CardieX (ASX:CDX) posts sales growth despite smartwatch launch delay

• Meditech company CardieX (CDX) has posted another strong quarter of sales despite a decision to push back the launch of its healthcare-based smartwatch
• As of the end of the March 2021 quarter, sales growth has increased to over 30 per cent for the year-to-date compared to the same time period last year
• The sales growth has been driven by CardieX’s Oscar 2 blood pressure monitoring devices
• Nevertheless, CardieX was planning on launching a new smartwatch product, which is designed to measure key health analytics, at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January
• However, given the virtualised nature of the event thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, CardieX said it decided to look for other ways to launch the product
• CardieX is also developing the Pulse home-based heart monitoring device and the new “Arty Band”, which is based on the same tech as the smartwatch
• Importantly, after going cashflow-negative by around $1.6 million for the March quarter, CardieX management said it expects the company to return to profitability by the end of 2022
• Shares in CardieX closed 8.82 per cent lower this afternoon at 6.2 cents each

Meditech company CardieX (CDX) has posted another strong quarter of sales despite a decision to push back the launch of a key healthcare-based smartwatch.

The company said its strong sales growth is continuing after revealing its best half-year in sales for over five years in February.

Now, as of the end of the March 2021 quarter, sales growth has increased to over 30 per cent for the year-to-date compared to the same time period last year.

In light of this, CardieX has upped its 2021 financial year sales growth target to 40 per cent on a constant currency basis.

The sales growth has been primarily driven by the company’s XCEL and Oscar 2 blood pressure monitoring devices, which CardieX said are performing “very well” in research, clinical trial, pharma and specialist clinician markets.

In fact, CardieX said the products are supporting five global trials alongside the likes of AstraZeneca and Bayer.

However, while XCEL and Oscar 2 sales are performing well, CardieX chose to delay one of its key upcoming product launches in the March quarter.

New products in the pipeline

CardieX’s smartwatch product, which is based on partner company ATCOR’s “Arty” platform and backed by Google’s Mobvoi, was initially slated for market launch in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

However, the company said it felt the virtualised version of the event in light of COVID-19 restrictions was not the best opportunity for the new product, so CardieX and its partners have developed alternative go-to-market strategies. The smartwatch will be able to track important health analytics.

At the same time, CardieX has started to design a new “Arty Band” product, based on the same tech of the smartwatch. The band will be used to measure a range of healthcare and medical indicators and, importantly, will be cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if all goes according to plan.

If CardieX is successful in getting this FDA clearance, the Arty Band will have a leg up on the likes of the Apple Watch, which is not cleared by the FDA.

Meanwhile, CardieX is also busy developing the Pulse product, which is a home-based heart health vital signs monitoring system based on ATCOR’s U.S. FDA-cleared SphygmoCor tech.

According to CardieX, SphymoCor is the only existing FDA-cleared tech in the world that can produce a full-feature arterial waveform in adults. This identifies important cardiovascular diagnostics for heart disorders.

CardieX’s cash position

Thanks to a $3.2 million share purchase plan completed in January, CardieX was able to bolster its balance sheet to around $6.55 million early on in the quarter.

However, the company is still spending more than it is earning, with the March quarter’s net cash flow result negative by around $1.6 million. This meant at the end of March, CardieX had around $4.9 million left to play with.

Company management said based on the strong growth it has seen in all market segments over the past few months, it expects to return to profitability by the end of the 2022 calendar year.

Shares in CardieX closed 8.82 per cent lower this afternoon at 6.2 cents each. The company has a $56.5 million market cap.