Venture Life Regulatory News (VLG)

31st January 2022

VENTURE LIFE GROUP PLC

("Venture Life" "VLG" or the "Group")

Full year trading and commercial update

Venture Life (AIM: VLG), a leader in developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the self-care market, is pleased to provide the following trading and commercial update for the year ended 31 December 2021 ("FY21"). The Company expects to publish its results for FY21 on 24 March 2022.

Highlights

· Revenue of £32.6 million for the FY21(2020: £30.1 million), up 8% on the prior year;

· Revenue in the second half of the year was £18.7 million, an increase of 35% over the revenues in the first half of the year (£13.9 million);

· Momentum building in the business post acquisitions demonstrated by Q4 revenue 59% above that in Q3; and

· Adjusted EBITDA in line with market expectations;

· Net debt of £3.2m pre-IFRS16 (£7.3m IFRS16) reflecting a phasing effect on working capital as a result of higher receivables following strong Q4 revenue.

The Board is pleased to report that the momentum seen in the second half of the 2021 has continued into 2022 and that the order book for the Group is significantly ahead of the same time last year, underpinning our confidence in the year ahead.

As previously announced earlier this month the Group appointed a new partner, Samarkand Global plc, for its oral care products in China and shipments have already commenced to this partner.

We are also pleased to report that a leading UK health and beauty retailer has confirmed they will launch our in-house developed product for rosacea in the UK and Ireland later in H1 2022 with the product being marketed under their own brand. This marks the first product launch under this retailer's own brand and paves the way for future collaboration. Furthermore, another key UK health and beauty retailer will launch our Wart & Verruca Pen and Women's Intimate Gel in H2 2022 under their own brand; finally, other new agreements have been recently completed for other products in other territories. 

Following the successful integration of BBI Healthcare and Helsinn acquisitions, one of these new agreements has been signed for Pomi-T in Germany, which marks the start of the expansion plan of this product into key markets around the world, in another of the 5 major EU markets. 

Jerry Randall, CEO of Venture Life, commented, '2021 was a difficult year for the Group given the significant headwinds experienced, and I am pleased with the revenues delivered. As with many businesses supply chain and logistics continue to be an issue but we are managing these challenges to meet the needs of our suppliers, our customers and ourselves. The partnership with our new partner for China has started well, and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with them. The acquisitions we made in 2021 are now fully integrated and have performed extremely well, contributing significantly to our strong growth in revenue and profitability in the second half. We have started 2022 with an order book significantly ahead of the same time last year, giving us a good level of confidence for the year ahead. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the whole team at Venture Life in delivering the second half revenues in extremely challenging supply chain circumstances, and I give my thanks to each and every one of them'.

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About Venture Life (www.venture-life.com)

Venture Life is an international consumer self-care company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the global self-care market. With operations in the UK, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden, the Group's product portfolio includes some key products such as the UltraDEX and Dentyl oral care product ranges, the Balance Active range in the area of women's intimate healthcare, the Lift and Glucogel product ranges for hypoglycaemia, products for fungal infections and proctology, and dermo-cosmetics for addressing the signs of ageing. Its products are sold in over 90 countries worldwide.

The products, which are typically recommended by pharmacists or healthcare practitioners, are available primarily through pharmacies and grocery multiples. In the UK and The Netherlands these are supplied direct by the company to retailers, elsewhere they are supplied by the Group's international distribution partners. 

Through its two Development & Manufacturing operations in Italy and Sweden, the Group also provides development and manufacturing services to companies in the medical devices and cosmetic sectors.