Fortis Frontier (LSE:FORF) — Half Year Results

0:00 Good afternoon, and welcome to the My Health Check Percy Half Year Results Investor Presentation. Currently, it's a recorded presentation. Investors will be in listen only mode. Questions are encouraged and can be submitted any time by the Q and A tab situated in the right hand corner of your screen. Just click Q and A, scroll to the bottom, type your question and press in. Company may not be in a position to answer every question received during the meeting itself, but the company review your questions submitted then publish responses where appropriate to do so. Before we begin, we'd like to submit the following poll. I'd now like to hand you over to Penny McCormick, CEO. Good afternoon.

0:30 Good afternoon, Paul. Good afternoon, everybody. Thanks for joining us this afternoon for the webinar. I'm gonna crack on with our presentation and following on from our results yesterday. And then as Paul said, we'll have some some q and a. So without further ado, as you will be running through a bit of a a status update for the business and giving a bit of color around some of those results that we've shared. So we'll start with giving you just those headlines really in terms of the performance review, which we've been really delighted to share with our announcement yesterday. So safe to say, it's a great set of results, and certainly exceeded management expectations, in terms of what we've delivered for the business in the first half of this year. So, it's notable for us. It's really our second strong year of trading now. We're moving into our second strong year of trading since we transitioned our strategy, really setting out to turn Concepta and my health check PLC into a growth story. So we've really been able to sustain that performance, which we're really pleased about.

1:34 We have further grown our COVID business, of course. You know, the results that we shared yesterday have been all around COVID. And the the the market here has always been volatile, but I'd say it's increasingly so. And and where that's important for us is we've demonstrated our ability to continue not just navigating that, but also delivering really well within that space. The PCR space when we entered that in 2021, was was crowded and became more competitive. The the lateral flow test space even more so. So we're really pleased to have been able to grow that business and show a sustained, secure position within that space. Continued cash control has been really important to us, bringing that revenue into the business and making sure that we've got cash there to invest in the organization.

2:25 So we continue to make very, very sensible decisions, as a business, and really, you know, land on that that strong position, of 7,000,000 that we've shared. And whilst doing all of that, we've also developed new products ourselves, and we've brought new products to market. And behind the scenes, we've continued to to pull together a portfolio that we're gonna be sharing some further information on this afternoon. All of that underpinned by a digital platform that by its very nature is just going to get better and better. So every day,

3:01 we're working on our platform, and really strengthening that so that as our business evolves, it's fit for purpose in terms of offering a great customer experience and providing a great foundation for us on on which to grow. And we have a lean infrastructure. We always have had. We are a business of 12 right now. We will be growing our team, and bringing talent into our organization as we grow is going to be really important.

3:27 But it's making sure that we continue to balance that with the needs of the business so that we've got money to invest in the right areas, which are going to be around commercialization, technical development, and then mergers and acquisitions. So just to, take a moment to welcome those of you that are meeting me for the first time this afternoon, just to give you a little bit of background on on myself, and I'm also joined by Nick, our CFO, who joined us earlier this year. But little bit about me. My background is marketing first and foremost. So my my, skill set was predominantly developed at the BBI Group when I joined there in 2005. We were a lateral flow development business working with gold reagents, and working with third party, sorry, with with with third party, customers to develop assays for them and also contract manufacture for them. So highly regulated marketplaces with a a global customer base. But in addition to that, we also had a consumer portfolio that started just as I was joining in 2005 with one product, and we then went on to to bring a portfolio there of 13 products to the market predominantly around women's health. So we built a portfolio of class one, two, and three medical devices for women's predominantly vaginal health.

4:54 Our focus was on growing our retailer distribution in The UK, so we were actually supplying to all pharmacy retailers and grocery multiples. We also had a a global distributor network under white label for other big female health brands. So we out licensed as well. One of my career highlights was signing a £32,000,000 licensing contract with Bayer where the product was brought into their Canaston portfolio and is still marketed today as Canast Balance. We had a manufacturing site where we made those products ourselves over in Sweden. So in short, I've got a a broad distribution that started out commercially, but actually went on as managing director of that business for a number of years, having lots of experience within regulated markets, within regulated manufacturing, and, obviously, commercialization and in and out licensing to to build a portfolio.

5:53 So lots of relevant experience here that we're starting to see now come through and and bringing me into the organization where at the time we we were a fertility business, and I'll touch more about that in a moment. I'm joined today as I said by Nick. Nick and I worked for a number of years at the BBI Group. Just gonna hand over to Nick to to introduce himself. Alright. Thank you, Penny. Yes. I've I've worked in manufacturing for the most of my career, which has been across multiple sectors, but mainly around aerospace, automotive, and more likely into the life sciences and pharma entities. As Penny just mentioned there, we worked together very closely for over eight years at the BBI Group. And then towards the end of the BBI Group, I led the divestment from Alia Inc when it went into private equity.

6:42 So like I said, I'm glad now to be working alongside Penny again, and I'm really looking forward to it. Thank you, Nick. And just our board members, we've also got on the the call. We've got Adam Reynolds. So I think many of you will have met already. We were joined this year by Leslie Innis. He joined us as our company secretary. Leslie has lots of experience within the financial sector and certainly keeps us on our toes in

7:05 terms of our various financial committees and and and accountability in terms of our our delivery as a as a board. Neil Mesher, senior SVP of Europe for Philips. So Neil is extremely knowledgeable about the consumer health care space. His background himself is in consumer health care at the retail side. So he's very well connected within the industry around products, around trends, and also around that retailer customer base. So extremely valuable team member for us. And we also have Lynn Reese who Nick and myself worked with for a number of years as CEO of BBI Group. Lynn is currently the CEO of Your Gene Health and, again, extremely experienced within this diagnostic and health care space.

