Yahoo Finance Shares in diagnostics business Novacyt jump as it records sales rise
Novacyt has unveiled a 50% jump in sales as the maker of Covid-19 test kits benefited from the booming private test market in the UK and overseas.
AIM-listed Novacyt said total group revenue hit £94.7 million in the first half of 2021, up sharply from £63 million in the same period a year ago.
Novacyt said the UK private testing market had “increased significantly” during the period and it had also secured a new contract with the WHO, as well as exports to a further eight countries.
Novacyt remains in a dispute with the UK government over a contract for testing equipment signed last September, but the firm offered no further updates on the legal wrangle.
The firm said it “expects continued strong growth in private testing as markets and travel re-open and, as the Northern Hemisphere heads into winter, the potential for higher infection rates will increase the need for Covid-19 testing”.
Since the start of 2020, the Anglo-French group which has offices in Camberley, Surrey has launched 16 new testing products, and expects to launch a further 10 by the end of 2022.
The company said it “believes it is well placed to continue to support growth during the second half of the year”.
Shares in Novacyt rose more than 10%, or 32.9p, to 334.9p.
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