Interim report January 1-June 30, 2014: Pharmaceutical development programs advancing as planned - successful share issue enables progress according to strategy
Highlights in January-June 2014:
* Herantis Pharma Group was formed through the merger of two Finnish
pharmaceutical development companies on April 29, 2014 when Hermo Pharma Oy
acquired 99.0% of the shares of Laurantis Pharma Oy in a stock swap and
changed its name to Herantis Pharma Plc.
* Herantis was listed on the First North Finland marketplace of NASDAQ OMX
Helsinki stock exchange, with trading starting on June 11, 2014. An Initial
Public Offering produced a total of €14.3 million before share issue
expenses
* Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, granted the company a new
product development loan in the amount of €0.5 million for preparations for
clinical research on the CDNF protein in Parkinson's disease
* Herantis had no revenue during the review period. The Group's financial
result for the period was €-2.4 million (parent company's H1/2013 result €-
0.5 million)
* The clinical drug development programs advanced as planned
* Herantis' cash and cash equivalents amounted to €14.2 (0.0) million on June
30, 2014
Key figures
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|€ thousands | 1-6/2014¹|1-6/2013(2)|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
| |Consolidated| Parent|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Revenue | 0.0| 0.0|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Personnel expenses | -355.0| -183.2|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Depreciation and amortization | -455.7| -151.3|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Other expenses for business operations| -831.0| -161.1|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Profit for the period | -2,445.2| -514.5|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Cash flow from operations | -2,409.0| -407.0|
+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
+-------------------------+-------------+---------------+
|€ thousands |Jun 30, 2014¹|Dec 31, 2013(2)|
+-------------------------+-------------+---------------+
| | Consolidated| Parent|
+-------------------------+-------------+---------------+
|Cash and cash equivalents| 14,241.7| 17.7|
+-------------------------+-------------+---------------+
|Equity | 26,861.3| 120.0|
+-------------------------+-------------+---------------+
|Balance sheet total | 33,658.4| 2,640.9|
+-------------------------+-------------+---------------+
+------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
| | 1-6/2014¹|1-6/2013(2)|
+------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
| |Consolidated| Parent|
+------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Equity ratio % | 79.8| 4.5|
+------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Earnings per share € | -2.21| n/a|
+------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Number of shares at end of period(3)| 4,058,214| n/a|
+------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
|Average number of shares(3) | 1,107,739| n/a|
+------------------------------------+------------+-----------+
(1) Herantis Pharma Group was formed on April 29, 2014 through merger of
Herantis Pharma Plc and Laurantis Pharma
(2) Comparison period figures from parent company of Herantis Pharma Plc
(3 )See section Acquisitions and directed share issues
Pro Forma information
The pro forma information on the merger of business operations illustrates the
financial effects of the merger. The information is prepared based on the
assumption that the merger took place on January 1, 2013. The combination of
business operations was completed on April 29, 2014. The pro forma information
is given for the periods 1-6/2014 and 1-6/2013. The accounting principles for
the pro forma information are detailed in Herantis' IPO and listing prospectus
of May 12, 2014.
+------------------------------+--------+--------+
|€ thousands |1-6/2014|1-6/2013|
+------------------------------+--------+--------+
|Personnel expenses | -508.2| -357.1|
+------------------------------+--------+--------+
|Depreciation and amortization |-1,064.7|-1,064.7|
+------------------------------+--------+--------+
|Other operational expenses |-1,361.8| -736.3|
+------------------------------+--------+--------+
|Profit (-loss) from operations|-2,934.8|-2,158.1|
+------------------------------+--------+--------+
Formulae used in calculating key figures
Equity ratio = Equity / balance sheet total
Earnings per share = Profit for period / average number of shares
Average number of shares = Weighted average number of shares. The number of
shares is weighted by the number of days each share has been outstanding during
the review period
Pekka Simula, CEO:
Pharmaceutical development programs advancing as planned - successful share
issue enables progress according to strategy
"I am extremely satisfied with the positive reception of our listing on the
First North Finland marketplace and our share issue. The new funding of
approximately €14.3 million before expenses enables us to develop our business
according to our strategy. The minimum target of our listing issue was
oversubscribed by 40%. In my opinion, this illustrates the strong faith of
investors in the high quality of Finnish drug development.