7:54 So just to give I'm I'm just sharing now on the screen some milestones for us as a business just to give a quick whistle stop history for those of you that are connecting with my Health Check PLC for the first time. I mentioned when I joined the business that that the company was focused around the the fertility space. So we had a lovely product, that quantitatively measured luteinizing hormone for women who were struggling to conceive. When I joined the business, I really evaluated the product and and the marketplace as well. There were some elements around that product in the format that that it was that we felt in terms of customer expectations around devices. You know, things had moved on quite a lot and expectations and the ability for for those products to be connected was really, really important. And there were some matters around that that the to remedy those, the investment that would be required, and the time it would take to do that was something that we felt in a, by now, evolving marketplace would prove challenging for us.

8:59 And we were really keen to really capitalize on how the market was changing. By now, we were we were entering the COVID space And really feeling that this would bring that change now in customer behavior and a much, much greater connection and understanding with with personal health and wellness. And, ultimately, that being purely focused on fertility, which is quite a niche and crowded market, is something that to build our business on at that time over a period was was going to just carry on presenting challenges. And instead, we just moved that to one side really look to open out into broader health care testing with a view to potentially bringing that back on board at a future time. So we we started by we made a number of changes within the the business. We needed a a step change in how the the business moved forward.

9:56 We started with the acquisition of the genome store in November 2020, identified by their ability, to create some DNA tests. They were very ambitious and had a vision to make DNA testing more accessible to people so that people would understand it, and DNA wouldn't be this big mystery. It would be something that people could, elect to to tune into and test themselves. So we acquired that business in a a paper transaction in November 2020, brought on a really talented small team of experienced people who could develop tests, who had set up laboratories, who knew the compliance, and had the ability to really sign off medically on, as sorry, clinically rather, on the test that that we would put into the marketplace. So acquired that business.

10:46 The team came on board. And with the skill sets they had, we were able actually to to launch a COVID test, which, of course, we were going to do. You know, with the new acquisition, we had the ability there to start monetizing it quickly, we did. And by December 2020, we had an approved product on the government list. And with the background now that we had within the business and the ambition, we started conversations with retailers. And after a long period of diligence, really making sure we brought a consumer friendly product, by that, I mean, we went straight in with a nasal swab knowing that the nasopharyngeal was not going to work. Saliva tests were, you know, less favorable and actually something very straightforward that was packaged for end users and was the was the way forward on that. And to this day, we remain the only over the counter PCR kit that that Boots have ever stocked.

11:37 So from there, we signed another contract with Lloyd's, and that gave us our business through last year. Very challenging market as people were traveling, government rules were changing, really working closely with our retail customer base to make sure that we could deliver there. We also made another acquisition in summer twenty twenty one, around Nell Health. So Nell Health was all about two things, a digital platform. We already had one, but we wanted, a more advanced platform, and the team at now had developed a platform that was further down the the line than we were. We were obviously getting great traction in the market and wanted something that could really underpin the growth of our business moving forward. But, also, there was a team within now who were very experienced.

12:27 We had a GPs and also, DNA and genomic and nutritional experts within the business who have been huge, assets to our organization. So we brought that in. We transitioned, our platform over to that platform in August, and that platform continues to really underpin, everything that we do moving forward. We also then later, last year, we, could expect that PCR changing was going to to the the things would change over time. So we did a lot of research on the right test to bring in, and we became a distribution of the Aecon Flowflex test recognizing that as the, NHS provided test, there would be a degree of customer loyalty, and familiarity with that, and that was the test that we wanted to bring in. And that ultimately came into its own earlier this year in April when the government stopped providing free testing to people.

13:25 And that's really where we've seen a lot of the the performance, for the business this year has just seen those huge volumes, that we brought in on the COVID testing and really bringing those into our retail customers. We expected that there would be a behavior change, but actually the extent of customers carry on testings from a on a self elected basis, no longer requiring they have to test, but doing it off their own free will, has has seen a huge amount of volume going into the market. And in the background on that, we've, as I've already mentioned, been developing our own tests and getting these out there on on the portfolio, sorry, on the platform with Amazon and also then, building talent, within our organization.

14:15 So I'm gonna hand you over to Nick now just to put some more flavor around the excellent set of financial results that we announced yesterday, and then I'm gonna talk to you a little bit more about the future portfolio. So over to you, Nick. Thank you, Penny. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased today to share with you the financial highlights for My Health Checks PLC. You will see that we have delivered a further strong set of numbers and performance continuing into H1 twenty twenty two off the back of H2 twenty twenty one. Revenues exceeded management expectations for H1 'twenty two and was a near threefold increase versus the comparable period, rising to GBP 9,800,000 from GBP 3,300,000. This was driven by the high volume distribution increases in COVID lateral flow tests, LFTs, as a result of the government removing the provision of free tests to the wider general public.

