TIDMNIPT
RNS Number : 4192S
Premaitha Health PLC
21 December 2016
Premaitha Health plc
("Premaitha" or the "Company")
Half year results
Manchester, UK - 21 December 2016: Premaitha Health (AIM: NIPT),
developer of a leading CE-marked non-invasive prenatal screening
system, announces its half year results for the six months ended 30
September 2016.
Financial position
-- Revenues increased by 130% to GBP1.5m (H1 15/16: GBP0.6m) to
a diversified international client base
-- Gross profit of GBP0.6m, 41% of revenues (H1 15/16: GBP0.3m, 41%)
-- General administrative expenses of GBP3.9m (H1 15/16:
GBP2.9m) reflecting investment in development, commercial and
operations capabilities
-- Loss on ordinary activities before taxation of GBP3.6m (H1 15/16: GBP4.4m)
-- Cash balance at the period end was GBP2.7m (H1 15/16: GBP6.6m)
-- Further GBP4.0m investment by Thermo Fisher in form of loan extension and warrants
Operational highlights
-- Transformative acquisition of Yourgene Bioscience, Taiwan, please see separate announcement
-- The IONA(R) test is now installed in 13 laboratories across
Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Asia
-- Premaitha now supplies over 50 UK hospitals through client
laboratories and in-house clinical service
-- NHS to make non-invasive prenatal screening tests ("NIPT")
available for high risk cases from 2018
-- Reshaping European distribution network:
o Advanced talks with major European laboratory chain
o Swiss customer, Genoma, facing financial challenges
o Extending successful distributor coverage
-- Sizeable growth opportunities in the Middle East and Asia
-- Litigation hearings scheduled for summer 2017, EU Competition
Commission investigation into Illumina ongoing
-- Appointment of Adam Reynolds as Chairman
Dr Stephen Little, CEO of Premaitha, said:
"We are very pleased with the progress being made with the
IONA(R) test in the regions where we are operational, and we have
positioned ourselves to take advantage of the exceptional
opportunities emerging in the Middle East and Asia. A combination
of awareness of NIPT along with the reputation of the IONA(R) test
for reliability and accuracy, has resulted in the IONA(R) test
being adopted by both new laboratories and by customers who have
already tried offering NIPT through alternative providers.
"Within Europe and the Middle East we continue to make excellent
progress with a substantial pipeline of new customers that we
believe will generate significant revenues in the medium term.
Although Genoma's financial difficulties will affect current year
sales, the momentum of other contracts from our diversified
customer base will more than compensate for this in the next
financial year and beyond."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
For more information, please contact:
Premaitha Health plc Tel: +44 (0)
161 667 6865
Dr Stephen Little, Chief Executive
Office
Joanne Cross, Head of Marketing
investors@premaitha.com
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad) Tel: +44 (0)20
7213 0880
Liam Murray
finnCap (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0)
20 7220 0500
Adrian Hargrave / Scott Mathieson
(Corporate Finance)
Tony Quirke (Corporate Broking)
Vigo Communications Tel: +44 (0)
20 7830 9700
Ben Simons / Fiona Henson / Antonia
Pollock
premaitha@vigocomms.com
About Premaitha
Premaitha is a molecular diagnostics company which uses the
latest advances in DNA analysis technology to develop safer, faster
and regulatory approved non-invasive screening tests for pregnant
women.
Premaitha's lead test - the IONA(R) test - was launched in
February 2015 and is the leading CE marked complete system which
estimates the risk of a fetus being affected with Down's syndrome
or other genetic conditions. The IONA(R) test is performed on the
mother's blood sample - which contains traces of fetal DNA - and
then analysed using next generation DNA sequencing technology from
Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Unlike existing prenatal screening methods, due to its high
level of accuracy, the IONA(R) test can significantly reduce the
number of women subjected to unnecessary stressful and invasive
follow up diagnostic procedures which are costly, resource
intensive and carry a risk of miscarriage.
