The EKF range of analysers is unique in their ease of use, accuracy and portability which is why we are a trusted brand in GP surgeries, pharmacies, blood banks, sports clinics, hospitals and laboratories for the measurement of glucose, lactate, hemoglobin, hematocrit and HbA1c.

EKF Diagnostics products' reputation for quality, accuracy and ease of use stems from our beginnings as a technology business founded in Barleben in Germany in 1990. In the following years we have invested in developing a portfolio of analysers and consumables for the near patient care sector that deliver laboratory accuracy and reliability without the high costs and maintenance associated with lab devices.

In 2010 EKF Diagnostics acquired HbA1c developer Quotient Diagnostics based in Walton-on-Thames, UK and Argutus Medical in Dublin, a specialist research and distribution company engaged in kidney and liver diagnostics. The following year the company expanded further through the acquisition of Stanbio Laboratory, a manufacturer and distrubutor of diagnostic products with a worldwide customer base.

Today EKF Diagnostics has distributors in more than 70 locations around the globe, multi-national research and manufacturing facilities, teams of experienced analysts and engineers in Germany, Ireland, USA and the UK and a board led by some of foremost authorities in medical diagnostics in the world.

The ordinary shares of EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc
The business is focused on the design, development, manufacture and selling of diagnostic instruments and reagents. EKF Diagnostics also sells ancillary products including a line of proprietary cuvettes (small transparent containers which contain the patients’ specimen in the device).

EKF Diagnostics' products and devices are designed to meet the needs of smaller professional clinical and research laboratories, doctors’ offices, sports clinics and athletic testing sites. The Group has its own sales force and is particularly strong in Eastern Europe and Russia which, the Directors believe, represent significant untapped point of care markets.

In 2010 EKF Diagnostic Holdings plc acquired Quotient Diagnostics Limited, based in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey and Argutus Medical Limited, based in Dublin, Ireland. The addition of these two businesses demonstrates the ambition of EKF to becoming a world leader in point of care diagnostics in hematology and kidney related diseases.

In June 2011 EKF Diagnostics acquired US manufacturer and distributor Stanbio Laboratory and also announced a distribution agreement with Alere for the Hemo Control blood analyser (sold as HemoPoint in the USA and Mexico).

http://www.ekfdiagnostics.com/

Acquisition of Separation Technology, Inc.

RNS


RNS Number : 0948C

EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC

12 March 2014






12 March 2014

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

("EKF", the "Company" or the "Group")



Acquisition of Separation Technology, Inc.



EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the point-of-care diagnostics business, announces that it has acquired Separation Technology, Inc. ("STI"), the Florida based manufacturer of in vitro diagnostics ("IVD") devices for the haematology testing market for a cash consideration of $4.0m (c. £2.4m) to be satisfied out of current debt facilities. The acquisition of STI is expected to be earnings enhancing in 2014 and complements the Company's existing offering in the haemoglobin testing market place.



About Separation Technology, Inc.



STI develops, manufactures and markets specialty IVD devices including ultrasound instruments and table top centrifuges for the haematology testing market. STI also has an in-house engineering capability, including product design, production support and new product development. STI's revenues are currently concentrated in the US market (92% in 2013), however the business has sought to expand its offering into markets outside of the US and has recently registered products in Brazil (UltraCrit) as well as Kazakhstan, Russia and Thailand. STI currently employs 15 staff, is based in Sanford, Florida, USA, and is being sold by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.



STI's primary instrument is the ultrasound based UltraCrit haematocrit measurement device, which is FDA cleared for blood donor screening. The haematocrit reading is displayed automatically in about 30 seconds and provides a haematocrit value that allows for standardisation for all collections, including whole blood, apheresis and double red cell collections. UltraCrit uses reagentless cuvettes, a major point of differentiation between different analysers, given the relatively high cost of reagents in high-volume haematology testing. STI also manufactures a range of centrifuges including HemataStat, also used for haematocrit reading.



STI's revenue for the year ended 31 December 2013 was approximately $4.0m and EBITDA was approximately $0.5m. STI had net assets of approximately $1.0m at 31 December 2013. For more information: www.separationtechnology.com



Julian Baines, CEO of EKF commented: "The acquisition of STI is a great natural fit with our existing Point-of-care business, and UltraCrit provides us with a leading product for measuring haematocrit during blood donor screening with huge potential. The acquisition has been funded from our own resources and we expect it to be earnings enhancing from day one; so I am very confident that this acquisition represents a good value opportunity for EKF shareholders."

