IPATF - Immunoprecise Doubles Q2 Revenue From Q2 2017

Canada NewsWire

VICTORIA, Dec. 31, 2018

VICTORIA, Dec. 31, 2018 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the "Company" or "ImmunoPrecise") (TSX VENTURE: IPA) (OTC PINK: IPATF) today reports its financial results for Q2 ended October 31, 2018. The financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") can be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Financial Highlights:

• Revenue. During the three months ended October 31, 2018, the Company increased revenues to $2,716,791 (YTD: $5,589,576) from $1,316,261 (YTD: $1,907,319) in 2017. This represents a 106% (YTD: 193%) increase in revenue from the Company's increased capacity, expanded market share in Europe, increased high margin projects at its B-cell lab and the acquisitions of U-Protein Express and ModiQuest Research.
  
  
• Gross Margin. During the three months ended October 31, 2018, the Company increased its gross margin to $1,401,725 (YTD: $2,969,551) from $533,195 (YTD: $566,607) in 2017. In percentage terms, the Company's gross margin increased to 52% (YTD: 53%) from 41% (YTD: 30%) in 2017. The Company anticipates that gross margin on a percentage basis will continue to be over 50% for the balance of fiscal 2019.
  
  
• Strong Working Capital Position. As at October 31, 2018, the Company had cash on hand of $8,831,052 and a strong working capital position of $8,188,165.
  
  
• Net Loss. The Company recorded a net loss of $1,485,732 (YTD: $2,588,094) during the three months ended October 31, 2018, compared to net loss of $903,252 (YTD: $1,761,084) for three months ended October 31, 2017. The net loss increased in 2018 primarily as a result of additional staffing for growth initiative projects.

Growth Initiatives:

• European Operations. The acquisitions of U-Protein Express (August, 2017) and ModiQuest Research (April, 2018) have enhanced ImmunoPrecise's position as a leading, full-service antibody CRO, by strengthening its ability to partner with clients across the entire antibody discovery, manufacturing, and engineering continuum.
  
  
• High Margin Projects.  In the first half of fiscal 2019, the Company has deliberately seeking opportunities to move its antibody production facilities toward higher margin services such as B-cell and transgenic animal antibody discovery.
  
  
• New Antibody Discoveries.  The Company has strategically invested in the development of antibody discovery platforms and related intellectual property assets.  At a minimal cost, the Company plans to independently identify new therapeutic targets and pursue collaborations, joint ventures and/or licensing agreements related to high value disease targets.

"We believe our strong revenue growth reflects our progress toward the goal of aligning our Companies' unique continuum of services, supporting clients from target selection through pre-clinical studies, with an ever-strong and growing, global market. There has been an impressive increase in the scale of services requested by prospects and clients, further confirming the value of investing in our global presence to emerge as a leader in the full-service, antibody discovery and development sector," stated CEO and President, Dr. Jennifer Bath. "We are happy with our second-quarter performance, the integration of our new production sites, and we are optimistic about continued growth in revenue and shareholder value."

Grant of Stock Options

The Company also announces that it has granted a total of 1,250,000 stock options to its directors and officers.  The options are exercisable at a price of $1.00 per share for a period of five years from the date of grant.  One-third of the options will vest every six months from the date of grant.

About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.

ImmunoPrecise is a full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery company focused on the next generation of antibody discovery, to deliver the most therapeutically-relevant antibodies, in a shorter period of time, with the highest probability of succeeding to clinical trials.

ImmunoPrecise operates from state-of-the-art laboratory facilities located at the Vancouver Island Technology Park in Victoria, British Columbia, in collaboration with its wholly-owned subsidiary operations at U-Protein Express B.V., in the Life Science Incubator, Utrecht, and ModiQuest Research, Oss, both in the Netherlands. The Company operates globally to offer antibody services from target analysis to pre-clinical studies.

The services offered to clients include antibody discovery against a broad spectrum of antigens, including challenging targets. Amongst these services, the Company offers hybridoma production, B-cell services, and a variety of phage display platforms. The Company also provides a broad range of supporting services including immunologically-based assays, recombinant protein manufacturing, humanization, optimization, stable cell line development, and advanced solutions to challenges faced by clients in antibody-related research and development. The antibodies produced by ImmunoPrecise target a wide variety of therapeutic, diagnostic and research applications.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company uses words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "expect", "believe", "intend" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by ImmunoPrecise in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to ImmunoPrecise's expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties.  Many factors could cause ImmunoPrecise's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, actual revenues and earnings for IPA being lower than anticipated, and those risks and uncertainties described in ImmunoPrecise's annual management discussion and analysis for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2017 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The "forward-looking statements" contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, ImmunoPrecise undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.

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