Latest news with #GrantNash
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IXICO PLC (LSE:IXI) (Q2 2025) Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Strategic US ...
Revenue: GBP3.2 million, a 26% growth compared to the first half of last year. Gross Margin: Improved from 40% to 50% compared to the same period last year. EBITDA: Loss of GBP700,000, reduced from GBP1.3 million loss in the previous year. Cash Position: GBP5 million at the end of the first half of the year. Order Book: GBP13.1 million, with full coverage of expected revenues for the year. Capital Investment: GBP300,000 in the first six months, significantly reduced from previous years. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with LSE:IXI. Release Date: May 20, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. IXICO PLC (LSE:IXI) reported a 26% increase in revenue for the first half of 2025, driven by both long-term and short-term contracts. The company achieved a significant improvement in gross margin, increasing from 40% to 50% compared to the same period last year. IXICO PLC has successfully launched a next-generation version of its AI-driven platform, Trial Tracker, which is being deployed with new customers. The company has a strong cash position of GBP5 million and remains debt-free, allowing for strategic investments in innovation and commercial scaling. IXICO PLC has diversified its order book, with 17 clients and 25 different projects, providing a strong foundation for future revenue growth. The biotech sector continues to face macroeconomic challenges, impacting capital access for some clients. Despite revenue growth, IXICO PLC reported an EBITDA loss of GBP700,000 for the first half of the year. The company experienced client descopes or cancellations amounting to GBP2.9 million over the past 12 months. IXICO PLC's order book is heavily reliant on early-phase trials, which carry inherent risks if trials do not progress successfully. The company is still in the process of expanding its presence in the US market, where it faces competition from larger, established players. Q: What percentage of current and future revenue do you expect to be US derived, and how are you positioning against local competitors? A: (Grant Nash, CFO) The majority of clinical trials in neurodegenerative diseases have a significant US element, with over 40% occurring in the US. We are investing in the US market by appointing Terry as our commercial lead and establishing operational and medical capabilities there. While we are smaller in scale compared to US competitors, our technology platform allows us to compete effectively. We are also ensuring a US presence to enhance client perception and engagement. Q: How sticky are your client relationships once a clinical trial begins? Do you typically remain a partner through all phases, or is there a risk of replacement by in-house teams or competitors? A: (Bram Goorden, CEO) Our client relationships are very sticky. Once we start on a Phase 1 or Phase 2 trial, we usually follow our customers into subsequent phases, provided the therapy is successful. There is no risk of replacement by in-house teams, as our analytics of imaging is highly specialized. We also work with large groups that have multiple programs, allowing us to expand within our existing customer base. Q: How much of the GBP3.7 million capital raised in October 2024 has been deployed, and how will future cash be allocated between R&D, platform development, and commercial scaling? A: (Grant Nash, CFO) We have seen a cash outflow of half a million in the first six months of the year. Investments have been made in commercial resources in the US, marketing, corporate development, and medical innovation. Future cash will be allocated to R&D for new analytical capabilities, technology partnerships, and commercial scaling to communicate our innovation effectively to the market. Q: What internal KPIs are most important to management when assessing the success of your innovate, lead, scale strategy? A: (Bram Goorden, CEO) Key KPIs include order book mix, pipeline mix, and financial diversification of deals. We also focus on leading indicators such as innovation productization timelines and resource acquisition. Partnerships and understanding the ecosystem are crucial for identifying new opportunities and ensuring strategic investments align with our goals. Q: How are you addressing the challenge of competing with larger US-based competitors in global trials? A: (Bram Goorden, CEO) We focus on managing global trials effectively, leveraging our experience in handling large Phase 3 trials in the neurodegenerative space. Our strategy includes ensuring we are equipped to manage global trials and maintaining strong client relationships. We emphasize our specialized analytics capabilities, which are not easily replicated by in-house teams or competitors. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Australian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Australian
Glorious grenache from McLaren Vale's old vines