LISTEN: EKF Diagnostics - Acquisitions, placing and offer

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Trading update & potential Board appointment

RNS


RNS Number : 9782Z

EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC

17 December 2014








EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

("EKF", the "Company")



Trading update and potential Board Appointment



EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM listed point-of-care, central laboratory and molecular diagnostics business, provides the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2014.



Trading for year ended 31 December 2014



Despite being a year of substantial progress for the business with the establishment of a solid platform for further growth in 2015, the financial results for the year ended 31 December 2014 are expected to be below consensus expectations. The Company expects that unaudited revenues for the year to 31 December 2014 will show at least an increase of 24% on the previous year to £39.5m (2013: £31.8m). The second half is expected to show a substantial improvement on the growth seen in the first half of the year, despite the continued negative impact of exchange rates which is estimated at c. £1.9m over the year. Unaudited adjusted EBITDA is expected to be at least 29% up on the previous year at £6.2m (2013: £4.8m). Excluding the effect of exchange rates, revenue would have been expected to be up at least 30% year on year and adjusted EBITDA would have been expected to be up at least 37%.



The cash position of the Company remains strong, with unaudited cash balances as at 31 December 2014 expected to be in excess of £8.5m, with a net cash position of around £3.0m (30 June 2014: net cash of £5.2m).



The acquisitions made during the year (DiaSpect, Selah Genomics and STI) are expected to contribute at least £6.1m to overall revenues and to collectively contribute to earnings; this is lower than expected for DiaSpect and Selah Genomics but we are confident that traction gained in Q4 2014 has established a solid foundation for future revenue growth in the coming year. Despite the impact of exchange rates, the Company expects to record organic revenue growth in the rest of the business of at least 5% over the whole year and at least 13% growth in the second half of 2014 compared to H2 2013.



Outlook and potential Board Appointment



The Company remains confident of strong growth in 2015, both from the continued strong organic growth, but also through a full year contribution from the three recent acquisitions.



2015 will see the additional benefits of revenues from tender orders that were expected to complete before the current year end, the increased contribution from newly launched test panels from the Molecular Diagnostics division, and additional revenues in Asia following regulatory approval for products in China and Japan. The Company will also benefit from a full year of operational savings following the transfer of production of Quo-Test and Quo-Lab instruments and reagents cartridges to the Barleben manufacturing site.



As announced on 11 November 2014 Ron Zwanziger, founder and ex-CEO of Alere Inc., has established a significant shareholding in the Company. Discussions are ongoing with a view to him joining the Board in the near future as Non-Executive Chairman. David Evans would remain on the Board as Executive Deputy Chairman. A further announcement will be made regarding the prospective appointment in due course.



EKF will provide a more detailed year end trading update before the end of January 2015 and will announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2014 in March 2015.



Julian Baines, CEO of EKF commented: "We are expecting to deliver a solid performance over the year with earnings still expected to be up by nearly a third. In particular, the final quarter revenues of 2014 are expected to be at least £14.2m, by far our strongest performing quarter ever and this is a good indication of the momentum that we are building across the Company. We are now well placed to drive further growth in the next financial year and I look forward to providing a further update following the year end."

Trading update
RNS
RNS Number : 3158D
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC
28 January 2015



EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

("EKF", the "Company")



Trading update



EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM listed point-of-care, central laboratory and molecular diagnostics business, provides the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2014.



Trading for year ended 31 December 2014



As previously announced on 17 December 2014, the business made substantial progress in the second half of last year and has established a solid platform for further growth in 2015.



The Company now expects results for the year ended 31 December 2014 to be at the higher end of previous management guidance, with unaudited revenues of around £40.1m, a 26% improvement on the previous year (2013: £31.8m) despite revenues being impacted negatively by exchange rate differences of £2.6m. Unaudited adjusted EBITDA is expected to be up 31% to £6.3m (2013: £4.8m).



These results reflect the strong performance of the business in the second half with H2 2014 revenue of £23.3m, up 38% against the same period in 2013, and a 39% improvement on the previous half, H1 2014. Underlying organic revenues accounted for £33.6m of total revenues which represented 6% organic growth year-on-year.



