Tyneside pharmaceuticals firm Immunodiagnostic Systems says it is expecting its second consecutive year of growth and is well placed to get through the coronavirus outbreak.
A trading update from the Boldon firm - which produces diagnostic testing kits and instruments for the clinical and research markets - said that unaudited results for the year ending March 31 show the company is likely to report 2% growth in revenue to £39.3m.
A breakdown of results showed a return to like-for-like growth for the automated section of its business, which grew 4% to £23.4m, the highest figure recorded in the company’s history. There was also big growth in its smaller speciality partners division, which saw revenues increase by 74%.
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The company also reported approval from the American Food and Drink Administration (FDA) for one of its products, bringing the number on sale in the US to 11, but said that it had experienced delays to its in-house development process which had pushed back some new products into the 2021 financial year.
The company, which also has sites in five other European countries, plus the USA and Brazil, said it had kept all of its manufacturing locations open through the coronavirus outbreak, with non-manufacturing staff working remotely.
It said it had “not had significant issues” to deal with, and had a strong cash position to get it through the crisis, though a significant order in China had been delayed.
The company said: “The continued improvement in overall business performance is mirrored by a substantially improved level of employee engagement, as measured by our annual engagement survey. More details will be provided in our annual report and accounts 2020.
“During FY20 we achieved our goal of delivering a second year of like-for-like revenue growth. The return to growth of our automated business, coupled with increasing numbers of instrument placements is very encouraging, as is the continued strong growth of our technology business. While the results of our manual business were below expectations, we have identified the causes and defined a course of action to improve the performance of this business.
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“Looking forward, as mentioned earlier, the COVID-19 situation means there is some uncertainty surrounding the expected revenue performance in H1 of FY21 and we are therefore unable to provide guidance at this time.
“However, we are confident once the global situation improves, we are well positioned to continue a path of revenue growth, leveraging our increasing installed instrument base and assay menu.
“So far in April 2020 we have seen a reduction in revenue versus the same period last year, caused by a reduction in routine medical testing in hospitals and laboratories as their focus has been on COVID-19 treatment and testing.
“IDS intend to take appropriate action, including utilising the various schemes available from governments to provide business support, to minimise our costs during this period of uncertainty. From a liquidity perspective, IDS is in a very strong position with cash holdings of almost £28m.
“We are offering our production facilities, and sales network, to several new and existing partners who are in the process of developing COVID-19 test kits.”
The company’s headcount grew to 295 during the year, with the increase due mainly to the creation of a new team that aims to ensure new products comply with future In Vitro Diagnostic Regulations.