Covid-19 testing firm Prenetics’ Q1 revenue jumps 60% ahead of IPO

Prenetics Group Limited, a Hong-Kong based genetic and diagnostic testing company, clocked revenue growth of over 60% in the first quarter as it prepares to list on the Nasdaq on May 18.

Prenetics CEO Danny Yeung at Hong Kong’s Rise conference 2015 / Photo credit: Rise

The company, which is known for its Covid-19 testing services, said it made US$92 million in revenue in the first three months of 2022, up 60.2% from a year earlier as demand for testing grew amid a resurgence of the virus.

Noting the firm’s growth in revenue and its planned Nasdaq listing, Prenetics CEO Danny Yeung said the company is set for global M&As in the next few quarters.

“We are in advanced M&A discussions with multiple companies in Europe and Southeast Asia in areas of telehealth and personalized care, which we believe can add additional revenues and new technology to our portfolio,” he said.

The company’s gross profit expanded 64.3% to US$36 million in the first quarter. Its gross margin improved after it hiked the cost management of its diagnostic testing services.

Meanwhile, Prenetics swung to a quarterly loss from operations of US$600,000 from a US$11.1 million growth last year. The company attributed the loss to a larger sum of payments made in shares following an increase in the company’s equity value.

Prenetics is going public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. The merger with US-listed blank-check company Artisan Acquisition Corp has been approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company plans to launch new products in the first half of 2022, including a non-invasive colorectal cancer screening test and an at-home blood test.

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