Daniel Stewart & Company (DS&C) has upgraded its 2011 forecasts for Asterand (LON:ATD) following last week’s major contract win.
On Friday, the human tissue supplier announced a five year contract worth up to US$24.3 million with the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) to supply clinically annotated human biospecimens.
The base award is valued at US$5.4 million over 17 months with provisions for renewal at the NCI's option.
According to DS&C, the contract demonstrates Asterand’s success at expanding its presence in the public sector.
As a result the 2011 sales forecast for the company has been upped from £15.1 million to £17.2 million.
The broker also expects the deal to push Asterand back into profitability, foreseeing pre-tax profits of £0.9 million compared to previous projections of no profit and earnings per share of 0.5 pence per share.
Back in August, chief executive Martyn Coombs told Proactive Investors that the second half was expected be a lot better than the first, and this substantial deal goes some way to evidence his point.
The contract with the NCI is something of a ‘game-changer’ for Asterand, whose primary human tissue business has been squeezed by slower spending by the world's big pharmaceuticals companies in the economic downturn.