Date: Thursday 12 Sep 2013
LONDON (ShareCast) - Losses contracted slightly at condom developer Futura Medical in the first half-year, as it continued to massage the costs of bringing its lead product towards the climax of market launch in 2014.
Losses before tax shrank from £1.08m to £1.03m, as a net cash outflow of £0.7m saw the AIM company holding onto £2.1m cash at the period end, down from £2.8m six months before.
Futura’s CSD500 prophylactic, which helps men maintain a firmer erection during intercourse and has been nicknamed the ‘Viagra condom’, made good progress in the year, pulling in two significant licensing deals.
Covering North America and key European countries, Futura licensed CSD500 to Church & Dwight, the producer of Trojan sheaths, while another deal with a Middle Eastern healthcare group to probe Middle East and north African markets.
"The year to date is progressing well and we are moving closer to the launch of CSD500," Chief Executive James Barder ejaculated.
"Our two licensing deals cover a total of 24 countries and we continue in advanced discussions for the licensing of CSD500 in certain other geographic territories."
CSD500 still needs regulatory approval in most key markets, but Futura was excited by positive opinion given by European regulators.
Barder said Futura aimed to roll CSD500 out on three continents in 2014, which would “transform the company's financial profile”.
As launch neared, research and development costs swelled 30% to £0.89m compared to the corresponding period as the Guildford, Surrey company pumped cash into new pipeline products, while other administrative costs dropped 2% to £0.47m.
On other products, he added that Futura’s orgasm-delaying spray, PET500, had a soft launch under way in the US, while two pain relief products had been added to the portfolio.
Broker Shore Capital noted that the route to sustainable profitability has been a protracted one for Futura and hinged largely on the development and commercialisation of CSD500 condom, for which management indicated the value potential by looking to secure multiple commercial partners with significant market presence.
"This is a significant market opportunity, which should be secured through the recent attraction of US condom titan Church & Dwight," said an extensive note from analysts Dr Brian White and Dr Paul Taylor.
They added that with CSD500 Futura is well positioned to capitalise on the growth of the $3.5bn global condom market as it is a differentiated product that targets "a key reason for condom underuse, we believe".
The pair added that they believe Futura was now "poised to begin enjoying its first royalty streams from its licensing partners" that should lead to profitability in full year 2015.
Shares in Futura Medical wilted 4.3% to 76p at 10:52 on Thursday.
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