Non-invasive prenatal screening is an emerging, multi-billion
dollar global market and Premaitha's complete CE Marked system
enables laboratories and health care practitioners to offer an
approved, non-invasive prenatal screening system in-house.
Premaitha is based in Manchester Science Park, United Kingdom
and its shares trade on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange
(AIM: NIPT). For further information please visit
www.premaitha.com. Follow us on twitter @PremaithaHealth.
Chairman's statement
I am pleased to report Premaitha's half year results for the six
months to 30 September 2016. During the period and subsequently we
have converted a number of contract wins to live laboratory
installations which now service significant populations of pregnant
women across Europe, Russia, the Middle East and now into Asia.
Furthermore, we were pleased to extend our relationship with Thermo
Fisher Scientific through an extended loan facility and associated
warrants.
Overview
The first half of the year to 30 September 2016 saw significant
market penetration for the IONA(R) test, in particular in the UK,
France and the Middle East. These markets are expected to continue
to grow strongly with two new laboratories recently opened in
France and with UK clients expanding their penetration across the
NHS and private clinics. The Middle East offers significant scale
opportunities as countries seek to offer NIPT screening across all
risk categories. Premaitha is building a significant franchise in
this region, and we expect volumes to surpass those in Europe in
the medium term. In addition, we are now offering the IONA(R) test
to women across Russia, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Thailand and South
Africa and expect to continue to diversify our customer base in the
second half and beyond.
Premaitha is in the process of reshaping its European
distribution strategy - particularly within France, Switzerland,
Spain and Portugal. This is to reduce dependence on Genoma, a
financially weak centralised laboratory partner, and to target the
markets in which they were previously operating through the IONA(R)
test's growing distributor network. The Company is also in advanced
talks with a major diagnostics service group to install IONA(R) in
at least two European laboratories in the near future. These
laboratories will then provide NIPT services to the group's
international network.
The Company's Swiss customer, Genoma, and its parent company
Esperite NV (Euronext: ESP), are experiencing financial
difficulties despite announcing a significant fundraising in August
2016 which has not yet been completed. These issues and associated
erratic market behaviour by Genoma have recently curtailed
commercial activity in the NIPT space. Premaitha is protecting its
interests and, while the potential loss of Genoma's business is
likely to impact Premaitha's current year sales, the Board believes
its reshaped European distribution strategy will limit the impact
to the current year only and will generate a more diversified
customer base and superior quality of earnings from next year and
beyond.
The Illumina litigation remains a distraction to ourselves and
to customers, but also increasingly to competitors. Despite the
litigation, which will not reach the UK courts until summer 2017,
we continue to provide high quality service to our growing network
of customers and it is very heartening to see so many of them
building their own NIPT networks and bringing life to the "hub and
spoke" model enabled by the IONA(R) test. The EU anti-trust
investigation continues and we remain confident that our position
will ultimately be vindicated. Despite this confidence, we are not
resting on our laurels and continue to seek opportunities to
de-risk the Company through geographic and product diversification.
The acquisition of Yourgene is a significant step forward in this
regard.
Financial position
The Group's results for the six months to 30 September 2016 are
presented in the financial statements and show trading revenues of
GBP1.5m (H1 15: GBP0.6m) and a gross profit of GBP0.6m (H1 15:
GBP0.3m). General administrative expenses increased to GBP3.9m (H1
15: GBP2.9m) reflecting increases in the development, commercial
and operational capabilities of the Group in the second half of the
2016 financial year. The total comprehensive loss was GBP3.6m (H1
15: GBP4.4m) and the loss per share was GBP0.02 (H1 15:
GBP0.02).
In September 2016, the Group announced an extension of its loan
facilities whereby Thermo Fisher will make available to Premaitha
an additional secured loan facility of GBP4.0m (the "Loan"), which
will be drawn down against future milestones. The new loan facility
follows on from the existing facility, announced on 14 December
2015, on similar terms. Premaitha also issued GBP2.0m of warrants
to Thermo Fisher with an option for a further GBP2.0m warrants as
described in Note 7.
