iX Biopharma sinks deeper into the red with S$3.7m Q2 loss

PHARMACEUTICAL company iX Biopharma has sunk deeper into the red with a net loss of S$3.7 million for the second quarter ending Dec 31, 2018 from a net loss of S$3.2 million a year ago. For the six months ending Dec 31, the company saw a net loss of S$6.9 million from S$6.4 million a year ago.

Loss per share for Q2 was 0.6 Singapore cent from 0.5 cent the year before. For H1, loss per share was 1.1 Singapore cents from one cent the year before. No dividend has been declared or recommended for the current period, the company disclosed in a Singapore Exchange announcement.

Total revenue for the quarter was at S$1.5 million, a drop of 12 per cent compared to S$1.8 million the year before. For H1, revenue was S$3.2 million, down 6 per cent from S$3.4 million for the year-ago period.

According to the company, the lower revenue was due to the preparation of a nationwide launch for its Entity product range for Q4. This required an acceleration of product development, especially laboratory testing for registering with Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration and product release to the market. The company also prioritised and allocated "substantial resources" from chemical analysis to provide the necessary laboratory testing services.

As a result, "substantial" intellectual properties were developed, which include new method developments and validations of numerous nutraceutical raw materials and finished products, the company said.

The group's chemical analysis segment recorded a lower revenue of S$1.43 million for Q2, a decrease of 15 per cent compared with S$1.7 million the year before. For H1, chemical analysis revenue fell 10 per cent to S$3 million from S$3.3 million the year before. The fall took into account a negative exchange rate impact of 5 per cent due to a weaker Australian dollar.

Gross profit for Q2 was S$231,000, down 60 per cent compared to S$580,000 for the year-ago period. The company's cost of sales for the quarter was S$1.3 million, compared to S$1.2 million the year before. This was mainly due to personnel and consumable expenses relating to the provision of chemical analysis services and manufacturing.

For H1, cost of sales was S$2.6 million, compared to S$2.4 million the year before, due to increase in personnel cost as the group geared up its manufacturing resources in preparation for the supply of its nutraceutical products for national launch in April 2019.