15:06 Gross profit for H1 had increased by 400,000 compared to the same period last year. As H1 twenty twenty two saw a significant increase in volume for lateral flow tests, we also saw the volume for PCRs likewise reduced as a result of the removal of the pretrial test requirements due to the government's easing of restrictions. The percentage margin for LFTs is much lower than that of PCRs. However, the gross profit was compensated for, in part, by the significant increase in the LFT volumes. Adjusted EBITDA for the period was a profit of $372,000 compared to the $200,000 loss in H1 twenty twenty one, an overall $571,000 improvement. As mentioned previously, this was mainly due to the increased gross profit generation of EUR 400,000 and the continual ongoing cost controls, as Penny mentioned earlier.

15:59 Some additional points to note. As a result of the performance milestone associated with the acquisition of Nal Health having not been met, the contingent deferred consideration of GBP 1,000,000 will no longer be payable and the provision has therefore been released. In April, we also took the decision to close our Manchester lab operation. This will reduce further operational costs by approximately $25,000 per month going forward. With regards to the balance sheet, our cash balance closed at the end of H1 'twenty two with around $7,000,000 in the bank compared to the GBP 2,200,000 at H1 twenty twenty one. During H1 twenty twenty two, we generated GBP 955,000 from operating activities compared to the 1,290,000 that was utilized in the comparable period.

16:46 We've also continued to invest across the business during h one twenty two, continued investment in our platform and also the purchase of a new genetic analyzer. Overall, h one twenty two has resulted in net cash improvement of over 600,000 from our year end position.

17:04 Okay. Thank you, Nick. So just some of those commercial operating highlights, I've already touched on those. I've said about the high volume of tests that went into the market, over 6,000,000 in the first half of this year and then post period another 5,500,000. So we're dealing with a retailer base that that does pipe fill. That distribution network is critical especially for a pandemic focused product. There's central supply chain, and there's also in store stock holdings as well that we've needed to service on a national scale. So as a business that's moved quite quickly, as I said, we're a lean organization. We've really demonstrated our ability to deal with a lot of complexity around the supply chain and a lot of unpredictability and really support our customers through that. So that's just been a real key operational highlight for us.

17:55 Whilst in the background, as I've said, we've been developing those tests and and bringing those to market, you know, really planning out the product, how it works, working with our medical and scientific advisory board to, not only develop the tests, but also develop the platform that they go on so that the information that we're providing to customers, it can actually be understood and interpreted by GPs and to a level that they're happy with. So it's making sure we're using testing protocols that are meaningful to them and can actually be helpful for them. So all of that's been going on in the background. Our retailer footprint, you know, we're looking at the best part of, you know, 4,000 potential stores, and we very much want to increase that and be dealing with retailers that aren't just focused on pharmacy, but also your multiple grocery retailers with a pharmacy presence there as well.

18:47 So all of that now as we continue to grow out our business, we just think there's a strong set of highlights there that have demonstrated our ability to really deliver a core business robustly whilst really looking forward and and delivering that. Some of those post period highlights, yeah, the the record breaking July, I'm afraid I've I won't tire of of mentioning, you know, we when we look back to the business a couple of years ago, you know, we we have six we have exceeded our expectations there in terms of that phenomenal £6,800,000 figure. As we move through COVID now, you know, we've seen COVID numbers just adjusting now this week as people are going back to school. We're entering that period, that autumnal period, that tricky place where we saw good performance in q three last year, moving into Christmas where there's a lot of socializing and just a lot of bugs flying around.

19:45 So whilst we all know how difficult it is and impossible to predict COVID, our expectation is that as we move through 2022 and also 2023, COVID testing is going to feature for us. And that, of course, gives us the opportunity to bring revenue into the organization and really support that that forward business. We've appointed AccuLabs as our laboratory provider, so we are platform agnostic. We just to be really clear on the decision around our own laboratory, we we set up a lab. We when we were looking to secure the Boots business, some of you may recall, you know, Boots understandably led the way in this space. Dealing with COVID PCR testing to a retailer audience was was brand new, and Boots needed to lead here and and deliver excellently, which they did. They And needed a partner who could really give them that confidence that whether we were looking at $12.15, 20,000 potentially tests a day, that they'd have the ability to deliver that. So we did set up a lab, and we also contracted with a third party, which was your gene, so that we could meet those requirements. And and, ultimately, that played a huge part in securing that contract with Boots.

21:03 But beyond that, the the the the transition out of PCR was very abrupt, more more abrupt in The UK than it was in a lot of other countries if we take our minds back to January. And from that, we really made that decision then that we would be able to move forward, in a in an in an in an agile way, without that laboratory, and we could actually just continue to to sub out, any future work there. So, hence, we closed the site with removing that ongoing overhead, and and that was the reason behind that. And it means that we can carry on now with our business in that platform agnostic way and really cherry pick partners moving forward that that we think can can really partner well for us. And AccuLabs use the Roche analyzer.

21:55 You know, a huge amount of NHS blood testing is carried out through Saint Bart's who use Roche for all of all of their testing. So just say it's making sure we're using standards that that are appropriate for for the industry. In terms of being on target and where we're also placing some of our investment is around customer insights As a consumer business, understanding what your customer wants is always critically important and, unfortunately, often overlooked. But we're dealing with a population, probably including all of us, where our behavior has changed in the last couple of years through COVID to different levels. But what we mustn't do is sit here and make a load of assumptions around what customers want and actually make sure that we are learning from them and understanding what those changing needs are. So investing in customer insights is something that is in progress now and will continue to be important to us.