In the reporting period the Group used GBP4.3m cash in operating
activities (H1 15: GBP2.9m) and a further GBP0.3m (H1 15: GBP0.9m)
in investment in new property, plant and equipment. Proceeds from
financing activities were GBP1.1m of loan drawdowns (H1 15: GBP7.7m
from an issue of equity).
Today, the Company has also announced the conditional
acquisition of Yourgene of Taiwan. This acquisition will enable
Premaitha to access the Asian NIPT market, and to enhance the
Group's offering in the region. Yourgene has NIPT customers in
Taiwan, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia which operate on
the same Thermo Fisher next-generation sequencing platform as
Premaitha's IONA(R) test. Yourgene also provides research services
and is a contracted participant in the Taiwan Biobank Project.
This acquisition brings significant benefits through expanded
market access in Asia, the world's fastest growing NIPT market; and
opportunities for cross-selling. In addition, the combination
enables joint development of expanded NIPT test content as well as
further content beyond NIPT, such as pre-implantation genetic
screening. The combination also offers the potential to reduce
intellectual property risks through geographic diversification and
product enhancements.
Furthermore, the combination with Yourgene creates a platform
for a strategic drive into mainland China where there are
approximately 17 million births per annum and a strategy to
decentralise NIPT testing over the coming years as part of the
Chinese government's healthcare reform plans.
Outlook
Now that the Company is starting to achieve revenue scale it is
important we operate on a sustainable cost base, and we intend to
achieve cashflow breakeven in the second half of next year. A
sizeable proportion of our development costs are nearing completion
and with the addition of the Yourgene team we see further growth
opportunities within Asia. There has been a significant increase
recently in the awareness of the benefits of NIPT, with the UK's
NHS to offer the test as standard to high risk women from 2018. We
now have a significant geographic presence and partners in place to
ensure the IONA(R) test forms a fundamental and key role in the
uptake of NIPT testing internationally and we look forward to the
future with confidence.
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the six
months ended 30 September 2016
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
6 months 6 months 12 months
to to to
30 September 30 September 31 March
Note 2016 2015 2016
GBP GBP GBP
------------------------- ----- -------------------------------- ------------------------- -----------------------
Continuing Operations
Revenue 1,453,005 624,988 2,452,378
Cost of sales (857,066) (365,959) (1,751,395)
Gross profit 595,939 259,029 700,983
General administrative
expenses (3,856,816) (2,913,191) (6,573,384)
Fundraising expenses (29,452) (35,422) (201,340)
Increase in litigation
provision - (1,413,248) (5,834,345)
Share-based payments (176,961) (317,130) (124,089)
------------------------- ----- -------------------------------- ------------------------- -----------------------
Total administrative
expenses (4,063,229) (4,678,991) (12,733,158)
Operating loss (3,467,290) (4,419,962) (12,032,175)
Finance income 91 81 15,000
Financing expenses (94,882) - (99,232)
Net financing
(expenses)/income (94,791) 81 (84,232)
Loss on ordinary
activities before
taxation (3,562,081) (4,419,881) (12,116,407)
Tax on loss on
ordinary activities 3 - - 39,545
Loss from continuing
operations (3,562,081) (4,419,881) (12,076,862)
Other comprehensive
expense
Exchange translation
differences (30,009) (2,476) (53,599)
Total comprehensive
loss (3,592,090) (4,422,357) (12,130,461)
Attributable to
:
Owner of the parent (3,592,090) (4,422,357) (12,130,461)
(3,592,090) (4,422,357) (12,130,461)
------------------------- ----- -------------------------------- ------------------------- -----------------------
Loss per share:
Basic and diluted
(GBP) 4 0.02 0.02 0.06
Consolidated statement of changes in equity for the six months
ended 30 September 2016
Merger Reverse Currency
Share Share relief acquisition translation Warrants Retained Total
