Nanoform 1Q 2022 report: Quarterly record of new projects and new customers

HELSINKI, May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The positive momentum continues. A quarterly record of eight new non-GMP projects with seven different customers signed. Revenue grew by 174%, the number of employees by 49%, while the total operating costs grew by 27%. The gross margin rose to 92%. Significant productivity gains and economies of scale will enable continued slower growth in costs while rapidly expanding our manufacturing capacity. All near-term 2022 and mid-term 2025 targets are on track.

1-3/2022 key financials

- Revenue EUR 0.76 million, growth + 174%, stemming from 23 customer projects (EUR 0.28 million, 14 customer projects in 1-3/2021).

- Orders received* were above EUR 1 million for the third quarter in a row. 

- The gross profit almost tripled to EUR 0.70 million as the gross margin rose to 92% (EUR 0.24 million, 88% in 1-3/2021).

- Total operating costs** grew by 27 % to EUR 5.3 million (EUR 4.2 million).

- EBITDA came in at EUR -4.6 million (EUR -3.9 million).

- The operating loss was EUR -5.1 million (EUR -4.4 million).

- The loss for the period was EUR -5.3 million (EUR -4.3 million).

- Basic EPS was EUR -0.07 (EUR -0.06).

- The number of employees grew by 49 % to 130 (87) compared with one year ago.

- EUR 25 million (gross) was raised in a new share issue.

- Cash position was EUR 91.7 million on March 31, 2022 (EUR 94.8 million).

(Numbers in brackets refer to the corresponding last year reporting period, unless otherwise mentioned.)

*Part of orders received may not turn into revenue as customers have the right to change or cancel orders

**Defined as materials & services expenses, employee benefit expenses, and other operating expenses

Significant events during 1-3/2022

- On January 3, Nanoform announced two new near-term business targets for 2022: "At least 20 new customer non-GMP projects in 2022" and "At least 3 new customer GMP projects in 2022".  

- During 1-3/2022 eight new non-GMP projects were signed, with seven different customers, of which four were new customers, the majority of them US based.  

- In March, EUR 25 million (gross) was raised in a successful new share issue through an accelerated bookbuilding process. The considerably oversubscribed capital raise attracted strong interest from Nordic and international investors, including a considerable number of large global Tier 1 institutional investors. 

CEO's review

This is my eighth quarterly report since our Nasdaq listing in June 2020. In conjunction with the IPO we set out ambitious mid-term business targets for 2025 (to nanoform at least 50 new APIs annually, to have in place 25 production lines - of which 5-10 are GMP lines, to have an over 90 percent gross margin, to have ~200 employees and to be cash flow positive). As one third of the time from the IPO to 2025 now is behind us, it is a good time to measure and reflect on what has been achieved so far and whether we are on the layline.

Since the IPO, our number of employees has grown by a factor of 2.6x (50=>130), the number of production lines by 2.7x (6=>16), the cumulative number of signed customer projects by 6x (6=>38; this is probably the most important number as it should correlate with the number of nanoformed drugs potentially launched in the future), quarterly revenue by 5x (EUR 0.15m=>EUR 0.76m) and the operating costs by a factor of 2.0x (EUR 2.5m=>EUR 4.9m). Growing revenue faster than cost while rapidly winning new projects to our added capacity, speaks of productivity gains and positive momentum.

As we last year raised our 2025 targets for new incoming customer APIs annually to 70 and the number of lines to 35 and we already in 2022 will have 20 lines and we already signed eight new projects in one quarter in 1Q22, one could say we are well on track when it comes to expanding our line capacity and bringing in new projects. The same goes for the gross margin - where the 90% mid-term target has already achieved - and the ability to expand our pool of excellent employees. The final target of becoming cash flow positive is from a company`s economic-value-add point of view the most important. How are we faring here?

