Encouraging FY23 Trading Update

Abingdon has issued an encouraging trading update, indicating FY23 revenues are expected to be ~£4.0m - up significantly on FY22 and showing very strong sequential growth H-on-H. It is now working on a range of contract services across a number of sectors (all non-Covid), which should support a sustainable revenue base and growth in future years. The pipeline of opportunities is reported to be robust and management expects to report further strong revenue growth in FY24. With cash burn reducing

Launch of Salistick pregnancy test

Abingdon has partnered with an Israeli-based developer of innovative diagnostic tests to launch the first ever saliva-based pregnancy test. Abingdon has helped Salignostics develop Salistick and will provide contract manufacturing and commercialisation services. It will initially be launched in 400 Superdrug stores in the UK and will be co-branded as Abingdon Simply Test. With 12.5m pregnancy tests carried out pa in the UK alone, we believe this presents a material revenue opportunity for Abingd

FY22 results disappointing – outlook offers promise

FY22 was something of an annus horribilis for Abingdon due to factors largely outside of its control. As the pandemic has subsided, legacy issues have been resolved and management has cleared the decks for a reset of activities, focussing on a range of Contract Development and Manufacturing opportunities. The settlement with the DHSC has been resolved and £6.4m in cash received post-period end. Management therefore expects there to be no current funding requirement as it moves towards cashflow b

Hybridan Small Cap Feast 07/10/22

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?** Sondrel Holdings plc, a UK founded and headquartered fabless semiconductor business providing turnkey services in the design and delivery of complex, high end 'application specific integrated circuits' (ASICs) and 'system on chips' (SoCs) for leading global technology brand, intends to join AIM. Anticipated Mkt Cap £48.1m. £20m to be raised. Expected 21 October 2022. TECC Capital plc, to be renamed EDX Medical Group, intends to join the AQSE Growth Market. ED

Pipeline firming up with contract win worth min £2.7m

In a further sign that Abingdon’s pipeline is maturing, it has today announced a significant contract win with a European partner for the manufacture of lateral flow device components for a Covid-19 antigen test. It is worth a minimum of £2.7m over the initial 12 month period, with scope to extend the duration, scale and scope of the contract. As such, we believe it has the potential to be materially larger than this over time. In our view, this is a strong endorsement of Abingdon’s range of cap

Growing pipeline of opportunities

Interims reflect the trading update earlier this month and the adverse impact from the DHSC dispute, which continues to rumble on despite agreement in principle being reached for the repayment of the outstanding debt. More encouragingly, there are meaningful signs of progress in developing a broader customer base, with two new MOUs announced today for the development and manufacture of a range of lateral flow tests across diverse indications. One of these builds on the relationship with Vatic, w

Trading & strategic update

Abingdon’s H1 update acknowledges that Covid-19 testing will no longer support the group’s growth plans. It is therefore accelerating its plans in contract development and manufacturing, direct-to-consumer sales and in own product development, with progress achieved in each. Following the fund raise, cash stood at £5.9m at the end of December, with the £8.45m still to be received from the DHSC. Pending further visibility over the phasing of future revenues, our forecasts remain withdrawn for now

In line prelims, light at the end of the tunnel

Abingdon has reported FY21 prelims in line with the position outlined at the trading update in April, with revenues of £11.6m, an adj EBITDA loss of £3.3m and cash of £5.0m after significant investment in manufacturing capacity. The pipeline of contract manufacturing opportunities continues to grow, with a number of projects at the final stages of tech transfer, underpinned by initial advance purchase orders for manufacturing batches. Whilst payment for the debt owed by the DHSC has still not ye

FY21 Trading Update

Abingdon’s FY21 trading update indicated revenues are expected to be ~£11.6m and an adj EBITDA loss of £(3.3m), in line with the revised guidance given in April. It continues to be hamstrung by the hiatus in orders for its lead product AbC-19 and is caught in the crossfire of a legal dispute involving the DHSC. Payment of the outstanding debt of £6.7m continues to be withheld pending the outcome of this judicial review. As a result, Abingdon has enacted a cost reduction programme, which has incl

Small Cap Feast: 09/07/21

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen? Bridgepoint Group to float on the Premium Segment of the Main Market. Bridgepoint is the leader in middle market investing, with a global reach that leverages its strong pan-European footprint and Bridgepoint's ability to deploy meaningful amounts of client capital across several well established strategies. Raising £300m. Timing TBA. HydrogenOne Capital Growth to IPO on the Premium Segment of the Main Market. HGEN is targeting a raise of £250m. First London

Encouraging pipeline, but uncertainty over delivery

Abingdon has issued an unscheduled update, indicating that while the pipeline of opportunities continues to build, converting these to live orders is taking longer than expected. Whilst AbC-19 stock levels have continued to build in anticipation of future demand, any orders received between now and the end of the financial year in June will take time to be fulfilled. Hence, FY20 results are now expected to be below market expectations. Management has provided a range of potential outcomes, with

