In March, 2020 we announced that we would close our facility in Carlsbad, California which specialises in manufacturing Western Blot Lyme products, due to the on-going migration of Lyme confirmatory testing to alternative testing platforms.  Closure remains on schedule for June 30, 2020.  A charge of $2.4m has been recognized in the Q1, 2020 income statement to cover the related closure costs.  This primarily includes the write-off of inventory and redundancy costs and is mainly non-cash in nature.

The Company is currently in the validation phase with its Covid-19 IgG ELISA antibody test. This test will determine which individuals within the population have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The transfer of the product into our facility at Jamestown, New York has been completed and we anticipate submitting the validation documentation to the FDA and gaining Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the end of June. As previously indicated, our ELISA production capability is very significant and the instrumentation platforms that perform this type of testing are available in virtually every laboratory in the world.

In addition, the Company is at an advanced stage in the development of a rapid point-of-care Covid-19 test to detect antibodies to the virus that can be run in 12 minutes using one drop of blood procured by finger prick. The utility of this test is similar to that outlined above for the ELISA antibody test. We expect to complete development and transfer to manufacturing of this rapid test over the coming months and again believe that we can avail of the FDA's EUA to expedite its approval.

• Lower diabetes testing volumes across all major markets as patients avoid or are prevented from having their A1c levels tested.  This will result in lower Diabetes consumables revenues whilst instrument sales, which were already low in Q1, are expected to remain so.
• Lower autoimmune testing, reflecting the non-acute nature of this testing.  This is particularly impacting our reference laboratory in Buffalo, but has also resulted in lower product sales in all major markets. 
• The suspension or reduction of HIV testing programs in certain countries in Africa, in addition to a reduction in orders due to uncertainty surrounding what impact Covid-19 will have on healthcare services and local supply chains.   These factors have also resulted in the temporary suspension of our TrinScreen clinical trials.       

In early Q2, 2020 we furloughed a large percentage of our work forces in the USA and Ireland in anticipation of the lower demand from customers.   In the USA, the Company received loans totalling $4.5m under the U.S. government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  Under the provisions of the PPP, these loans will be partially or totally forgiven, based on the extent to which a borrower's workforce returns to normal levels in the eight-week period immediately following the granting of the loans.  Upon receipt of the loans Trinity ended the furloughing of staff in each of its U.S. plants and consequently we believe that a large percentage of these loans will be forgiven later in the year once the necessary verification has taken place.   In Ireland, a significant level of furloughing remains in place, mainly due to the expected lower demand for HIV products for the African market.  Trinity is also availing of economic supports being provided by the Irish Government.  Meanwhile, in Brazil staff costs have also been significantly reduced.

Commenting on the results Kevin Tansley, Chief Financial Officer stated "Operating profit increased this quarter from $1.3m to $1.7m. This was achieved with the aid of improved gross margin and lower indirect costs.  However, the quarter did pre-date the most serious impact of Covid-19 and since then we have implemented a range of measures to safeguard the financial wellbeing of the company.  In particular, we have availed of governmental supports provided by the U.S. and Irish governments.  This included $4.5m of loans from the USA government under its Paycheck Protection Program, most of which we expect to be forgiven in accordance with terms of that program.  We have also furloughed a significant number of employees in response to lower demand and eliminated all non-essential expenditure."

Ronan O'Caoimh, Chief Executive Officer stated "Overall revenues held up reasonably well this quarter in the context of the initial effects of Covid-19.  Clinical Laboratory revenues were down by 5% and this was due to a combination of lower Diabetes instrument placements as customers sought to defer such purchases due to onset of the pandemic.  We also experienced a slowdown in Autoimmune testing at our reference laboratory in Buffalo. Meanwhile, Infectious Diseases revenues were impacted by lower sales to China, the first country to implement lockdown restrictions. As expected Lyme revenues were also lower this quarter due to the migration away from Western Blot testing.  However, point-of-care revenues grew by 4.4% due to strong HIV revenues in Africa which more than outweighed the absence of USA HIV revenues following our recent withdrawal from that market. 

Since the end of Q1, we have been seeing a much greater impact on revenues due to Covid-19.  We have already seen a sharp reduction in diabetes and autoimmune testing as patients either feel reluctant to or unable to safely visit testing facilities. Meanwhile, HIV testing in Africa is also being impacted as some countries have temporarily suspended or downsized their testing programs.  However, as Covid-19 related restrictions begin to ease we are now beginning to see revenues starting to rebound in some areas. We are also confident that once the pandemic passes business will revert to normality and that by its nature diagnostics will be largely protected from the worst economic impact of any economic downturn which may ensue. 

Meanwhile, sales of our transport medium and sample collection device for Covid-19 are gaining traction. This FDA approved product is used to store the nasopharyngeal swab which contains the patient sample and stabilises it, prevents bacterial growth and maintains its integrity until such time as a test is run in the laboratory. Our product does not require refrigeration and is a key component in the identification of Covid-19 positives in the population. In addition, we are seeing an increase in sales of some of our respiratory products.

Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provision of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the results of research and development efforts, the effect of regulation by the United States Food and Drug Administration and other agencies, the impact of competitive products, product development commercialisation and technological difficulties, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trinity Biotech develops, acquires, manufactures and markets diagnostic systems, including both reagents and instrumentation, for the point-of-care and clinical laboratory segments of the diagnostic market. The products are used to detect infectious diseases and to quantify the level of Haemoglobin A1c and other chemistry parameters in serum, plasma and whole blood. Trinity Biotech sells direct in the United States, Germany, France and the U.K. and through a network of international distributors and strategic partners in over 75 countries worldwide. For further information please see the Company's website: www.trinitybiotech.com.