UPDATE: Biocompatibles Shares Up On Move Into Profit

16th Jun 2010 11:00

(Adds analyst comment, share price) By Jason Douglas Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. medical technology company Biocompatibles International PLC (BII.LN) said Wednesday it will report a profit for the first six months of 2010 following strong sales of its drug-eluting beads. The company makes tiny beads that deliver drugs to where they're needed in the body and Biocompatibles said six-month trading at its oncology products division, which sells products to treat cancer, was ahead of its internal expectations. It raised its revenue guidance for the full year to a range of GBP31 million to GBP34 million, from a previous one of GBP28 million to GBP32 million. More significantly, according to analysts, Biocompatibles said it expects to remain profitable from now on. Piper Jaffray analysts said the move into profit is well-ahead of its expectations. It had forecast profitability from 2012 onwards. "Clearly, an earlier than anticipated move into sustainable profitability this year will be a major milestone for Biocompatibles which we would expect to strengthen investor confidence," said Michael King, an analyst at Nomura Code Securities. At 0942 GMT, shares in Biocompatibles were up 10.5 pence, or 4.4%, at 252 pence, outperforming a 0.3% higher FTSE All-Share index. Biocompatibles said sales of its beads were strong in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. It added a diabetes treatment being developed with AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) is proceeding through clinical trials as planned. However, the company said conditions in the brachytherapy market remain challenging. Brachytherapy is a form of radiotherapy for cancer where radioactive sources are placed close to tumors, and Biocompatibles' Brachysciences unit operates in that market. Biocompatibles said it expects to have cash of between GBP25 million and GBP26 million at the end of the year. -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 16, 2010 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)