Small Cap Feast

MAST Energy Developments (MED) is to IPO on the Standard List on 14th April 2021 under the ticker MAST. The company has raised £5m giving a market capitalisation on listing of c. £23 million. MED is currently a 100% subsidiary company of AIM quoted, Kibo Energy*. MED was established to acquire and develop a portfolio of flexible power plants in the UK and become a multi-asset operator in the rapidly growing Reserve Power market. PensionBee, the online pensions provider, with a mission to make pe

Interims in line, waiting for orders to land

The H1 performance was largely pre-flagged and illustrates how the business is beginning to scale. Revenues increased fourfold to £7.7m, with both Covid and non-Covid related activities contributing to growth. Whilst there is further growth required to hit our FY21 estimates, the company points to an active pipeline of late stage contract opportunities, particularly for international sales of its AbC-19 rapid antibody test. The timing of these is somewhat uncertain, but we make no changes to our

Warpaint London+ (W7L, House Stock at 375p) - Trading ahead of expectations - +10% upgrade implied

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 15 April 24

15th April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: Change of Market: TheWorks (WRKS.L) a multi-channel value retailers of books, arts and crafts, stationery, toys and games, offering customers a differentiated propositio

Morning Note – 8 April 2024

Avon Protection - Unmasking its growth potential

Avon Protection’s capital markets day highlighted its continued focus on medium-term margin expansion (targeting operating margin of 14–16%), concentrating on its core business of respirators and head protection. The unwinding of the armour business, alongside the consolidation of Team Wendy (acquired in H220) should enable Avon to benefit from rising global defence spending. Its strong relationship with the US DoD, and organic growth opportunities with recurring revenue from necessary product r

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences - H1 2024 interims: Executing a newly focussed st

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences (CNS) has published its H1 2024 results to end September 2023. Group revenues grew 44% to £4.9m and gross profits increased by 63% to £3.1m, with the company benefitting from newfound operational efficiencies. With its now streamlined strategy focussing on the core Health & Nutrition business and the initial signs of an encouraging uptick in sales momentum, we believe the company is well positioned for growth that will help create future value for shareholders. We

Venture Life Group - Strong organic growth; focus on EBITDA

Venture Life has reported FY23 results to December 2023, following the February trading update. Revenues grew 17% in the year to £51.4m (our est. £50.7m) and adjusted EBITDA was £11.6m (our est. £11.6m). Cash conversion was 85%, generating £9.8m of cash from operations. Cash generation and no M&A in 2023 allowed the company to de-lever, closing FY23 with net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 1.3x. Management have focused on growth with three therapy areas generating double-digit revenue growth and onli

Morning Note – 22 March 2024

LIBERUM: Futura Medical: An increasing degree of confidence

Diaceutics | FY23 update – 22% revenue growth, £16.7m YE cash

Diaceutics has released a trading statement for the year to December 2023 guiding to revenue growth of 22% YoY to £23.7m, up 19% on a constant currency basis. The order book jumped 57% to £26.6m, of which c£12.3m is expected to be realised in FY24, and which currently stands at £30.8m. The proportion of recurring revenue continues to increase and is now over 50% (FY22 35%). Cash at YE23 stood at £16.7m, indicating a near halving of the rate of cash burn in 2H23 compared to 1H23. We adjust our FY

Belluscura Trading Update

Belluscura has released a Trading Update stating that due to the delay in securing funding and Chinese NMPA approval, sales and manufacturing have been delayed by at least four months and it now expects EBITDA breakeven in Q3 and to turn cashflow positive in Q1 2025.

Morning Note – 12 February 2024

Trinity Delta Lighthouse: Futura Medical

Trinity Delta view: Following the recent Trading Update, there are few surprises within Futura’s FY23 financial results, with costs remaining tightly controlled. Focus on the potential US launch by partner Haleon is understandable, given the US commercial opportunity is likely the most significant. Hence, comments that preparations towards the US launch are progressing well, together with Haleon confirming launch is expected within 12 months, are reassuring. Whilst there continue to be limited i

Warpaint London + (W7L, House Stock at 382p) - Late-year sparkles– another double-digit upgrade to FY23F EPS

Poolbeg Pharma - Initiation and FY 2021 results

Poolbeg Pharma is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of therapies to treat and prevent infectious diseases, with a capital-light model that intends to monetise its assets on early proof of concept data. Its lead asset, POLB 001, is a p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitor for the treatment of severe influenza, with Phase Ib data readout by year-end. Two late preclinical assets (POLB 002 – intranasal RNA-based immunotherapy for respiratory viral infections