Evogene Reports Slight YoY Boost In Q3 Revenue, Looks To Turn Subsidiaries Into Public Companies

Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ:EVGN) (TASE: EVGN), the parent company of medical cannabis-focused Canonic, reported its financial results Wednesday for the first nine months and third quarter of 2021.

The Israel-based company maintained a strong financial position for its activities with $61.6 million in consolidated cash, cash-related accounts, bank deposits and marketable securities as of Sept. 30.

"I am very pleased with the overall progress and achievement of milestones we see across the board in our subsidiaries and in Evogene itself," Ofer Haviv, the company's CEO said. "Our subsidiaries are progressing according to plan, and we expect to hit additional milestones in the coming months."

Q3 2021 Financial Highlights

• Revenues totaled $151 000, up from $316 000 in the prior-year period.
• Consolidated cash usage was $6 million, or $4.6 million, excluding its Lavie Bio subsidiary, compared to third quarter 2020 consolidated cash of $4.6 million and $3 million, respectively.
• Research and development expenses, which are reported net of grants received, totaled $5.8 million compared to $4 million in the prior year's quarter.
• Business development expenses amounted to $0.8 million in comparison to $0.6 million in the corresponding quarter of last year.
• General and administrative expenses totaled $2 million, versus $1.2 million in the third quarter of last year.
• Operating loss was $8.6 million in comparison to $5.6 million in the same period of 2020.
• Net loss amounted to $8.3 million compared to a $5.4 million net loss during the third quarter of the prior year.

Nine Months Ended Sept. 30 Highlights

• Revenues totaled $619 000, down from $689 000 in the prior year's period.
• Operating loss amounted to $22.3 million, compared to $17.6 million in the corresponding period of last year.
• Consolidated net cash usage was approximately $17.3 million, or $13.6 million if excluding Lavie Bio, compared to consolidated cash usage of $13.4 million, or $9.3 million, over the same period last year.

In addition, the company's subsidiaries significantly expanded product development activities, including:

• Canonic's pre-launch campaign, initiated in September 2021, prior to product commercialization, which took place in Israel during the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Biomica's ongoing preparations for initiating its first-in-human proof-of-concept study in the immuno-oncology program later this year.
• Lavie Bio's activities supporting the commercial launch of its inoculant product, result™, in 2022.

"We wish to unlock the value of our subsidiaries and, as disclosed, are currently examining the possibility of turning one or more of our subsidiaries into public companies," Haviv added. "This would allow investors access to the specific subsidiary of interest and the opportunity for the markets to assign it an independent value."

More recent news from Evogene:

• Evogene's Canonic Launches First Two Medical Cannabis Products In Israel Ahead Of Schedule
• Canonic Announces Pre-Launch of Medical Cannabis Products in Israel

EVGN Price Action

Evogene's shares traded 2.16% higher at $2.37 per share during the pre-market session on Wednesday.

Photo: Courtesy of Evogene Ltd.