(Alliance News) - Creo Medical Group PLC on Wednesday said that cost controls and new product sales had supported strong growth in 2023, as the company said it is on track to achieve cash flow break-even by 2025.
Creo is a Chepstow, Wales-based medical device company focused on minimally invasive surgical endoscopy for pre-cancer and cancer patients.
In what was a "pivotal" year for the company, Creo said it had made "considerable strides" across its entire business, while maintaining a focus on commercialising its core technology.
For the year ended December 31, Creo expects to report GBP30.8 million in revenue, 13% ahead of GBP27.2 million in 2022.
Underlying operations costs dropped GBP3.7 million, or 10% from 2022, thanks to "tight cost control". Creo said that this contributed towards a narrowed underlying loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of GBP16.4 million from GBP20.8 million a year prior.
Yearly gross margins improved to 50% from 48% through a combination of supply chain management and increased sales volumes, the company said.
As at December 31, Creo had GBP22.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from GBP13.1 million at the end of 2022. Creo said that it remains on track to break-even as planned, and "well-positioned" to meet its growth ambitions.
Endotherapy consumable revenues were up 8% to GBP26.8 million from GBP24.9 million, and Creo said that the European consumables business it acquired in 2020 had continued to provide "a solid foundation for the commercialisation of Creo's core technology".
Core technology sales and income from Creo's proprietary intelligent energy technology Kamaptive increased to GBP4.0 million from GBP2.3 million, with core technology sales more than doubling.
While the company's sights remain fixed on profitability, Creo said that it is still funding the product development programmes which will "fuel future growth".
Following the launch of its Speedboat Ultraslim endoscopy device, Creo said that December had been a "record month" for orders and shipments. The device is now compatible with all routine endoscopies, and Creo said it is working to increase manufacturing capacity in light of increased demand for UltraSlim.
Creo has begun clinical market development for its MicroBlate range, which includes small-diameter devices for the ablation of soft tissue. MicroBlate Flex has been used in clinical cases ablating tumours in the lung as part of a multi-site clinical study, following its use in pancreas and liver cases.
The company also expects to receive regulatory approval for SpydrBlade in 2024. The device employs a flexible scissor mechanism to grasp, cut and coagulate highly perfused tissue.
Creo's Chief Executive Officer Craig Gulliford said: "2023 was another significant year for Creo, beginning with the planned fundraise in extremely challenging market conditions, which allowed us to focus time and energy on the business for the rest of the year. We closed the year with around a 2.5x increase in our core technology revenues and with over 80% of the group revenues now derived from Creo branded products. The final step of miniaturising our Speedboat technology in the form of Speedboat UltraSlim was launched into the US, EU and now beyond; this significant step has expanded our market access even further, making Speedboat compatible with all routine endoscopes worldwide."
"We look forward to another year of strong growth in our core technology from both existing and new users and remain confident of our goal to achieve cashflow break-even in 2025," Gulliford added.
Creo expects to announce its results for the year in April.
Shares in Creo were down 5.0% at 39.18 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Hugh Cameron, Alliance News reporter
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Creo Medical (CREO)