Full year trading update

RNS Number : 2776J

Yourgene Health PLC

26 April 2022

 

Yourgene Health plc

("Yourgene", the "Company" or the "Group")

Full year trading update

Manchester, UK - 26 April 2022: Yourgene (AIM: YGEN), a leading international molecular diagnostics group, provides the following unaudited trading update for the year ended 31 March 2022 ("FY22") .

FY22 performance in line with upgraded guidance

Revenues for FY22 were £37.6m, up 105% on the previous year and in line with recently upgraded guidance.

· Genomic Services ("GS") revenues up 239% to £21.6m (FY21: £6.4m)

-  Revenues dominated by COVID PCR testing and variant sequencing

-  Testing capacity continues to be repurposed towards non-COVID testing, with increased capacity available following UK Government policy shift in late February to endemic status

-  Private COVID-19 testing continues albeit at more modest levels

-  NIPT and research testing services have stabilised in recent months after a challenging first half of the financial year, and now bolstered by the broader oncology testing range from Ambry (announced yesterday)

· Genomic Technologies ("GT") revenues up 34% to £16.0m (FY21: £11.8m)

-  NIPT delivered 11% year-on-year growth in the second half of the financial year demonstrating a rebound after pandemic headwinds affected H1 performance (up 19% vs H1 FY21)

-  Precision Medicine revenues more than doubled year-on-year and now represent 15% of non-COVID-19 Group revenues

§ Two Ranger® Technology strategic partners (announced in March and June 2021 respectively) are now validated and using the technology in routine clinical testing.  Significant pipeline of additional opportunities at various stages of feasibility and validation

§ DPYD chemotoxicity revenues £1.2m for the financial year (FY21: £0.7m)

-  Clarigene® COVID-19 PCR assay revenues of £4.5m (FY21: £1.4m). Sales are continuing into the new financial year through private testing channels

· EBITDA margin expected to be broadly in line with previous 10% guidance level on a constant currency basis and before restructuring costs

FY23 outlook: restructuring to focus on post-pandemic growth drivers

The UK Government's reduction in COVID-19 testing has been more rapid than anticipated across the sector, but in turn this is enabling Yourgene to focus on accelerating the growth within the Group's core offerings of Genomic Services, NIPT, Ranger® Technology and PCR tests.

· Genomic Services focus areas :

-  NIPT and research services recovering as pregnancies rise and research programmes resume

-  New partnership with Ambry Genetics, announced 25 April 2022, delivers an oncology range of services which broaden the GS offering significantly

-  Strategic review initiated for Taiwanese laboratory given ongoing external constraints

· Genomic Technologies focus areas :

-  Accelerating push into North and Latin American markets with expanded commercial team and complementary third-party products

-  Promoting Ranger® Technology as an enabler for third party NIPT workflows as well as in proprietary Yourgene workflows

-  Partnering to demonstrate Ranger® size selection advantages in adjacent markets of liquid biopsy, RNA and gene synthesis

-  Launching enhancements to the Group's IONA® Nx range of NIPT solutions, including microdeletions and related differentiators

-  Continuing to expand global coverage for the Company's DPYD chemotoxicity test and developing complementary precision medicine content

· Operational restructure :

-  Variable cost base is naturally reducing as COVID surge activities recede

-  Yourgene has started consolidating its UK activities through a programme of co-location and sharing support services between GS and GT, where the pace of change during the pandemic originally required separation

-  As a result, the Group's annual operating cost base will reduce significantly, by c. £5m pa on a like-for-like post-restructure basis

-  Restructure commenced in the final quarter of FY22 and will be largely complete by the end of the first quarter of FY23. One-off restructuring costs are anticipated to be in the range of £0.5m-£0.7m

Capital Markets Day

As previously announced, the Company is hosting a Capital Markets Day in the City of London today with a morning session for institutional investors, followed by a networking lunch. Investors who have not already registered for this session may do so by contacting Singer Capital Markets via [e-mail].

The event is being repeated at 4pm for non-institutional investors and will be followed by light refreshments and an opportunity to talk to the senior management further. T o register your interest in this, please contact Walbrook PR on 020 7933 8780 or email [e-mail] .

For those who wish to dial in online to the afternoon session, please register here:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/yourgene-health-plc/register-investor

Lyn Rees, Chief Executive Officer of Yourgene, commented:   "We are pleased that the Company's performance in the last financial year has achieved the significantly upgraded guidance. The ongoing restructure will ensure that Yourgene is very well placed to meet the evolving needs of its customers by supplying an adaptable mixture of technologies and services, with our fast-growing Genomic Services offering expected to be a strong growth engine.

"As COVID surge testing recedes, we are creating a more focused growth platform to reap the benefit of previous investments. Our business has evolved significantly over the last 12 months and we have a broader platform, service offering and customer relationships globally from which to grow. As we reshape the business to deliver improved profitable growth through and beyond the post-pandemic period, we are already leveraging our technologies and our teams' capabilities to good effect, capturing new opportunities and building on our existing partnerships. We thank our people for their support of the Group's continuing evolution. The consolidation of our operations will result in a more unified and efficient Group.

"We are committed to creating long term shareholder value and, with further expansion into the Americas markets, FY23 and beyond will be an exciting time for Yourgene. I look forward to engaging with shareholders at our Capital Markets Day later today and sharing further detail around Yourgene's positioning and growth drivers of Genomic Services, Americas NIPT markets and Ranger® Technology."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK Market Abuse Regulation.

The Directors of the Company take responsibility for this announcement.

Yourgene Health plc Lyn Rees, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
Barry Hextall, Chief Financial Officer
Joanne Cross, Director of Marketing
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD)	Tel: [phone]
Liam Murray / James Caithie / Ludovico Lazzaretti
Singer Capital Markets (Joint Corporate Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Aubrey Powell / Tom Salvesen / George Tzimas
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Corporate Broker)		Tel: [phone]
Nicholas Moore / Matthew Blawat / Ben Maddison
Walbrook PR Ltd (Media and Investor Relations)	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus / Lianne Applegarth / Alice Woodings	Mob: [phone]

About Yourgene Health

Yourgene Health is an international molecular diagnostics group which develops integrated genomic technologies and services enabling precision medicine. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science. 

Yourgene primarily develops, manufactures, and commercialises simple and accurate molecular diagnostic solutions, for reproductive health, precision medicine and now infectious diseases. The Group's flagship products include non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) for Down's Syndrome and other genetic disorders, Cystic Fibrosis screening tests, invasive rapid aneuploidy tests, and a recent extension into the oncology space with DPYD genotyping.

The launch of Yourgene Genomic Services has enabled Yourgene to offer a global laboratory service network equipped to be a full life-cycle partner for clinical, research and pharmaceutical organisations to support partners at the preclinical, clinical, and post-market stages to develop, manufacture, obtain regulatory approval and commercialise new products and services. In addition, Yourgene Genomic Services offers an NIPT and high throughput COVID-19 testing service.

In August 2020, Yourgene acquired Coastal Genomics , Inc., a sample preparation technology company based in Vancouver, Canada, enabling the Company to extend its offering and IP portfolio in the DNA sample preparation sector. The acquisition increased Yourgene's geographical penetration into the US and Canada, supplementing existing coverage in the UK, Europe, MEA and Asia.

Yourgene Health is headquartered in Manchester, UK with offices in Taipei, Singapore, the US and Canada, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "YGEN". For more information visit www.yourgene-health.com and follow us on twitter @Yourgene_Health.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates, and projections about its industry; its beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as 'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions security holders and prospective security holders not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the view of the Company only as of the date of this announcement. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or unanticipated events occurring after the date of this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.

 

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