PRIVATE cord-blood bank Cordlife has sunk into the red with a net loss of S$6.3 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2024, compared with a net profit of S$1.3 million in the previous corresponding period.
This was largely due to the fallout from lapses discovered in the storage of the company’s cord-blood units two years ago, the group said in a bourse filing on Saturday (Mar 1) night.
Loss per share for the half-year period came in at S$0.0247, from earnings per share of S$0.0051 in the corresponding year-ago period.
Revenue fell 32 per cent to S$18.7 million, from S$27.4 million a year earlier. This was because the mainboard-listed company’s Singapore operations were suspended until Sep 14, 2024, after the storage lapses were discovered.
The company was allowed to resume operations from Sep 15, 2024, to Jan 13, 2025, but only partially. It only fully resumed operations on Jan 14, 2025, after receiving cord-blood banking and human tissue banking licences, which are valid for a year.
As a result, revenue from the company’s diagnostics business unit declined 11.6 per cent to S$1.9 million, largely due to a decrease in testing volume in Singapore.
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The group’s banking unit also saw revenue fall 33.7 per cent to S$16.7 million in the half-year period, due to a 25 per cent decrease in new samples processed and stored, mostly from Singapore and India.
The decline was also due to the additional financial impact of the refund and waiver for high-risk tanks of S$700,000 recorded in the second-half period.
No dividend was declared for the half year, unchanged from the year before.
For the full-year, it posted a net loss of S$18.7 million, compared with a net profit of S$3.6 million a year earlier.
Nevertheless, Cordlife remains confident about the cord-blood banking industry’s long-term growth potential, which will be buoyed by the ongoing shift towards preventive and precautionary care.
Furthermore, the company said that it has made “significant upgrades” to its processing and storage facility in Singapore.
These included implementing an enhanced laboratory monitoring system to provide round-the-clock real-time on-site and remote monitoring of key equipment.
It has also increased the number of laboratory and technical personnel, strengthened operational protocols and established a medical and technical advisory board to provide guidance on best practices.
Cordlife has remained “cautiously optimistic” that its financial performance for FY2025 will improve, barring unforeseen circumstances.
In a separate filing on Saturday night, Cordlife gave an update on the status of the claims against it by clients affected by the storage lapses.
The company has continued to receive claims from clients, some of which have been raised in the Small Claims Tribunal.
As at Mar 1, some of these claims have been voluntarily discontinued, and one claim has been dismissed by the tribunal, said the group.
Last month, Cordlife was also informed by a separate group of clients that they are in the process of assessing the losses suffered by the lapses. The company has been in the process of seeking legal advice with relation to these claims.
The company has been actively monitoring and attending to the claims and will take necessary steps to engage with the relevant parties.
Since the status of the claims has remained uncertain, it is unable to determine the full impact on its financial performance and prospects for FY2025.
Should the company be required to settle all claims made by multiple clients, this will likely result in a negative impact on the financial position of the group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2025.
Shares of Cordlife closed S$0.003 or 1.9 per cent higher at S$0.16 on Friday, before the announcement.