The point of care business continues to perform well, with growth being seen across most products. In particular, QuoLab instrument sales are expected to be up more than 30% on the previous year, production being able to meet strong demand following the successful transfer of manufacturing to our Barleben facility, and Biosen instrument sales are expected to show an increase of more than 25% on the previous year, mainly due to strong growth in Asia.



The unaudited cash position at 31 December 2014 was £8.3m, and the net cash position was £2.4m (30 June 2014: net cash of £5.2m). Total unaudited trade debtors at 31 December amounted to £12.0m (2013: £4.8m) reflecting a strong final month and quarter.



As highlighted above, the trading year ended well, with the Company recording a particularly strong December due to an increasing monthly contribution from the acquisitions made during the year. Overall, acquisitions contributed £6.4m to revenues. Selah contributed £3.0m to full year revenues and is beginning to gain traction, particularly with its DME panel as well as through the launch of additional testing services. Selah recorded sales of £0.8m in December, its best monthly performance to date under EKF ownership, and the Company anticipates that this level of sales will be exceeded in January 2015. This steadily increasing monthly run-rate bodes well for the Company's ability to deliver continued substantial growth through 2015 as a whole.



Whilst we had a slower than expected start from the acquisitions, the progression to a monthly run rate more in line with management's initial expectations is very encouraging. The initial Selah purchase agreement was drafted to accommodate a reduction in deferred consideration payments if certain performance targets were not met; the lower than anticipated sales from Selah is likely to result in the year 1 earn-out payment of $17.5m not being payable. In addition and as announced on 5 January 2015, the Company agreed to make a cash payment of £1.425m as final settlement for the total deferred cash consideration due in relation to the Diaspect acquisition, versus the maximum deferred consideration which would have totalled £4.75m.



Selah's PrecisionPath™ service, which provides a range of clinically validated biomarkers that can be used to design specific personalised treatment plans for cancer patients, represents a huge opportunity for growth and a major US pilot for profiling colon cancer patients is progressing well. This has the potential to become a very high margin reimbursable testing service and the Company will keep shareholders updated as this progresses. Selah is also in the final stages of agreeing a major collaboration which could make the latest genetic sequencing for colon cancer available to community doctors, allowing them to directly prescribe the most effective treatments based on the patient's unique genetic make-up. An update will be provided as this agreement is concluded.



The improved performance at Selah and the continued traction that their testing panels are having with clinicians in the US is very encouraging. The progress being made with PrecisionPath and the continued development of the commercial offering of PointMan™ provides the Company with confidence that 2015 will be a very significant year for establishing the credentials of the EKF Molecular Diagnostics division and a considerable generator of shareholder value.



With the successful transfer of production of Quo-Test and Quo-Lab instruments and reagents cartridges to the Barleben manufacturing site and the closure of the Dublin site, the Company expects to benefit from operational savings in the region of £0.75m annually. In addition, work has now begun on expanding the Barleben site which will provide increased production capacity. As production levels rise the Company expects this to have an additional positive impact on product margins, as well as creating further overhead efficiency opportunities. The Company will also continue to integrate the acquisitions made in 2014 and to exploit cross-selling initiatives and cost efficiency opportunities.



Outlook



The Company remains confident of progress and growth in 2015, both as a result of strong organic growth, and also through a full year contribution from the three strategic acquisitions, particularly the increasing monthly run-rate being generated through Selah.



The Company continues to expect to see the benefits of revenues from tender orders that were anticipated to complete before the current year end. A number of new product launches have been scheduled for 2015, alongside various product enhancements, and a number of key geographic registrations are currently nearing conclusion which will collectively help drive 2015 revenues.



Julian Baines, CEO of EKF, commented:"I am very pleased with the revenue and earnings growth that we delivered during 2014. These were well above the average growth rates for the IVD industry although as a whole it fell short of our own ambitious growth targets. I am particularly encouraged by our strong finish to the year and the early signs that this momentum is carrying over into 2015. As we move forward into the new financial year, we believe we can continue to grow the business well beyond the average growth rates for the industry.