If we set 1Q20 as base, then we have grown our topline organically on average by 22.5% per quarter (125% annualized) during the first eight quarters as a listed company. Clearly, we started from a low level, but if we can continue with the same growth rate it would take our quarterly revenue from the EUR 0.15m recognized in 1Q20 to more than EUR 15m in 4Q25, which according to our present cost projections would be well enough to achieve cash flow positiveness. Of course, our long-term ambition is to build a technology platform that can take us also to the following 10x logarithmic revenue steps. That said, the future is notoriously difficult to predict, and the future growth rates will certainly vary from quarter to quarter and year to year, but still I feel proud of what we have achieved so far, while reminding myself and all Nanoformers that the journey has only begun.

From hypothetical numbers to more concrete achievements. It is with great pleasure that I inform you that our new 40m³ CO₂ tank has now been installed, allowing us to take a logarithmic step in our manufacturing capability compared to using 40-liter bottles. This will further help us improve the gross margin, while the fact that the CO₂ is recycled makes our process green, something big pharma companies with ambitious carbon footprint targets find very interesting. Our GMP expansion progresses according to plan - with the cleanrooms and sampling isolators for GMP 2&3 already in place, while our ERP project has moved from explore to realization phase, before the final Deploy & Run phases later in the year. Our Biologics pilot line for GMP is also progressing well.

On the costs side, we target slower and focused growth. Hence, I foresee slower growth in total costs during the coming years - with most likely even a negative growth in total costs per employee as we grow our staff from today's 130 to the targeted 200-250 by 2025. With our revenue expected to continue to grow rapidly this lays a solid foundation for a journey towards first becoming EBITDA, then EBIT, and finally cashflow positive by 2025. All in all, I look with confidence and excitement forward to the coming quarters and years. We'll continue to work relentlessly towards our 2025 mid-term business targets, with our near-term business targets being at least 20 new non-GMP customer projects, at least three customer GMP projects, Biologics pilot line for GMP and 2 new GMP lines in 2022.

None of this can be done without our amazing employees and great partners. My sincere THANK YOU to you all for your continued dedication to Nanoform and for the inspiring and innovative work for which we're known.

Best Regards,

Prof. Edward Hæggström, CEO Nanoform

Nanoform's complete 1Q 2022 report can also be found at: https://nanoform.com/en/financial-reports-and-presentations/

Nanoform online presentation and conference call May 24, at 3:00 p.m. Helsinki time / 2:00 p.m. Stockholm time

Nanoform will publish its 1Q 2022 report May 24, 2022, at 8.10 a.m. Finnish time / 7.10 a.m. Swedish time. The company will hold an online presentation and conference call the same day at 3.00 p.m. Finnish time / 2.00 p.m. Swedish time. Nanoform will be represented by CEO Edward Hæggström, CFO Albert Hæggström, CCO Christian Jones and CBO Gonçalo Andrade. The presentation will be delivered in English.

The presentation will be broadcast live as a webcast available at: 

https://financialhearings.com/event/44323 

Teleconference dial-in numbers: 

Finland: +358981710521 

Sweden: +46850558355 

Norway:  +4723963688 

Denmark: +4578723252 

France: +33170750720 

Germany: +4969222220377 

United Kingdom: +443333009030 

United States: +16467224902

Hong Kong +852 30600225 (PIN for HK: 19754454#)

Significant events after 1-3/2022

AGM - Nanoform Finland Plc's Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on April 12, 2022, approved the financial statements, and discharged the members of the Board of Directors and the company's CEO from liability for the financial year 2021. The AGM approved the Board of Directors' proposal that no dividend will be paid. The AGM resolved that the Board of Directors consists of four members. Miguel Calado (chairperson), Mads Laustsen, Jeanne Thoma and Albert Hæggström were elected as ordinary members of the Board of Directors. Authorized Public Accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy was elected as the Auditor of the company and Tomi Moisio, Authorized Public Accountant, will act as the auditor in charge. The AGM authorized the Board of Directors to repurchase Nanoform's own shares. Altogether no more than 7,000,000 shares may be repurchased. Furthermore, the AGM authorized the Board of Directors to resolve upon the directed issuance of new shares and special rights entitling to shares, in the aggregate up to 7,000,000 shares. The authorization is in force until April 12, 2027.  