22:54 And that will inform that next stage portfolio. So we're on target to have market ready that range of tests for later on this year, and they will be launching no later than the new year in 2023. So, yeah, really positive highlights for us. We've been making a lot of progress. And just looking back, so this this was some work that did last year. They they looked at us, and they looked at other players within the space to really assess and flag some of those well reported trends in the in the industry. So if we just remind ourselves of those, they could see that, there was gonna be an increased frequency of what they referred to as soft diseases. So things like food intolerance and and allergies there

23:40 where there was an expectation that great the greater amount of testing would take place. But also lifestyles changing as well and that greater focus on personal well-being and preventative health care, and that would really impact direct to consumer activities. And I think we're we're absolutely seeing that. We if we think about the the massive fundamental impact that social media has, for instance, that we all rely on so much now and interact with. Social media isn't about pharmaceuticals. It's not about prescription items, and it it it can't be because the nature of the beast. What it is about is helping people understand how they can help themselves, what's going on with some of those conditions like, mental health, like, perimenopause, for instance, is a is a great example of where we're seeing a lot of discussion and information and learnings going on on social media and really helping people to understand, you know, what's going on with me? What are my options? What can I do about that? And, typically, those actions are around devices.

24:50 They're around practices. They're around nutrition, and they're around, your physical activity and really interacting positively with one another. So I think social media and how we are using that to really help ourselves in terms of our wellness is just another indicator of what we can expect moving forward. And that's really, allowing us to to continue to develop our own strategy, which is around providing a health testing infrastructure that makes life easier in general. And by that, you know, what we're trying to do here is help our consumers,

25:26 but also ultimately help them with that pressure that's on the NHS. That's gonna take a while to recover. Some may argue, you know, it it's just not going to happen for a long time. We're we're seeing some of longest waiting lists we ever had. And even just getting appointment, I think the the new health secretary has just referred in the last twenty four hours to phoning up at 8AM to get a GP appointment is akin to trying to get hold of the Glastonbury ticket, and she's setting out to really try and change that. Now without without wishing to sound negative, you know, what what sort of time frame can we expect those changes to take place because we've got an NHS that's falling behind, that's finding it increasingly difficult to to bring GPs on board.

26:11 So, actually, we believe that whilst there will always be a cohort of the population that will fully rely on the NHS, often certainly in those lower income demographics, that there would always have been a lower reliance on, on purchased consumer health care and a greater reliance on the NHS. And then at the other end of the spectrum, then you've got private health care. But that place in the middle where I think we'll see more of a hybrid of utilizing the NHS, but actually not necessarily signing up to full health insurance, but saying, you know what? I want to know a little bit more about this. I've been influenced by a lot of the digital channels out there. I'm utilizing Google, and I want to explore, my own health and wellness a little bit more. And I'm prepared to spend a bit of money on doing that. And that's the market that we expect to see grow when we look at that 16,000,000,000 figure for home testing market potentially by 2027.

27:12 That's what that's about. And it's really about people having the appetite to take a bit more control and move things along at a little bit of a cost for themselves moving forward. And, ultimately, we think that that will potentially help the NHS and allow people if they are then still interacting with the NHS to actually take some of those results with them and and be having that conversation.

27:34 So we want to really drive engagement to all points on the customer testing journey, and what we're bringing to market now is three different test types. So our DNA tests that we soft launched at the end of the period, some blood tests that give you that moment in time, and then some lateral flow screeners as well. So you've got different test types that we can be helping customers to understand, what those test types are and and where they're relevant. Your DNA test, of course, giving you your blueprint. Your DNA isn't going to change, but it is going to tell you about yourself and actually what's going on there and what you can do individually to really try and help yourself to really optimize what you are as a person.

28:20 Then the blood test, both types are a moment in time. So once you know what you're dealing with and you make those changes based on the advice that we give you, you can then be tracking your progress. You can a lot of people will choose to use a simple screener, just to get an idea of, you know, what's going on. Am I, you know, are my levels where I want them to be? Or they can spend a little bit more money, on a laboratory blood test that can just give them an an idea of what's going on today. So you've got a range of tests there that are really complementary to one another, and this is how they would look on a retail shelf. So what we have here is our DNA test in the top left hand corner. They retail at £54, which is much, much more cost effective than than DNA tests typically are.

29:12 DNA tests to to this point really have been focusing on customers who really understand DNA. They know what it is, and they're prepared to spend a little bit more money on that. These panels typically retail of, you know, 3 figure 3 figure amounts. And what we set out to do was make DNA testing more accessible to people and more understandable. So we're clearly signposting to the customer what the test is for, and really helping them get an understanding there. We've then got three examples of lateral flow tests. We've got the vitamin d, a thyroid test, and also the, iron test there. These retail from 12 upwards. We all know what lateral flow tests are. You know, these gives results in ten, fifteen, twenty minutes for people that just want an idea, of where they're sitting at right now. And that might be enough for them, or they may choose to do some more testing or find out some more. And then we've got a range of 10 laboratory blood tests or in the case of sexual health tests. These are blood and urine tests that can be purchased in store online, taken, samples taken at home, and then sent off to our laboratory where they're processed within a forty eight hour period. They're then reviewed by our doctors, and and information is given back to the customer via our digital platform.

