12 May 2022 07:00
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. The persons taking responsibility for this announcement are the Company contacts named below.
CIRCASSIA GROUP PLC
("Circassia" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")
AGM Statement
Oxford, UK - 12 May 2022: Circassia Group plc (AIM: CIR), a company engaged in the design, development and commercialisation of medical devices for asthma diagnosis and management, is holding its Annual General Meeting today at Northbrook House, Robert Robinson Avenue, Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GA.
Trading Update
We are pleased to report that, despite recent economic events, our business continues to perform well, with clinical revenues for the first four months of the year ahead of management's expectations and up approximately 17% compared with the same period in 2021. Research revenues are also slightly ahead of the previous year. We are conscious that our business in China (14% of sales in 2021) may be affected by the local lockdowns that have occurred since the end of March, but it has traded strongly in the first four months delivering growth in excess of 23% on the same period in 2021.
Since the beginning of the year we have continued to increase our reach into the US national primary care sector, and we now have four major national distributors and sales organisations appointed to date, with further additions planned.
Gross margins across the business have been strong and operating expenditure is continuing to decline as a result of the annualisation effect of the restructuring carried out last year and the transition to a distributor-led sales strategy.
As a result of the strong performance in the year to date, the board believes that Group EBITDA for the full year is likely to be materially ahead of its expectations.
The unaudited cash balance at 30 April 2022 was £13.5m (31 December 2021: £12.6m).
Ian Johnson, Circassia's Executive Chairman, said: "I am pleased to be able to report strong trading performance in the year to date, with revenues and Group EBITDA ahead of expectations. The Company continues to benefit from a high degree of recurring revenues and is trading profitably and generating cash
Asthma is one of the biggest healthcare issues globally with 340 million patients, many of whom have uncontrolled symptoms. There is a clear need for a device for patients to use at home to manage their condition better. Circassia is currently addressing this huge unmet clinical need by providing NIOX devices for use by healthcare professionals and is, as a priority, also seeking to address the home-use market with a simplified device..
I look forward to updating shareholders again on our further progress and plans at the time of the half-year results."
Contacts
Circassia
Ian Johnson, Executive Chairman Tel: +44 (0) 1865 405 560
Michael Roller, Chief Financial Officer
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Aubrey Powell/ Jen Boorer Tel: +44 (0) 20 7496 3000
About Circassia
Our ambition is to improve the quality of life of millions of people suffering from asthma. The company is engaged in the design, development and commercialisation of medical devices for the diagnosis and management of asthma. Today our device, NIOX VERO, is used by healthcare professionals and leading research organisations. We passionately believe in empowering everyone to manage their health at home and are developing NIOX for home use to meet this need. At present, Circassia provides products and services in around 50 countries. For more information please visit www.circassia.com.