Advanced Medical Solutions Group Regulatory News (AMS)

15 January 2020

Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc

("AMS" or the "Group")

Year End Trading Update

Winsford, UK - 15 January 2020: Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc (AIM: AMS), the surgical and advanced woundcare specialist company, today announces a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2019. The Group intends to publish its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2019 on 11 March 2020.

AMS announces that its financial results for the year are in line with revised consensus forecasts, with profit slightly above consensus and sales, impacted by Sterling appreciation in the fourth quarter, slightly below consensus.

The third-party sterilisation issue, announced in November, is resolved, with the plant now fully operational and no further impact expected. Due to the actions taken to mitigate this issue, the impact in 2019 was less than our initial worst-case forecast and we are progressing with additional contingency plans to minimise the risk of any future disturbance in the event of a similar breakdown.

Surgical Business Unit

- As previously reported, revenue for the year was impacted by a downturn in US LiquiBand® sales and by the unexpected failure at one of our third-party sterilisation facilities.

- Good growth was delivered across the rest of the Surgical business unit, particularly LiquiBandFix8® and the RESORBA® portfolio.

- US LiquiBand® performance is expected to recover over the course of 2020, based on:

o FDA approval of LiquiBand® Rapid™, which is expected imminently and will allow one of our main partners to regain ground with an improved product.

o The launch of LiquiBand® XL, which will allow us to compete in the treatment of large wounds and unlock further growth potential in our LiquiBand® business. Our clinical trial will be completed in February and subject to a successful outcome and FDA filing, approval is expected in H2 2020.

- The US clinical trial to support the Premarket Approval (PMA) for LiquiBandFix8® is progressing well in terms of surgeon feedback although patient recruitment is slower than anticipated. As a result, an additional clinical site has been added to the trial.

Woundcare Business Unit

- Growth has been delivered with Antimicrobial (Silver and PHMB) dressings and with ActivHeal®, despite the continued challenges facing the woundcare market.

- Exudate Management (standard foams and fibres) declined in the year.

- There is significant partner interest in our new Surgical High Performance Dressing (HPD), which we are on track to launch in H1 2020.

M&A

- The successful 2019 acquisitions of Sealantis and Biomatlante demonstrate our strategy of acquiring strategically-aligned businesses in adjacent spaces with significant commercial synergies. The integration of both is progressing to plan and our strategy continues to be to grow AMS both organically and through appropriate acquisitions.

Outlook

- Supported by new product approvals, the Group expects to deliver approximately 10% organic growth in 2020, with the Biomatlante acquisition delivering additional revenue.

- The Board continues to believe that the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) will generate further growth opportunities in the coming years, as AMS is well placed to address the new, higher standards.

Chris Meredith, Chief Executive Officer of AMS, commented: ''I am pleased to report that despite the significant challenges in 2019, the Group is expected to report financials in line with revised consensus forecasts. The acquisitions of Sealantis and Biomatlante have provided substantial new product opportunities for the Group and increased our investment in exciting new areas of R&D with significant commercial benefits expected in both 2020 and 2021. We look forward to regaining positive momentum in our US LiquiBand® business in 2020 once our new products are approved and the Board is optimistic about our long-term growth prospects.''

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About Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc - see www.admedsol.com 

AMS is a world-leading independent developer and manufacturer of innovative and technologically advanced products for the global surgical and woundcare markets, focused on quality outcomes for patients and value for payers. AMS has a wide range of surgical products including tissue adhesives, sutures, haemostats, and internal fixation devices, which it markets under its brands LiquiBand®, RESORBA®, and LiquiBandFix8®. AMS also supplies wound care dressings such as silver alginates, alginates and foams through its ActivHeal® brand as well as under white label. In 2019, the Group made two acquisitions: Sealantis, an Israeli medical device company with a patent-protected sealant technology platform; and Biomatlante, an established developer and manufacturer of innovative surgical biomaterial technologies based in France.

AMS's products, manufactured in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, are sold globally via a network of multinational or regional partners and distributors, as well as via AMS's own direct sales forces in the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia. The Group has R&D innovation hubs in the UK, Germany, France and Israel. Established in 1991, the Group has approximately 700 employees. For more information, please see www.admedsol.com.