On April 12, 2022, at the constitutive meeting following the annual general meeting, the Board of Directors resolved to elect as members of the Audit and Compensation Committee (AC): Miguel Calado (Chairperson), Jeanne Thoma (Ordinary member), and Mads Laustsen (Ordinary member). The Audit and Compensation Committee is a permanent committee of the Board of Directors and acts in accordance with its charter as adopted by the Board of Directors.  

On April 12, 2022, the Board of Directors approved share subscriptions based on stock option programs (1/2019, 2/2019, 3/2019, 5/2019 and 1/2020). The entire subscription price for subscriptions made with stock options of EUR 203,500 will be booked in the reserve for invested unrestricted equity. 

STARMAP® Online launched - On May 4, 2022, Nanoform announced that it has launched its sparse-data AI solution, STARMAP^® as a secure online portal. STARMAP^® Online creates the opportunity for clients to perform large numbers of in-silico CESS^® experiments from their desktop, prior to approaching Nanoform to perform experimental validation.  This approach further supports Nanoform's green ambition by ensuring that Nanoform progresses the molecules with the greatest probability of success. STARMAP® Online offers increased user confidence through:  

• Security and safety - the interface has been developed in alignment with ISO27001:2017 standards. 
• Client submissions are seen only by clients (not by Nanoform), allowing molecules to be screened without sharing structures. Outputs are presented directly to the client via the system.
• Scalability and agility: The ability to manage thousands of molecules in a single submission to support the selection of candidates from molecule libraries is possible.
• Novel insights: STARMAP^® Online holds a database of over 17,000 pre-analyzed, public-domain disclosed drugs and candidates. Clients can request thematic evaluations and understand the power of CESS^® in different therapeutic areas, target classes, and disease areas.

Company near-term business targets for 2022 (reiterated)

• 2 new GMP lines (announced Feb-21)
• Biologics pilot line for GMP (announced Nov-21)
• At least 20 new customer non-GMP projects (announced Jan-22)
• At least 3 new customer GMP projects (announced Jan-22)

Company mid-term business targets 2025 (reiterated)

• To nanoform at least 70 new Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) annually
• To have in place 35 operating production lines of which 7 to 14 are expected to be GMP production lines
• Over 90 percent gross margin
• To have 200-250 employees
• To be cash flow positive

For further information, please contact:

Albert Hæggström, CFO

albert.haeggstrom@nanoform.com / +358 29 370 0150

For investor relations queries, please contact:

Henri von Haartman, Director of Investor Relations

hvh@nanoform.com / +46 7686 650 11

About Nanoform

Nanoform is an innovative nanoparticle medicine enabling company. Nanoform works together with pharma and biotech partners globally to provide hope for patients in developing new and improved medicines utilizing Nanoform's platform technologies. The company focuses on reducing clinical attrition and on enhancing drug molecules' performance through its nanoforming technologies and formulation services. Nanoform's capabilities include GMP manufacturing, and its services span the small to large molecule development space with a focus on solving key issues in drug solubility and bioavailability and on enabling novel drug delivery applications. Nanoform's shares are listed on the Premier-segment of Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Helsinki (ticker: NANOFH) and Stockholm (ticker: NANOFS). Certified Adviser: Danske Bank A/S, Finland Branch, +358 40 744 1900. For more information, please visit www.nanoform.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding Nanoform's strategy, business plans and focus. The words may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "target" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, any related to Nanoform's business, operations, clinical trials, supply chain, strategy, goals and anticipated timelines, competition from other companies, and other risks described in the Report of the Board of Directors and Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 as well as our other past disclosures. Nanoform cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Nanoform disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent Nanoform's views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date.

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