Collagen : Trading Update and Accounts Filing Extension for FY 2020

Collagen Solutions Plc (AIM: COS), the developer and manufacturer of biomaterials and regenerative medicines for the enhancement and extension of human life, is pleased to announce a trading update and that it has been granted an extension to the timeline for filing its consolidated accounts for the 31 March 2020 year end.

Jamal Rushdy, CEO of Collagen Solutions, commented:

'I remain extremely proud of the resilience and response of our team members during the Covid-19 crisis, and grateful for the continued support and partnership of our customers. While we have started the year positively, we are prepared that the current financial year might have challenges driven by external events. We will retain our relentless focus on delivering for our customers while also ensuring the health and safety of our employees, their families, and our communities. In particular, we are encouraged by our current order book and strength of demand during the first two months of the financial year and are confident we can generate value to shareholders over the medium term.'

Trading and operational update

Since the Company's trading update announcement on 23 April 2020, the Company is performing in line with its expectations in the current environment and the Board is encouraged about the year ahead. Whilst Covid-19 has resulted in certain operational challenges with logistics and abattoir production in Australia and New Zealand, in addition to capacity constraints and production challenges in the Company's Glasgow plant, the Company's order book across its entire business continues to be strong and it has not seen a decrease in demand for its products and services. As at 8 June 2020, the Company has orders or contracted development milestones for FY 2021, together with revenue already recognised through the first two months of the financial year, worth approximately £3.3m (i.e. 82% of FY 2020 revenue) and have further visibility on contracted development milestones which should further add to its order book.

The primary end-markets that the Company addresses are orthopaedics, cardiovascular, wound care, and dental surgery. Whilst the Company is aware that many of its customers who directly serve these end-markets have been impacted by the reduction of non-emergency or elective procedure volumes, the Company has not seen a corresponding decrease in demand for its services or biomaterials products thus far in FY 2021, and the Company's customers have continued to place orders in the normal course of business. The Company believes the underlying clinical demand for its products in these end-markets remain strong in the medium-to-long term.

The Group has completed a £0.5m investment in the Glasgow facility which increases the manufacturing capacity by at least 85% with further capacity increases deliverable through manufacturing process improvements, which will allow the Company to work through its backlog and order book. This investment in additional capacity and people has already improved manufacturing clean room uptime resulting in more efficient and consistent manufacturing operations. The Company expects the substantial completions of validations in Q1 of FY 2021 and the UK relaxation of current health and safety restrictions to enable full capacity to be achieved during Q2 FY 2021, and is confident that it will meet its customer orders through FY 2021 and fulfil its strong order book.

Liquidity and cash profile

As announced on 23 April 2020, the Company proactively put in place a number of prudent cash-conserving measures including non-executive Board and executive team pay cuts to help mitigate cash burn and minimize employee furloughs and job cuts. The Company also accessed various Covid-19 related government funding schemes (combined £0.2m). The Company is also in advanced discussions with Norgine Ventures (the Company's current debt provider) with respect to an amendment of its current facility arrangements to extend the runway on the related capital repayments.

In addition to the above, the Company has recently received notice of formal variation to the Scottish Enterprise Grant of £1.54m awarded in November 2018 to fund specific and existing customer focused R&D programmes and projects. The Company has not yet claimed against these non-dilutive funds, however an initial claim for funds spent over the period from November 2018 to date will be submitted in June 2020 which is estimated to be approximately £0.4m. Claims thereafter will be submitted over the 36 months duration of the grant to ensure that the Company can access as much of the funding available as possible to continue to grow its presence and economic contribution to Life Sciences in Scotland.

The Company will continue to prioritise liquidity and the preservation of cash to enhance its financial position in response to Covid-19 and as at 12 June 2020 the Company's cash position was £1.8m.

Extension to filing 31 March 2020 year end consolidated accounts

Following discussions with the Company's auditors and recent regulatory guidance solely in relation to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, along with many other AIM listed companies, the Company has been granted an extension to the deadline for filing its 2020 Accounts to 31 December 2020. Accordingly, the Company's consolidated accounts for the year ended 31 March 2020 (the '2020 Accounts') will not be presented at the AGM.

The Company continues to work with its auditors to finalise its 2020 Accounts. The Company anticipates that it will issue unaudited, abridged financial statements including a Chairman's and CEO statement on FY2020 in due course. The date for publication of full, audited accounts will be advised as soon as possible thereafter, at which point the Company will issue an RNS and dispatch the annual report and accounts to shareholders. At that stage the Company intends to call a further general meeting to receive the annual report and accounts.

Outlook

Despite the challenging market dynamics created by Covid-19, given the Company's strong order book the Board remains confident that it is well positioned to take advantage of the attractive long-term market fundamentals in order to achieve its ambitious growth plans.

Collagen Solutions Plc
Chris Brinsmead, Chairman
Jamal Rushdy, CEO / Hilary Spence, CFO	Via Walbrook
Cenkos Securities Plc (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Giles Balleny (Corporate Finance)	Tel: [phone]
Stephen Keys
Walbrook PR Ltd	Tel: [phone] or [email protected]
Anna Dunphy	Mob: [phone]

The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

About Collagen Solutions:

Collagen Solutions Plc is a global supplier, developer, and manufacturer of medical grade collagen, tissues, and related medical devices and components for use in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and research. The Company is also expanding its range of biomaterials-based finished medical devices based on its internal and acquired intellectual property for commercialisation with partners via licensing and distribution arrangements, including ChondroMimetic®. The Company's products are used in a wide variety of applications including orthopaedics, cardiovascular, dental, plastic surgery, wound healing, neurology and urology.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement (including any information incorporated by reference in this announcement), contains certain statements that are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Such statements are prospective in nature. All statements other than historical statements of fact may be forward looking statements. Without limitation, statements containing the words 'targets', 'plans', 'believes', 'expects', 'aims', 'intends', 'will', 'may', 'anticipates', 'estimates', 'projects', 'remain confident that' or 'considers' or other similar words may be forward looking statements.

Forward looking statements are based on current expectations that involve or are subject to risks, changes in circumstance, assumptions and uncertainties. Important factors such as business or economic cycles, the measures introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the terms and conditions of the Company's financing arrangements, tax rates, or increased competition may cause the Company's actual financial results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any forward looking statements. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements. The information in this announcement is provided only as at the date of its release, and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking or other statements contained herein, except as required by applicable law.

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