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserve losses equity
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- -------------
Six months ended 30 September
2015 - unaudited
Balance
at 1 April
2015 28,173,133 23,307,021 954,545 (39,947,033) 19,558 - (8,611,027) 3,896,197
Loss for
the period - - - - - - (4,419,881) (4,419,881)
Other
comprehensive
expense - - - - (2,476) - - (2,476)
Total
comprehensive
expense
for the
period - - - - (2,476) - (4,419,881) (4,422,357)
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- -------------
Transactions with
owners
Issue of
share capital 4,000,000 4,000,000 - - - - - 8,000,000
Share issue
expenses - (283,360) - - - - - (283,360)
Share-based
payment - - - - - - 364,541 364,541
Total
transactions
with owners 4,000,000 3,716,640 - - - - 364,541 8,081,181
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- -------------
Balance
at
30 September
2015 32,173,133 27,023,661 954,545 (39,947,033) 17,082 - (12,666,367) 7,555,021
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- -------------
12 months ended 31 March
2016 - audited
Balance
at 1 April
2015 28,173,133 23,307,021 954,545 (39,947,033) 19,558 - (8,611,027) 3,896,197
Loss for
the period - - - - - - (12,076,862) (12,076,862)
Other
comprehensive
expense - - - - (53,599) - - (53,599)
Total
comprehensive
expense
for the
period - - - - (53,599) (12,076,862) (12,130,461)
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- -------------
Transactions with
owners
Issue of
share capital 4,000,000 4,000,000 - - - - - 8,000,000
Share issue
expenses - (283,360) - - - - - (283,360)
Share-based
payment - - - - - - 234,596 234,596
Warrants
issued - - - - - 1,770,363 - 1,770,363
Total
transactions
with owners 4,000,000 3,716,640 - - - 1,770,363 234,596 9,721,599
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- -------------
Balance
at
31 March
2016 32,173,133 27,023,661 954,545 (39,947,033) (34,041) 1,770,363 (20,453,293) 1,487,335
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- -------------
Consolidated statement of changes in equity for the six months
ended 30 September 2016
Merger Reverse Currency
Share Share relief acquisition translation Warrants Retained Total
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserve losses equity
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- ------------
Six months ended 30 September 2016
- unaudited
Balance
at 1 April
2016 32,173,133 27,023,661 954,545 (39,947,033) (34,041) 1,770,363 (20,453,293) 1,487,335
Loss for
the period - - - - - - (3,562,081) (3,562,081)
Other
comprehensive
expense - - - - (30,009) - - (30,009)
Total
comprehensive
expense
for the
period - - - - (30,009) - (3,562,081) (3,592,090)
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- ------------
Transactions with
owners
Share-based
payment - - - - - - 206,413 206,413
Warrants
issued - - - - - 559,330 - 559,330
Total
transactions
with owners - - - - - 559,330 206,413 765,743
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- ------------
Balance
at
30 September
2016 32,173,133 27,023,661 954,545 (39,947,033) (64,050) 2,329,693 (23,808,961) (1,339,012)
--------------- ----------- ----------- -------- ------------- ------------ ---------- ------------- ------------
Consolidated statement of financial position as at 30 September
2016
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
6 months 6 months 12 months
to to to
30 September 30 September 31 March
2016 2015 2016
Note GBP GBP GBP
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and
equipment 1,867,932 2,027,522 1,935,891
Total non-current
assets 1,867,932 2,027,522 1,935,891
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Current assets
Inventories 437,769 480,155 461,407
Trade and other receivables 5 2,968,853 827,620 1,661,275
Cash and cash equivalents 2,736,617 6,605,374 5,336,859
Tax asset 826,941 914,514 1,094,643
Total current assets 6,970,180 8,827,663 8,554,184
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Total assets 8,838,112 10,855,185 10,490,075
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Equity and liabilities attributable
to equity holders
of the parent company
Share capital 32,173,133 32,173,133 32,173,133
