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@eljefegrande - OK maybe.

I'm not sure whether there will be a recoding and a note came up prior to the meeting saying 'this will not be recorded' but then I thought they said it would be rerecorded.

There's a big difference between saying 'second contract' and 'second phase of contract'

"The second phase of the contract, which is optional by the DHSC, allows for the provision of up to 700 additional PCR instruments, related kits and support services, as well as additional COVID-19 products from the Company's portfolio where required."

Did anyone record for themselves? If so, please would you check GM's wording on this. We should know how many of these machines the NHS have.

@Kitzie

I too noticed GM slipped that in. He definitely said Q machines supplied as part of the second phase. I don't think this was Freudian - but surely, if we had another 700 machines, in addition to the first 300 supplied to the nhs, we would know about it?!

Some responses more detailed than others. I'm pleased I got a straight reply to my ProMate question.

This is is significant - the technology is not just transferable to Winterplex but many other non-covid products making them simpler, quicker and cheaper to use. This will help capture significant non-covid market share in the future IMO as they develop this tech.

Overall - I'm happy , this will go from strength to strength and the SP will reflect this in due course.

As Vox said before the meeting, if above 312 at end of day then will be at 414 by end of month

- I'm still looking for £14 by year end.

Watch this space.

GLA

Is this the day to finally get out the climbing gear?

How many times have we said, this is a multibillion pound company in the making. It should be £1bn as it stands today, which equates to about £14, but we need to be patient to see that price as confidence has been severely knocked. It will come as sure as night follows day as the fundamentals are there for all to see.

One thing that puzzles me is they say Q2 is stronger than Q1, when Q1 was 30m (10 x 3) and Q2 was, therefore, 24m (7+7+10). The only way I can square this is to say that Q1 included 10m of UNICEF (i.e. Q1 private sales were actually 20m and have grown to 24m in Q2). The statement below does not include NGOs.

"Overall, UK private market sales, which currently includes COVID-19 testing in film, media, travel and corporate industries, increased significantly in Q2 2021 compared to Q1 2021."

But then why say H2 will be just 46m when they also say?

"The Company believes it is well placed to continue to support this growth during the second half of the year."

and

"The Company expects continued strong growth in private testing as markets and travel re-open and, as the Northern Hemisphere heads into winter, the potential for higher infection rates will increase the need for COVID-19 testing."

I don't call 54m to 46m growing.

The only answer is that they want to blow that £100m target out of the water come the year end!

(It clearly doesn't include any potential WHO or UNICEF sales either as they don't wan to count their chickens. As ever, the over cautious GM)

GLA - looking forward to further good news this afternoon and more questions answered, which in turn will bring further certainty.

@squidge - if you're quick you can get back in below your 353 sale today, but I would wait too long!

Also, it's the middle of the summer hols! Always a quiet period. Wait until Sept and many investors will be back looking for opportunities like this.

@Porky
Thanks for all your sterling work in putting together all the Qs from here and twitter.

Although I think your suggestion of 10 most important Qs is sensible, there are many more questions we need answers to.

So perhaps our first question should be:

Due to time constraints and the large number of questions submitted, it is unlikely that you will be able to cover all of the queries and concerns of your shareholders. Would you, therefore, consider posting responses in writing to all unanswered question on the Novacyt website after the meeting ?

Thanks again for all your support, Porky.

PS: I have already submitted a detailed question regarding the ability to transfer the Promate technology and streamlining processes to other products in their range, including multiplex tests such as Winterplex, but there's no harm in asking this again.

Well put Porky except question 2 should read:

2. Why do you think the market only values us at just over £ 200m mcap with our earnings and cash at bank figures as high as they are? Our peers are valued 6 or 7 times higher has the market just lost total confidence in the company's management?

It is our company not theirs!

Kaeren - I completely agree. I wouldn't vote for anyone offering less than £15 per share. The trouble is, others would though. The big Q is would more than 50% of shareholders?

At £3 many will think "I'll take a bird in the hand" at 6 or 7 pounds. But as soon as an offer comes in, the SP will rise, which changes the dynamics. And there is, of course, the chance of rival bids increasing this further. So a low ball is likely to fail but I could see a situation where I'd be forced to give up my shares at £10 or £12 ,if the current SP is maintained for much longer.

@B2HS2L - I agree that the lower the SP, the more likely an offer, but as above, we don't want an offer at these prices. We are vulnerable ATM and so it's important that the BoD act soon.

