ABC.L Regulatory News (ABC)

3 Nov 2005 07:00

ABCAM Plc 03 November 2005 For immediate release 3 November 2005 ABCAM PLC ('Abcam' or 'the Company') First Day of Dealings on the AIM market Cambridge, UK: Abcam plc (AIM: ABC) a rapidly growing life sciences company that markets antibodies via an online catalogue, is pleased to announce its flotation today on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange following a successful placing by Numis Securities Limited in which £10 million, before expenses, was raised for the Company. Abcam has the ticker symbol ABC. Highlights • Abcam markets research-grade antibodies to academic and commercial users and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with a US office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its online catalogue of more than 17,000 products is supported by continually updated technical data created by the Company. • Abcam was founded in 1998 by Dr Jonathan Milner (Chief Executive Officer), Dr David Cleevely (Chairman) and Prof Tony Kouzarides (Non-executive Director). • Abcam is rapidly growing, profitable and cash generative. In the year ending 30 June 2005, Abcam reported sales of £12.1 million (2004: £6.72m) and pre-tax profits of £2.98 million (2004: £1.45m). The Company expects sales in the current financial year, ending 30 June 2006, to be no less than £18.5 million and it intends to implement a progressive dividend policy. • As announced on 28 October 2005, £10 million, before expenses, has been raised for Abcam via a placing of new shares at the price of 167 pence per share (the 'Placing Price'). A further £5.25 million, before expenses, has been raised for selling shareholders via a placing of existing shares at the Placing Price. • At the Placing Price, the market capitalisation of Abcam is approximately £57.5 million (post new money). • The net proceeds of the placing available to Abcam will be used to develop future growth opportunities including the expansion of the online catalogue, the broadening of the customer base, the penetration of new geographic markets and the possible acquisition of existing catalogues or complementary product lines. • Numis Securities Limited is the Company's nominated adviser and broker. Commenting on today's announcement, Jonathan Milner, Abcam's Chief Executive Officer, said: 'I am delighted that Abcam has joined AIM today. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Abcam for creating a business with significant growth prospects that we believe will deliver value for shareholders, not least through a progressive dividend policy.' For further information: Abcam +44 (0) 1223 696000 Jonathan Milner, Chief Executive Officer Eddie Powell, Chief Financial Officer www.abcam.com Numis Securities + 44 (0) 20 7776 1500 Charles Spicer Richard Hall Nick Westlake Buchanan Communications + 44 (0) 20 7466 5000 Mark Court Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for editors About Abcam Abcam is a rapidly growing company that produces and distributes high quality antibodies via an online catalogue of more than 17,000 products supported by technical information created by the Company and updated daily. Abcam is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and its US subsidiary is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Abcam employs a total of 78 staff, 27 of whom have PhDs. In the year ended 30 June 2005, approximately 48 per cent of Abcam's sales were to universities and colleges, 24 per cent were to research institutes, 23 per cent were to pharmaceutical companies and 5 per cent were to research hospitals. Geographically, 51 per cent of the Company's sales were in the US, 24 per cent in continental Europe, 14 per cent in the UK and 11 per cent in the rest of the world. The Company's vision is to become the world's largest antibody resource. About antibodies Antibodies are proteins produced by white blood cells in response to the introduction of a foreign body known as an antigen. Antibodies, which have a wide variety of uses in research, diagnostics and therapeutics, are used by bioscientists in research into disease and into the human genome, where they are used to mark and identify specific cells and other living matter. The number of human antibodies of use in research is potentially greater than one million. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange