The Company is pleased to provide a trading update for the 12 months ending 31 December 2016.
After a strong first half, progress continued throughout the rest of the year with results in line with expectations. Buoyed by robust sales of our TMT® reagents and the associated royalties, unaudited revenues during the full year increased by 46% to approximately £2.74m (2015: £1.88m). Costs and margins were as expected and the Company recorded a loss after tax of approximately £2.30m compared with £2.72m in 2015.
We have witnessed major moves in foreign exchange since the Brexit vote last June which increased our foreign denominated revenues as well as the costs associated with our Frankfurt facility. The net effect on EBITDA was neutral.
Consolidation of Laboratory facilities
Following the successful £3.3m placing last October the Company has put itself on a stronger financial footing, as we expand our commercial proteomics services and continue to identify efficiencies in resource allocation. In support of this we will be consolidating all our laboratory capabilities at our existing facility in Frankfurt during the first half of 2017. Managing a single, fully functional laboratory operating to GCLP standards will enable much better utilisation of our resources and avoid the cost and disruption associated with establishing a new laboratory in the UK. We are, of course, extremely grateful to our staff at Kings College in London for their work on behalf of the Company over many years and offer them our very best wishes.
In addition, it is our intention to move the Company headquarters from Cobham to a serviced office in the centre of London and we hope to have completed this relocation by the end of June. The full reorganisation of our UK facilities should result in material cost savings from 2018 onwards.
Chief Commercial Officer Appointment
Given the critical importance of commercialising our proteomic services to the future success of Proteome Sciences, we are also delighted to announce the appointment of Richard Dennis as the Company’s first Chief Commercial Officer. With a very strong background in strategic sales and marketing, and extensive technical experience gained most recently as Director of International Commercial Operations at Quanterix Corp. and previously at Bioscale Inc., Richard is a hugely valuable addition to the Company and will be joining us at the start of April with an immediate focus on refining and executing the commercial plan for the business.
Notice of Results
The Directors look forward to updating shareholders on the Company’s performance, and on the outlook for 2017, at the time we announce our 2016 full year results which are scheduled for release on 28 March 2017.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will take place in London on 25 April 2017 and further details will be provided in due course.
Jeremy Haigh, Chief Executive of Proteome Sciences, commented:
“While we are satisfied with progress over the last year, there is much yet to do if we want to realise the full value of our proteomic technologies. The Company is in a transition phase as we expand our proteomics services and our customer base to secure larger and more durable contracts. The decision to consolidate our laboratory facilities in Frankfurt was not easy given our UK heritage, but we firmly believe it to be in the best interests for the Company and our shareholders. We look forward to healthy progress during the first half of 2017, to the arrival of our new Chief Commercial Officer, and to providing further updates through the course of the year.