24 July 2024
Oxford Nanopore Technologies
plc
Half Year Trading
Update
· Trading in-line with both
revenue and gross margin guidance in the face of challenging
end-markets
· Building commercial momentum
heading into the second half reinforces confidence; full year 2024
and medium-term guidance reaffirmed
Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc
(LSE: ONT) ("Oxford Nanopore" or "the Group"), the company
delivering a new generation of molecular sensing technology based
on nanopores, today provides a trading update for the six
months ended 30 June 2024 ahead of results, which will be published
on 3 September 2024.
The Group expects to report Life
Sciences Research Tools (LSRT) revenue for the six months ended 30
June 2024 of approximately £84 million (H1 2023: £86.0 million),
broadly flat year-on-year at constant currency; marginally down
(2%) on a reported basis, including foreign exchange headwinds.
Underlying[1] LSRT revenue, grew by 12.4%
on a constant currency basis year-on-year. Growth for the first
half of 2024 is in-line with expected 2024 phasing.
Underlying growth has been strongest
across the PromethION franchise[2], across
all product lines. Underlying growth was delivered across each
region, and it was strongest across EMEAI and APAC, with commercial
momentum building for the second half, supported by new product
launches, a number of new and expanded contracts, and a step up in
sales team productivity in the second quarter.
Gross margin for the first half is
expected to show year-on-year improvement, despite foreign exchange
headwinds, and remains on track to meet the Group's full year 2024
guidance.
Outlook
Full year 2024 guidance remains
unchanged:
- LSRT
revenue growth is expected to be between 6 and 15% on a constant
currency basis and underlying revenue growth is expected to be
between 20 and 30% on a constant currency basis. The Group
continues to expect FY 2024 revenue to be second half weighted,
with an approximate 45:55 split.
- Gross
margin is expected to be approximately 57%.
All medium-term (FY 2027) guidance
is unchanged.
Gordon Sanghera, Chief Executive Officer,
commented:
"Our first half performance is
in-line with our expectations. We delivered robust underlying
revenue growth, despite a challenging macroeconomic
backdrop.
"We enter the second half in a strong
position; new contract wins coupled with the increased productivity
of our sales teams in the second quarter reinforces our confidence
in our full year 2024 outlook. In addition, the launch of new
products from our regulated pipeline, including GridION Q-Line and
ElysION, our sample-to-answer automated sequencing solution, will
drive adoption in new clinical and applied markets in the near and
medium-term."
[ENDS]
This trading update is based upon unaudited management
accounts and has been prepared solely to provide additional
information on trading to the shareholders of Oxford Nanopore
Technologies plc. All figures are provisional and subject to
further review.
For further information, please
contact:
Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc
Investors: ir@nanoporetech.com
Media:
media@nanoporetech.com
Teneo (communications adviser to the
Company)
Tom Murray, Olivia Peters
+44 (0) 20 7353 4200
OxfordNanoporeTechnologies@teneo.com
Notes:
- All
revenue in this document is Life Sciences Research Tools (LSRT)
revenue.
-
All 'underlying revenue' throughout this document is
LSRT revenue excluding revenue from COVID sequencing and revenue
from the Emirati Genome Program (collectively £10.4 million in H1
2023 and £1.5m in H1 2024).
-
All 'underlying growth' throughout this document is LSRT
revenue growth after adjusting for COVID sequencing and the Emirati
Genome Program revenues.
- Underlying
revenues include fluctuations in currency unless explicitly stated
otherwise.
- Constant
currency applies the same rate to the H1 2024 and H1 2023 non-GBP
results based on H1 2023 rates.
- All
percentages compare to the equivalent 2023 period.
About Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc:
Oxford Nanopore Technologies' goal
is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the
analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has
developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology
that is currently used for real-time, high-performance, accessible,
and scalable analysis of DNA and RNA. The technology is used
in more than 120 countries, to understand the biology of humans,
plants, animals, bacteria, viruses and environments as well as to
understand diseases such as cancer. Oxford Nanopore's technology
also has the potential to provide broad, high impact, rapid
insights in a number of areas including healthcare, food and
agriculture.
Oxford Nanopore devices sequence DNA
and RNA directly and sequence short to ultra-long fragments of DNA,
for a truly comprehensive picture of the genome. Data is streamed
in real-time and can enable rapid insights. The technology is
fully scalable - from pocket-sized to ultra-high throughput
devices.
For more information please
visit: www.nanoporetech.com
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements. For example, statements regarding
expected revenue growth and profit margins are forward-looking
statements. Phrases such as "aim", "plan", "expect", "intend",
"anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "target", and similar
expressions of a future or forward-looking nature should also be
considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
address our expected future business and financial performance and
financial condition, and by definition address matters that are, to
different degrees, uncertain. Our results could be affected by
macroeconomic conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic, delays in our
receipt of components or our delivery of products to our customers,
suspensions of large projects and/or acceleration of large products
or accelerated adoption of pathogen surveillance. These or other
uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially
different than those expressed in our forward-looking
statements.