Interim Results

Advanced Medical Solutions Grp PLC 06 September 2005 For immediate release 6 September 2005 Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc ('AMS' or 'the Company') Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2005 Winsford, UK: Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc (AIM: AMS), the global woundcare technology company, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2005. Highlights • Group turnover increased 13% to £5.9 million (2004: £5.2 million) • Pre-tax losses reduced 26% to £0.4 million (2004: £0.55 million) after profitable second quarter • EBITDA positive at £0.1 million (2004: break-even) • Cash of £2.9 million (2004: £2.7 million) sufficient to take the Group through to sustainable profitability • New products launched and partnerships extended: - Silver alginate launches in US and Europe - LiquiBand LaparoscopicTM launched throughout Europe - Marketing agreements signed for LiquiBandTM for France and Spain • Group well positioned for future growth: - US approval of LiquiBandTM range underway - Products undergoing approval in Japan - NHS direct business building steadily Commenting on the half year results, Dr. Don Evans, Chief Executive of AMS, said: 'I am delighted by the first half performance, and particularly by our continued progress towards profitability. This endorses our strategy of broadening both our routes to market and our product range and gives us confidence in the current half and beyond.' -ENDS- For further information, please contact: Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc Tel : +44 (0) 1606 545508 Don Evans, Chief Executive Mary Tavener, Finance Director www.admedsol.com Buchanan Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 Mark Court, Mary-Jane Johnson Notes to Editors: Advanced Medical Solutions is a leading company in the development and manufacture of products for the $13 billion global woundcare market. Founded in 1991 and currently quoted on AIM, Advanced Medical Solutions is focused on the design, development and manufacture of innovative and technologically advanced products for woundcare and other medical applications. In-house natural and synthetic polymer technology is used to provide advanced wound dressings based on the moist healing principle. AMS's resources ensure a unique position as a vertically integrated 'one stop shop' to provide all categories of moist wound healing products. The Company has the capability to move from product design and development through to production and delivery ready for distribution into customer markets. The acquisition of MedLogic in 2002 has brought AMS products and technology in cyanoacrylate based tissue adhesives that offer benefits over sutures and staples for closing wounds sold direct to hospitals or through distributors. AMS's technology and products currently serve the majority of the key global markets and strategic partners. Chairman's Statement Overview I am pleased to report that AMS continued to deliver good revenue growth and strengthened its financial position during the period with sufficient cash to take the Company through to profitability. On the back of a profitable second quarter the Company further reduced its losses and moved into positive EBITDA. Good progress has been made during the period in positioning the Company for major future growth opportunities within key global markets. Operating Review The Group's core focus remains the development and manufacture of advanced woundcare and wound closure products for sale in hospitals and long term care facilities. Advanced woundcare products are marketed and distributed into the $2.6 billion global market through either major woundcare companies, under their leading brands or through private label distributors. Products based upon superglue technology address the emerging tissue adhesives segment of the $5 billion wound closure market. This market is currently accessed by the Company through a direct sales force in the UK and through distribution partners in Europe. The direct UK sales force also carries a full range of standard advanced woundcare products for sale into the NHS hospital and community care markets under our ActivHeal(R) brand. The Company continues to make progress in reducing its heavy dependence on the performance of its major branded partners for delivering revenue growth and profit. The Company's strategy of broadening its routes to market by complementing these relationships with the provision of private label standard products to major distributors and by the expansion of its direct sales presence in the UK home market continues to be successful. Advanced Woundcare Advanced woundcare sales of £4.8 million for the six months to 30 June 2005 were up 12% against the same period last year with growth spread across the product range via branded and private label partners. The Company's position in the dynamic silver market was strengthened with the introduction of its fibre based silver alginate technology into Europe under a leading brand and the launch by a number of partners of alginate dressings incorporating ionic silver alginate in the US. Silver is a broad spectrum antimicrobial that helps to prevent infection. In combination with alginate, a biopolymer derived from seaweed, AMS can provide products ideally suited to treatment of a wide variety of chronic wounds. This transition to higher value products fits with our route to market strategy whereby we look to license our new technology to the major brands, which are best placed to create these markets on a global basis, whilst we also address the cost pressures on healthcare budgets by providing a value range of products for routine use. These products are sold via private label distributors or direct to the NHS under our ActivHeal(R) brand. The Company made steady progress with its ActivHeal(R) offering during the period despite a number of external factors. Typically many NHS Trusts came under severe funding restrictions during the first quarter as funds ran out at the end of the budget cycle. Ironically, this prevented active assessment of our cost reduction offering. However, we have made real