Having reported another set of half-year losses, personalised medicine and diagnostics group Epistem Holdings (EPH) will be glad to put 2013 behind it. Although it announced the abrupt end of its major supply and distribution agreement with US giant Becton Dickinson last September, Epistem still hopes to launch its Genedrive diagnostic product by the end of calendar 2014.
While losses mounted as a result of continued investment in Genedrive, Epistem will rely on its new agreement with Indian distributor Xcelris to launch the tuberculosis (TB) product in emerging markets, once clinical trial work targeting diagnosis of the disease is completed.
The group will enter the Indian regulatory process in April this year, and chief executive Matthew Walls said discussions were "ongoing" with a number of global distributors - including Becton Dickinson - to distribute the product in developed countries if the emerging market launch goes well. Further TB trials are planned for Brazil and South Africa, with the hope that they will lead to a recommendation from the World Health Organisation in 2015.
In the meantime, the group will rely on its research-services division, currently serving big pharma groups such as GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, to keep the top line humming. Revenues were down marginally at the time of the half-year results due to a delayed US contract.
Brokerage Peel Hunt expects losses of £1.3m for 2014, giving EPS of -13.7p.
EPISTEM (EHP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 328p | MARKET VALUE: | £32m | |
| TOUCH: | 320-335p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 583p | LOW: 320p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 120p* | NET CASH: | £5.2m | |
| Half-year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.1 | -0.33 | -4.8 | nil |
| 2013 | 2.9 | -0.73 | -6.0 | nil |
| % change | -7 | -121 | -25 | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Includes intangible assets of £4.04m, or 42p per share | ||||
