A brand new report for you to digest:
A couple of picks:
the annual rate in the first half of 2021 compared with 2020 corresponds to a sales increase of + 103%, which we see as a positive effect of our digital strategy. This is still from relatively low figures. During the period, Lunette had its first quarter with growth compared with the corresponding period last year since Q2 2019, + 11%. The goal of showing sales growth for the Lunette business area for the full year 2021 remains.
preparations for the launch of VagiVital in the US are still ongoing. It is the company’s intention to launch VagiVital in its own online store and take advantage of the lessons learned in other markets as well as find channel-specific distribution partners and listing in selected retailers.
A number of companies have shown strong interest in distributing VagiVital in China.
The drop is steep. Avanza and NON are the biggest sellers. Have the “tracksuit investors” already tired of waiting? In my opinion, we just have to wait and see what the autumn brings, especially in the USA. The news from China didn’t come at a good time. However, sales growth is very positive, even though the coronavirus has also slowed it down.
Shouting from the sidelines: What’s the point of sales growth when the loss grows even more? I occasionally read Avanza’s forum about Peptonic as well, and the “windbreaker brigade” (amateur investors) are frustrated about the topic. Historically, there have been continuous dilutive share issues, and more money will be needed again soon. The cash balance seems to have been 21 MSEK on June 30th, because a loan was also recently converted into shares. But: Operating cash flow (before changes in working capital) in H1 was 17 MSEK. If no miracles happen in H2, then a new share issue is probably ahead in Q421/Q122?
Hello everyone. Can anyone find Peptonic Medical AB on social media? Also, what brands does this company have? Apparently Lunette, at least? Even though I’m male, I sometimes see Libresse ads. Where are this company’s ads? Or have I just not noticed them?
Regarding revenue development, the report paints too rosy a picture, as the Lunette acquisition was consolidated into the figures only for the last month a year ago. Quarterly sales since then have been closer to 10 million, which still wouldn’t make the company’s pricing cheap (P/S still around 5).
The cash is burning, and owners will surely be approached on increasingly unfavorable terms unless a substantial rabbit is pulled out of the hat in the coming months. Vagivital sales in the US, if successful/with good contracts, could be a sweet rabbit, but money will be tight regardless. The insider trading investigation and the complete halt of promising development in China also complicate matters, at least until a new and better partner is found.
All in all, there are quite a few risks to bear even at these prices, and breaking below the COVID crash lows is probably a bad thing from a technical perspective. The report tries to speak positively about Vagivital’s sales, but revenue has also shrunk in that regard:
Parent company Peptonic Medical AB
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Revenue – Sales of goods amounted to 766 (1,107) KSEK in the second quarter.
One can only guess how much the coronavirus has affected the company’s operations and sales, but a nearly penniless company under criminal investigation with shrinking revenue is not particularly appealing to invest in, and it’s hard to see why the trend wouldn’t continue to be negative in the coming months as well.
What’s this insider trading investigation? It has completely gone over my head.
Jippe might be referring to this:
For the sake of order, the company would like to inform that the preliminary investigation initiated by the Swedish Environmental Crime Agency regarding serious insider crime is still ongoing. The company and its representatives also intend to continue to cooperate with the authority in the matter.
This was apparently launched in autumn 2020, but there’s very little additional information about it. The only information available is that it’s related to a financial actor (“finansiell aktör”). But why would the Environmental Crime Agency investigate such matters? Or is that a Swedish thing ![]()
E:
It just occurs to me, could there be a translation error in Peptonic’s own report for “Environmental Crime Agency”
Ekobrottsmyndigheten = Economic Crime Authority, at least in the agency’s own translation. Not “eko” as in ecology/nature matters…
Of course, both are possible, as the company handles chemicals.
Winston Håkansson was interviewed earlier this week and named Peptonic as one of his picks for the fall!