progress as many user evaluations have been successfully completed and a growing number of Hospital and Primary Care Trusts are now routinely using the ActivHeal(R) range. We remain confident that this strategy of providing a value range direct from the manufacturer offering major savings will be increasingly successful and will capture a significant share of the £100 million NHS advanced woundcare spend. Complementing this approach, the Group continues to fund the development of new differentiated products for licensing to its major branded partners. Progress continues to be made in accessing the Far East market with a number of products currently undergoing regulatory approval in Japan in collaboration with our marketing partner, Nitto Medical. Wound Closure The wound closure business grew 14% to £1.1 million in the period despite a slow first quarter in the NHS due to pressure on budgets. This affected our core Accident & Emergency (A&E) business where we maintained our strong market leadership position and also delayed the take up of our new SkinLinkTM skin closure strip which is under evaluation in a large number of sites. This product offers significant benefits over current products such as sutures, staples and conventional adhesive strips in closing wounds where medical glues are inappropriate due to swelling, tissue loss or skin tension over joints, and significantly strengthens our product portfolio. We have broadened our European partner base with the addition of Baxter Healthcare Europe as our marketing and distribution partner for the key markets of France and Spain. This has now given us a presence in all the key markets in Europe for our products for both A&E and Operating Room (OR) use. The recent launch of LiquiBand LaparoscopicTM takes us into an exciting new growth area. This product was specifically designed to target wound closure following laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery, which is an increasingly popular technique with more than 1 million procedures currently performed in Europe. Closure of keyhole incisions with glue offers significant advantages to both the surgeon and patient in terms of clinical and cosmetic outcome. This product is now on sale in the UK and initial orders have been received from a number of our European partners. It forms an ideal complement to our LiquiBand SurgicalTM product which is more suited to larger wounds such as those following Caesarean sections or hip replacement. The Company has now initiated the regulatory approval of the LiquiBandTM product range by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. Approval is anticipated in 2007, which will then give us access to the world's dominant tissue glue market with a value estimated to be around $100 million. The approval process is being supported financially by a marketing partner that has the capability of replicating in the US the success that the product has seen in Europe in winning market share against the same competitive products. This offers a very exciting growth opportunity for the Company in the medium to long term. Development activity continues to extend the use of our cyanoacrylate glue technology for closing wounds or protecting skin against breakdown. A number of projects are under way with partners as well as products under development to strengthen our direct presence in this evolving market. Financial Review Turnover increased 13% to £5.9 million (2004: £5.2 million) for the six months ended 30 June 2005. Both businesses grew well with advanced woundcare growing 12% and wound closure growing 14%. Turnover increased in the UK by 34% through direct sales and sales to branded partners despite a slow first quarter caused by budgetary constraint within the NHS. Sales into Europe grew 6% while sales into the US declined slightly by 2%. The latter reflecting nothing more significant than the ordering patterns of some US distributors. The gross margin for the Company was 37%, which was similar to the previous year. This is expected to improve as sales of wound closure products increase and our routes to market broaden. With net operating expenses of £2.6 million at a similar level to last year (2004: £2.5 million), the Company reported an operating loss of £0.45 million (2004: £0.58 million) and a positive EBITDA of £0.1 million (2004: neutral). The overall loss for the Company narrowed to £0.4 million (2004: £0.55 million). Working capital decreased to £2.7 million (2004: £3.0 million). Stock increased by £0.4 million partly to meet the shorter lead times required when selling direct and partly to cover the commissioning of some new equipment. Trade debtors increased to £2.3 million (2004: £2.2 million) although debtor days were reduced to 58 (2004: 64). Creditors increased to £2.5 million (2004: 2.0 million). Net operating cash flow reduced to an outflow of £0.1 million compared with £1.0 million in the previous period. This leaves the Group with £2.9 million of cash (2004 : £2.7 million) and net funds of £2.5 million. Outlook The outlook for the Company remains positive with the progress made during the first six months continuing into the second half of the year. With sufficient cash to take it through to profitability, routes to market broadened for the existing product range, major growth opportunities afforded by launching LiquiBandTM in the US and by selling directly to the NHS, the Company is extremely well positioned for the future. Dr. Geoffrey N. Vernon Chairman CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months twelve months ended ended ended 30 June 30 June 31 December Note 2005 2004 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover 2 5,857 5,206 11,019 Cost of sales (3,675) (3,294) (6,913) Gross profit 2,182 1,912 4,106 Distribution costs (76) (51) (153) Administration costs (2,632) (2,599) (5,352) Other operating income 78 154 328 Operating loss (448) (584) (1,071) Interest receivable and similar income 57 52 114 Interest payable and similar charges (16) (16) (33) Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (407) (548) (990) Taxation - - 573 Loss sustained for the period (407) (548) (417) Basic and fully diluted