Regarding M&A activity, you say this was expected H1, and it was, but I don't think there is any hurry. It's OK to keep the powder dry in this respect. Yes, investors don't want to see cash indefinitely sitting unused in the bank, but we're talking months not years.

With covid related acquisitions, such as IT-IS, yes, we needed to be, and were , (thanks to GM) quick off the mark. The same would be if we were going into lab testing. But with any non-covid expansion, we have time and it is more important to find the right, penetrative acquisitions that leverage the company. We need the right match at the right price, rather than costly and cosmetic additions.

IMO of course.

Packing tomorrow for a family, weekend, wedding trip to Jersey; leaving on Thursday and looking forward to my Versalab test on arrival!

Thanks, Oriens. But you may be missing my point a little - this is not about a global pandemic mid-winter (although clearly that is what has catapulted us and will significantly enhance our revenues this year and next), this is about the longer term future of diagnostics and the changing way that the NHS and Private companies will be doing healthcare.

@ troublesome - thumbs up to climbing - but being in Norfolk...

Sorry, was cut off.
Continued:

We are in a rapidly expanding market; we are invested in what is the future of public, private and veterinary, healthcare; a world of surveillance and screening; a world where medical interventions are pre-emptive rather than reactionary. We will be a pioneering, global player at the heart of all this.

They say patience is a virtue for a reason. I am looking forward to the long upward spiral when it comes.
GLA

PS – ditto comments made ref Karen; she is solid.

Voleon's short reduction is substantial, and great news. Although the short is relatively small in real terms, it signals the end is nigh for this long downward spiral.

I believe many have sold on the way down simply as they didn't want to risk seeing their capital eroded, not because the fundamentals were wrong. This becomes a self-fulfilling downward trend with nothing to break the cycle. In hindsight, I should have done the same - my family's portfolio has suffered a huge paper loss, with just under 120k shares, you can do the sums to work out the hit from £12 to £3. (Luckily, I bought mainly last spring and retained a few shares elswhere that went substantially North and helped cushioned the blow, but currently still down from January's value in a life-changing way.)

You might think that's crazy, but it's easy to say in hindsight that a lot of us should have sold. We hung in there because we believe in the long term and that this share has been consistently undervalued even when the SP was much higher. I bought more at £8, precisely because I felt it was so cheap at the time. At any point from £8 to where we are now, news could have come out which could gave resulted in a significant jump the other way. I'm not selling any for less than £15 and will hold the majority for significantly more/longer.

We cannot go much below £3 due to the cash position, so this is definitely the bottom, but it might not move off without a catalyst - it's just a waiting game now. Although I joked about staying in bed to watch the SP rise the other day, it's not healthy watching the screen all day. Well done to Porky for a spot of fishing; my wife and I started up golf again today and it was great to be in the fresh air.

I said in a previous post, I remain sanguine. The logic continues to say the same thing. Once this goes it will go. There are literally thousands invested here. Those posting on this board are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more are watching and waiting. But those posting give a flavour of the sentiment.

Sure many are fed up, others need the money and will sell as soon as they are able, but many others have hung in there just like me and just like Porky because they can see that this is not a blip. As this company matures, IIs (who have to do due diligence and rely on audited results of more than one year) will move in. A move to other markets may, indeed, accelerate this. And , of course, the momentum investors will be back.

The world has changed and Novacyt has changed - it will never go back to where it was. We have a huge and growing sales team now; we have inumearable connections; we have a stable full of products and we are miles ahead of the curve.

We are in an rapidly expanding market; we are invested in what is the future of public, private and veterinary, healthcare; a world of surveillance and screening; a world where medical interventions are preemptive rather than reactionary. We will be a pioneering, global

I didn't sleep well last night. Woke at 8:00. Said to my wife, I'm not getting up for a bit - just going to sit in bed and watch the SP rise - I just have that feeling. The SP has just defied logic for so long and at some point it needs to correct , with or without news. So far, so good.

Correction: four different viruses - I forgot Covid!

Thanks B2HS2L, it's as I thought - really only for the more highly-skilled specialist and quite time-consuming for busy labs/technicians. It will be worth finding out how transferable the patented Promate technology is, if not for Winterplex, for the many other tests they will be able to streamline. Winterplex is bound to be a more involved process, as it is a multiplex test looking for three different viruses, but I feel this may not be as straightforward as simply swapping for the current test as it's more specialist. I'll enquire further.

I've called the bottom wrongly several times now, so shan't say too much, but am feeling we have hopefully the worst of it behind us now and am hoping for more positive times ahead. Let's see what this week brings us - we may need to wait just a little longer but I will be mega-dissapointed if there's nothing juicy for us before the meeting.