(direct link: Stream episode Winston: Aktierna jag köper nu by Placerapodden podcast | Listen online for free on SoundCloud) At 22:24, right after Nokia
he says it’s worth buying and has a 30% weighting in one of his defensive (!) portfolios. He sees it as risky but believes it will be worth it within a couple of years.
I took a look at what products the company has in its portfolio in addition to Lunette. Honestly, Vagivital has no moat whatsoever; similar products have been around for half a century. The new cleanser also looks like a completely basic product; it was probably ordered as a custom product from a contract manufacturer. A pH of 3.8 is a targeted treatment for many vaginal disorders, such as bacterial vaginosis.
So, essentially, the case rests on whether the famous Swedish sales expertise lives up to its reputation concerning this relatively simple and highly competitive product.
Their moat is that they are hormone-free, which I believe is the only one in the world. There have been all kinds of creams for ages, so if being hormone-free was easy, there would certainly have been such products decades ago.
Their moat is the hormone-free aspect, which, as I understand it, is unique in the world. There have been all sorts of creams for ages, so if being hormone-free were easy, there would surely have been such products decades ago.
This is not true for Vagivital gel. For decades, there have been entirely generic pH 3.8 lactate buffer-based products on the market.
E: And yes, Orion is indeed a contract manufacturer for Vagivital, but the point is that numerous contract manufacturers can produce, and very easily at that, similar gels for any marketing company that wants to sell it.
That Femisan Vital is a Peptonic product with a Finnish brand. But those other two indeed look similar.
And my intention is not to attack the company, but I wanted to bring up in these discussions that, as far as I have studied intravaginal treatment products quite a bit, there are plenty of alternatives for this, and this gel, with the knowledge I have acquired, has no technical or product development difference from numerous similar preparations.
E: These also get CE marking quite easily, because evidence has accumulated over a long time, and the effectiveness of the treatment is quite good with such a preparation, e.g., in bacterial vaginosis and some other symptoms.
It’s a completely different matter whether Peptonic will gain a good market share globally with its product; Swedes are indeed good at selling. And I won’t really evaluate Lunette and Oxytocin (is this still in the portfolio?).
The products you mentioned (Canesbalance, YA vaginal gel) only treat bacterial vaginosis. VagiVital generally helps with vaginal dryness and pain, especially during/after menopause.
So, even though both gels are inserted into the vagina, their intended uses are different.
The products you mentioned (Canesbalance, YA vaginal gel) only treat bacterial vaginosis. VagiVital helps with vaginal dryness and pain in general, especially during/after menopause.
So even though both gels are inserted into the vagina, their intended uses are different.
That’s true and practically due to the fact that marketers have only claimed them for these treatment indications. However, it doesn’t change the fact that they are compositionally and technically similar, and the same gels could also be claimed for VagiVital’s indications if desired.
So it seems. I incorrectly recalled that VagiVital contained oxytocin.
For sale in Japan for 3410 yen, or 26.14 euros at today’s exchange rate:
https://hellofermata.com/en/products/active-moisture-gel-vagivital
In traditional style, I added as much of the product to the shopping cart as possible. The limit was reached at 468 pieces, at which point it announced (Google Translate):
No more [NEW] Active Moisture Gel-Vagi Vital can be added to the cart.
So, it seems there is 468 * 26.10 € = 12233.52 € worth of stock.
Let’s see what the sales are like in a couple of weeks
(I set a reminder for 1.10.)
They are acquiring a company called CommonSense from Israel:
CommonSense has been under public administration since 2021-07-07. The company is focused on women’s health and has, among other things, CE-marked products for self-testing of bacterial vaginosis and fungal infections. Furthermore, the company has product such as self-tests to detect the departure of amniotic fluid for pregnant women in the final stages of pregnancy
The company had sales of 2,162 TUSD at Group level in 2020 and currently has 20 employees. In CommonSense, Peptonic sees an interesting opportunity to broaden the company’s portfolio and attractiveness with products that fit well with the strategies for VagiVital.
The negotiations are expected to be completed no later than 2021-10-31.
