Final Results

Financial Highlights:

  • Total sales in the period of £30.8m (FY22: £27.2m)
  • Creo core product sales and Kamaptive licensing income in the period of £4.0m (FY22: £2.3m), with 2.5x increase in Creo core product sales of £2.3m (FY22: £0.9m)
  • Gross margin up 1.1 ppt to 49.6% (FY22: 48.5%), with gross profit of £15.3m (FY22: £13.2m)
  • Reduced operating loss of £24.8m for FY23 (FY22: £30.7m)
  • Reduced underlying operating loss* of £16.4m for FY23 (FY22: £20.8m) in-line with market expectations, including £2.8m (FY22: £4.5m) of R&D credits.
  • Research and Development expenditure reduced to £11.8m (FY22: £13.5m) of which 2/3rds relates to products in development with the Group’s global partners or work carried out on Speedboat Ultraslim which launched in December 2023.
  • £33.7m raised through oversubscribed fundraise in March 2023.
  • £17.4m cash as at 31 March 2024.

*underlying operating loss is loss after accounting for share-based payments, depreciation and amortisation, R&D tax credit, earnout and other one-off settlements.

 

Operational and Commercial Highlights (including post-period end):

  • FDA clearance for Speedboat UltraSlim received in November 2023; initial uptake has been very positive
  • EU launch of Speedboat UltraSlim accelerated by 18 months, following guidance from notified body – first sales achieved in Q4-23 with exceptional customer feedback and growing orderbook
  • Speedboat UltraSlim roll-out reached Asia Pacific and Latin America, with first uses in these regions taking place in December 2023
  • Significant progress in roll-out of Creo’s core technology since start of 2023 with 119% increase in user base to 175 (FY22: 80)
  • Speedboat Inject selected by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ("NICE") to be scoped and routed for guidance
  • In March 2023, first in-human use of MicroBlate Flex for the microwave ablation of soft tissue lung lesions safely completed as part of a lung tissue ablation clinical study
      • In February 2024, a robotic guided microwave ablation of lung tissue in the same sitting as a diagnostic procedure was performed at the Royal Brompton Hospital, with MicroBlate Flex used to perform the procedure.
  • Medical Device Regulation CE clearance for Speedboat, adding upper gastrointestinal ("GI") indications (e.g. swallowing disorders, oesophageal and stomach cancers) in the UK and mainland Europe, with multiple upper GI Speedboat procedures performed in Europe during H2-23.
  • Most significant data set for Speedboat Submucosal Dissection ("SSD") procedures to date, showing an 82% curative rate for lower GI lesions (e.g. bowel and colon) with no perforations recorded.
  • Speedboat Submucosal Dissection (“SSD”) service at Royal Oldham immediately implemented following training, with multiple cases completed in record time, resulting in immediate benefits for both patients and waiting lists.
  • NHS Supply Chain data announced in April 2024 demonstrated significant cost and operational savings provided by the use of SSD procedures.
  • Collaboration with Khalifa University of Science & Technology, Abu Dhabi announced post-year end.
  • Increased global reach, with first use of Speedboat in Croatia, Slovenia, Malaysia and UAE.

 

FY24 Update and Outlook

Q1-24 trading has been in-line with expectations following the approvals for UltraSlim at the turn of the year. Following a strong finish in Q4-23, sales momentum in Creo core products has continued with core revenue in Q1-24 showing a 14% increase over the FY23 quarterly average, and the Company expects to see this accelerate in Q2-24, driven by anticipated strong sales of Speedboat UltraSlim and building on the strong performance in Q4-23. Consumable sales were impacted by the early Easter compared to Q4-23, but the Group remains on track for H1-24 targets.  Tight control on costs has been maintained, ensuring that the Group’s operating expenses, to date, remain on budget. This, together with the continuing sales momentum, gives the Board confidence that the Group will achieve its 2024 objectives for core revenue and deliver on the potential of Creo's technology.

Craig Gulliford, Chief Executive Officer of Creo, commented:

“2023 was a significant year for Creo, with core technology sales increasing by c. 2.5x and a 119% increase in our global user base underpinning a Group-wide revenue increase of 13%.

“We successfully launched Speedboat UltraSlim in December 2023, the culmination of the work done to miniaturise our technology to be compatible with the working channel of all commercially available endoscopes, further broadening our market reach. The product has now been used in the UK, USA, LATAM and APAC since launch, with exceptional feedback received from clinicians around the world.

“Our MicroBlate brand has also seen strong progress, with increasing clinical cases, and pioneering work performed. In combination with our robotics partners, MicroBlate Flex was used at the Royal Brompton to ablate a cancerous lung nodule in the same sitting as a diagnosis performed with robotic platform. This world’s-first combined procedure has the potential to not only dramatically improve outcomes for lung cancer patients, but to remove the long and worrying waits between diagnosis and treatment.

“We expect to launch our SpydrBlade brand during 2024 via our core sales channel. SpydrBlade is also of great interest to our robotic partners, and we are working hard with them to deliver the technology into the robotics space.

“The growth seen during the year throughout all key parts of the business, and lowered costs all contributed to a reduced operating loss for the year. This, coupled with the continued momentum we’ve seen to start 2024, encourages me as we move closer towards our goal of achieving cashflow break even in 2025.”

Posted 15/05/2024

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Further news

13 May 2024

Directorate Changes - May 2024

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07 May 2024

Creo Medical receives King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation

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02 May 2024

MicroBlate Flex in new clinical trial at Royal Brompton Hospital

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24 April 2024

NHS Supply Chain real-world data demonstrates substantial cash savings

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19 March 2024

Welsh Labour Leader visits Creo’s facilities

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05 February 2024

Strategic Collaboration with Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi

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31 January 2024

Roll-out of Speedboat® UltraSlim reaches Asia Pacific

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10 January 2024

First Use of Speedboat® UltraSlim in Latin America

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13 December 2023

First European Speedboat® UltraSlim procedure marks early commercial launch

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01 November 2023

Speedboat® UltraSlim: US FDA Clearance

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