30:33 So how these might work, if we look at the, the lateral flow thyroid test, for instance, what that will give you is your TSH levels over a threshold. So it'll just give you an idea of, you know, what am I above that level? Or you could spend a little bit more money. The blood laboratory test starts at around 35 pounds, and then they go up depending on how many markers we're testing, as part of the test. But for the thyroid test here, you would then be looking at your f t four levels and your your TSH. You'd have a range that you will sit within, and it will tell you where you sit within that range and give that guidance then around that. So a slightly more in-depth view of what's going on. So different customers will make different choices.

31:21 Our job here is to develop our brand and put that into a portfolio of tests that look good that and that that most importantly, signpost the customer to what they need. So different test types, different families of tests. So we've got general health. We've got vitamins and minerals, for instance. We've got female health. So just really helping the customer navigate that space moving forward. So we're really excited to be bringing these to market.

31:49 They will be underpinned by our digital platform, which really allows us to have a number of touch points with our customer to keep them connected with the the product and where it is in the testing cycle. We all remember the horror stories from last year around DNA tests being stacked up on mailboxes, and that's that's an awful situation. You know, these are we're dealing with people's samples and ultimately their DNA. And whatever test you're using, we we want to protect that and keep you informed. Customer care is hugely important within the consumer wellness space, but especially when you're being entrusted in that way with with the sample. So we will utilize our platform to really keep in touch with our end users and keep them abreast of what's happening and then also giving them that that advice and guidance once we've completed their test.

32:41 All of this happens on that digital platform. So going back to that NellHealth acquisition and the the reason why we we acquired that business was to bring this platform in, and really give us that really firm foundation. So we, had a platform there that took the customer insights and then and the test results and then actually build out built out recommendations based on that, scalable and adaptable, and also able to be accessed for for third parties as well. So

33:14 making sure that if required, we've got the necessary permissions and GDPR, to provide further access to our platform. So, absolutely, if GPs weren't were able to to access this or wanted to to be, that's that's something that that we could do. If retailers with the right permissions needed to access this, that's something that we'd we'd be able to do. We call it our growth stack because it's about building out a foundation on which we can we can build a future business. And as we develop our strategy and learn from our customers, we can be bolting on different things onto our platform, be that wearable devices or offering customer conversation on chat, offering consultations, and we're not setting out to be a provider of a 100 GPs that can have consultations.

34:05 There are other companies that do that really well, but what we can do is connect to that and then offer that as a service, to our end users. So having that versatile platform that we can just keep building on, that's what the Nell acquisition was about, and we're we're delighted to share that it's serving us really well across our COVID business and also for our future wellness strategy. So where else will we be spending our cash that we've brought into the organization? And, obviously, commercialization is going to be so important to us. So really increasing our retail footprint, but also looking at other business to business channels such as employers. I've touched on it last time, you know, really build building out as we increase this portfolio now, taking out into businesses to to make sure that employers are responsibly helping to guide their staff and and their members into a a better place for proactive health care testing.

35:03 We want to further invest in our brand, which has get gained a really good foothold, and I'm sure you'll agree that the range we're looking to take into retail looks really good. Women are our primary target because they make 80% of the household purchasing decisions. And when we look at retailer loyalty, you know, let's take the Boots Clubcard, you got around 75% of Clubcard holders are women, over the age of of 25. Women are also really becoming increasingly important and get an increasing voice, a louder voice within consumer wellness. I touched on perimenopause, which is really gathering pace. And what you've got there is women 40, typically 40, 45, who the majority of which are experiencing real changes in their own personal health and wellness.

35:53 They need to understand that more. They're gonna be much more tuned into learning about what their options are. That could be a clinical route with HRT, or it could be a much, much more cell phones, holistic route, that can be around nutrition and activities, sleep, anxiety, good mental health, and so on. So really important that we invest in developing our brand and having the right conversations with our consumers, and PR is going to be critical there. But, of course, digital activity is going to be so important to us moving forward. And in terms of social media, I mentioned how important it is. We deliberately haven't entered this space yet because what we want to do is build out our range, get established footholds out there, and make sure that every pound we then spend on marketing is then being cross referenced by customers who can see a portfolio of products out there that see it's got recognition and credibility at retail, and we can really look to really build out that brand in parallel. So digital marketing will be critical.

37:02 Referral and influential marketing channels are going to be priority for us, and continuing to build out our content strategy where we're using doctors and our scientific advisory board to create fantastic content that's peer reviewed. We use them for everything we do for developing our products, developing our platform, but also really putting that information out there to really enhance, our search engine optimization and move them further up the rankings, and increasing referrals there. And, ultimately, bringing customers into our funnel, converting them, and looking to really maximize that lifetime value of the customer so that when they come to us, they're not just buying a test and then leaving.

37:48 They're buying a test. They're having that, engagement through that process, and they're then monitoring moving forward. And and how we evolve our business strategy with our digital platform to add, complementary products onto that, will be very much our focus moving forward. So really increasing that lifetime value of the customer, moving forward. So just to recap on what we've shared before, these are some of the main levers that we were focused on pulling. And and for us, as I've said already, delivery and proving our ability as a business to really deliver a a sustained and and strong strong organization moving forward has been really important to us.

