Deltex Medical Regulatory News (DEMG)

13 Jan 2010 07:00



Deltex Medical Group plc

Pre-close update on the year ended 31 December 2009

13 January 2010 - Deltex Medical Group plc ("Deltex Medical" or the "Company"), the global leader in oesophageal Doppler monitoring ("ODM"), today announces an update on its development and trading performance for the year ended 31 December 2009.

Throughout 2009 the Company made significant progress in all of its key markets towards its goal of establishing the use of its CardioQ-ODM™ system as a standard of care in the monitoring and management of patients undergoing major surgery. Record probe sales in all key markets in the final quarter of the year indicate a return towards the strong growth trends established prior to the global financial crisis. The directors expect sales for 2009 to have been in excess of £5.6 million.

The Company saw returning confidence in its target customers from September onwards and made substantial progress with a number of projects which had been deferred earlier in the year. In the USA two hospitals started routine use of our probes in projects to implement enhanced recovery surgical care programmes (evidence based care packages aimed at keeping patients as well as possible before, during and after surgery). In Spain we received the probe order from the first of five hospitals expected to participate in a major government led evaluation of CardioQ-ODM. In the Middle East we secured an order from a distributor for fifty CardioQ-ODM monitors, with more than of half these monitors subject to an underlying contract with the local health ministry. In the UK we have seen a significant increase in enquiries from hospitals looking to implement CardioQ-ODM as part of the Department of Health's Enhanced Recovery Partnership Programme.

Nigel Keen, Deltex Medical's chairman, commented:

"Deltex Medical enters 2010 with considerable confidence. Sales are growing in all our key markets and we are on track to achieve cash neutrality assuming continuing sales growth. The margin on sales in the second half of 2009 was approximately equivalent to our planned cash cost base in the first half of 2010.

"We believe the fiscal challenges confronting many developed health economies as a result of the global recession may create a catalyst for accelerated uptake of our products which are proven to improve the quality of care and thereby reduce the costs of providing that care."

For further information, please contact:-

Deltex Medical Group plc 01243 774 837

Nigel Keen, Chairman  njk@deltexmedical.com

Ewan Phillips, Chief Executive eap@deltexmedical.com

Paul Mitchell, Finance Director pjm@deltexmedical.com

Nominated Adviser & Broker

Arden Partners plc 020 7614 5917

Chris Hardie chris.hardie@arden-partners.com

Matthew Armitt matthew.armitt@arden-partners.com

Kreab Gavin Anderson 020 7554 1400

Deborah Walter dwalter@kreabgavinanderson.com

Robert Speed rspeed@kreabgavinanderson.com

  Notes for Editors

Deltex Medical manufactures and markets the CardioQ-ODM™ monitor, which uses disposable ultra-sound probes inserted into the oesophagus to determine the amount of blood being pumped around the body - 'circulating blood volume'. Reduced circulating blood volume is known as hypovolaemia, which leads to insufficient oxygen being delivered to the organs. This causes medical complications including peripheral and major organ failure which can lead to death. Hypovolaemia, which is akin to severe dehydration, affects virtually every patient having surgery because of the combined effects of pre-operative starvation, the impact of the anaesthetic agents and trauma from the surgery itself. Using fluids and drugs, guided by the CardioQ-ODM, to optimise the amount of circulating blood significantly reduces post-operative complications allowing patients to make a faster, more complete recovery and return home earlier.

The CardioQ-ODM incorporates the Company's proprietary software and a small diameter, easy-to-use, minimally invasive, disposable oesophageal probe that is used for transmitting and receiving an ultra-sound signal. By using this technology, the CardioQ-ODM provides clinicians with the ability to haemodynamically optimise critically ill patients and those undergoing routine moderate to major surgery through the controlled administration of fluid and drugs. Haemodynamic optimisation has been scientifically proven to improve the speed and quality of patient recovery and reduce hospital stay.

There are already nearly 2,000 CardioQ-ODMs currently in use in hospitals worldwide and distribution arrangements are in place in over 30 countries. In addition, there are currently more than 200 clinical publications on the use of the CardioQ-ODM which have repeatedly:-

Validated the results of the Monitor against known standards for measuring cardiac output, demonstrating that the technology works

Proved that the CardioQ-ODM works in a wide range of surgical procedures

Demonstrated that the Company's technology provides significant health and economic benefits by helping to reduce post-operative complications and length of hospital stays by an average of 30 to 40 per cent for a wide range of patients.

The SupraQ™ is an entirely non-invasive device which uses an ultrasound probe held at the base of the patient's neck to track the flow of blood in the aorta; it presents the same data as the CardioQ-ODM in a similar format and is used for taking snapshots or monitoring over short periods.