Cloud Hosting

15% Reported Revenue Growth & 8% Constant Exchange Rate Revenue Growth: Demand for Abcam In-house Products Continues

CAMBRIDGE, England and WALTHAM, Mass. , March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Abcam plc (Nasdaq: ABCM) ('Abcam', the 'Group' or the 'Company'), a global leader in the supply of life science research tools, today announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2022 (the 'period').

SUMMARY PERFORMANCE

Year-End 31 December

2022

m

2021

m

Revenue

361.7

315.4

Gross profit margin, %

Adjusted gross profit margin, %

74.8%

75.5%

71.2%

72.2%

Operating profit margin, %

Adjusted operating profit margin, %

Diluted (loss) / earnings per share ('EPS')()

(2.8%)

21.1%

(0.037)

2.3%

19.2%

0.019

Adjusted diluted earnings per share ('EPS') ()

0.249

0.206

Return on Capital Employed ('ROCE'), %

8.9%

7.6%

FULL YEAR FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS[1]

[1] These results include discussion of alternative performance measures which include revenues calculated at Constant Exchange Rates (CER) and adjusted financial measures. CER results are calculated by applying prior period's actual exchange rates to this period's results. Adjusted financial measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with IFRS in note 3 to the financial statements.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

FY23 OUTLOOK

The Company anticipates reported revenues of approximately 420 million to 440 million, representing 15% to 20% constant exchange rate revenue growth, combined with lower operating expense growth, resulting in adjusted operating profit margin expansion.

FY2024 GOAL

The Company is reiterating its 2024 revenue goals of 450m-525m with adjusted operating profit margins of greater than 30%.

Commenting on the performance, Alan Hirzel, Abcam's Chief Executive Officer, said:

"Our team is dedicated to supporting life science discovery, and the translation of discovery to social impact. In the last ten years, our business has grown revenue at double digit rates because of the trust the market has in our team, our innovation, and our brand. As we look ahead, we can be confident that we have and continue to build a sustainable and profitable growth company. I am grateful to everyone at Abcam for their ongoing efforts through this exciting period. I also thank our customers and partners bringing Abcam into their labs and giving us all the opportunity to demonstrate our company's role in making progress happen together."

Analyst and investor meeting and webcast:

Abcam will host a conference call and webcast for analysts and investors today at 12:00 GMT/ 08:00 EDT. For details, and to register, please visit corporate.abcam.com/investors/reports-presentations

A recording of the webcast will be made available on Abcam's website, corporate.abcam.com/investors

The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

For further information please contact:

Abcam

+ 44 (0) 1223 696 000

Alan Hirzel, Chief Executive Officer

Michael Baldock, Chief Financial Officer

Tommy Thomas, Vice President, Investor Relations

About Abcam plc

As an innovator in reagents and tools, Abcam's purpose is to serve life science researchers globally to achieve their mission faster. Providing the research and clinical communities with tools and scientific support, the Company offers highly validated antibodies, assays, and other research tools to address important targets in critical biological pathways.

Already a pioneer in data sharing and ecommerce in the life sciences, Abcam's ambition is to be the most influential company in life sciences by helping advance global understanding of biology and causes of disease, which, in turn, will drive new treatments and improved health.

Abcam's worldwide customer base of approximately one million life science researchers' uses Abcam's antibodies, reagents, biomarkers, and assays. By actively listening to and collaborating with these researchers, the Company continuously advances its portfolio to address their needs. A transparent program of customer reviews and datasheets, combined with industry-leading validation initiatives, gives researchers increased confidence in their results.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered inCambridge, UK, the Company has served customers in more than 130 countries. Abcam's American Depositary Shares (ADSs) trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq: ABCM).

For more information, please visitwww.abcam.comorwww.abcamplc.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "may," "might," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "seek," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "contemplate," "possible" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance. Any express or implied statements contained in this announcement that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regardingAbcam'sportfolio and ambitions, and our future results of operations and financial position such as our outlook for FY2023 and performance goals for FY2024are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, without limitation: challenges in implementing our strategies for revenue growth in light of competitive challenges; the development of new products or the enhancement of existing products, and the need to adapt to significant technological changes or respond to the introduction of new products by competitors to remain competitive; our customers discontinuing or spending less on research, development, production or other scientific endeavors; failing to successfully identify or integrate acquired businesses or assets into our operations or fully recognize the anticipated benefits of businesses or assets that we acquire; the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, including variants, continues to affect our business, including impacts on our operations and supply chains; failing to successfully use, access and maintain information systems and implement new systems to handle our changing needs; cyber security risks and any failure to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our computer hardware, software and internet applications and related tools and functions; failing to successfully manage our current and potential future growth; any significant interruptions in our operations; our products failing to satisfy applicable quality criteria, specifications and performance standards; failing to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation; ability to react to unfavorable geopolitical or economic changes that affect life science funding; failing to deliver on transformational growth projects; our dependence upon management and highly skilled employees and our ability to attract and retain these highly skilled employees; and as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from a number of rules under the U.S. securities laws and Nasdaq corporate governance rules and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than U.S. companies, which may limit the information available to holders of our American Depositary Shares ("ADS"); and the other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" inAbcam'sAnnual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 ("Annual Report") with theU.S.Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 20, 2023, which is available on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov, as such factors may be updated from time to time inAbcam'ssubsequent filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as of the date hereof and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.Abcamdisclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement,whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than to the extent required by applicable law.

Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures

To supplement our audited financial results prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") we present Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, Return on Capital Employed ("ROCE"), Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share, Total Constant Exchange Rate Revenue ("CER revenue"), Adjusted Selling, General and Administrative expenses, Adjusted Research & Development expenses, and Free Cash Flow, which are financial measures not prepared in accordance with IFRS ("non-IFRS financial measures"). We believe that the presentation of these non-IFRS financial measures provide useful information about our operating results and enhances the overall understanding of our past financial performance and future prospects, allowing for greater transparency with respect to key measures used by management in its financial and operational decision making. These non-IFRS financial measures are supplemental in nature as they include and/or exclude certain items not included and/or excluded in the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for, financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Further, other companies may calculate these non-IFRS financial measures differently than we do, which may limit the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes.

Management believes that the presentation of (a) Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, ROCE, and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share, provide useful information to investors and others as management regularly reviews these measures as important indicators of our operating performance and makes decisions based on them, (b) CER revenue provides useful information to investors and others as management regularly reviews this measure to identify period-on-period or year-on-year performance of the business and makes decisions based on it, and (c) Adjusted Selling, General and Administrative expenses and Adjusted Research & Development expenses provide useful information to investors and others as management regularly reviews these measures to identify period-on-period or year-on-year performance of the business and makes decisions based on it, and (d) Free Cash Flow provides useful information to investors and others because management regularly reviews this measure as an important indicator of how much cash is generated by business operations, excluding capital related items, and provides an indication of the amount of cash available for discretionary investing or financing after removing capital related items, and makes decisions based on it. Please see "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" for a reconciliation of non-IFRS financial measures to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures.

We define:

Management is unable to present quantitative reconciliations of Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Operating Profit Margin, and CER revenue to their respective most directly comparable IFRS financial measures of Operating Profit, Operating Profit Margin and Reported Revenue on a forward-looking basis, because items that impact these IFRS financial measures are not within our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. Such information may have a significant, and potentially unpredictable, impact on our future financial results.

Year-end management report

Introduction

We are pleased with the continued progress of our business over the last 12 months and the way our people have responded to the evolving impact of COVID-19. Indeed, the challenges presented since the pandemic began over three years ago have served to highlight the resilience of both our employees and our business, as well as the role Abcam and its customers have in advancing critical life science research. We are convinced more than ever that by continuing to develop our technologies, people, and capabilities, and focusing on customer needs, we can extend our market leadership, sustain durable growth, and become an increasingly influential partner within our industry.

Demand for our products, and particularly Abcam's in-house developed products, continued to increase as customers continued to focus on their research, enabling greater productivity. Whilst the global pandemic once again impacted revenues we estimate that overall lab activity is now approaching pre-COVID levels in the Americas and EMEA, our largest geographical markets representing nearly 70% of total sales.

In the year ended 31 December 2022, demand for our products continued but revenue growth was interrupted by the implementation of an Oracle Cloud ERP system and COVID-19 headwinds in China. The combination of these factors impacted revenues by approximately 30 million on a reported basis resulting in total revenues increasing 8% CER (15% reported) to 361.7 million. On a reported basis, we incurred a net loss of 8.5 million impacted by 18.3 million impairment charge on an asset held for sale; and diluted EPS declined to -3.7p. On an adjusted basis, adjusted operating profit increased 26%, to 76.3 million (2021: 60.4m), and adjusted diluted EPS increased 21% to 24.9p (2021: 20.6p).

Despite the recent disruptions, the opportunities for growth in our markets remain, and we are committed to our customers and their long-term success thereby driving our future growth. As we near completion of our five-year strategic plan, we thank our approximately 1,800 employees for their ongoing commitment in the delivery of our plans they are fundamental to the Group's future success.

We continue to have a strong balance sheet (net debt of 30.6 million), and we are focused on investments in attractive organic and inorganic growth opportunities, as they arise.

Looking forward, with our expanding capabilities, financial position and market opportunities for growth, the Group is well-placed to sustain long-term value creation.

Financial review

Year ended 31 December

Reported revenues

Change in reported revenues

%

CER growth

%

2022

m

2021

m

Catalogue revenue regional split

Americas

147.2

114.8

28%

16%

EMEA

87.1

82.3

6%

6%

China

60.3

57.2

Read more from the original source:
ABCAM PLC: Final results for the year ended 31 December 2022 - PR Newswire