IXICO PLC (AIM:IXI, OTC:PHYOF) said it performed in line with expectations for the six months to end-March, delivering positive underlying earnings and remaining operating cash-generative despite challenges in the period.
The AI neuroimaging company said it continued to diversify its order book of contracted clients and the board remains confident that full-year expectations will be met.
Ahead of the release of interim results in late May, IXICO said revenues are expected to be £3.9mln compared to £4.9mln the year before, with a net cash balance of £5.8mln at the half-year stage.
The contracted order book stood at £12.6mln at the end of March, compared to £19mln a year earlier.
Chief executive Giulio Cerroni said: "I am satisfied with IXICO's performance over the past six months, delivering positive EBITDA and positive operating cash, given the challenges we have faced with the halting of several important client trials representing significant multi-year revenue opportunities.
“The results delivered do not reflect the growth opportunity we see in front of us, rather a necessary period of consolidation as we continue to diversify our contracted order book.”
Due to the impact of Covid-19, including the lost multi-year revenue from the halting of certain large client trials, the company pointed out that this had interrupted its five-year record of continuous revenue growth.
Market drivers were seen in the pharmaceutical industry’s continued investment in a wide range of neurological disease treatments, coupled with the increasing focus on imaging biomarkers to support and de-risk patient recruitment, safety and drug efficacy in clinical trials.
“IXICO is well placed for the future with a leading scientific offering in the neurological disease area where there is an urgent search for efficacious drugs to address the growing dementias epidemic,” said Cerroni.
He said the focus of investments on the company’s proprietary AI technology platform and scientific capabilities meant it is “better placed than ever to achieve scale across the medium and long term”.