LiDCO Group Plc

("LiDCO" or the "Company")

Trading update

LiDCO Group Plc (AIM: LID), the cardiovascular monitoring company, provides the following trading update for the half year ended 31 July 2014.

LiDCO confirms that it still expects to report further growth in both revenues and profits in the year to 31 January 2015.  After a solid first quarter, the Company has recently experienced a level of destocking in the UK along with a lack of sales to its distributor in Japan, and therefore this growth, and the results, will be below previous expectations. The Company also remains on track to be debt free by the year end, as previously anticipated.

The UK market has seen a noticeable shift from capital sales to placement of monitors and, as noted elsewhere, there was a level of overstocking of disposables in the prior period when the Company experienced 59% growth in surgical disposables. Whilst the installed base grew by 33 surgery monitors in the first half, both factors above have impacted results in the first half and revenues in the UK are anticipated to be £2.6m against £3.1m in the comparative period. UK surgical disposables sales were level at 11,000 units.

Revenue in the US was up by over 40%, which is further evidence as to the benefit of the transition to a direct sales model.  The Company expects sales to its distributor in Japan to recommence in the second half.

Revenues in the first half are expected to total £3.7m against £4.2m in the comparative period.  The fall in revenues has been partly mitigated by improved disposable pricing and tight control in overheads. The Company still expects to show growth in profitability year-on-year. 

The Company will announce its interim results to 31 July 2014 in mid September.

Commenting, Terry O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of LiDCO, said:

"Whilst we are disappointed with the lack of growth in UK surgical disposables and the shift from capital sales of monitors to placements, the fact that we have increased the installed user base by 33 units bodes well for the return to growth of our higher margin disposable product. The over 40% uplift in US sales demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategy in that key market and we hope to build on this further.

"We still expect this to be a year of progress, showing growth in both revenues and profitability over the previous year, and coupled with this we expect to be debt free by the year end."

For further information, please contact:

LiDCO Group Plc

www.lidco.com

Terry O'Brien (CEO)

Tel: +44 (0)20 7749 1500

Paul Clifford (Finance Director)

finnCap

Tel: +44 (0)20 7600 1658

Geoff Nash / Henrik Persson  (Corporate Finance)

Stephen Norcross (Corporate Broking)

Walbrook PR Ltd

Tel: 020 7933 8780 or lidco@walbrookpr.com

Paul McManus

Mob: 07980 541 893

Lianne Cawthorne

Mob: 07584 391 303



About LiDCO Group Plc ( www.lidco.com)

LiDCO is a supplier of non-invasive and minimally invasive hemodynamic equipment to hospitals used to monitor the amount of blood flowing around the body and ensure that vital organs are adequately oxygenated. LiDCO's products facilitate the application of hemodynamic optimisation protocols for high risk patients in both critical care units and in the operating theatre.

Increasingly clinical studies are showing that the optimisation of patients' hemodynamic status in high risk patients produces better outcomes and reduced hospital stay.  LiDCO's computer-based technology, developed at St Thomas' Hospital in London, has been shown to significantly reduce morbidity and complications, length of stay and overall costs associated with major surgery.

Key Products:

LiDCOplus : a computer-based platform monitor used in the Intensive Care Unit for real-time continuous display of hemodynamic parameters including cardiac output, oxygen delivery and fluid-volume responsiveness (PPV% and SVV%).

LiDCOrapid : a cardiac output monitor designed specifically for use in the operating theatre for fluid and drug management. The monitor enables anaesthetists to receive accurate and immediate feedback on the patient's fluid and hemodynamic status - a key measure of overall well-being before, during and after surgery.  The LiDCOrapid provides:

·    early and rapid warning of hemodynamic change to aid choice of therapeutic route: fluid or drug

·    quantification of hemodynamic response

·    guidance on effective delivery of fluids to ensure the right amount at the right time

LiDCOview : an easy-to-use graphical display of historical LiDCOplus and LiDCOrapid hemodynamic data.

LiDCO Unity Software: software incorporated into LiDCOrapid v2 that allows the LiDCOrapid monitor to co-display Covidien's level of consciousness parameter ('BISTM')*and add the convenience of CNSystem's continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring ('CNAP')**. This will address a growing requirement for non-invasive monitoring solutions that are more comprehensive and can effectively replace multiple single parameter monitors.

*BIS TM and Bispectral Index are trademarks of Covidien LP registered in the US and foreign countries.

**CNAPTM is a trademark of CNSystems Medizintechnik AG.

LiDCO monitors use single-patient disposables (sensors or smartcards) which provide an ongoing revenue stream. 

LiDCO Distribution Network :

LiDCO sells directly to hospitals in the UK and USA and through a network of specialty critical care and anaesthesia distributors in the rest of the world.

LiDCO's marketing office is in Cambridge, its manufacturing facility and headquarters are in London and its shares are traded on AIM.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
ENDTSTEAXPXFAALEFF
distributed by