South Tyneside pharmaceutical firm Immunodiagnostic Systems has seen revenues rise and profits return in the year after its £110m takeover by a US giant.
The Boldon company became part of life sciences group Revvity two years ago following the agreement of a $155m takeover deal to accelerate its growth – a move which also saw it de-list from the AIM market. The company, founded in 1977 as RIA UK, specialises in the development, manufacture, and marketing of diagnostic tests to the clinical laboratory market, and is also involved in research and development projects.
Now the firm, which has 55 employees, has posted accounts for the period ended January 1 2023, its first full set of results since the deal. The accounts show a 57% increase in revenue from £16.8m in the 40 weeks to January 1 2022 to £26.7m. It said its gross margin increased by 8.4% from the prior period to 23.7% as the business returned to pre-covid trading conditions.
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The company’s operating loss narrowed to £1.5m, down from a £3m loss in the prior 40 weeks. It received more than £10m from shares in group undertakings, aiding a return to a pre-tax profit of £8.7m, converting the previous period’s loss of £3.3m.
Cash at bank and in hand decreased to £833,038 and net working capital dropped from £13.4m to £11.8m, predominantly due to an increase in intercompany balances following the declaration of a dividend from Immunodiagnostic Systems Inc.
Within the accounts report the firm said: “As the in-vitro diagnostic market develops there is the possibility of increasing competition from larger companies with greater financial and other resources than those directly available to the company. The directors are aware of this and are focused on developing niche products in areas not likely to be targeted by the major international players.
“The company believes that having the most comprehensive panel of bone, growth, hypertension and fertility markers will generate a significant competitive advantage. Our research and development programme continues to concentrate on the introduction of new analytes as well as developing our existing clinical range of markers onto the IDS-iSYS system.
“The company exists in a global, competitive environment with a changing technological landscape. The decline in both the manual and automated 25-OH Vitamin D market has continued to adversely impact financial performance, however the impact of this is less significant each period as we have sought to diversify our product range.
“In recent years the company has launched a significant number of new products, both through in-house development and through collaborations with third parties such as Technogenetics srl. We will continue to do this, to further broaden the menu of tests.”