"The coming year has the potential to be a period of substantial and sustained growth for EKF and the key to our success in 2015 will be built on the strong foundations laid in the final quarter of 2014 in both our point of care and molecular divisions. As a Board we are very mindful of the need to deliver against realistic growth targets and, whilst we will remain dependent upon external regulatory bodies, we will deliver and build shareholder value. It is clear from Shareholder feedback that our focus this year should remain on driving organic growth across the business and we have no acquisition plans for 2015."



EKF will announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2014 on 16 March 2015.



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28 Jan Canaccord... 30.00 Buy
28 Jan N+1 Singer 35.00 Buy
28 Jan finnCap 30.00 Buy

Final Results
RNS
RNS Number : 4709H
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC
16 March 2015

16 March 2015

EKF DIAGNOSTICS HOLDINGS PLC

("EKF", the "Company" or the "Group")



Final results



EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM listed point-of-care, central laboratory and molecular diagnostics business, announces its audited final results for the year ended 31 December 2014. EKF has an installed base of over 80,000 analysers globally and manufactures over 56 million tests annually.



Financial Highlights

· Revenues up 26% to £40.1m (2013: £31.8m)

§ Organic growth of 6% with acquisitions contributing £6.5m

§ Strong second half growth of 38% year-on-year

§ £2.6m negative effect of exchange rates

· Gross profit up 22% to £19.9m (2013: £16.3m)

· Adjusted EBITDA* up 31% to £6.3m (2013: £4.8m)

· Cash at 31 December 2014 of £8.3m (2013: £2.6m); Net cash of £2.1m (2013: £0.1m)

* Excluding exceptional items and share based payments



Operational Highlights



Point-of-Care

· Over 18,000 analysers sold during the year taking installed based to over 80,000

· Quo-Lab instrument sales up more than 30%; Biosen instrument sales up more than 8%

· Significant tender wins for HemoControl in Mexico and Latin America



Central laboratory

· Overall sales down 14%, with β-HB reagent sales up 9%



Molecular Diagnostics

· Major US collaboration to use PrecisionPath™ to improve colon cancer treatment

· Multiple third party evaluations commissioned for PointMan™



David Evans, Executive Chairman of EKF, said:

"Our ambitions remain to achieve double digit growth and to be able to exploit the opportunities in front of us. We are under no illusion that we must deliver on expectations and that as we continue to seek to grow we must do this in a non-dilutory fashion

Company News

EKF Diagnostics receives two offers for its point-of-care division

Sun, 23 August 2015




EKF Diagnostics Holdings Quote more



Price: 20.62

Chg: 0.87

Chg %: 4.24%

Date: 16:30



(ShareCast News) - EKF Diagnostics, which was recently pressured by its major shareholders into putting its point-of-care business up for sale, has reportedly received offers from two unidentified bidders.
The larger of the two bids is believed to have a value of £76.4m, according to City sources cited by the Sunday Times.

The division, which is the biggest of the the AIM-listed healthcare firm's three businesses, develops products that enable an immediate diagnosis.

A number of potential bidders were considering putting in offers for the entire company, which could value it at as much as £100m, the newspaper said.

One company thought to be interested is US diagnostics device maker Alere.

Offer Update
RNS
RNS Number : 3865Z
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC
18 September 2015

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

("EKF", the "Company" or the "Group")



Extension to deadline under Rule 2.6(c) of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code")



On 24 August 2015 the board of EKF (the "Board") announced that it had received a proposal from Jinjing (Group) Co., Ltd ("Jinjing") regarding a possible offer for the whole of the issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the Company. Since this announcement, Jinjing has engaged in an active phase of due diligence with the Company and has requested more time to complete this work.



In accordance with Rule 2.6(a) of the Code, Jinjing was required, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on 20 September 2015, to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for EKF in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies.



In accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code, the Board has requested that the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Panel") extend the relevant deadline, as referred to above, to enable the parties to continue their discussions regarding a possible offer. Accordingly, an extension has been granted by the Panel and Jinjing must, by no later than 5.00 p.m. on 19 October 2015, either announce a firm intention to make an offer for EKF in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline will only be extended with the consent of the Panel.



This additional time will allow Jinjing and the Company to work towards JinJing making an offer which is recommendable to the Company's shareholders.



A further announcement will be made when appropriate. In the meantime, EKF shareholders are advised by the Board to take no action. There can be no certainty that any formal offer for the Company will be forthcoming, nor as to the terms of any such formal offer.



This announcement has been made with the agreement and approval of Jinjing.

