Oxford Nanopore shares rose on Wednesday after announcing it more than halved its underlying losses in the first half, as improving margins and tighter costs kept the DNA-sequencing company on track to break even next year.
Francis Van Parys, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Nanopore, said: “We delivered encouraging results across these end-markets during the period, alongside continued progress in product development, operational performance and readiness for regulated markets.”
The company reported revenue of £116.7m for the six months to 30 June, up 12.3% at constant currency, with gross margin widening four percentage points to 62.2%.
Adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to £22.1m from £48.3m a year earlier, and the overall loss for the period fell to £48.0m from £71.8m.
Growth was led by its clinical and biopharma end markets, up 35% and 25%, respectively, and by strong demand in Europe and the Americas, though this was partly offset by weakness in Asia, where China sales fell by nearly 16%.
The PromethION range remained the key revenue driver.
The company, which is being reshaped under the new chief executive, reiterated its goal of reaching adjusted EBITDA breakeven in FY27 and positive free cash flow in FY28.
It also set a target of more than $700m of revenue by 2030, on the way to a longer-term ambition of becoming a business generating more than $1bn a year.
After the period end, Oxford Nanopore signed a cross-licensing deal with a global diagnostics company, worth a $20m licensing fee this year plus committed product purchases and royalties.
It ended the half with £234.5m of cash and liquid investments, down from £302.8m at the year-end, largely reflecting operating cash outflows and a seasonal working-capital movement that included prior-year bonus payments.
It expects cash generation to improve in the second half.
Oxford Nanopore shares were 6% higher at 130p at the time of writing.