28 May 2010 07:02
Q1 2010 Interim Management Statement
Sales in Line with Directors' ExpectationsMALVERN, PENNSYLVANIA, AND STAFFORD, UK, 28 May 2010 - PuriCore (LSE: PURI), the water-based clean technology company focused on developing and commercialising proprietary, green solutions that safely, effectively, and naturally kill infectious pathogens, today issues its Interim Management Statement covering the period 1 January 2010 to 31 March 2010. PuriCore also announces today the proposed issue of £8.0 million in Convertible Loan Notes, subject to shareholder approval, and its Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2009 (see separate releases).
Q1 Highlights
·; Sales of $10.0 million in line with Directors' expectations (Q1 2009: $10.5 million), a 9.9% decrease at constant currency
- Endoscopy sales increased 86.1% at constant currency to $ 6.2 million
- Food Safety sales of $3.6 million, a decline of 49.9%, reflecting a significantly higher proportion of lease sales over capital sales in the period
·; Cash as at 31 March 2010 of $3.5 million
·; Installed more than 200 new Sterilox Food Safety Systems including initial installations for another top-10 US supermarket customer
·; Launched the next-generation Sterilox Food Safety System Model 2300
·; Secured more than $1 million of Endoscopy on Demand managed service contracts
·; Received a new US FDA antimicrobial preservative 510(k) for Vashe Wound Therapy
·; Successfully opposed Oculus European wound care patent; no appeal was filed
Post-Period Highlights
·; Announced the proposed issue of £8.0 million in convertible loan notes, subject to shareholder approval (see separate release issued today)
·; Secured $1.8 million in debt with Republic First Bank to finance Food Safety System lease installations
·; Received a new US FDA 510(k) clearance for over-the-counter (OTC) marketing for Vashe Wound Therapy
·; Renewed PuriCore Endoscopy's distribution agreement with Minntech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cantel Medical (NYSE: CMN)
Business Report
Revenues for the first quarter 2010 of $10.0 million were in line with Directors' expectations. The Food Safety business installed more than 200 Systems, approximately 75% of which were lease contracts. Whilst this volume was lower than for the same period in 2009 (a particularly strong quarter), it was in line with the Directors' Q1 expectations. During the quarter, PuriCore initiated installations for another top-10 US supermarket retailer, beginning a multi-year rollout of Sterilox technology as this chain remodels approximately 1,200 current stores and establishes new stores.
In the UK, PuriCore gained traction with its new Endoscopy on Demand managed service that provides an endoscopy suite's reprocessing needs on a per-patient or per-procedure cost basis, securing approximately $1 million in multi-year contracts from National Health Service and private hospitals. PuriCore expects that the Endoscopy core business will be cash flow positive for the full year.
In its Wound Care business, PuriCore has now received two additional 510(k) clearances for Vashe Wound Therapy from the US FDA in 2010: one allowing an antimicrobial wound cleansing preservative claim and another for OTC marketing. These clearances, combined with extended shelf-life clearances, allow PuriCore diverse packaging options including bottled Vashe Wound Therapy and market expansion into the OTC consumer market.PuriCore also announces that no appeal has been filed to the decision by the European Patent Office (EPO) to revoke the Oculus Innovative Sciences (NASDAQ: OCLS) patent relating to wound care on the grounds of insufficiency. The revocation was based on the opposition initiated by PuriCore, and the EPO's decision reaffirms PuriCore's freedom to market Vashe Wound Therapy in Europe.
Greg Bosch, Chief Executive of PuriCore, said:
"PuriCore has started the year with Q1 in line with Directors' expectations. With our successful fund raising, we remain on track to execute our business strategies for 2010."
Enquiries:
| Ben Brewerton Susan Quigley Financial Dynamics +44 (0) 20 7831 3113 | Greg Bosch, CEO Darren Weiss, CFO PuriCore +1 484 321 2700 |
About PuriCore
PuriCore plc (LSE: PURI) is a water-based clean technology company focused on developing and commercialising proprietary green solutions that safely, effectively, and naturally kill infectious pathogens without causing harm to human health or the environment. PuriCore's patented, proprietary technology mimics the human body's production of the natural antimicrobial hypochlorous acid, offering a safe and non-hazardous approach to disinfection and sanitisation. The Company's products are used in a broad range of markets that depend upon controlling contamination, including food retail and foodservice, medical device disinfection, and wound care. Hypochlorous acid is proven to be safe, environmentally friendly, and fast acting against a broad range of infectious pathogens, including major public health threats of C.difficile, E.coli, HIV, Human and Animal Influenza (including H1N1 and H5N1), Legionella, MRSA, M.tuberculosis, Norovirus, and Salmonella. PuriCore is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with operations in Stafford and Clevedon, UK.
To receive additional information on PuriCore, please visit our website at www.puricore.com, which does not form part of this press release.
Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates, and projections about its industry; its beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as 'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions shareholders and prospective shareholders not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the view of the Company only as of the date of this announcement. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or unanticipated events occurring after the date of this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.