Share premium 27,023,661 27,023,661 27,023,661
Merger relief reserve 954,545 954,545 954,545
Reverse acquisition
reserve (39,947,033) (39,947,033) (39,947,033)
Foreign exchange translation
reserve (64,050) 17,082 (34,041)
Warrants reserve 2,329,693 - 1,770,363
Retained losses (23,808,961) (12,666,367) (20,453,293)
Total equity (1,339,012) 7,555,021 1,487,335
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 2,592,701 1,185,688 2,091,964
Provisions 6 4,282,171 1,913,248 5,386,326
Derivative financial
instruments 7 535,448 - -
Total current liabilities 7,410,320 3,098,936 7,478,290
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax liability - 39,545 -
Provisions 169,767 161,683 161,683
Interest bearing loans
and borrowings 8 2,597,037 - 1,362,767
Total non-current
liabilities 2,766,804 201,228 1,524,450
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Total equity and liabilities 8,838,112 10,855,185 10,490,075
------------------------------ ----- --------------- ---------------------------- -------------
Consolidated statement of cash flows for the six months ended 30
September 2016
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
6 months 6 months 12 months
to to to
30 September 30 September 31 March
2016 2015 2016
GBP GBP GBP
--------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------
Cash flow from operating
activities
Loss before tax (3,562,081) (4,419,881) (12,116,407)
Adjustments for :
Finance income (91) (81) (15,000)
Finance expenses 94,882 - 99,232
Depreciation 345,057 237,448 557,323
Increase in litigation
provision - 1,413,248 4,886,326
Share option and warrant
expense 206,413 364,541 234,596
Foreign exchange movements (30,009) (2,476) (53,599)
R&D tax credit (531,896) (114,060) (294,189)
---------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------
(3,477,725) (2,521,261) (6,701,718)
Changes in working capital:
Decrease in inventories 23,638 (30,117) (11,369)
(Increase) in trade and
other receivables (212,800) (488,266) (1,371,470)
Increase in trade and
other payables 500,736 99,870 1,006,146
(Decrease) in provisions (1,096,071) - 36,762
Cash generated from operating
activities (4,262,222) (2,939,774) (7,041,649)
R & D tax credit received 799,598 - -
Net cash used in operating
activities (3,462,624) (2,939,774) (7,041,649)
---------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------
Cash flow from investing
activities
Purchase of property, plant
and equipment (277,098) (880,928) (1,146,543)
Proceeds from sale of property,
plant and equipment - - 610
Interest received 91 81 15,000
Interest paid (3) - (3)
Net cash used in investing
activities (277,010) (880,847) (1,130,936)
---------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------
Financing activities
Proceeds from issue of
equity instruments - 7,716,640 7,716,640
Proceeds from borrowing 1,139,392 - 3,083,450
Net cash from financing
activities 1,139,392 7,716,640 10,800,090
---------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------
Net change in cash and
cash equivalents (2,600,242) 3,896,019 2,627,504
Cash and cash equivalents
at beginning of period 5,336,859 2,709,355 2,709,355
Cash and cash equivalents
at end of period 2,736,617 6,605,374 5,336,859
---------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------
NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1 General information
The principal activity of Premaitha Health PLC (the "Company")
and its subsidiaries (together, the "Group") is that of that of a
molecular diagnostics business for research into, and the
development and commercialisation of gene analysis techniques for
pre-natal screening and other clinical applications in the early
detection, monitoring and treatment of disease. The Company is
incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom. The address of
its registered office is St James' House, St James' Square,
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3PR. The registered number is
03971582.
As permitted, this Interim Report has been prepared in
accordance with the AIM rules and not in accordance with IAS 34
"Interim Financial Reporting".
The consolidated financial statements are prepared under the
historical cost convention.