Who needs a sun dial? You can have a decent stab at working out the time of day by the colour of the wine in Bryn Richards' glass. The 'lunchtime' offerings on the website of his Grant Nash label include a straight grenache, the 'dinner' options include a heavier mourvedre/grenache/shiraz blend … and if you jokingly ask about breakfast: 'Well, there's always the rose,' he says. That's the whole point of the McLaren Vale winery Richards established with wife Sophie and their old friends, Sam and Caroline Martin, in 2022. They're deadly serious about the quality of the grenache-focused output. 'But we don't take ourselves too seriously,' Richards says. 'Wine should be fun as well, it should be a part of life and it doesn't have to be all scary descriptors and stuff that might put people off.' That intriguing MGS blend from Grant Nash – and we'll get to that name in a moment – is a leading part of this week's grenache-themed special-offer case from The Australian Wine Club. It also includes a 95-point GSM blend from d'Arenberg that usually retails at $78 a bottle, a 94-point, gold-winning grenache from Purple Hands, and Hentley Farm's Barossa GSM. As a collective, the case offers a meander through the way a single grape can inspire such different wines, especially with the lineage involved – some of the grenache in the Grant Nash MGS, for instance, comes from vines in their ninth decade. Of the four on offer this week, though, it's safe to say only one has taken its name from a delicious mistake by predictive text. Richards is delighted to give credit where it's due after Siri converted one of his voicemails to text – and accidentally transcribed grenache as Grant Nash. For a winemaker about to bottle his first vintage of a nascent label, but needing a 'kind of pseudonym' while he completed head winemaking duties at another South Australian winery, it was just too perfect. 'It worked on a few different levels and I guess it kind of sums up our philosophy a bit as well,' Richards says. 'We're very, very serious about the wine itself and I've always just loved the versatility of grenache. 'We've got a grenache gris we'll be bottling in a few months, we make a delicious rose and any number of different red blends. It can be bright, breezy and floral or darker and more concentrated. 'I love the fine tannins and it's just so food-friendly … plus I love where it's from in the south of France.' Grenache in McLaren Vale has its own storied history, since the first cuttings were planted in the mid-19th century by European settlers. Some of those venerable vines are still happily providing a harvest each year, their deep roots navigating the Vale's unique subsoils to find water even in times of drought. 'In McLaren Vale we're lucky to have such a treasure trove of all these old vines, which arguably grow some of Australia's greatest grenache,' Richards adds. 'The grenache component (in his MGS) is from a block that was planted in 1941. There's a reasonable amount of vineyards or blocks of that age in the McLaren Vale, and some from the late 1800s. 'I really think you can taste that complexity and everything that comes from those old vines.' Grant Nash McLaren Vale Mourvedre Grenache Shiraz 2022 This intriguing reordering of the more common GSM blend is a symphony with intensity on the nose, full of dark cherry, blueberry, cocoa, vanilla and chocolate. A well-structured palate offers earthy, herbal notes, rich, sweet fruit, and firm tannins that would welcome a dish of roast duck with open arms. 14% alc, RRP $45 a bottle. SPECIALS $41.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen. d'Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2019 There's so much complexity buried within this, all of which will slowly make itself known given a few hours of decanting. Then you'll breathe in dark fruit and bitter chocolate, cigar notes, a waft of lavender and red currant – and the palate has more of that bitter chocolate and mocha, dried herbs and a savoury lick with pronounced tannins. Cut open a medium-rare steak next to that decanter and enjoy. 95 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14.5% alc, RRP $78 a bottle. SPECIALS $74.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen. Purple Hands Old Vine Barossa Valley Grenache 2022 Fresh, vibrant fruit abounds from the glass on the first sniff, headlined by raspberry and sour cherry, with a hint of juniper and a balancing edge of tobacco. More concentrated red fruits come through on the palate and bathe in a crunchy acidity that delivers a very more-ish mouthful. 94 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14% alc, RRP $35 a bottle. SPECIALS $27.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen. Hentley Farm Villain & Vixen Barossa Valley GSM 2023 When sweetness and spice combine, the result is a silky-smooth GSM with lovely balance. There's floral notes, cherry and redcurrant on the nose mingling with white pepper, pink peppercorn and smoky tones. The palate is packed with lashings of red strawberry, cherry and raspberry held in the grip of a restrained acidity. 14.5% alc, RRP $24.50 a bottle. SPECIALS $22.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen. GRENACHE DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $22.99 a $271.62. Order online or phone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.
