LONDON (Alliance News) - Horizon Discovery Group PLC said Monday its loss for the first half of the year narrowed as revenue more than doubled.
For the six months to June 30, the company - which focuses on gene editing and modulation - posted a pretax loss of GBP7.8 million, compared to GBP8.2 million a year prior. This was on the back of revenue increasing to GBP25.1 million from GBP12.1 million, driven by the acquisition of gene-editing business Dharmacon Inc, which was completed in August 2017.
On a like-for-like basis, excluding Dharmacon, revenue dipped to GBP11.1 million.
As about 80% of revenue is generated in dollars, the group experienced a significant foreign exchange headwind in the period, as the pound rebounded somewhat against the dollar during the period. On a constant currency basis revenue grew GBP27.3 million.
Higher research & development, marketing and distribution costs partially offset the revenue increase.
Chief Executive Officer Terry Pizzie said: "I am pleased to report a strong first half performance that saw significant revenue growth due to a robust contribution from the Dharmacon business."
Looking ahead, the company said it has a "strong start" to the second half of the year as it expects revenue to be "second-half weighted" and "slightly ahead of consensus".
Horizon Discovery shares were trading 6.2% higher at 233.64 pence each midday Monday.
