24 July 2024

Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc

Half Year Trading Update

·      Trading in-line with both revenue and gross margin guidance in the face of challenging end-markets

·      Building commercial momentum heading into the second half reinforces confidence; full year 2024 and medium-term guidance reaffirmed

Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc (LSE: ONT) ("Oxford Nanopore" or "the Group"), the company delivering a new generation of molecular sensing technology based on nanopores, today provides a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2024 ahead of results, which will be published on 3 September 2024.

The Group expects to report Life Sciences Research Tools (LSRT) revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2024 of approximately £84 million (H1 2023: £86.0 million), broadly flat year-on-year at constant currency; marginally down (2%) on a reported basis, including foreign exchange headwinds. Underlying[1] LSRT revenue, grew by 12.4% on a constant currency basis year-on-year. Growth for the first half of 2024 is in-line with expected 2024 phasing.

Underlying growth has been strongest across the PromethION franchise[2], across all product lines. Underlying growth was delivered across each region, and it was strongest across EMEAI and APAC, with commercial momentum building for the second half, supported by new product launches, a number of new and expanded contracts, and a step up in sales team productivity in the second quarter.

Gross margin for the first half is expected to show year-on-year improvement, despite foreign exchange headwinds, and remains on track to meet the Group's full year 2024 guidance.

Outlook

Full year 2024 guidance remains unchanged:

-     LSRT revenue growth is expected to be between 6 and 15% on a constant currency basis and underlying revenue growth is expected to be between 20 and 30% on a constant currency basis. The Group continues to expect FY 2024 revenue to be second half weighted, with an approximate 45:55 split.

-     Gross margin is expected to be approximately 57%.

All medium-term (FY 2027) guidance is unchanged.

Gordon Sanghera, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Our first half performance is in-line with our expectations. We delivered robust underlying revenue growth, despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.

"We enter the second half in a strong position; new contract wins coupled with the increased productivity of our sales teams in the second quarter reinforces our confidence in our full year 2024 outlook. In addition, the launch of new products from our regulated pipeline, including GridION Q-Line and ElysION, our sample-to-answer automated sequencing solution, will drive adoption in new clinical and applied markets in the near and medium-term."

[ENDS]

This trading update is based upon unaudited management accounts and has been prepared solely to provide additional information on trading to the shareholders of Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc. All figures are provisional and subject to further review.

For further information, please contact:

Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc

Investors:         [email protected]

Media:              [email protected]

Teneo (communications adviser to the Company)

Tom Murray, Olivia Peters

+44 (0) 20 7353 4200

[email protected]

Notes:

-     All revenue in this document is Life Sciences Research Tools (LSRT) revenue.

-     All 'underlying revenue' throughout this document is LSRT revenue excluding revenue from COVID sequencing and revenue from the Emirati Genome Program (collectively £10.4 million in H1 2023 and £1.5m in H1 2024).

-   All 'underlying growth' throughout this document is LSRT revenue growth after adjusting for COVID sequencing and the Emirati Genome Program revenues.

-     Underlying revenues include fluctuations in currency unless explicitly stated otherwise.

-     Constant currency applies the same rate to the H1 2024 and H1 2023 non-GBP results based on H1 2023 rates.

-     All percentages compare to the equivalent 2023 period.

About Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc:

Oxford Nanopore Technologies' goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology that is currently used for real-time, high-performance, accessible, and scalable analysis of DNA and RNA.  The technology is used in more than 120 countries, to understand the biology of humans, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses and environments as well as to understand diseases such as cancer. Oxford Nanopore's technology also has the potential to provide broad, high impact, rapid insights in a number of areas including healthcare, food and agriculture. 

Oxford Nanopore devices sequence DNA and RNA directly and sequence short to ultra-long fragments of DNA, for a truly comprehensive picture of the genome. Data is streamed in real-time and can enable rapid insights.  The technology is fully scalable - from pocket-sized to ultra-high throughput devices. 

For more information please visit: www.nanoporetech.com

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements. For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and profit margins are forward-looking statements. Phrases such as "aim", "plan", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "target", and similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature should also be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address our expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and by definition address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Our results could be affected by macroeconomic conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic, delays in our receipt of components or our delivery of products to our customers, suspensions of large projects and/or acceleration of large products or accelerated adoption of pathogen surveillance. These or other uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements.