ASX Quarterlies: Nuheara rockets 33pc, Dicker continues to grow, while these biotechs are all cashed up

It’s quarterlies season again as the ASX market announcements page becomes increasingly flooded with earnings lodgements.

To save you the trouble of trudging through it all, we’ve wrapped up the highlights from some of the reports that caught our eye.

Dicker Data (ASX:DDR)

Dicker announced a 30% increase in total revenue for the quarter of $775.5m, an increase of 19% on pcp.

This represents strong revenue growth year to date, with unaudited revenue finalising at approximately $2.234 billion, an increase of 29.9% on the pcp.

Australia delivered 82% of YTD revenue total, with New Zealand delivering the remaining 18%.

Year-to-date (YTD) gross profit margin was finalised at 9%, in line with guidance, while the YTD EBITDA for the nine months was finalised at $92m, an increase of 8.9%.

Dicker says its overall profitability has been impacted by costs associated with rising interest rates, freight costs and increased depreciation and amortisation as a result of recent acquisitions.

The company’s outlook for Q422 is buoyant, with demand across the technologies represented remaining strong.

Hybrid cloud has become the clear model of choice for most ANZ businesses, which aligns well with the company’s cloud strategy and technology portfolio, Dicker said.

Nuheara (ASX:NUH)

Highlights for the quarter include a strategic partnership with Taiwan-based Realtek to develop next generation hearing aid products with Realtek’s advanced chipset.

Realtek cornerstoned the successful placement during the quarter, and also provided follow-on funding.

A total of $2.05 million was raised, with Realtek providing a cornerstone investment of $1.7 million, and a further $0.35 million came from existing shareholders that are sophisticated investors.

In August, Nuheara welcomed the US FDA’s landmark final ruling, establishing a regulatory category for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids in the United States.

In a world first, and most significantly for Nuheara, the ruling allowed hearing aids within the OTC category to be sold directly to consumers in stores or online without a medical exam or fitting by an audiologist.

After a 60-day enacted period, OTC hearing aid consumer retail sales started on 17 October.

Exopharm (ASX:EX1)

Highlights for the quarter include the completion of dosing in an externally conducted animal study to test LEAP purified exosomes for toxicity and immunogenicity.

Preliminary study data shows repeated dosing of Exopharm’s exosomes was safe and did not generate an immune response.

During the quarter, Exopharm completed a review of its pipeline, and has initiated two in-house pipeline product programs targeting cystic fibrosis and elastin deficiency in skin and lungs.

The company has also made key steps forward in its engineered exosome products and technologies, with techniques developed (LOAD RNA) to allow nucleic acid drugs, including RNA, into exosomes.

To monetise these discoveries, Exopharm is looking into multiple external research collaboration partnerships and discussions are ongoing, with potential for additional revenue in FY23 if concluded.

Exopharm says the potential for external partnership deals is being driven by the increasing pharmaceutical and biotech interest in GM (genetic medicine) products, and the need for non-viral GM-delivery solutions.

Exopharm continued to receive income from the existing Astellas research collaboration agreement, with $260,000 received during the quarter ($100,000 received in prior quarter).

Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP)

The cannabis company generated record quarterly sales and cash receipts, with flower sales in Australia up 40% from the previous quarter.

LGP generated revenues of $4.9 million (unaudited), up 13% from the prior quarter, which is also a 55% increase on the pcp.

The company also increased its cash receipts from the previous quarter by almost 20%, to $4.4 million.

LGP saw strong acceleration of sales in the EU against a backdrop of ongoing cost reductions.

Flower sales from Australia to Europe were up over 25% from the previous quarter, with the first delivery of new Danish flowers set to arrive in Australia in November.

During the quarter, a supply agreement was signed with Cannamedical, the leading independent distributor in Germany.

LGP finished the quarter with $4 million cash.

Nanollose (ASX:NC6)

Operational highlights during the quarter for the bio-materials company include its Nullarbor-20TM fibre from the first pilot spin being delivered to Orta, Paradise Textiles and Inditex and successfully converted into a variety of yarns.

Nullarbor-20TM yarns were then converted into a variety of fabrics, highlighting the versatility of the company’s product across its partner base.

Testing confirms the high quality of Nullarbor-20 fibres and fabrics.

During the quarter, Nanollose signed a collaboration agreement with Codi Group, which has now been extended for a further three years.

Codi is a leader in European market for high quality, sustainable wet wipes. Its clients include multinational brands, European retailers, distributors and institutional parties.

Looking ahead, Nanollose will continue the distribution of samples of yarns and fabrics to partners for appraisal and test garment production.

The company is undertaking an advanced second pilot spin of Nullarbor fibres at increased scale and microbial cellulose content, expected to be completed in December.

Nanollose will also continue to progress alternatives to leather-based on microbial cellulose in collaboration with von Holzhausen and other potential partners.

The company is working towards a transition collaboration agreements to commercial supply agreements.

At the end of the quarter, Nanollose has a cash balance of $1.2m.

Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC)

Altech reached a joint venture in September with world-leading German battery institute Fraunhofer IKTS to commercialise the latter’s CERENERGY sodium alumina solid state battery technology.

It will achieve this by building the battery plant on Altech’s land in Schwarze Pumpe, Saxony, with the Altech group holding 75% of the JV company.

Fraunhofer IKTS developed the technology over eight years and uses ceramic solid state technology, common table salt and nickel to manufacture fire and explosion-proof batteries with a lifespan of more than 15 years, which is up to twice the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries.

Altech believes that Sodium Alumina Solid State (SAS) CERENERGY batteries are the game-changing grid storage alternative to the current lithium-ion batteries.

According to the company, the e grid energy storage market is expected to grow by a 28% compound annual growth rate in the coming decades.

Altech announced late last year its technology of incorporating high capacity and high-purity alumina coated silicon and graphite in lithium-ion batteries.

A preliminary Feasibility Study has now been completed for the construction of a 10,000tpa Silumina Anodes plant in Saxony, Germany that includes an NPV of US$507m. German Federal Chancellor HE Olaf Scholz recently visited the site.

At the end of the quarter, Altech holds $8.5m in cash.

Nutritional Growth Solutions (ASX:NGS)

NGS reported an overall quarterly revenue of US$829k, up 32% on pcp.

It was the third consecutive quarter of double-digit quarter-on-quarter revenue growth for the company, as it launched an extensive retail rollout across North America.

The Healthy Heights range is now available in 403 Walmart stores across the US, with support through Walmart-owned distribution and fulfilment centres.

The range is also sold online through Walmart.com, Kroger.com, Smiths.com, Ralphs.com and RangeMe.com.

NGS also signed a distribution agreement for the entire 22 product Healthy Heights range with the largest natural products wholesale distributor in the US, United Natural Foods Inc. (NYSE: UNFI).

Elsewhere, NGS launched into South Korea and implemented a supply agreement with the country’s largest online retailer, Coupang (NYSEE: CPNG).

During the quarter, the company completed a successful capital raise of $3.5 million, partly to support the Walmart agreement.

NGS released positive one-year clinical trial results of Healthy Heights Grow Daily Boys 10+ formula, with the results now published in peer-reviewed international pediatric research journal, Hormone Research in Pediatrics.

Peter Osborne was appointed as a non-executive director. NGS believes Osborne’s experience will be valuable as he can utilise his experience in scaling businesses, especially into South East Asia.

Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX)

During the quarter, Prescient unveiled its new cell therapy enhancement platform, CellPryme-A.

CellPryme-A is said to boost the tumour killing capabilities of CAR-T therapies and improve host survival in highly resistant, syngeneic animal models.

It does this by reducing the number of suppressive regulatory T cells surrounding solid tumours that counteract the effectiveness of CAR-T and other cancer therapies; dramatically enhancing CAR-T expansion in vivo and increasing CAR-T cell penetration into tumours.

Strategic agreements signed in the quarter include MD Anderson Cancer Centre in the US to deliver adaptable CAR-T cell therapies to treat hematological malignancies.

A partnership deal was also announced with specialist cell therapy manufacturer, Q-Gen Cell Therapeutics (Q-Gen), to produce its OmniCAR cell lines for upcoming clinical trials.

Prescient executed a material transfer agreement with a large international company to evaluate the potential of utilising an automated, closed process for manufacturing OmniCAR-T cells using non-viral methods.

During the quarter, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Orphan Drug Designation to PTX-100 as a treatment for peripheral T-cell lymphomas, a hard to treat blood cancer.

The company has a strong cash balance of $21.9 million following a recent Share Purchase Plan and Top-Up placement.

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At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Exopharm, Altech Chemicals, IOUpay, Wellne, Nutritional Growth Solutions and Prescient Therapeutics are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.