This Consolidated Interim Report and the financial information
for the six months ended 30 September 2016 does not constitute full
statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the
Companies Act 2006 and are unaudited. This unaudited Interim Report
was approved by the Board of Directors on 20 December 2016.
The Group's financial statements for the period ended 31 March
2016 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The Group's
auditor's report on these financial statements was unqualified and
did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the
Companies Act 2006.
Electronic communications
The Company is not proposing to bulk print and distribute hard
copies of this Interim Report for the six months ended 30 September
2016 unless specifically requested by individual shareholders.
The Board believes that by utilising electronic communication it
delivers savings to the Company in terms of administration,
printing and postage, and environmental benefits through reduced
consumption of paper and inks, as well as speeding up the provision
of information to shareholders.
News updates, Regulatory News and Financial statements can be
viewed and downloaded from the Group's website, www.premaitha.com.
Copies can also be requested from; The Company Secretary, Premaitha
Health PLC, Rutherford House, Manchester Science Park, Manchester
M15 6SZ or by email: investors@premaitha.com.
2 Accounting policies
Basis of preparation
This financial information has been prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS), including IFRIC interpretations issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as adopted by the
European Union and in accordance with the accounting policies which
will be adopted in presenting the Group's Annual Report and
Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2017. These are
consistent with the accounting policies used in the Financial
Statements for the year ended 31 March 2016.
Going concern
These interim financial statements have been prepared on a going
concern basis. The Directors have reviewed the Group's going
concern position taking account of its current business activities,
anticipated performance and the factors likely to affect its future
performance.
Following ongoing review of the Group's financial plans, the
Board has a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate
resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable
future. The review process considers key commercial and operational
drivers of financial performance and in particular liquidity.
Operational plans are regularly monitored to ensure cash
efficiency, to control discretionary expenditure and to enhance
margins in light of revenue progression. The Group has also
identified potential funding facilities for additional resilience
if and when required.
The financial statements do not include the adjustments that
would result if the Group was unable to continue as a going
concern.
Taxation
Taxes on income in the interim periods are accrued using the
rate of tax that would be applicable to expected total annual
earnings.
3 Taxation
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
6 months 6 months 12 months
to to to
30 September 30 September 31 March
2016 2015 2016
GBP GBP GBP
------------- --------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- -----------------------------
Current tax
expense
UK
corporation
tax - - -
Deferred tax
Origination
and reversal
of timing
differences - - (39,545)
-------------- --------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -----------------------------
Total tax
expense - - (39,545)
-------------- --------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -----------------------------
The Research and development tax credit of GBP531,896 is shown
as a deduction against general administrative expenses.
4 Loss per share
Basic
Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the total
comprehensive loss for the period of GBP3,592,090 (2016: loss
GBP12,130,461) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in
issue during the period 228,163,709 (2016: 218,109,064).
Diluted
Diluted earnings per share dilute the basic earnings per share
to take into account share options and warrants. The calculation
includes the weighted average number of ordinary shares that would
have been issued on the conversion of all the dilutive share
operations and warrants into ordinary shares. 75,898,942 options
and warrants (2016: 58,993,088) have been excluded from this
calculation as the effect would be anti-dilutive.
5 Trade and other receivables
On 11 December 2015, the Group entered into a loan agreement
with Life Technologies Corporation ("Life Technologies"), part of
the Thermo Fisher Scientific Group ("Thermo Fisher"), under the
terms of which Thermo Fisher provided a loan facility of GBP5m to
the Group. At 22 September 2016 this facility was extended by a
further GBP4m under an additional agreement.
Included in trade and other receivables is an amount of
GBP1,094,778 which represents the fair value of warrants issued in
September 2016 and due to be issued in September 2017 (see note 7)
and which have been accounted for as commitment fees incurred by
the Group to secure the increased facilities in the period.