New data published on PointMan
RNS
RNS Number : 4388Z
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC
18 September 2015

18 September 2015

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

("EKF", the "Company")



New data published on PointMan™ molecular diagnostic technology



EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM listed point-of-care, central laboratory and molecular diagnostics business, announces that two research posters supporting its PointMan™ molecular diagnostic technology have been delivered at key conferences.



On 8th September at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's 16th World Conference on Lung Cancer meeting in Denver USA, Luecke et al from GILUPI GmbH and EKF Molecular presented a poster titled: An effective in vivo Liquid Biopsy tool for high yield isolation of circulating tumour cells. The researchers used EKF's PointMan KRAS DNA enrichment technology to analyse circulating tumour cells from blood samples taken from lung cancer patients using the GILUPI CellCollector®. The team concluded that the combination overcomes blood volume limitations of other CTC extraction approaches and mutations in isolated CTC DNA can be analysed using the PointMan technology. The Gilupi device allows CTC enumeration, molecular characterisation, and biomarker expression analysis, which could help guide treatment strategies and monitoring therapy efficacy.



PointMan also featured in a poster at the 9th Circulating Nucleic Acid in Plasma and Serum meeting in Berlin where Kimura et al from the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kanazawa University Hospital, Japan, presented data on T790M DNA enrichment of specimens from a cohort of 52 lung cancer patients. T790M is an important biomarker as its presences indicates patients are becoming resistant to the drug regimen that is being used in the treatment of their late stage lung cancer. Being able to accurately, rapidly, cost effectively and non-invasively detect EGFR T790M early will assist in informing clinicians that a change in treatment is required. This poster expands on work previously presented at AACR in April and concludes that the PointMan assay is a useful and rapid technique for the detection of T790M in circulating DNA.



Julian Baines, CEO of EKF Diagnostics said: "These posters presented at two of the world's most prestigious meetings of researchers and clinicians treating lung cancer confirm the utility of PointMan and its key role in the molecular analysis of circulating tumour cells and cancer DNA in liquid biopsies. The global incidence of lung cancer is estimated at 1.825M of which 85% are non-small cell lung cancer and relevant to the benefit that using PointMan will offer by way of indicating more targeted and effective treatment options for clinicians treating lung cancer in the future. The increasing body of scientific data that is being generated to support PointMan will be particularly important as we commercialise the technology following CE regulatory approval anticipated later this month."



In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Takeover Code, a copy of this announcement will be published on the Company's website http://www.ekfdiagnostics.com by no later than 12 noon on 16 September 2015.

Extension to deadline under Rule 2.6(c)
RNS
RNS Number : 6078C
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC
19 October 2015

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION



This is an announcement falling under Rule 2.4 of the Takeover Code and does not constitute an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made.



EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc

("EKF" or the "Company")



Extension to deadline under Rule 2.6(c) of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code")



On 24 August 2015 the board of EKF (the "Board") announced that it had received a proposal from Jinjing (Group) Co., Ltd ("Jinjing") regarding a possible offer for the whole of the issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the Company.



The original deadline for Jinjing to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the Company or announce that it does not intend to make an offer was 5 p.m. on 18 September 2015. This deadline was subsequently extended, with the consent of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Panel"), to 5 p.m. on 19 October 2015.



The parties are working together to conclude confirmatory due diligence and to agree the terms of a possible transaction, which includes, amongst other things, continuing discussions on the offer structure. Alternative structures under consideration include a cash offer by Jinjing for the entire issued share capital of EKF in combination with a distribution by EKF of its interests in its Molecular business to existing shareholders or a sale of certain assets by EKF to Jinjing in combination with a return of value by EKF to existing shareholders.



In accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code, the Board has requested that the Panel extend the relevant deadline, as referred to above, to enable the parties to continue their discussions regarding a possible offer. Accordingly, an extension has been granted by the Panel and Jinjing must, by no later than 5 p.m. on 23 October 2015, either announce a firm intention to make an offer for EKF in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline will only be extended with the consent of the Panel.



A further announcement will be made when appropriate. In the meantime, EKF shareholders are advised by the Board to take no action. There can be no certainty that any formal offer for the Company will be forthcoming, nor as to the terms of any such formal offer.



This announcement has been made with the agreement and approval of Jinjing.