Cambridge Cognition (COG ) has hailed its ‘strong financial performance’ in a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2020 after the group delivered a ‘significant growth’ in revenues.
The group, which develops and markets digital solutions to assess brain health, described 2020 as ‘a successful year’. It said it achieved significant revenue growth from digital solutions for clinical trials by executing a strategy of increased focus on commercialisation.
Order intake for the year closed at a record £12.70m, up 158% on the previous year's order intake of £4.93m and maintaining the growth trajectory reported in its interim results.
The company highlighted that the contracted order backlog was £11.17m at 31 December 2020 (£5.69m as at 31 December 2019) of which at least £6m is expected to be recognised as revenue in 2021 subject to customer delivery schedules and COVID-19 impacts.
The group attributed its strong sales performance to improved commercial execution across a wider portfolio of products and increased cross-selling of combinations of the group’s core product, CANTAB™, together with newer electronic Clinical Outcomes Assessment ("eCOA") and digital solutions for frequent, remote testing of patients beyond clinics.
In fact, the company said its strong 2020 performance had been accentuated by two large one-off orders that together totalled, £3.1 million. The group outlined that such large single orders are outside of the scope of normal business and may not be repeated every year.
Shares in Cambridge Cognition have increased by over 35% in the past three months to open 11.11% higher this morning at 77p following the announcement.
The company also slashed its losses for the period to £0.44m (FY19: £2.90m) while it also reported a stronger cash balance of £3.05m as at 31 December 2020 (FY19: £0.90m).
The company said its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2020 came in slightly ahead of market expectations and are due to be released on 23 March 2021.
COVID-19 had a mixed impact on the business in 2020. While the pandemic caused delays to some orders and revenue recognition as some clinical trials were temporarily suspended, it has also provided ‘an impetus for an industry shift towards evaluating virtual clinical trials’, which has in turn created opportunities for the group’s cloud-based solutions.
Looking ahead, the group says a substantial contracted order backlog will provide it with ‘a solid foundation’ for 2021. While there remains uncertainty relating to timing of customers' clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group said it is ‘well positioned for continued growth in the dynamic, expanding market for digital solutions for clinical trials.’
Meanwhile, Cambridge has also announced the resignation of Nick Walters as CFO this morning. The group said it has appointed Michael Holton as CFO effective immediately.
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