Latest news with #LittleGreenPharma
News.com.au
24-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Health Check: Records tumble as biotech's star quarterly reporters pick up the pace
• Several emerging life science plays are taking revenue to new heights – and some have even turned profitable • Little Green Pharma seeks to avoid a second pay 'strike' • Althea founder exits the building It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that biotechs with little or no revenue and cascading cash outflows will leave their quarterly disclosures to the last possible moment. Given dozens of other companies holding off until around July 31 – the deadline for lodging June quarterlies – this crowds out the bad news. The corollary is that those with pleasant surprises prefer to break with the hoi polio and go early. True to trend, today's reporters have broken more sales records than our Glasgow-bound Gout Gout. In fact, the last time your columnist heard so much about records was in a Brashs store in the 1980s … which dates him somewhat. The company (and patient) are doing well The provider of software to make hospitals run more smoothly, Alcidion (ASX:ALC) reports record quarterly cash flow of $7.4 million for the quarter. This takes the year's surplus to $5.8 million (also an all-time high). Full-year receipts came in at $50.9 million, 16% higher. Alcidion provides software to hospitals – such as patient workflow tools – to enable them to run more smoothly and prevent surgeons from amputating the wrong leg. The company has a meaningful local and UK presence across 400 hospitals and 87 healthcare organisations. Management reports new June quarter sales of $6.7 million, 73% of which are recurring. The company also affirms underlying earnings of $4.5 million for the 2024-25 year, upped from $3 million in June. This should be confirmed at August's full year results prezzo. Hear! Hear! A record year for Audeara The maker of hearing augmentation devices, Audeara (ASX:AUA) reports June quarter revenue of $722,000, which takes full-year turnover to a record $3.78 million (up 22%). Audeara own-branded headphones are sold via hearing clinics. But the company has skewed its business to its AUA Technology arm, which has an 'Intel inside' model of providing the technology to big-ticket international customers. These include the 400-year-old US instrument maker, Avedis Zildjian. Audeara founder and CEO Dr James Fielding dubs the quarter as a 'period of consolidation'. He says the company 'executed on several strategic initiatives to ensure it capitalises on the growth established through the AUA Technology division over the previous 12 months". Audeara also had $757,000 of cash outflows for the quarter, reducing June-end cash to $1.42 million. But Fielding says the company should see a 'material uplift' in current quarter revenues, owing to a chunky Avedis Zildjian re-order. Bioxyne eyes European growth A supplier of cannabis and psychedelic meds, Bioxyne (ASX:BXN) more than doubled full-year revenue to $9.55 million, with full-year revenue up 215% to $29.3 million. Did we mention that was a record? The company also managed positive cash flow of $1.5 million for the June stanza. This takes the full-year cash flow to $6.2 million, compared to a $3.6 million deficit in 2023-24. Management attributes the surge to the Australian operating of its subsidiary Breathe Life Sciences. But Bioxyne's greater growth prospects lie with the UK and European markets, notably Germany where it has inked two key manufacturing and supply agreements. Little Green faces big pay votes Still on pot stocks, Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP) again faces the music on two remuneration-related motions at its August 21 AGM. As a March balance date entity, Little Green beats the usual AGM rush. Last year, 83% of voting shares were cast against Little Green's 'rem' report, well beyond the 25% 'no' vote threshold. If investors again knock back the proposal, they'll vote on a motion to spill the board (this one requires a minimum 50% 'yes' vote). The board has also reprised last year's proposal to accelerate the vesting of management and executive share incentives, in the event of the "person ceasing to hold such office." Investors overwhelmingly opposed this one last time as well. Thorney Investments is Little Green's biggest shareholder on 19.7%. Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting supported a 2021 capital raising and emerged with 10%. But it's not clear how much she holds now. Althea founder bows out We're not obsessed with cannabis – that's a promise – but it behooves us to report that Althea Group (ASX:AGH) founder and CEO Josh Fegan has left the company, with 'immediate effect'. Fegan created Althea in 2016 and the company listed in September 2018. Fegan had been at the helm all that time. As we reported on Wednesday, Althea has given up on the over-competed local medicinal pot sector. The company now is focusing on the North American recreational market via its subsidiary Peak Processing. Specifically, Peak is getting into THC-laced beverages as an alternative to alcoholic ones. Althea share tumbled 10% on the surprise tidings. On Bell Potter's gut feel, Microba's worth much more Bell Potter reckons there's 60% share price upside in Microba Life Sciences (ASX:MAP), which provides microbiome testing. Microba on Wednesday reported a 13% June quarter revenue decline, to $4.2 million. But stripping out the divestment of a legacy research business, revenue grew 4% year-on-year. Microba has two core products: Metaxplore and Metapanel. Metapanel is the 'first line' test to determine whether a doc can treat a pathogen simply with antibiotics. Metaxplore probes anything else that could be wrong with the patient's microbiome. The company has free cash flow burn of $6.3 million for the quarter and $15.3 million for the year. But this rate has been 'relatively steady' over the last two years. Following a $14.5m capital raising – backed by biggest shareholder Sonic Healthcare – Microba has $20.2 million of cash with no debt. "Most legacy sales have now unwound, so we anticipate more meaningful consolidated topline growth for the group in 2025-26," Bell Potter says. The forecasts an adjusted net loss of $14.6 million for 2024-25 and a simialar deficit this year. The company expects to break even in 2027-28. Bell Potter values stock at 16 cents, tempered from its previous 26 cent guesstimate.
