Shares in Belfast-based contract research firm Fusion Antibodies lost a quarter of their value on Monday after the group warned in a trading update that revenues could fall by almost 42 per cent this year.
The company, which specialises in pre-clinical antibody discovery, engineering and supply for both therapeutic drug and diagnostic applications, said it anticipates that revenues for the full year to March 31st will be “not less than” £2.8 million (€3.2 million).
The company generated revenue of £4.8 million last year, which was itself up from £4.2 million a year earlier.
The company said it endured a “commercially challenging” first six months of trading due to a combination of factors, including a number of valuable projects being suspended by clients due to delayed investment into those businesses.
There continues to be uncertainty over the timing of commencement of several such anticipated orders which is “out of our control”, it said.
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Consequently, revenues and earnings for the year are now expected to be “significantly behind” current market expectations.
In line with its previously announced strategic change to focus on larger integrated service contracts, the company has engaged with several potential clients for the broader service offering, which has been “very positively received”.
In particular, negotiations concerning a significant order for an integrated service contract have progressed but have not materialised in time for the end of this year.
While there is the possibility that negotiations could be completed in the near term, the majority of the revenues would be recognisable in the next financial year.
