Fusion IP plc - Interim results for the six months ended 31 January 2010

31 Mar 2010

Fusion IP plc (AIM: FIP), the university IP commercialisation company that turns world class research into business, is pleased to announce its Interim Results for the six months ended 31 January 2010.

Highlights:

  • Generated our first profit, £0.9m (Jan 09: loss of £0.5m), excluding subsidiary spin-out costs and amortisation. Loss for the period including the cost of subsidiary spin-outs and amortisation amounted to £1.2m (Jan 09: loss of £2.2m)
  • Raised £3.0m (net of expenses) in November 2009 and signed a co-investment agreement with IP Group in which they also took a 19.8% equity stake in the Company
  • Increased revenues to £0.8m (Jan 09: £0.1m) by signing our first major IP licensing deal from the Sheffield agreement
  • Increase in fair value of investments of £0.8m (Jan 09 increase of £0.5m)
  • Continued to maintain a strong cash position, with funds of £6.8m at 31 Jan 2010 (31 Jan 09: £6.5m)
  • Dr Alison Fielding, currently Chief Technology Officer at IP Group plc, joined the Board as Non-Executive Director
  • Created three new spin-out companies Asalus Medical Instruments, Seren Photonics and Progenteq

Commenting on these Preliminary Results, David Baynes, Chief Executive Officer of Fusion, said: "This has been a good period for the Company, one in which we have raised funds, broadly progressed the portfolio, signed agreements with key new investors and importantly moved towards profitability.  Our relationships with our universities remain as positive as ever and our IP pipelines continue to look very strong. We look forward to the rest of the financial year."

For further information please contact:

Fusion IP
+44 (0)114 275 5555
 David Baynes, CEO

Tony Gardiner, CFO

Buchanan Communications
 +44 (0)20 7466 5000
Tim Anderson / Lisa Baderoon / Catherine Breen

Seymour Pierce
 +44 (0)20 7107 8000
Chris Howard / Catherine Leftley

About Fusion

Fusion IP plc, previously called Biofusion plc, was established in 2002 to commercialise university-generated intellectual property.  Fusion has signed long term agreements with two of the UK's leading research intensive universities, the University of Sheffield and Cardiff University, giving a combined R&D spend attributable to Fusion of approximately £185m a year.

Fusion's first agreement was a ten-year exclusive arrangement with the University of Sheffield giving it the right to commercialise (through both the creation of spin-out companies and licensing) research, owned by the University, initially in the area of medical life sciences. This agreement was expanded in July 2008 to include all non-life science research-generated IP such as energy, engineering and electronics. Fusion has significant shareholdings in a portfolio of Sheffield University spin-out companies including Simcyp, Magnomatics, Diurnal and Phase Focus.

In January 2007, Fusion completed a ten year exclusive agreement with Cardiff University, also giving it the right to commercialise (through the creation of spin-out companies) Cardiff University's research-generated IP. Fusion has significant shareholdings in a portfolio of Cardiff University spin-out companies including Mesuro, Abcellute, Medaphor and Q-Chip.

On 2 December 2009, Fusion announced that it had raised approximately £3.2 million through a fund raising and that, as a result of its participation in such fund raising, IP Group plc ("IP Group") held approximately 19.8% of Fusion. Fusion has also entered into a Co-Investment Agreement with IP Group under which IP Group has the right to acquire, for cash, 20% of Fusion's equity in any new Fusion portfolio company. As Fusion normally owns 60% of any new portfolio company at start-up, IP Group's shareholding will normally equate to a 12% stake in the new portfolio company.

Fusion also has a Memorandum of Understanding with Finance Wales, the provider of commercial funding to Wales-based SMEs, which outlines a strategy of co-investment in opportunities arising from the Cardiff Agreement.

The full text of this announcement is available via RNS.

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