loss per share 3 (0.29)p (0.39)p (0.3)p STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months twelve months ended ended ended 30 June 30 June 31 December 2005 2004 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 Loss for the financial period (407) (548) (417) Currency translation differences on foreign currency net investments (8) (7) (13) Total recognised losses relating to the period (415) (555) (430) RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months twelve months ended ended ended 30 June 30 June 31 December 2005 2004 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 Opening shareholders' funds 11,574 12,004 12,004 Loss for the period (407) (548) (417) Currency translation differences on foreign currency net investments (8) (7) (13) Closing shareholders' funds 11,449 11,574 11,159 CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months twelve months ended ended ended 30 June 30 June 31 December 2005 2004 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed assets Intangible assets 1,986 2,154 2,070 Tangible assets 3,402 4,030 3,706 5,388 6,184 5,776 Current assets Stocks 1,895 1,536 1,506 Debtors - due within one year 3,232 3,189 2,754 - due after more than one year 638 200 638 Cash at bank and in hand 2,859 2,665 3,160 8,624 7,590 8,058 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (2,528) (1,973) (1,884) Net current assets 6,096 5,617 6,174 Total assets less current liabilities 11,484 11,801 11,950 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (325) (352) (376) 11,159 11,449 11,574 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 11,782 11,782 11,782 Share premium account 37,978 37,978 37,978 Other reserve 1,531 1,531 1,531 Profit and loss account (40,132) (39,842) (39,717) Equity shareholders' funds 11,159 11,449 11,574 CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months twelve months ended ended ended 30 June 30 June 31 December Note 2005 2004 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 Net cash outflow from operating activities (122) (967) (595) Returns on investments and servicing of finance Interest received 21 33 102 Interest element of finance lease rental and hire purchase payments (1) (1) (3) Interest paid (15) (15) (30) Net cash inflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance 5 17 69 Taxation - 167 389 Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of tangible fixed assets (168) (146) (284) Sale of tangible fixed assets - 1 - Net cash outflow for capital expenditure and financial investment (168) (145) (284) Cash outflow before use of liquid resources and financing (285) (928) (421) Management of liquid resources Sale of term deposits 297 656 203 Financing Repayment of secured loan 5 (6) (6) (11) Net movement of capital element of finance lease rental and hire purchase payments 5 (2) (2) (3) Net cash outflow from financing (8) (8) (14) Increase /(decrease) in cash 4 4 (280) (232) NOTES 1. Basis of Preparation The interim statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the annual report for the year ended 31 December 2004. The results for the six months ended 30 June 2005 and 30 June 2004 have not been audited and do not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The results for the year ended 31 December 2004 are extracted from the audited annual financial statements on which the auditors reported without qualification. Full financial statements for that year have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. 2. Segmental information Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months twelve months ended ended ended 30 June 30 June 31 December 2005 2004 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover by geographical region: United States of America 993 1,014 2,259 Rest of Europe 3,042 2,863 5,481 United Kingdom 1,543 1,155 2,810 Rest of World 279 174 469 5,857 5,206 11,019 Turnover by business unit: Advanced woundcare 4,766 4,245 8,893 Wound closure 1,091 961 2,126 5,857 5,206 11,019 It is not possible to identify loss before taxation and net assets by business unit because of the use of common services. Turnover, loss before tax and net assets by origin £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover United Kingdom 5,857 5,206 11,019 United States - - - 5,857 5,206 11,019 Loss before Tax United Kingdom (356) (495) (879) United States (51) (53) (111) (407) (548) (990) Net Assets United Kingdom 11,159 11,446 11,576 United States - 3 (2) 11,159 11,449 11,574 The turnover and loss before taxation is wholly attributable to the principal activity of the Group. 3. Loss per share The basic loss per share has been calculated on a weighted average number of shares in issue for the six months ended 30 June 2005, namely 142,082,536 (2004: 142,082,536) and losses of £407k (2004: £548k). 4. Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds (note 5) Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months twelve months ended ended ended 30 June 30 June 31 December 2005 2004 2004 £'000 £'000 £'000 Increase/(decrease) in cash during the period 4 (280) (232) Cash outflow to repay debt and finance leases 8 8 14 Cash inflow from decrease in liquid resources (297) (656) (203) Change in net funds resulting from cash flows (285) (928) (421) New finance leases - - (2) Translation difference (8) (7) (13) Movement in net funds in the period (293) (935) (436) Net funds at 1 January 2005 2,810 3,246 3,246 Net funds at 30 June 2005 2,517 2,311 2,810 5. Analysis of net funds 1 January Cash Exchange 30 June 2005 flows movements 2005 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Cash 516 4 (8) 512 Term deposits 2,644 (297) - 2,347 Cash at bank and in hand 3,160 (293) (8) 2,859 Debt due within one year (12) - - (12) Debt due after one year (322) 6 - (316) Finance leases (16) 2 - (14) Total 2,810 (285) (8) 2,517 Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc Road 3, Winsford Industrial Estate Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 3PD, UK Tel: +44 (0)1606 863500 Fax: +44 (0)1606 863600 E-mail: info@admedsol.com Web: www.admedsol.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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