Fusion Antibody Share News (FAB)

(Sharecast News) - Preclinical antibody discovery company Fusion Antibodies updated the market on the six months ended 30 September on Tuesday, reporting continued revenue growth amid the commercial roll out of new services.
The AIM-traded firm said revenues for the half-year totalled £1.7m, up from £0.7m in the first half of last year, with the board saying trading for the year ending 31 March to date had been in line with market expectations.

It noted that additional results-dependent customer milestones had been agreed, and said its cash position as at 30 September was £1.3m, down from £2.0m at the end of March.

On the order front, it said it saw an increase in orders - and thus revenues - in the first half if 2020 - a period in which it began the first commercial projects for customers of the new 'Rational Affinity Maturation Platform' (RAMP) service.

The board described RAMP as an "innovative service", designed to provide customers with improvements to antibody affinity and a reduction of other unwanted characteristics.

It said the service was available either as part of a suite of Fusion services, or as a stand-alone service to companies with existing antibodies with sub-optimal performance.

Initial results from the first customers in the period were described as "very promising" by the board, with the full commercial roll out of the service set to continue throughout the remainder of the year, with presentations at scientific conferences and targeted marketing.

Fusion also confirmed continuing development of its 'Mammalian Antibody Library', for delivery in 2020.

The company said it was able to fulfil the majority of orders received with a short turnaround, reducing the visibility of future earnings.

However, the directors said they were still confident that growth in order levels for existing and new services would continue.

Fusion explained that it primarily charges for its services on a fee-for-service basis, and in certain cases had an additional royalty or results-dependent milestone based on the progress of the customer's project into clinical trials or commercialisation.

"We continued to see good revenue growth during this first six months and have had a strong improvement in the previous six months. We are continuing the rollout of RAMP, which has been well received, and are on track to deliver our Mammalian Antibody Library in 2020 as planned," said chief executive officer Paul Kerr.

"We remain confident of an encouraging second half and that the Company will achieve significant revenue growth for the full year.

"I would like to thank our shareholders for their valued support and I look forward to updating the market further when we announce our interim results later in the year."