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Biocurious: The cannabis stocks that stand out in a field of weeds
Cannabis suppliers are struggling to differentiate themselves in a commoditised market Regulators have lax telehealth prescribers in their sights Althea Group has sold its medical pot arm in favour of THC-infused beverages Having sprouted in a field of hope and hype eleven years ago, the ASX medicinal cannabis sector has wilted in the face of unrealistic expectations and misguided strategies. Demand isn't the problem: patients have embraced medical weed zealously since it was legalised a decade ago. Globally, most western countries have sanctioned both medical usage and many have condoned recreational indulgence (including most US states). Because there's only two approved cannabis treatments, local dispensing is largely carried out via an authorised prescriber scheme. In the six months to December 2024, these docs wrote 377,840 prescriptions. Of these, 230,091 were for products with a THC content of more than 98%. Patients aren't mucking around. What's not to like? The answer is rampant oversupply of the green stuff coupled with the rise of telehealth clinics, some of which are being criticised for alleged 'tick and flick' dispensing practices. Echoing Australian Medical Association concerns, Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP) CEO Paul Long refers to 'poor actors' in the local market. 'Reports constantly refer to a handful of doctors, often junior doctors that are either being coerced, or paid exorbitant money to write a huge volume of THC scripts,' he says. 'I agree it is an issue and calling it out for the long-term growth of our industry is important." He adds hundreds of thousands have tried medical cannabis when nothing has worked, with great success. Reflecting the 'commoditised' market, Althea Group (ASX:AGH) in May sold its local medical cannabis business, Tasmanian Botanics Pty Ltd for a knock-down $1 million. 'The market has become irrational,' says Althea CEO Joshua Fegan. 'It's very saturated, with product from places like Canada, South Africa and Colombia'. He says most of the consumption is by way of dried flower, which implies folk might be smoking the devil's lettuce for jollies rather than using it medicinally. We'll delve further into Althea's new direction below. The dope on how to get it right While most suppliers have withered, a handful prosper via differentiated strategies and perhaps a bit of luck. They are producing meaningful revenues and – in some cases - profits. The Perth-based Little Green Pharma derives 80% of its revenue from the local market, but its greater fortunes align to the rapidly evolving European market. Germany is in the throes of partial legalisation. In France, the company supplies a pilot program that's a precursor to legalisation. Little Green's owns a production facility in Denmark – Europe's biggest – purchased from Canada's Canopy Growth for a knock-down $20 million three years ago. Two hours from the German border, the facility provides a streamlined route to the biggest Continental markets. 'It's very unlikely a site like this will be built again in the foreseeable future,' Little Green CEO Paul Long says. Meanwhile, the company's Busselton facility becomes a 'craft' producer of a small amount of slowly cured, hand trimmed, genetically superior stuff. Naturally, this attracts a better margin. In the year to March 2025 Little Green grew its revenue by 43%, to a record $36.8 million 'against a backdrop of significant regulatory change and intense competition'. European revenues doubled. Adjusted for non-cash items, Little Green managed underlying earnings of $2.9 million compared with a previous $1.6 million loss. From gummies to suppositories Bioxyne (ASX:BXN) has a modest $64 million market cap, but that's big enough to confer 'sector leader' status. Bioxyne's engine room is Breathe Life Sciences (BLS), acquired via scrip in 2023. BLS makes and distributes medical cannabis and other consumer health products, either under its own brands or third-party labels. (locally, Bioxyne is also the only licensed maker of MDMA and psilocybin for authorised prescribers and pyschedelic clinical trials). In 2019 the company launched in the UK and Japan via its well-known Dr Watson brand, covering everything from gummies, to vapes to suppositories. BLS too has entered the German market with a deal to supply a minimum 1.6 tonnes of cannabis flower and finished product to two clients. The company expects the agreement will reap a minimum of $5.6 million of revenue in the 2025-26 year. Ja, das ist gut! Bioxyne CEO Sam Watson expects German