AN EXCITING TIME AHEAD
During the year, major changes have been made in the company’s two business areas; in Chromatography, Nanologica now focuses mainly on preparative chromatography, and in Drug Development the strategy has been refined to focus on inhaled drugs and respiratory diseases. This has been done to create the best possible growth conditions and value development going forward, for each business area as well as for the company as a whole. In line with our expectations, this has had a negative impact on our earnings for the year with a decrease in net sales for the fourth quarter to TSEK 676 and for the full year to TSEK 12,914.
The decrease in net sales for the quarter is largely due to the fact that we as expected had marginal revenues from our partner project with Vicore Pharma, which has been delivered in full. Sales for the quarter mainly derives from the Chromatography business area, where sales of columns for analytical chromatography remain at modest levels. In preparative chromatography, we have sold sample material to customers at a smaller value. Here our assessment is that sales will pick up when we get finished products from our production campaign. The decrease in operating profit for both the quarter and the full year is explained mainly by the expansion phase that the company is in.
The production of our first large-scale silica campaign for chromatography is in its final stages. We estimate that we will have products for sale in the second quarter of 2022, but we cannot yet rule out further delays. This is because we are producing a campaign in a scale that we have not previously done, combined with delays linked to the Corona pandemic. To overcome the obstacle posed by current travel restrictions, we have an employee on site at our contract manufacturer during the beginning of this year, with the aim of completing the campaign as soon as possible.
At the same time, preparations for sales start continue with positive dialogues with several customers. To strengthen our sales organization, we have recruited Katarina Alenäs as Senior VP Chromatography. Katarina, who has extensive experience in chromatography from several major players in the industry, will take up her position in March and will lead the sales work globally.
In the Drug Development business area, the transition to focusing on inhaled drugs and respiratory diseases continues according to the strategic change we have made during the year. We have started the work of developing our inhalation platform according to the needs we see for severe lung diseases. It is our assessment that this refined focus creates conditions for running significantly more economically favorable projects in the future, both with partners and in-house.
To cover the company’s temporary financial needs, pending expected cash flows from sales in preparative chromatography, in January 2022 we signed a credit line of up to MSEK 50 with the company’s main owner Flerie Invest AB. The purpose is to meet the requirement for existing working capital to run the company for the next twelve months. This credit line means that we can implement our strategy to develop the company further, as well as list the company on Nasdaq Stockholm Main Market.
The direction is clear. Long-term, both our business areas have extraordinarily exciting potential. In Chromatography I believe that we will be able to generate significant current sales and in Drug Development we have the potential to create valuable drugs with great patient benefits. In 2022, we will take several important steps in this direction and I look forward to the continued journey with great confidence.
/Andreas Bhagwani, CEO
CEO Comment Q4 2021
AN EXCITING TIME AHEAD
During the year, major changes have been made in the company’s two business areas; in Chromatography, Nanologica now focuses mainly on preparative chromatography, and in Drug Development the strategy has been refined to focus on inhaled drugs and respiratory diseases. This has been done to create the best possible growth conditions and value development going forward, for each business area as well as for the company as a whole. In line with our expectations, this has had a negative impact on our earnings for the year with a decrease in net sales for the fourth quarter to TSEK 676 and for the full year to TSEK 12,914.
The decrease in net sales for the quarter is largely due to the fact that we as expected had marginal revenues from our partner project with Vicore Pharma, which has been delivered in full. Sales for the quarter mainly derives from the Chromatography business area, where sales of columns for analytical chromatography remain at modest levels. In preparative chromatography, we have sold sample material to customers at a smaller value. Here our assessment is that sales will pick up when we get finished products from our production campaign. The decrease in operating profit for both the quarter and the full year is explained mainly by the expansion phase that the company is in.
The production of our first large-scale silica campaign for chromatography is in its final stages. We estimate that we will have products for sale in the second quarter of 2022, but we cannot yet rule out further delays. This is because we are producing a campaign in a scale that we have not previously done, combined with delays linked to the Corona pandemic. To overcome the obstacle posed by current travel restrictions, we have an employee on site at our contract manufacturer during the beginning of this year, with the aim of completing the campaign as soon as possible.
At the same time, preparations for sales start continue with positive dialogues with several customers. To strengthen our sales organization, we have recruited Katarina Alenäs as Senior VP Chromatography. Katarina, who has extensive experience in chromatography from several major players in the industry, will take up her position in March and will lead the sales work globally.
In the Drug Development business area, the transition to focusing on inhaled drugs and respiratory diseases continues according to the strategic change we have made during the year. We have started the work of developing our inhalation platform according to the needs we see for severe lung diseases. It is our assessment that this refined focus creates conditions for running significantly more economically favorable projects in the future, both with partners and in-house.
To cover the company’s temporary financial needs, pending expected cash flows from sales in preparative chromatography, in January 2022 we signed a credit line of up to MSEK 50 with the company’s main owner Flerie Invest AB. The purpose is to meet the requirement for existing working capital to run the company for the next twelve months. This credit line means that we can implement our strategy to develop the company further, as well as list the company on Nasdaq Stockholm Main Market.
The direction is clear. Long-term, both our business areas have extraordinarily exciting potential. In Chromatography I believe that we will be able to generate significant current sales and in Drug Development we have the potential to create valuable drugs with great patient benefits. In 2022, we will take several important steps in this direction and I look forward to the continued journey with great confidence.
/Andreas Bhagwani, CEO
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