The funds obtained through the share issue will be mainly used to finance our
product development development projects, in particular the clinical trials of
our three most important product candidates: Cis-UCA eye drops for the treatment
of dry eye, neuro-protective CDNF for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, and
Lymfactin for the treatment of secondary lymphedema caused by breast cancer
treatment. Our drug development program focuses on diseases with a clear unmet
clinical need.
Our objective for the next three years is to reach a clinical proof-of-concept
of three of our most important drugs. One of our goals is also at least one
commercialization agreement by the end of 2017. In practice, this means
collaboration with a Finnish or foreign pharmaceutical company, covering the
late-stage clinical development of the drug, as well as its sales and
marketing."
Income from business operations, R&D expenses
Herantis had no revenue during the review period. The parent company had no
revenue in the corresponding period in the previous year.
The review period's R&D expenses were €0.6 million, recorded in the profit and
loss statement as expense for the period. The R&D expenses mainly comprised
preparation expenses for CDNF Phase 1 clinical trials. The R&D expenses for the
parent company, €0.4 million for the comparison period, were capitalized.
The profit for the review period was €-2.4 million. This includes listing-
related expenses in the amount of €0.8 million, recorded as part of financing
expenses. The parent company's profit for the comparison period was €-0.5
million.
Comparison of pro forma figures
Herantis in its combined form did not have Pro forma revenue in the review
period or in the corresponding period in the previous year.
The Pro forma personnel expenses for the review period were €0.5 (0.4) million.
Pro forma amortization for the review period amounted to €1.1 (1.1) million, out
of which the allocation of amortization on goodwill to product development
projects in connection with the acquisition of Laurantis was €0.8 (0.8) million.
The review period's Pro forma loss from business operations was €2.9 (2.2)
million.
Financing and capital expenditure
The company's cash and cash equivalents on June 30, 2014 amounted to €14.2 (0.0)
million.
In connection with its listing on First North Finland, Herantis launched an
Initial Public Offering. The issuance of 1,364,770 shares produced funds in the
amount of €14.3 million before share issue expenses. The review period's cash
flow from operations was €-2.4 million. The parent company's cash flow from
operations for the corresponding period in the previous year was €-0.4 million.
Acquisitions and directed share issues
In accordance with the decision by the extraordinary general meeting of
shareholders on November 14, 2013, Herantis completed a share issue in February
2014, in which 567 new shares were issued to the company's existing shareholders
and a limited number of new shareholders. The number of the company's shares
rose to 6,606.
The extraordinary meeting of shareholders of April 29, 2014 decided on a split,
in which 199 new shares were issued for each of the company's shares, bringing
the total number of shares to 1,321,200.
In addition, the extraordinary general meeting on April 29, 2014 decided on a
stock swap with the shareholders of Laurantis Pharma, whose shareholders
received a total of 1,372,244 shares as consideration for 99 percent of
Laurantis Pharma stock. This brought the total number of shares to 2,693,444
prior to the IPO.
Balance sheet
As the result of the merger of Herantis and Laurantis Pharma, the consideration
for the shares of Laurantis Pharma that exceeds the company's equity has been
capitalized and allocated to R&D expenses and consolidated goodwill in the
consolidated balance sheet. Following the acquisition and the IPO, the
consolidated balance sheet on June 30, 2014 stood at approximately €33.7
million. The parent company's balance sheet total on December 31, 2013 was
approximately €2.6 million.
Equity
Consolidated equity on June 30, 2014 was €26.9 (0.4) million. The parent
company's equity was €0.1 million on December 31, 2013.
Personnel, management and administration
Herantis Pharma was formed through the merger of Hermo Pharma and Laurantis
Pharma on April 29, 2014. Through the merger, the number of personnel increased
to six people as the employees of both companies were transferred to Herantis'
payroll.
Working with academic and industrial partners, Herantis aims at keeping its own
organization cost-efficient and agile, thereby enabling the allocation of the
majority of its funds to drug development.
In connection with the merger, the composition of the company's Board of
Directors changed. Pekka Mattila continues as the Chairman, with the earlier
members of the Board of Hermo Pharma, Jonathan Knowles and Timo Veromaa, as well
as the earlier members of the Board of Laurantis Pharma, Aki Prihti, Frans Wuite
and James Phillips, as ordinary members.