demand to rapidly overtake the $1 billion a year Australian market. On June 12 the company upgraded full-revenue expectations from $25 million to $28 million, a lofty step up from the previous year's $9.65 million. The Ebay of medicinal dope Formerly known as Cronos Australia, Vitura Health (ASX:VIT) doesn't produce any of its own material, but operates a marketplace that sells hundreds of flowers and oils from third party suppliers. Vitura also has expanded into prescription nicotine vapes. The company has built a network of physical and online prescribers, mainly via acquisition. Vitura owns the Canview marketplace, Doctors on Demand telehealth business, CDA Clinics (medical cannabis telehealth) and the clinic chain Candor Medical. In May, Vitura's 50% joint venture Flora acquired the digital platform Heyday Medical, 'one of Australia's most respected medicinal cannabis clinics'. Established in 2020, the chain claims to have serviced more than more than 5000 patients. Last November Flora acquired the Releaf Group, which operates telehealth and physical clinics. In a March quarter update, Vitura said full-year revenue was unlikely to meet the targeted 10% improvement. But the June quarter implies a yearly run rate of $138 million, up 11%. Management also expects a 20% improvement on last year's normalised underlying earnings of $8.4 million. Putting the pep into soft drinks Coming back to Althea, the company's new schtick is entering the North American market for THC-infused beverages. (THC is the psychoactive component of cannabis). Yep, these bevvies are legal in Canada and the US and are sold in bottle shops alongside alcohol. Althea's foray is by way of its subsidiary Peak. Althea's Fegan says when Peak started producing in 2021, only 4% of cannabis consumers had tried these drinks. Now, the number is more like one-quarter of them. He says the drinks have a similar effect to a similar sized serve of alcohol, but without the hangover. 'It ticks a lot of boxes as a good consumer product,' he says. Peak's competitive edge is its technique to produce the THC emulsion, without the 'planty' taste of dope. Peak's offerings include seltzers, sodas and mocktails – but it's not yet putting the 'pep' into Pepsi. Peak Canada has just launched its own brand Snap Back, a heady mix of THC and rosin (pine resin). By December Althea expects to have four or five US production sites, as close to distributors as possible. 'These big alcohol companies are looking closely at this space and our job is to develop drinks for those type of companies and produce them at scale," Fegan says. In the December half, Althea derived $8.2 million of revenue in Canada and the company expects this to grow during the summer months. Given the sale of its Australian business, Althea in May withdrew its full-year guidance of revenue between $26-33 million and underlying earnings of $800,000 to $1.1 million. Althea lost $2.6 million in the March quarter. But Fegan says the company should be cash flow positive without the drag of the divested Australian business.
News.com.au
17-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Health Check: Immuron shares bust out for a ‘run' on strong Travelan sales
Immuron shares surge more than 30% on robust sales of the company's traveller's trots prophylactic Visionflex turns cash flow positive In Tetra-theory, this one's worth a lot more Wake up folks! It's mid-July but there's still only a trickle of June quarter reports emanating from the life sciences sector. We blame the school holidays. In the meantime companies prefer informal, unaudited updates. In this vein, Immuron (ASX:IMC) reports Travelan sales of $7.3 million for the year to June 2025, 49% higher. June quarter sales came in at $2 million, up 55%, Based on the goodness of cow's milk, Travelan is an over-the-counter immune supplement targeting gastrointestinal pathogens. Unlike most traveller's diarrhoea aids, it tackles the root of the problem rather than merely bunging it up. Travelan has been around for two decades, but the brand got a bit tired and management decided it was time to bolster promotion. In Australia, a 'clear pharmacy visibility program' helped to boost sales to $5.2 million, 40% higher. North American sales grew 76% to $2 million, with strong Amazon sales driving demand. Meanwhile medical pot supplier Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP) reports June quarter revenue of $9.1 million, up 20%, and receipts of $12 million (50% higher). Little Green also has positive cash flow of $500,000, taking the cash balance to $2.5 million. Earlier, Little Green disclosed revenue of $36.8 million for the year to March 2025, with a $3.3 million net profit. A Visionflex turnaround is more than a remote prospect In news from the boondocks, remote healthcare outfit Visionflex (ASX:VFX) reports a June quarter revenue surge on the back of new contracts, while also turning cash flow positive. Relative to the March quarter, revenue grew 148% to $2 million. On a year-on-year basis, the turnover was 14% higher. The company managed cash flow of $300,000, compared with a $900,000 of March quarter outflows. Visionflex provides proprietary software and hardware – such as examination cameras – to remotely diagnose patients, typically in far-flung communities. During the quarter, Visionflex inked a $1 million deal with the Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) owned Amplar Health. A homecare provider, Amplar operates 30 sites. It also signed up a 'leading ASX mining company' to roll out the gear across 13 medical centres and one aircraft. Visionflex says 19% of its revenue is now recurring, which 'aligns with the company's focus on growing a more predictable, higher margin revenue base.' This quarter, the company hopes to launch a tailored homecare product. Given 900 providers service this sector with more than 2300 services, the company reckons it's tapping a rich vein. Trivarx says its depression trial is fully enrolled … TrivarX (ASX:TRI) says it has enrolled ten patients in its veterans' mental health trial and is on track to achieve its target of 30 participants. A mental health technology company, TrivarX pioneers the use of objective measures to screen for mental health conditions and detect them early. The study deploys electrocardiogram (ECG) screening to detect current major depressive episodes in veterans with suspected sleep apnoea. The trial is underway at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. There, participants undergo an overnight, multi-parameter sleep study and neuropsychiatric interview. The ECG algorithm extends Trivarx's lead asset, its AI-driven MEB-001 device. Trivarx expects to complete the study by mid-September. ... while Clarity also puts out the 'full house' shingle In other trial news, radiopharmaceutical developer Clarity Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CU6) says a 50 patient, phase II study of its prostate cancer imaging candidate is fully enrolled. The study evaluates Clarity's copper-isotope based agent 64Cu-SAR-bisPSMA, compared to the standard-of-care gallium-based alternative. In nuclear medicine, there are isotopes and isotopes ... Carried out at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, the investigator-initiated study enrols patients with low prostate-specific antigen (PSA). These patients are candidates for "curative salvage therapies". 'The high volume of patients imaged in recent months at a single site reflects the high unmet need for more effective diagnostic tools for men with rising PSA following radical prostatectomy,' Clarity executive chair Dr Alan Taylor says. The company expects trial results 'in coming months'. Tetratherix shares 'worth 58% more' Tetratherix (ASX:TTX) shares have surged a healthy 22% since the wound management company listed on June 30, but broker Morgans reckons there's another 58% of upside. The company has developed Tetramatrix, a fluid-like polymer injected into the relevant bodily area. The body temperature results in the material setting to a gum-like state that surgeons can shape to suit the purpose. The material doesn't spark a foreign body response and is reabsorbed when it has done its job. Tetratherix initially is focusing on bone regeneration, tissue spacing, and tissue healing – a US$6.8 billion market. The company expects FDA clearance for the dental product in late 2026, while the orthopedic and oncology spacing offerings should be green lit in late 2028. Morgans believes the company will be profitable in the 2027-28 year but expects a current year deficit of $10.8 million on revenue of $1 million. Morgans values the stock at $5.72 – almost double the $2.88 issue price in the $25 million raising. The firm was a joint manager for the IPO. Pacific Edge rattles the can Meanwhile, diagnostics house Pacific Edge (ASX:PEB) has launched a share purchase plan to raise up to NZ$5 million. This follows the company's June 3 conditional placement of NZ$16.1 million, NZ$1.1 million more than planned. The raising has been done at 10 NZ cents a share, an unusual 22% premium to the prevailing price. In April the company's Cxbladder test was kicked off the US Medicare coverage rota. The company says the funds partly will support operations for another 12 months without Medicare coverage, while management pursues reinstatement.
