Artificial heart maker Carmat misses 2023 revenue target

[January 15, 2024]  PARIS (Reuters) -French artificial heart maker Carmat reported full year revenue of 2.8 million euros ($3 million), missing its target after supply issues disrupted the company's production ramp-up, sending its shares down 6%.

The company had warned in September that it would miss a target of full-year sales of between 10 million and 13 million euros after it reported first-half revenue of only 600,000 euros.

Its second-half forecast had pointed to 2023 sales of between 4.6 million and 6.6 million euros.

The annual revenue corresponds to the sale of 17 of its Aeson prostheses, including 11 in the last quarter of 2023, confirming it accelerated the pace of implants.

It said it sees sales between 14 million and 20 million euros in 2024.

Carmat, which survived a cash crunch in mid-October, said it would soon launch a capital increase, estimated to raise at least 50 million euros ($55 million), to ensure it had enough financing for the next 12 months.

It confirmed a target to increase its manufacturing capacity to 500 hearts per year from early 2024, with the opening of a second production facility in Bois-d'Arcy.

Chief Executive Officer of French artificial heart manufacturer Carmat, Stephane Piat, poses holding an artificial heart during an interview with Reuters in Velizy, near Paris, January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

Carmat expects this year to reduce its cash burn by around 20% in comparison with the previous year.

It also confirmed its objective of reaching breakeven in 2027.

The company affirmed its target of submitting a premarket approval application to the Food And Drug Administration by the end of 2026, enabling it to start the marketing of its flagship device in the United States in 2027.

($1 = 0.9123 euros)

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris, Michal Aleksandrowicz in Gdansk; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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