Pre-close update on the year

RNS Number : 3806Z

Deltex Medical Group PLC

13 January 2011

 



Deltex Medical Group plc

Pre-close update on the year ended 31 December 2010

13 January 2011 - Deltex Medical Group plc ("Deltex Medical" or the "Company"), the global leader in oesophageal Doppler monitoring ("ODM"), today announces an update on its trading performance for the year ended 31 December 2010.

The Directors expect sales for 2010 to have been in excess of £6.25 million. On an underlying basis (i.e. excluding working capital movements), the Company was cash flow positive in the second half of the year and cash at 31 December 2010 of £698,000 was £125,000 higher than at 30 June 2010.

The Company increased sales in all its key markets. The majority of this growth came from sales of disposable probes. In the UK, the rate of growth in sales of surgical probes increased in the second half of the year and, in particular, throughout the final quarter. In October 2010 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published positive draft guidance recommending more frequent use of CardioQ-ODM™ during surgery and NICE has indicated that it expects to publish final guidance shortly. In France, after an extended clinical evaluation, our distributor has been awarded a tender enabling it to supply our products to hospitals in Paris to meet any increases in demand from clinicians. In Spain, a major government backed evaluation of CardioQ-ODM is now underway in five hospitals and a clinician led initiative to implement CardioQ-ODM as part of an enhanced recovery programme in colorectal surgery is reporting both successful results and increased numbers of hospitals interested in participating. In the USA the Company has opened a small number of new strategic hospital accounts as well as expanding routine probe consumption in key existing accounts.

Nigel Keen, Deltex Medical's Chairman, commented:

"Deltex Medical enters 2011 with considerable confidence. Evolving healthcare policy in many of our key markets is starting to favour the accelerated uptake of products which are supported by robust evidence of both improved patient outcomes and reduced costs. This is reflected in our sales, which are growing in all our key markets, driven by increased use by doctors of our products during surgery.

"Sales growth combined with cost control meant that the Company was cash positive in the second half of the year both before and after working capital movements. While further growth is still required for the Company to be cash positive consistently throughout a financial year, generating cash in the second half of 2010 represents a major milestone."

For further information, please contact:-

Deltex Medical Group plc                                    01243 774 837

Nigel Keen, Chairman                                         [e-mail]

Ewan Phillips, Chief Executive                             [e-mail]

Paul Mitchell, Finance Director                            [e-mail]

Nominated Adviser & Broker

Arden Partners plc                                             020 7614 5900

Chris Hardie                                                      [e-mail]

Kreab Gavin Anderson                                        020 7074 1800

Robert Speed                                                    [e-mail]

Deborah Walter                                                 [e-mail]

Notes for Editors

Deltex Medical manufactures and markets the CardioQ-ODMÔ system. CardioQ-ODM changes the way doctors care for surgical patients allowing them to recover faster and leave hospital sooner and in better health than they otherwise would do. The performance of the system has been validated through independently conducted, randomised controlled clinical trials and is being translated into routine clinical practice in leading hospitals around the world.

CardioQ-ODM comprises a monitor and a single patient disposable probe. The probe is placed into the oesophagus through either the mouth or nose and the tip positioned facing the adjacent descending aorta. A low frequency ultrasound signal, generated by the monitor, is bounced off the blood travelling down the aorta and the Doppler principle is used to determine the velocity of the blood flow, expressed in distance per cardiac cycle - 'Stroke Distance'. The monitor also calculates the amount of time that blood is flowing down the aorta as a proportion of a cardiac cycle - 'Flow Time'.

The monitor uses a validated proprietary nomogram to extrapolate volumetric data (Stroke Volume, Cardiac Output etc) from the directly measured flow velocity. The nomogram utilises the patient's age weight and height, effectively to estimate the size of the aorta in which the velocity of the flow is being measured. Crucially this means that any reported relative change in Stroke Volume is absolutely identical to the relative change in the directly measured flow velocity variable of Stroke Distance. CardioQ-ODM immediately and reliably identifies even very small changes in the blood flow velocity allowing doctors to intevene earlier and on smaller changes than with any other approach.

Intra-operative individualised Doppler guided fluid management entails insertion and focusing of the probe to obtain a baseline reading, giving a small (200 to 250 ml) fluid challenge directly into the vascular system and seeing if Stroke Volume (or Stroke Distance) increases by more than 10%. If the increase is more than 10%, repeat fluid boluses are administered until such time as the increase is less than 10%: after this no further fluid is given unless Stroke Volume falls by more than 10% - the process is designed to achieve and maintain the individual patient's optimal Stroke Volume. CardioQ-ODM is also used during surgery to guide administration of vaso-active agents such as inotropes.

The CardioQ-ODM helps patients by enabling doctors to reduce the complications that arise from a medical condition that is common to almost all patients having surgery and many others in intensive care or arriving in the accident and emergency department. This condition is known as hypovolaemia - a reduction in circulating blood volume - and in surgical patients arises as a direct consequence of the combined effects of pre-operative starvation, the anaesthetic agents and the blood and fluid losses associated with the surgical procedure itself. Hypovolaemia means that the body struggles to get sufficient blood to the tissues and vital organs which are consequently starved of essential oxygen. This can cause medical complications including peripheral and major organ failure, which if not dealt with quickly can lead to severe compromise or even death.

There are already over 2,300 CardioQ-ODMs currently in use in hospitals worldwide and distribution arrangements are in place in over 30 countries. In addition, there are currently more than 250 clinical publications on the use of the CardioQ-ODM which have repeatedly:-

·    Validated the results of CardioQ-ODM against known standards for measuring cardiac output

·    Proved that CardioQ-ODM works in a wide range of surgical procedures

·    Proved that CardioQ-ODM delivers 50% or more reductions in post-operative complications and 25% or more reductions in length of hospital stay: better care at lower cost.

The SupraQÔ is an entirely non-invasive device which uses an ultrasound probe held at the base of the patient's neck to track the flow of blood in the aorta; it presents the same data as the CardioQ-ODM in a similar format and is used for taking snapshots or monitoring over short periods.

 

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