News.com.au
11-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Health Check: Little Green Pharma's European success is more than pot luck
Little Green Pharma reports record revenue and a return to profits Botanix raises $48 million of debt for its anti-sweating drug, Sofdra The DNA of Genetic Technologies soon will be … financial advice Little Green Pharma's (ASX:LGP) European foray is paying off, with the Perth-based medical cannabis supplier more than doubling its Continental and UK revenue in the year to March. Overall, Little Green grew its revenue by 43%, to a record $36.8 million 'against a backdrop of significant regulatory change and intense competition". Adjusted for a slew of non-cash items, underlying earnings came in at $2.9 million compared with a previous $1.6 million loss. Aided by $8.1 million of accrued tax losses, Little Green managed a net profit of $3.3 million compared with a previous $8.2 million deficit. Little Green stamped its European footprint in 2021 by purchasing a Danish facility from Canada's Canopy Growth. Little Green paid around $20 million for the facility – Europe's biggest – compared with the $100 million Canopy had invested. In its 2020-21 accounts, Little Green recorded a $25 million "gain on bargain purchase" resulting in a $24.6 million reported net profit. It's fair enough the company potted a bargain, given we provided the Danes with a valuable Tassie Queen. Continental drift Little Green still derives 82% of its revenue from the difficult Australian market, but this has trended from 88% the previous year as the Euro ops kick up a notch. The company cites partial legalisation in the capacious Germany market, which has 'driven unprecedented growth in medicinal cannabis patient numbers.' In France, Little Green supplies to an extended government pilot scheme, ahead of planned legalisation. 'Across both Australia and Europe, we are witnessing the shift from niche to mainstream – a dynamic Little Green has long anticipated and is prepared for,' chairman Michael D Lynch-Bell says. Sadly, Little Green shares wilted 4% this morning and they have lost 15% of their value year to date. Management highlights net tangible assets of 24 cents per share, more than twice the prevailing market price. FDA makes a RAD move The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has bestowed fast track designation on Radiopharm Theranostics' (ASX:RAD) imaging tool, RAD101, to image brain metastases. RAD 101 has been used in a US phase II clinical trial to distinguish between recurrent disease and the treatment effect of brain metastases from other solid tumours. RAD101 targets fatty acid synthase, a protein overexpressed in many solid tumours, including cerebral metastases. The company says more than 300,000 patients are diagnosed with brain metastases in the US annually. The company plans to release top-line results in the December quarter. Among other things, FDA fast track designation enables more frequent communication with the agency – a valuable asset given the upheaval at the agency. While Radiopharm enjoys life in the fast lane, the FDA in late April issued a 'complete response' to sector big daddy Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX). This was in relation to the company's marketing approval application for Pixclara, its tool to image the rare brain cancer glioma. Telix is confident the agency will approve Pixclara after it provides more clinical data. Cyclopharm's patent extension In other regulatory news from Trumpian shores, the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Cyclopharm (ASX:CYC) a five-year patent extension – the maximum allowable – out to 2031. This pertains to Cyclopharm's FDA-approved lung imaging tool, Techengas. The agency took a mere 16 years to approve Technegas, which explains why its patent life was running low. No sweat, Botanix raises debt Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:BOT) has secured a circa US$30 million ($48 million) debt facility to further the US rollout of Sofdra, its approved drug for excessive sweating. The facility, with UK venture debt financier Kreos Capital, follows a $40 million institutional placement in April this year. Investment giant Blackrock owns Kreos. Botanix chairman Vince Ippolito says the facility will enable the company to make rapid decisions about Sofdra's commercialisation and to avail of "expansion opportunities'. The $48 million adds to the $28 million of cash in hand, as of the end of March. The facility provides for circa $30 million to be drawn now, with the remainder to be tapped by October 1. Under certain conditions, Kreos Capital can convert part of the loan into Botanix shares. Kreos also pockets just over three million warrants to acquire Botanix shares at 33 cents apiece, within the next five years. And now for something completely different In the most extreme pivot since HIV drug developer Avexa went coal mining in Alabama 14 years ago, Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG) is reinventing itself as a financial advisory firm. In essence, it's a back-door listing. Genetic has signed binding term sheets to acquire Ellerfield Wealth Pty Ltd and Walker Capital Private Wealth Pty Ltd. Genetic chairman Michael Walker owns 51% of Ellerfield Wealth Pty Ltd and all of Walker Capital Private Wealth Pty Ltd. The payment of $7.84 million will be by way of Genetic shares, after which the company will undergo a share consolidation. Genetic shares remain suspended. The transaction depends on due diligence and the ASX agreeing to relist the company in its new guise. Genetic entered voluntary administration in November last year after a colourful listed life. Post administration, the company sold its Genetype cancer and disease risk assessment test business to Rhythm Biosciences (ASX:RHY) for $625,000. Genetic also sold its Easy DNA and Affinity DNA direct-to-consumer businesses to Endeavour DNA Inc, for $525,000. Last month shareholders approved a deed of arrangement that resulted in Walker Capital acquiring 88% of the company.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Little Green Pharma Full Year 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats Expectations
Revenue: AU$36.8m (up 44% from FY 2024). Net income: AU$3.32m (up from AU$8.15m loss in FY 2024). Profit margin: 9.0% (up from net loss in FY 2024). EPS: AU$0.011 (up from AU$0.027 loss in FY 2024). This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) exceeded analyst estimates. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 15% p.a. on average during the next 2 years, compared to a 30% growth forecast for the Pharmaceuticals industry in Australia. Performance of the Australian Pharmaceuticals industry. The company's shares are up 4.8% from a week ago. Before you take the next step you should know about the 3 warning signs for Little Green Pharma (1 is concerning!) that we have uncovered. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