38:35 And putting tick boxes next to these has, you know, has has given us pleasure in doing that because we've delivered what we said, and we can we'll continue to do that. The financial performance of the business cannot be underestimated, and it's not something that just happened. You know, we've worked extremely hard to deliver that, to underpin and bring that cash into the business, to allow us to bring our tests out moving forward, to keep developing our app, following the acquisition that that we very sensibly made, and executing that business development strategy and really turning these retail relationships into deeper relationships. COVID, we're gonna continue doing that, building a reputation within that space, but adding further tests, into that, whilst we continue to look at third party technology and absolutely m and a. So we made acquisition in 2020. We made one in 2021, and acquisition activity will will absolutely feature in 2023 for my health check.

39:36 So in terms of current trading and outlook, we don't have forecasts out into the market because we are still, of course, focused on you know, our revenue focus is coming into the COVID space while our actual future focus is is around building out this testing portfolio. But we will be putting forecast into the market next year as we are able to to really turn our attentions fully to to life beyond COVID. We're extremely optimistic, and we've got a lot of energy, around what we're doing here within My Health Checked, and are very confident about the future for the organization. And we've demonstrated some of the reasons for that today. You know, our half year and post period performance, you know, has really demonstrated a strong, credible, and commercially focused team and operation who are doing a superb job for us here at My Health Checked. We're very well placed to support our customer needs, and we've built a reputation there for being a really trusted partner that can be relied on to deliver, and we cannot underestimate the importance of that.

40:40 Our growth plan is anchored with an at home testing, and we've got a growing testing portfolio of over of over 20 tests. So that's quite a lot for a starting portfolio in consumer land. If you think about how that could look on a retail shelf, it's it's quite a lot of products. So we're really looking forward to to bringing that to to market and hopefully announcing in the in the in the short term that we've secured a distribution there. And really, really importantly, we're well funded. We're going through an interesting space. You know, the the the market is challenging, inflation, energy prices, and so on. The a market itself, if we look at it from an investor perspective, you know, it it's tricky, out there at this time, and we're we're gonna need to write that out and and be patient, as things settle down on that front. But what we have done is made sure that we're in a strong position there in terms of the cash that we have so that we can deliver on our own goals and be self funded and autonomous in doing that. But also while delivering our own plan, remaining agile enough to continue navigating through this this space that's actually got really exciting. You know, finally, the health care space is catching up in terms of connectivity, in terms of that ownership for for the end user, and it's it's certainly the most exciting time to be in this space that I've ever known since my career began in consumer wellness testing.

42:11 So just drawing to a conclusion now before we have some questions coming through. I'm sure there are plenty, but let's just focus on that that fantastic revenue figure, but also deliver looking at what we've delivered outside of that and that range of tests that's looking really good and is the start of a very exciting journey from us. We're looking to really leverage further leverage our retail position and grow our new business development footprint with new sectors out there. We've got the fundamentals in place to deliver a growth business, and we've got a proven team and a robust infrastructure to deliver that. So we've got a lovely range coming forward. It lends itself well for further diversification. So we're not wedded to a certain test type. We can actually cherry pick what we bring into to the market and share with our customers, and that puts us in a good position to grow both in The UK and overseas moving forward.

43:06 So on that note, I'm gonna gonna leave it there as I'm keen to, have a look at some of the questions that are going to come through. Thanks very much, Paul. Fantastic. Finny, Nick. Thank you indeed for the presentation updating investors. Ladies and gentlemen, do please continue to submit your questions using the Q and A tab just situated on the right hand corner of your screen. Just while the team take a few moments to review those questions submitted already, I'd like to remind you the recording, the presentation, along with a copy of the slides and the published q and a, can be accessed via your investor dashboard. Penny, as you can see, we've had quite a few questions through, so we may not be able to get through all of them, but you will, of course, have the opportunity to review those post event. If I may, the the first one reads as follows. What is the update with the app aspect of the service? So our app, as I've touched on, is a is a the an app is a a living, breathing thing that just evolves all of the time, and I I hopefully, I've covered that off sufficiently in the deck today.

43:58 We don't have a a mobile app. Our focus has been on a web app, which lends itself extremely well to to what we're doing, but we expect to be bringing a mobile app in as part of our that long term value model for our customers moving forward. But, obviously, we we continue to develop it. We will build it out to enable expansion and greater connectivity connectivity moving forward. It's a key element of our product and service. And, you know, that technical platform is is is is going to be a real asset for our business moving forward, which is why we we invested in that acquisition. So, hopefully, I've covered that off. We're gonna continue learning from our customers to enable us to to to learn about the portfolio and make better recommendations to our end users. Thank you. I've got a couple of questions here that sort of tie together. Is there a timeline for getting to physical stores with new wellness products? You know, a couple we've also received here. Are you looking to open supply into the likes of Tesco, Holland and Barrett?

44:58 They'll be a good fit for retailers, etailers. If you can just talk around that, please. Yeah. Sure. So I I absolutely. It's a re retailers retailer outlets are great for this kind of product. They're they're absolutely the customer base that you want. And, yeah, I'd I'd really like to be in stores, you know, no later than the than the first part of next year, and, yeah, I really hope I can share with investors in the in in the the the next couple of months really a a good response there. And, yes, we we're dealing with Boots and Lloyd's. They're the top two, to go after, but we are, very much, our plan is around wider retail and really having a good spread across the board there. Across all of the retailers that you've mentioned, so I look forward to updating investors in the future.

