Covid test manufacturer warns on profits
Bioscience business Abingdon Health has said its results for the 2021 financial year will be “substantially below current market expectations”.
The York-based business which is part of the UK Rapid test Consortium to develop the AbC-19 rapid test has said that although it continues to make progress on the commercialisation of the product – with discussions ongoing while regulatory approvals progress – the speed of adoption and receipt of orders is taking longer than anticipated.
As a result the firms board has said the revenue for the its 2021 financial year will be between £11.4m and £17m, which once adjusted would mean a loss of up to £3.3m.
It also highlighted that the business has yet to establish from the Department of Health and Social Care when it will pay its outstanding debt of £6.7m inc VAT relating to the contract which ended on 14 February. The contract included the supply of AbC-19 rapid tests which were delivered in January and for the procurement of components on the Department’s behalf. At present payment is overdue by up to 135 days and it noted that if the sum was not paid in the short term it would “need to reduce its cost base”.
Abingdon Health went public in December raising £22m by placing 22,916,666 ordinary shares.
Since then the business has continued to make progress on its rapid Covid-19 test, which it stated in March had been the main contributor to an increase in its revenue.
This latest update from the business does note that it remains confident that in the ever evolving Covid-19 landscape the business will convert its current targets into sales.
The business is also continuing work on three projects with contract service partners on the transfer of assays to large scale manufacture including to Covid-19 schemes and one non-Covid. The board expects that subject to the successful completion these will offer “meaningful manufacturing revenues” in the 2022 financial year, noting that the lateral flow testing market is forecast to be worth $10.2bn by 2025, and that the business is “well-positioned to be the ‘go-to’ provider for high quality rapid tests”.
Chris Yates
Chris Yates, chief executive officer at Abingdon Health, said: “Abingdon Health has made significant commercial progress across the Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 markets and the company expects revenues to more than double this year.
“The Company continues to develop a strong pipeline of opportunities for its AbC-19™ rapid test. As previously stated, the timing of antibody testing programme roll-outs around the world and future orders is difficult to accurately predict given the range of factors including the evolving regulatory processes, the impact of Covid-19 virus mutations and the rate of vaccination programs. We believe there are clear use cases for antibody testing which includes checking levels of immunity both prior to and after vaccinations and we are confident that over the coming months, the Company’s Tier 1 and other targets will convert.”
“The company is continuing its manufacturing expansion, after the successful completion of the first phase, in order to meet market demand for lateral flow testing. This expansion is not only for the AbC-19™ rapid test, but also for the expected demand from our contract service partners, both for Covid-19 and non-Covid assays. The lateral flow testing market is forecast to be worth $10.2bn by 2025, and Abingdon remains well-positioned to be the ‘go-to’ provider for high quality rapid tests.”
