Venn Life posts narrow interim loss, acquires Kinesis

22nd Sep 2015 15:51

(ShareCast News) - Clinical trial services provider Venn Life Sciences posted a narrower interim pre-tax loss and has agreed to acquire Kinesis Pharma BV.In the six months to the end of June, the London-listed company saw its pre-tax loss narrow from €987,000 (£716,000) to €259,000, while revenue almost trebled to €4.5m, offsetting an increase in administrative expenses.In a statement released on Tuesday, the group attributed the solid performances to improved margins and to continued revenue growth.Meanwhile, Venn also announced the acquisition of Netherland-based Kinesis Pharma BV in a deal worth up to €6.5m, with €3.6m, €2m of which is in cash, to be paid on completion and the remaining balance subject to future performances.The group has raised £3.6m via the issue of 16.2m shares at 22p each to fund the acquisition."The acquisition of Kinesis will enable earlier and longer engagement with clients as we can now offer services across a broader range of areas," said group non-executive chairman David Evans."The Venn Kinesis combination affords an opportunity to cross-sell services to an expanded client base and greatly differentiate the business."Venn shares were down 7.55% to 23.58p at 1606 BST on Tuesday.