The Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price went up around 0.5% after the company delivered its quarterly update for the first quarter of FY22.
For readers that don't know what Polynovo does, it's a business that develops medical devices that use the patented bioabsorbable polymer technology called Novosorb.
Novosorb is a group of medical grade polymers that can be 'expressed' in a variety of physical formats. Novosorb polymers have advantageous properties such as biocompatibility and design flexibility. These devices help tissue repair, before they biodegrade.
It has expanded its manufacturing facility and headquarters in Melbourne, as it prepares for growth.
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Polynovo FY22 first quarter update
Geographically, the company has seen different levels of performance in different markets.
Europe
Polynovo said that in the EU, face to face meetings are back, conferences are being attended and hospital access has returned to near normal levels.
Management are expecting to sign additional distributors in the second quarter, including in Cyprus and the Czech Republic. Other jurisdictions, such as France and Portugal, are in negotiation. The EU has performed "well" with growth of 204% compared to the first quarter of FY21.
A new third party logistics distribution centre in Belgium is operational and filling sales orders with deliveries to Germany, Finland and an order from Italy being filled this week.
The company said that all indications are that orders will commence soon to other distributors in Poland, Turkey and Greece.
A relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in UK and Irish hospitals has been a "positive" for the business. It has also been buoyed by some clinical trials. FY22 first quarter sales were up 327% on the same quarter last year.
US
Management called the trading in the US "patchy". Polynovo said it has had limited access to American hospitals and surgeons. Despite that, it achieved a record number of new accounts opened in the first quarter, with total accounts in the US up 65% on the first quarter of FY21. Its enlarged sales team is making progress into new territories.
July and August sales were up 56% year on year, whilst September sales were mixed. This resulted in the first quarter sales being up 21%.
Australia and New Zealand
Polynovo said that its local sales were impacted by the long lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria. It's expecting sales to improve as COVID-19 restrictions ease in the second quarter of FY22.
Leadership commentary
New accounts in its direct markets (excluding distributor markets) in the first quarter of FY22 were 56% higher than the FY21 first quarter.
The managing director of Polynovo, Paul Brennan said:
A strong start to the first quarter of FY22 follows the strong fourth quarter finish in FY21 despite continuing COVID restriction in the southern states of the US. Our teams are expanding and signing new accounts and as patient access improves, we expect this will translate into strong sales.
Polynovo share price snapshot
Over the past year, the Polynovo share price has actually fallen by 23%. However, in the last five years it has risen 467%.
