Premaitha’s strong first half continues into second, AGM will hear

Premaitha, the Manchester-based firm which provides non-invasive prenatal testing, has issued a statement before this afternoon’s annual general meeting.

Adam Reynolds, non-executive chairman, said he will make the following statement to shareholders: “As stated in our recent trading update, the group made strong commercial progress in the first half of the current financial year.

“We achieved 45% revenue growth in H1 and it is very positive that this strong momentum has continued into the second half.

“The recent resolution of the patent litigation was a significant milestone for the group and will enable us to open up new territories, which historically were inaccessible.

“As part of our commercial expansion strategy we aim to deliver a wider portfolio of content and I am confident that we have both the technical capability and industry reach to deliver additional products across multiple platforms as we transition towards a platform agnostic model.”

He added: “With the fundraising now completed, a refreshed brand identity and a strengthened management team in place, I have considerable confidence in the group’s ongoing prospects.”

Earlier this month the AIM-listed group reported strong sales in the six months to September 30.

It said revenues were approximately £3.9m, which was an increase of 45% on the corresponding period last year.

In September Premaitha announced that it had settled a costly three-year legal battle with US rival Illumina.

And on October 1, the company announced it had raised £3m through a placing of new shares which it said will be used to finance the legal settlement, and for general working capital requirements.