EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM listed point-of-care business, announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2020. During the year the Company has issued a number of positive trading upgrades as a result of improved performance from the core business than previously expected and higher demand for the PrimeStore MTM collection device for COVID-19 testing. Overall, the full year performance remains likely to exceed previously revised management expectations.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue up 23% to £26.33m (H1 2019: £21.44m)
• Adjusted EBITDA* up 60% to £8.93m (H1 2019: £5.58m)
• Net profit up 189% to £4.14m (H1 2019: £1.43m)
• Net cash generated from operations of £6.94m (H1 2019: £4.34m)
• Net cash of £16.28m (30 June 2019: £11.78m) (31 December 2019: £11.42m)
• Maiden dividend of 1p per ordinary share to be paid on 1 December 2020 (record date: 5 November 2020)

* Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation adjusted for exceptional items and share-based payments

Operational Highlights

• Core business revenues delivered a more robust performance in the face of COVID-19 headwinds than management expected, with 8% year-on-year decrease in core business sales (i.e. excluding PrimeStore MTM sales), with signs that H2 recovery is underway
• Diabetes sales down 2% to £9.42m (H1 2019: £9.61m) – with β-HB sales up 5.7% to £5.07m, and Quo-Test sales down £0.42m due to reduced demand in the Philippines following substantial orders fulfilled last year
• Hematology sales down 12% to £5.86m (H1 2019: £6.66m) – Hemo Control / HemoPoint H2 sales were impacted by COVID-19 particularly in Peru, but strong Diaspect Tm sales (+8%) following strong contributions from McKesson and Fresenius OEM agreements offset these reductions
• Central Lab & Life Sciences sales (excluding contract manufacturing for PrimeStore MTM) were down 5.5% to £2.64m, despite growth in Clinical Chemistry revenues.
  • Including PrimeStore MTM sales, Central Lab & Lifesciences sales totalled £9.10m (up from £2.96m in H1 2019)
• Main growth driver derived from £6.46m of PrimeStore MTM contract manufacturing revenues (up from £164k in H1 2019)
  • Contract manufacturing agreement with Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics, signed in March 2020
  • EKF appointed as distributor for non-US territories with UK contracts secured
  • Rapid increase in production capacity across US sites (Texas, and now Indiana), establishment of manufacturing lines in the UK (Cardiff) and Europe (Barleben and Leipzig).

Christopher Mills, Non-Executive Chairman of EKF, commented:

“We have delivered tremendous growth in the first half due to strong sales of the PrimeStore MTM sample collection device and a far more robust performance in the core business than we’d originally anticipated given the likely impact of COVID-19. We are seeing signs of improved performance in both Diabetes and Hematology and the continued demand for PrimeStore MTM means that we remain confident that, for the full year, we will exceed previously revised management expectations.”

A copy of the investor presentation is available here: https://www.ekfdiagnostics.com/documents-reports.html

The Company will also host a live online presentation today at 4.30pm through the digital platform Investor Meet Company (register here: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/ekf-diagnostics-holdings-plc/register-investor).

A recording of the presentation and responses to the Q&A sessions will also be available here afterwards.

Enquiries:

About EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

EKF is a leading point-of-care diagnostics and central laboratory assay manufacturer with an estimated 80,000 hemoglobin, hematocrit, HbA1c, glucose and lactate analyzers in regular use across more than 100 countries. EKF specializes in developing tests for use in anemia and diabetes diagnosis and management, as well as providing a portfolio of reagents for use in clinical chemistry analyzers.