Proactive Investors - Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC (LON:ONT) reported a solid increase in full-year revenue driven by growth in its Life Science Research Tools (LSRT) arm while loss for the period narrowed.
For the year ended 31 December 2022 the company, which is focused on delivering a new generation of molecular sensing technology based on nanopores, posted revenue of £198.6mln, up 49% from £133.7mln in 2021, while the loss for the period was £91.0mln compared to £167.6mln in the prior year.
LSRT revenue increased by 16% to £146.8mln from £127.0mln, up 10% on a constant currency basis, primarily driven by increasing customer numbers, across a breadth of applications.
Underlying growth, excluding foreign exchange and revenue from the Emirati Genome Program and COVID-19 sequencing, was approximately 30%.
At a regional level, revenue was predominantly driven by growth in the group's two largest regions, the Americas and Europe, as well as strong growth in China, with revenue up, on a constant currency basis, by 32%, 29% and 66% respectively.
UAE revenue was impacted by a decline in EGP revenue, resulting in a 54% reduction on a constant currency basis.
The reduced loss was driven by the higher LSRT gross profit, the settlement of the DHSC contract and the sale of the Gosling Building partly offset by higher operating expenses.
Looking ahead, the company said whilst underlying demand has not changed, “we saw a softening of orders in March 2023, much of which resulted from a drop in COVID-19 sequencing following a change in China's zero-COVID policy”.
The firm forecast full-year 2023 LSRT revenue growth in the range of 16-30% on a constant currency basis, which includes an anticipated year-over-year headwind from COVID-19 sequencing of approximately £20mln.
Chief executive Gordon Sanghera said: “We enter 2023 with good momentum. Our balance sheet remains strong and we will continue to invest in ground-breaking innovations and operational expansion to support continuous growth and deliver long-term value for shareholders."