Oxford Nanopore H1 revenues and profits surge

Molecular sensing technology outfit Oxford Nanopore Technologies said on Tuesday that both revenues and profits had surged in the six months ended 30 June, primarily driven by increased life science research tools revenues.

Group revenues were up 107% on a reported basis at £122.3m, with LSRT revenues growing 34% to £70.6m, primarily driven by increasing customer numbers, and non-recurring Covid-19 testing revenues shooting up 709% to £51.8m.

Gross profits rose 158% to £78.0m and gross margins increased 12.5 points to 63.7%.

Adjusted underlying losses widened by £15.4m to £34.6m, as higher LSRT gross profits were offset by increased operating expenses, while the group's overall loss for the period narrowed by £14.6m to £30.2m.

Cash and cash equivalents and Treasury deposits of £602.6m were down slightly from £618.2m as of 31 December 2021.

Looking forward, Oxford Nanopore said year-to-date trading was in line with expectations, with the group expecting full year 2022 LSRT revenues to be in the range of £145.0m to £160.0m.

The AIM-listed group also noted that full-year revenue guidance already accounted for an expected tapering of Covid-19 sequencing revenues in the second half of the year and an anticipated drop in Emirati Genome Program revenues of £15.0m to £20.0m - lower than previously forecast.

As of 1015 BST, Oxford Nanopore shares were up 2.21% at 278.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com