Creo Medical Regulatory News (CREO)

Creo Medical Group plc

("Creo" the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading update

Q1 trading ahead of management's expectations

Increase in elective surgeries driven by need to reduce case backlogs

Creo Medical Group plc (AIM: CREO), a medical device company focused on the emerging field of surgical endoscopy, provides an update on progress and Q1 2021 trading, which is ahead of management's expectations. As a result, the directors have upgraded guidance for year-end revenue performance by at least 10%.

As previously stated, trading for the year ended 31 December 2020 was ahead of management's expectations, and the Company expects to report revenues of over £9m (2019: £0.01m) when it publishes its Audited Report and Accounts in early June.

The current year has started well; trading in the three months ended 31 March 2021 was ahead of management's expectations. There has been an increase in commercial activity from Creo's core products together with strong contributions from Albyn Medical and Boucart Medical, which were acquired during 2020. Creo's sales teams have worked hard throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that customer relationships are maintained, and that hospitals are being supported when needed. The Group's long-standing clinical relationships have resulted in a quick return to pre-COVID levels of activity as elective procedures have opened up. In particular, the UK and French markets have rebounded more strongly than the Company expected during Q1, with many hospitals now starting to focus efforts on clearing the backlog of cases, which have been delayed over the last 12 months.

As a result, the Directors expect that the Group's revenue performance for the year ending 31 December 2021 will be at least 10% ahead of current market expectations of £20.1m.

The strengthening of the Company's commercial team, both organically under the direction of David Woods, and through acquisitions made by the Group during 2020, has been highly successful. The Company now has a well-established commercial, marketing and distribution footprint across five European countries, four regions of the US and a centralised hub in APAC. To further support the Company's reach into the key US market, Creo expects to open its US headquarters in Danbury, CT before the end of Q2. 

In addition, Creo is starting to benefit from its sales team's efforts during the last 12 months with new placements of CROMA Advanced Energy Platforms and a strong book of clinicians trained and waiting to be trained and mentored on the safe use of its Speedboat Inject device. Creo's Clinical Education Programme remains a crucial part of its commercial strategy with new clinical adoption of the Speedboat Inject device facilitated through multiple training centres of excellence. The Company continues to support a robust programme of training, mentoring and early case supervision globally and, at the end of last year, the first clinical use of the latest GI products took place. Innovation and adoption of the Company's technology continues, with the first clinical procedure using the MicroBlate Flex device, being a near term goal.

In June last year, Creo announced that data showed that Speedboat Inject could save NHS hospitals nearly £5,000 per procedure versus traditional open surgery. Whilst the Company expects full data on this to be published shortly, the initial signs are that this could show possible savings significantly higher than £5,000 per procedure.

The Board continues to explore high-quality prospective acquisition candidates to facilitate the build out of a direct presence in the US and accelerating its route to market. In addition and as previously mentioned, the Board continues to explore possible applications for Creo's Kamaptive technology in the adjacent fields of laparoscopic and robotic assisted surgery together with third parties.

As such, the Board looks to the future with confidence as the Company continues to build on its current momentum and commercial infrastructure to generate increasing revenues and develop wider commercial opportunities.

Craig Gulliford, Chief Executive Officer of Creo, commented: "The worldwide uncertainty created by COVID-19 continues; however, the team at Creo has delivered exceptional results across many fronts including, making significant clinical and technical advances, building a global commercial team, finding innovative ways to train clinicians and continuing to deliver revenue ahead of management's expectation into the new financial year. We are delighted with the progress that has been made and believe our products will have a big part to play in reducing costs associated with traditional open surgery, reducing the huge backlogs for elective surgery that have built up during the pandemic, and most importantly providing better outcomes for patients globally."

This announcement contains inside information

About Creo Medical 

Creo Medical, founded in 2003, is a medical device company focused on the development and commercialisation of minimally invasive surgical devices, bringing advanced energy to endoscopy. The Company's mission is to improve patient outcomes by applying microwave and RF energy to surgical endoscopy. Creo has developed CROMA, an electrosurgical Advanced Energy Platform that delivers bipolar radiofrequency for precise localised cutting and microwave for controlled coagulation. This technology provides clinicians with flexible, accurate and controlled surgical solutions. 

The Company's strategy is to bring its CROMA Advanced Energy Platform powered by its full spectrum Kamaptive Technology to market, enabling a suite of medical devices which the Company has designed, initially for the emerging field of GI therapeutic endoscopy, an area with high unmet needs. The CROMA Advanced Energy platform will be developed further for bronchoscopy and laparoscopy procedures. The Company believes its technology can impact the landscape of surgery and endoscopy by providing a safer, less invasive and more cost-efficient option of treatment. An overview of the Creo Medical device technology portfolio can be seen here:

https://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8918P_1-2020-6-14.pdf 

For more information about Creo Medical please see our website, www.creomedical.com