Trading Statement

RNS Number : 8856M

Niox Group PLC

17 January 2023

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of UK MAR.  The persons taking responsibility for this announcement are the Company contacts named below.

NIOX Group plc

Full Year Trading Update

Strong business model delivering profitable growth

Oxford, UK - 17 January 2023: NIOX Group plc ("NIOX", the "Company" or the "Group"; AIM: NIOX), a medical device company focused on point of care asthma diagnosis and management, today announces the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2022.

Highlights (unaudited data)

·   Underlying revenue growth of c.15% to £31.3m (2021: £27.9m)

·   Adjusted EBITDA ahead of consensus expectations at approximately £7.0m (2021: £0.6m in a transitional year)

·     Net cash £19.4m (31 December 2021: £12.6m)

·   Good progress in expanding distribution in the USA and initial sales of NIOX into the UK primary care  sector

Unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2022 were up 12% at approximately £31.3m (2021: £27.9m) with underlying revenues growing by 15% (excluding a one-off revenue item in 2021 of £0.6m).  The second half of the year saw stronger relative growth of 19% over H2 2021.

Gross margins improved to 71% from 68% in 2021, with recurring test kit revenues for the Clinical business continuing to represent a high proportion of Clinical sales at 89%.

Group adjusted EBITDA¹ was approximately £7.0m (2021: £0.6m), ahead of market expectations which had been revised upwards twice during the year.

The unaudited cash balance at the period end was £19.4m (31 December 2021: £12.6m), reflecting positive cash generation in the business and including the benefit of $2.5m received in the second half as the first milestone payment under the settlement reached with Beyond Air.

The transition to a distributor-led sales strategy in our Clinical business continued throughout 2022 with the focus on building partnered distribution in USA and China. This was the principal contributor to a further substantial reduction in operating costs, with total costs of £15.2m down from £18.4m in 2021.

Ian Johnson, NIOX's Executive Chairman, said: "As the impact of the global pandemic receded during 2022, sales of NIOX devices and tests continued to improve, with the increase in revenues reflecting a combination of returning customers and new sales. In our Clinical business, sales in EMEA finished well ahead of 2021 and exceeded pre pandemic levels, whilst APAC and the USA also finished ahead of 2021 but with further recovery available as they are yet to return fully to 2019 levels. Sales to our Research customers were significantly higher than in 2019.

It is particularly encouraging that the NHS in the UK continues to support the use of FeNO testing, which has resulted in a significant number of additional NIOX devices being introduced into primary care, where the majority of asthma is diagnosed.

The Board believes that the Company's robust business model will remain resilient to existing  macroeconomic conditions and, together with the measures taken to drive top-line growth, will continue to deliver improved shareholder value going forward."

NIOX expects to release its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2022 on 21 March 2023.

¹ Adjusted EBITDA excludes depreciation, amortisation, impairment and share option charges

Contacts

NIOX

Ian Johnson, Executive Chairman  Tel: [phone]

Michael Roller, Chief Financial Officer

Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Broker)                             Tel: [phone]

Aubrey Powell/ Jen Boorer/ Alex Emslie

About NIOX

Our ambition is to improve the quality of life of millions of people suffering from asthma. Asthma is one of the biggest healthcare issues globally with 340 million sufferers, many of whom are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed The Group is engaged in the design, development, and commercialisation of medical devices for the measurement of FeNO, a biomarker of inflammatory asthma. Our market leading device, NIOX VERO®, is increasingly recognised by healthcare professionals as an important tool to improve the diagnosis and management of asthma. NIOX VERO® is also the device of choice by leading clinical research organisations for respiratory studies. We passionately believe in empowering everyone to manage their health at home and will look to provide a device designed exclusively for home use. 

At present, NIOX provides products and services in around 50 countries. For more information, please visit www.investors.niox.com

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains certain projections and other forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, businesses and prospects of NIOX. The use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", "intend", "continue", "target" or "believe" and similar expressions (or the negatives thereof) are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Any of the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements could prove inaccurate or incorrect and therefore any results contemplated in the forward-looking statements may not actually be achieved. Nothing contained in this press release should be construed as a profit forecast or profit estimate. Investors or other recipients are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained herein. NIOX undertakes no obligation to update or revise (publicly or otherwise) any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or other circumstances.

 

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