LID.L Regulatory News (LID)

19 Aug 2009 07:00



LiDCO Group Plc

("LiDCO" or the "Company")

Pre-close trading update

LiDCO Group Plc (AIM: LID), the cardiovascular monitoring company, is pleased to provide an update on trading for the six months ended 31 July 2009. The Company will announce its interim results for this period on 29 October 2009.

The Company has shown a strong sales performance during this period and the Board expects revenues to be significantly higher than the first six months of 2008. It anticipates that revenues will remain higher than 2008 for the full year. Against a more challenging environment for capital equipment sales, the Company's revenue growth represents an increase in market share and in particular reflects record disposables sales.

In July LiDCO announced it had signed an exclusive distribution agreement for the LiDCOrapid Monitor with Aspect Medical Systems ("Aspect"), a pioneer and global market leader in monitoring technology for surgery. Aspect has one of the biggest anaesthesia medical product sales teams in the US and the partnership has given LiDCO full access to the US anaesthesia and surgery markets. Since the agreement was completed Aspect has taken stocks of the LiDCOrapid products and has already started marketing the product and servicing LiDCO's existing accounts. The transition to this bigger sales force is expected to result in faster adoption of LiDCOrapid Monitors in the U.S. albeit at a lower margin. The lower margin is expected to have an impact on the loss in the current financial year. However the accelerated increase in monitor placements will result in an overall increase in installed base. This will have an increasingly net positive effect on recurring revenue through the sale of the high margin, disposable smart cards to be used with the monitors. In addition, Aspect paid an upfront license fee of US$1.15 million.

Aspect has also taken on members of LiDCO's U.S. based sales team, which should give an annualized cost reduction of approximately $0.85m. Overall this relationship will reduce vulnerability to both US currency fluctuations and hospital capital budgets, both of which are increasingly reported by the sector as factors influencing trading this year.

Terry O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of LiDCO, said "LiDCO has seen a significant level of commercial activity in the first half of this year, whilst at the same time has strengthened it's balance sheet by both raising £3.1 million of equity financing in May and receiving corporate license fees from both Becton Dickinson and Aspect. The agreement with Aspect is key to significantly increasing our share of the US market and the foundations are now in place for future growth and increasing recurring revenues. LiDCO is on track to deliver a maiden profit in the coming full year."

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