The Group's customer Genoma SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Esperite NV (Euronext: ESP), appears to be experiencing financial
difficulties ahead of an announced, but as yet uncompleted,
refinancing. A provision for doubtful debts of GBP231,735 has been
recorded whilst the Group pursues debt recovery.
6 Provisions
Premaitha is defending two patent infringement litigation claims
which claim that Premaitha's non-invasive pre-natal test infringes
patents owned or licensed by the claimants. The first claim was
filed in March 2015 by the claimants Illumina, Inc., Sequenom, Inc.
and Stanford University. The second claim was filed in September
2015 by the claimants Illumina, Inc. and the Chinese University of
Hong Kong. The cases are due to be heard in the UK High Court in
2017.
The Group has assessed the expected costs of defending these
claims, and has provided in full for the expected litigation costs.
The Group recognised a provision in the financial statements to 31
March 2016 of GBP5,386,326 for expected litigation costs in respect
of these claims. The Group continues to monitor the legal strategy
and the litigation costs expected to be incurred in defending both
claims, and the provision has not been increased further in the
current period. Costs of GBP1,104,155 have been incurred against
the provision in the period and so the provision as at 30 September
2016 totals GBP4,282,171.
7 Warrants and derivative financial instruments
On 22 September 2016 the Group issued 17,094,118 warrants with a
fair value of GBP559,330 and this amount has been accounted for as
an equity instrument in accordance with IAS 32 Financial
Instruments: Presentation and as a commitment fee for the provision
of increased loan facilities (see note 5).
An amount of GBP535,448 is also included within liabilities as a
derivative financial instrument, being the fair value of warrants
which are expected to be issued in April 2017 and which is also
accounted for as a further commitment fee for these facilities. The
number of warrants is uncertain at the reporting date and so this
amount is accounted for as a derivative financial instrument at
fair value and is included in liabilities in the Statement of
Financial Position.
8 Interest bearing loans and borrowings
A secured loan facility was provided by Life Technologies in
December 2015. As at 31 March 2016, there was GBP1,916,550
remaining to be drawn down from this facility. During the period an
additional GBP1,234,270 was drawn down, with GBP682,280 remaining
for drawdown. On 22 September 2016, the Group entered into a loan
facility extension agreement with Thermo Fisher for a further
facility of GBP4,000,000. These loan facilities are secured by way
of a fixed and floating charge over intellectual property of the
Group. The drawn down portions of these loans are accruing interest
at 6% per annum and these loans are repayable in more than 5
years.
9 Share capital
On 22 September 2016, at the same as entering into the LTC loan
facility extension the Group simultaneously entered into a further
warrant agreement with Thermo Fisher. Under this agreement
Premaitha issued Thermo Fisher warrants over 17,094,018 new
ordinary shares in the Company exercisable at 11.7 pence ("2016
Warrants"), being a premium of 10% over the closing share price on
21 September 2016 (the last business day prior to issue of the 2016
Warrants). A second tranche of warrants will be issued on 1 April
2017, or earlier if loan drawdowns exceed GBP2.0m, over new
ordinary shares in the Company at a premium of 10% over the closing
share price on the last business day prior to the date of issue.
Refer also to note 7 above.
10 Events after the reporting period
Following the end of the accounting period, on 21 December 2016,
the Company announced that it had agreed to conditionally acquire
the entire issued share capital of Taiwan-based Yourgene Bioscience
Co., Ltd. The total consideration will be the issue of new shares
in Premaitha Health PLC representing one-third of the current
ordinary shares in issue, thereby giving the vendors a 25% holding
in the newly-enlarged Premaitha Group. In addition, there will be a
return of approximately 50% of the acquired cash reserves by way of
a cash consideration of US$500,000. Further details will be
included in the full year results for the year ending 31 March 2017
when a full fair value review will have been undertaken along with
consideration of the accounting treatment for the acquisition. A
separate RNS announcement, issued today, outlines the structure of
the acquisition.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IR GMMZZZGMGVZZ
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 21, 2016 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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