Proteome Sciences PLC on Wednesday said it swung to a loss in 2023 on higher costs, and saw its revenue plunge on contract delays.

Shares in Proteome fell 12% to 3.18 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

The London-based protein-focused drug development services provider said revenue dropped 36% to £5.0 million in 2023 from £7.8 million the year before, due to a delay in the timing of services contracts.

The firm swung to a pretax loss of £2.4 million from a £1.3 million pretax profit the year before. This was because finance costs were 82% higher at £797,000 from £473,000 the year before. Administrative expenses also rose by 10% to £3.3 million from £3.0 million the previous year.

Looking ahead, Proteome said that it has seen significant customer engagement in 2024 so far and expects this momentum to continue throughout 2024.

‘We expect the investments that we have made and the new products and services we have introduced to add to and bring the business back to growth in 2024,’ it added.

Chief Executive Officer Mariola Soehngen said: ‘The second half of 2023 proved to be challenging for Proteome Sciences. The macroeconomic situation impacted on our client base and resulted in a decrease in revenues caused by the delay in the timing of services contracts. We remained in close contact with our clients over that period, and the higher dynamics we have seen since the start of 2024 would appear to support the hypothesis that the market demand is returning to normal.’

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