Novacyt’s success was underlined yesterday as it revealed revenues have grown more than 20-fold during the pandemic.
The Anglo-French Covid test maker said in a trading update that its annual sales leapt from just £11.5million to £277million during 2020.
Profits are expected to have surged from about £1.6million to £91.8million as well. The company was among the first to develop a reliable test for the coronavirus.
Booming: Novacyt’s success was underlined yesterday as it revealed revenues have grown more than 20-fold
Shares changed hands for as little as 14p each at the start of last year, but after its success they rallied by more than 5,000 per cent. But, yesterday the company’s share price closed down 17.29 per cent or 185.00p to 885.00p.
Now chief executive Graham Mullis is set to get a £3.6million bonus while finance chief Anthony Dyer will earn £1.2million.
Graham Mullis, chief executive of Novacyt, said: ‘2020 has been transformational for Novacyt.
‘We have cemented our early mover advantage of developing one of the first tests for COVID-19 into an established position within COVID-19 testing and the broader diagnostics market.
‘We have signed significant contracts with national governments, supplied our products to over 130 countries globally and continued to develop innovative testing capabilities to support laboratories and clinicians during these challenging times.’
He added: ‘Our strong financial position has enabled us to settle all outstanding debt, make a strategically important acquisition and conclude the year with significant levels of cash to reinvest in the business.’
The company’s cash stash stood at £91.8million on 31 December 2020, against £1.6million at the same point in 2019.
While the AIM-listed company said it had experienced a ‘strong start’ to 2021, with demand for its Covid-19 product portfolio remaining firm, it cautioned that it was ‘difficult’ to provide a clear forecast on the financial performance for the year ahead.
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