Risks and uncertainties
The most significant risks and uncertainties in Herantis' business operations
are detailed in the IPO prospectus dated May 12, 2014 (available in Finnish). No
changes in the risks and uncertainties have taken place after the publication of
the prospectus.
Shares and shareholders
Trading with Herantis shares began on the First North Finland marketplace on
June 11, 2014. The share subscription price in the IPO was €10.50 per share.
Herantis' market capitalization at the end of the review period was €40.8
million. The closing price of the share on June 30, 2014 was €10.05, with the
highest price during the review period being €11.00, lowest €9.00 and average
€10.27.
According to Herantis' shareholder register on June 30, 2014, the company had
450 registered shareholders.
The members of Herantis' Board of Directors and the CEO held a total of 36,606
shares, equaling 0.9% of the company's total stock.
Annual General Meeting
The 2014 ordinary Annual General Meeting of Herantis was held on March
20, 2014. In addition, the company convened an extraordinary General Meeting in
connection with the merger and IPO on April 29, 2014.
The Annual General Meeting decided to initiate a new stock option program,
authorize the Board of Directors to grant a maximum of 117 options in the
initiated program to the members of the Board of Directors in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the program, and grant 213 options in the initiated
program to the CEO. At the same time, the AGM decided to annul 40 unused options
from the 2010 stock option program. After the share split (see Acquisitions and
directed share issues above), each of the old options entitles the holder to
subscribe to 200 shares in the company.
The AGM decided that the members of the Board of Directors be paid a monthly fee
of €1,000, and the Chairman a monthly fee of €2,000.
Authorized Public Accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy was elected the
company's auditor, with Martin Grandell, APA, as the responsible auditor.
Outlook for 2014
After its listing on First North Finland, Herantis focuses on the clinical
development of three of its most important drugs, all of which are still at the
development stage. The outlook for 2014 remains unchanged from the information
published in the listing and IPO prospectus of May 12, 2014.
The main objective in 2014 is to start a Phase 2 clinical trial as proof of
efficacy of the cis-UCA eye drop for dry eye in comparison with a placebo, by
the end of the year.
The long-term target of Herantis is to significantly grow its business by
entering commercialization agreements for its drugs and by allocating funds thus
received to the development of new drugs.
No commercialization agreements exist as of yet. Instead, the company's present
operation is focused on the clinical development of the drugs. The objective is
to have a commercialization agreement for at least one of the most important
drugs with a Finnish or foreign pharmaceutical company by the end of 2017. The
company does not expect any revenues prior to that. In pharmaceutical
development, the speed of the research work defines the time when expenses
incur.
Accounting principles for the half-year report
This half-year interim report is prepared in accordance with good accounting
practices, local legislation and the rules of the First North Finland
marketplace. The figures in this report are not audited. The figures are
independently rounded.
Financial reporting
Financial reports are published on the company's website www.herantis.com. This
report is published in Finnish and in English. In case of any discrepancies
between the language versions, the Finnish version shall prevail.
The financial statements report for 2014 will be published on February
27, 2015. The schedule for other financial information for 2015 will be
published by the end of 2014.
Herantis Pharma Plc
Board of Directors
APPENDICES
Profit & loss statement and balance sheet January 1-June 30, 2014
Cash flow statement January 1-June 30, 2014
Changes in equity
Distribution: NASDAQ OMX, principal media
For more information, please contact:
Pekka Simula, CEO
Telephone: +358 40 730 0445
www.herantis.com
Certified Advisor: UB Capital Oy, telephone +358 9 2538 0225
Herantis Pharma in brief:
Herantis is a pharmaceutical development company based in Finland, researching
and developing drugs particularly for inflammatory, central nervous system and
lymphatic system diseases. Our core expertise is translating drug candidates
from academic research to clinical development. Herantis has three drugs under
development that are focused on diseases with a clear unmet clinical need. We
believe our drugs are the first or best in their class and have the potential to
change treatment strategies of diseases. The shares of Herantis Pharma Plc are
listed on the First North Finland marketplace run by NASDAQ OMX Helsinki stock
exchange.