Fingers crossed & GLA

I was wandering that too, Kaeren - from the pervious docs shared by this bb, it looks like they prepare vaccines for the worst/most likely to spread four strains. But I suspect Primerdesign do not have to do this, as they are just detecting not preventing. They will IMO target the genes that don't change much - they will want a specific marker for flu A and for Flu B plus and for RSV to differentiate the three and I would strongly suspect this to be the same case state side.

I have a further question/concern, though, and that is regarding ease of use of Winterplex. Clearly, the NHS had difficulties pre-Promate. I have raised this before, is there a going to be a Promate version of Winterplex that allows for the removal of all the complex pipetting stages and for the Q16/32 machines to be used outside of the protective cabinets - i.e. as POC devices?

Anyone any ideas on this - or I could use this a one of my Qs for the meeting, as I have not submitted yet.

mgmidget, agreed, ref not wish to compete with customers, and that had crossed my mind. Let's hope we have sufficient customers to make the trade off worth it and our estimation of 20-30% is indeed correct [there's another question]. I think our main concern is that GM may have gone off the boil at this critical stage in the company's history, let's hope not. With little news emerging doubts can enter one's mind. I have too much invested to run my faith on empty. Let's hope they drop some positive news before the meeting as some have been anticipating/speculating.

I too [Kaeren] am a little curious as to why they would hold this so soon before the AGM. Did someone say there is a possibility of attending in person? I doubt it for either meeting, but please correct me if I'm wrong - I'll be down there like a shot if it is possible.

Correctio: Knight not night, of course - the K makes a big difference.

@Hopeful32 you wrote:

"My concern is that private travel sales are not great with other companies such as Randox capturing market share."

They would have to be extraordinarily inept to have declining sales with a booming travel market. The only way this would be possible is to loose existing customers to more competitive (i.e cheaper) competitors and not be gaining any new customers. This is possible but, I believe, unlikely, due to the information out there. There is no evidence (so far) that any of the labs such as Boots, Wren or Katalsyst have dropped us as their supplier.

However, I do think we have missed a trick and it may possibly be getting too late now, if we don't act quickly, to make the most of the potential gains. There seems to be an incredible amount of money to be made in the short to medium term, with huge mark-ups, through lab work. Why we did not purchase or lease one of the mothballed, high-throughput lighthouse labs is beyond me. This should have been the next logical step in vertical integration. It is clear that many of the smaller labs cannot keep up with demand and are providing a very shoddy service, leaving the likes of Randox to clear up, as you say. [Even thought their reviews are not great either by all accounts.]

We should act as a night in shining armer to clear the backlog by providing an efficient, quality, well-priced gold standard serve. If successful, the lab could then have continued to provide testing services using our huge portfolio of 550 plus products. Someone seems to have lost there and agility, foresight and hunger for money making activity.

That would have been my question (to add to all those already provided by other bb members) - the lab space seems an area where we could develop or acquire (M&A). Why have we done nothing?

We have 90m in the bank , use a couple of million to buy a lab, staff it properly and put some full spreads in the news papers and get an agreement with Jet 2 or Ryanair to get our name out - advertise it at a couple of quid cheaper than Randox.

There's literally hundreds of thousands of additional sales to be made. Even if it's just for a year or two. Please show us you are doing something.

A sudden near 10p rise - anyone any news?

@Deedo

How much reassurance or hard facts do you want?

The company report in June gives a cautious H2 prediction of 50m (net of any DHSC/NHS sales), which equates to just over 8m per month. But, that was before they knew that travel would be opened up so soon. It is paradoxical that the vaccine's success, for which our SP originally took a substantial hit, is what is allowing travel to happen and for private revenues to soar.

You cannot expect to see any big contracts with these test providers. The likes of Katalyst, Boots and Wren Healthcare will be ordering on demand from Novacyt and, by all accounts, demand is soaring.

The evidence is everywhere (flight data posted this morning on the board) or look here:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9854249/Price-holiday-Covid-tests-soars-60-WEEK-despite-Government-promises-drive-down.html

Prices of tests are actually going up as demand rockets and we are supplying between 25% and 30% of these test providers. Some companies, such as Randox already mentioned, provide their own tests but the majority are just laboratories who need others to supply them with the tests - many are going for our quality product.

I suggested a 10m figure and this is based on a small rise to already very cautious figures. The reality could be far in excess of this, but we do not want to unduly raise expectations (ramp) without further information.

If you cannot see it, you should not be invested.