45:44 And again, touching just on that really, does the company have an estimate of projections of when the non COVID wellness test revenues could exceed those from the COVID tests? And there's a few questions around that. Obviously, the placing of PCR test in Boots and Lloyd has been very much key to your revenue. Can we expect movement of those partners into the new range? Yeah. So I think the you know, if we were looking at some tests in isolation, you know, we we like for like tests. You know, we're we're following a pandemic. You know, let let's be realistic. You know, hitting we'd we'd be off hitting, those numbers for for some time. But the tests that we're developing are going to be supported by a growing platform and testing programs, but also additional services that we can bolt on. So we're really focused on getting out our next stage of portfolio launched, and then we'll build out forecast in 2023 based on that next phase business development of which testing is a part of it.

46:40 It underpins it, but it's part of it. You know, we're not, we're gonna be going out and just putting tests into the market with an expectation that we're gonna be exceeding the millions and millions of volume that we've achieved off the back of a pandemic. And and I think it's really important that that we we recognize that. We need to build out much, much more value around that, and and that's absolutely our intention. So you'll see a forecast coming on that in 2023. Perfect. Thank you. Next question we've got here. We've got a few at time as well, really just looking at sort of m and a. But how the board looking to utilize their enhanced cash position from the last two reports? Do you think any further acquisitions can be expected within the next six months to a year? As I said, there's a few questions around the similar vein of that. Thanks, Yes.

47:27 Happy say this one. Yes. There will be there will be m and a as we as we move forward because, obviously, we we have we're we're in a loving position of we have quite a lot of cash and that cash is growing. So we will utilize that. But but the acquisition, if we whatever acquisition we make, the synergy has to be there, but also it has to be earnings enhancing. We're not gonna buy a loss making business, an r and d business. It has to be something that we've got some accretion of earnings going through. So that's the sort of that's the way we want to do it. You know, this this is, an earnings play now moving forward. Who's that? Are you there, Paul? Are you there, Paul? I beg your pardon. Sorry.

48:20 Did did that answer the question? Sorry. That did answer the question. Thank you very much indeed, Adam. Next one we've got here, when does the board expect value to be returned to shareholders? We've seen fantastic growth in the company, but unfortunately, the complete opposite reflected in the share price over the last one to Okay. Two I'll answer that one if that's okay. I think that that's probably the case of from a little bit harsh for the for the nine months of this year because, you know, I think we started the the year at about two p or, you know, one and three quarter p, two p, two and a quarter pence, whatever it was. You know, we're one and three quarter pence now. If you look at the Amore share index, that's down 40 just over 40% since the start of the year till now.

49:06 So there's been massive volatility, especially in small caps with lack of liquidity and everything else. So many of those companies have have halved in value. We haven't halved. We're we're about the same price we started the year. Going back to the previous year when the share price hit 5.5, 6 p, or, you know, it it went from placing at 1.75p all the way to about 6 p, it was probably overheated if the truth be known, you know, because, yes, we were getting involved in the COVID space. It was all probably quite exciting. But with so many companies, if you look back in time over the last two years, anything any company that was involved with COVID at the start, you know, their share prices their share prices just went went, you know, to an astronomical level, then they all came back. I think we probably probably were in we're we're sort of we're in that sort of that we were sort of in that sort sector, really. So I think the first nine months of this year, I think our share price has maintained the level it was compared to how stock markets have performed. So I feel, you know, I think it's fine at the moment.

50:06 And and our focus is on making profit you know, making more profits and increasing our cash position. And I think when you go into recession, that's a great place to be in. Fantastic. Thank you very much indeed, Adam. I've got another one here just talking about strategy, I guess, really sales strategy. Regarding the new wellness test kits, do you have or are you considering offering deals to encourage people to buy more than one, a buy four, get one free? Yeah. So I think I I touched earlier about that. Yeah. We we're looking for for long term value lifetime value for customer and the importance of that that lends itself very well here. But in terms of promotions, yes. I mean, we we wouldn't launch with promotions, but end users, we do all expect promotions along the way. So I would imagine that retailers, you know, when we're when we're in that space, would look to test to to test promotions and see how they perform over time.

51:01 As we launch our new portfolio, we we think there would probably be some promo testing along the way. I think is it gonna be a, you know, at the four times a year, a buy one get one free sort of bog off or, you know, a a two for one throughout the year like like a like a category like supplements. Not to that level I wouldn't expect, but there will be be some activity within that. I I would envisage just the the nature of the market. I think also, Paul, you may get customers who want a subscription model where they want one test a month. I suppose if they had one test a month, if they had longevity and we're loyal customers, might give them something at the end of the year or halfway through the year. You know, that could be another route to go down.

51:47 Fantastic. Thank you. Thank you. But a question that's come up quite a few times, so one probably that I think we should definitely address is what performance milestones were not met on the acquisition of NellHealth and what impacts that had on the overall performance of the MHC business? So we so we we missed a milestone in terms of timing on that, and and that's ultimately why the the earn out wouldn't wouldn't be paid. But in terms of how that in has impacted our business, you know, our our priority, the reason we acquired mental health was to bring that digital platform in that would underpin the the future business, and we're extremely happy that we've done that. We're extremely happy with what we've built and developed at top that. We've got I mentioned earlier, we've got some some great team members within our organization that brought with them a huge level of expertise, like real subject matter experts on DNA testing and also nutritional and also the in the the medical space as well. So, you know, we're extremely happy with the acquisition that we made. It's always disappointing, you know, if a if a milestone is missed, but it it happens sometimes.

