Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC (LSE:ONT) edged higher as it said headwinds in its COVID sequencing and EGP arms had eased slightly, which would improve underlying revenue growth.
Underlying sales rose by 12% to £82.6 million in the half-year to end June 2024, but were down 2% on an actual basis.
For the year overall, Oxford expects underlying growth in sales of between 20-30% helped by a reduction in the COVID and EGP headwinds to £17.5 million from guidance of £20 million previously.
Interim losses were up, at £74.7 million (£70.1 million) but gross margins improved and the molecular sensing group reiterated it expected to reach underlying breakeven in 2027.
Cash and equivalents at end June were £162 million.
Gordon Sanghera, chief executive, added: “Our growth and margin guidance for the full year remains unchanged.
“We enter the second half in a strong position; new and enlarged contract wins, such as PRECISE and Plasmidsaurus, coupled with the increased productivity of our sales teams in the second quarter reinforces our confidence in delivering between 20 - 30% underlying revenue growth."
Shares rose 4.9% to 127.4p, valuing the group at around £1.15 billion.