52:53 And but but in terms of our business moving forward, we're working with the the acquisition that we made. It's it's absolutely proven to us that for the COVID business and wellness testing, it's been the right thing to do, and we've got a great team internally that's continuing to develop that. That's great. Thank you very much indeed. A bit of a question we've got here on, social media, I guess. Are you planning on utilizing social media more in the future? I noticed the MHC Facebook and Twitter pages haven't been updated since January 2021. They haven't got many folios. It seems like a very much a missed opportunity. Is there also a possibility to advertise on Facebook and to get the new wellness test out to a wider audience? Sure. So a couple of questions there, and I I I touched on a couple of them. One is around, you know, that investment in marketing. So we really want to have our distribution out there so that people recognize, you know, if you're if you're spending advertising money and people are seeing your your your your presence there to be able to point them to a reputable outlet to buy that massively increases that that value of marketing pound spent. So as we increase our distribution there, we are fully committed to increasing our marketing.

54:08 I talked about the importance of social media in this space, but, again, let's make sure that the distribution is there to really support that. Social media is very supportive of this type of of product and certainly the sector as I touched on. But number one, picking the right channels. And number two, the message you put out there and how you deliver it is really important. We could all spend we could have a full time job, marketing on social media and just churning out a lot of the information that's already out there. That doesn't generate engagement. It doesn't generate sales. It's just there. So we want to make sure that how we utilize social media, is gonna be really effective and valuable to our end users. So really getting it right. But the channels that you use are important. So just as an example, you know, Twitter, it it isn't the the the best channel for a consumer health care product. You know, Twitter is is around typically, you know, debate discussion, you know, current affairs comments.

55:09 If you're looking at engaging a customer on a health care proposition, then I then I would argue that that Twitter is not gonna be the best form to do that. So it's making sure we're selective in our channels, we're messaging in the right way, and we're spending at the right time when we've got that distribution there. So so look out for our social media strategy here. We've got a a lot of considerations, and we've got high standards in terms of where we're going to be investing our money to make sure that it's working hard for us. So we'll keep the market informed on that. But, yeah, really good question. Thank you. Thank you. I think probably got time for one or two more questions as we come up to the hour. One question that's come up a fair bit is competition, competitive landscape. Know, Omega Diagnostics folks on health and nutrition will be only 10% of their business in The UK. Does this represent competition for you?

55:57 Can you just talk around that more collective landscape that you operate in? Yeah. Yeah. Overall, you know, it's we we are seeing some, you know, quite a bit of activity in this space. As I said, it's it's really exciting. It's good to see the the dynamism there. And, it's the old adage. If you're gonna open a restaurant, you know, open a restaurant in a street that's already got a lot of restaurants in it because you know that there's a market there and people will come for that. So it's nice to see that the markets are becoming more more buoyant. Our job is to create a point of difference there and build on on some of those key elements that I've already run through today. We've got some points of difference there around that number of different test types that that we that we have. Omega is a isn't a direct to consumer business. It's a it's a a company providing into laboratories.

56:46 So it it's operating further down the supply chain to to we are, but with a a number of lovely tests that that could be, you know, complementary for us moving forward. And there's a number of providers out there with with great tests and technology. So that's lovely for us. You know, as we look to enhance our portfolio moving forward, it's really great to see how many providers are out there providing really good products that that we could potentially be be working with moving forward. I think we're just coming up to to the hour mark. So, look, we have covered off a lot of questions. Of course, thank you for all the questions that come through. The team will have the ability to review any further questions that we have. And we'll publish responses where appropriate to do so on the investor me company platform. But before we redirect the investors to give some feedback, Penny, perhaps I can just ask you for a few closing remarks, please.

57:34 Sure. I just I want to firstly thank everybody for their time this afternoon and and and especially for those of you that are joining us for the first time. We've been really delighted to share the results with you. We are we're in a new phase. You know, we've evolved our business a lot in the last two years, and I think, you know, having a a a recognition of the level of achievement there is really important. But, ultimately, we're very, very much focused on the future, building out that platform and just, you know, the the the tests that we're sharing with you today are the start of the journey and how we accelerate our progress here. You know, we we've already said we've been really clear. Acquisition activity is gonna be really important for us in 2023, but we're just delighted to be going into next year in a really, really strong financial position.

58:26 And and we've got great opportunities ahead for us. So we think in a in a we we touched here on the the challenging market with with AIM. It is what it is, and it it's disappointing. It will level out over time. You know, we're really confident of that. And in the meantime, we're fully committed to carrying on delivering, expecting COVID revenue to continue, but ultimately we're very, very focused on those wellness testing and beyond that. I think also, Paine, I think you could add there, know, we're a small cap company. We're in a really lovely position because of the amount of cash that we have put into the balance sheet over the last eighteen months, two years. And that gives us a lot of comfort and also quite a lot of confidence going forward. Brilliant. Thank you, Adam. Thanks everyone for joining us today. Really appreciate your time and your interest in HealthTech.

59:17 Yeah. Thank you everybody. Thank Appreciate you all for updating Investor Day. Please ask investors not to close the session as we automatically redirect to provide your feedback, nor the team can better understand your views and expectations. This will only take a few moments to complete and is greatly valued by the company. On behalf of the management team of My Health Check PLC, we'd like to thank you for attending today's presentation. That concludes today's session. Thank you. Thank you.