PARIS (Reuters) – Carmat shares fell sharply on Monday on the Paris Stock Exchange, after the artificial heart manufacturer announced a new capital increase of 50 million euros and reported a figure of annual business below its objectives.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, around 10:55 a.m. GMT, Carmat shares fell 6.1% to 4.92 euros compared to a decline of 0.21% for the CAC 40 index.
Carmat’s turnover for the year 2023 stood at 2.8 million euros, well below the range of 4.6 million to 6.6 million euros previously announced by the group. Carmat also announced that it expects sales of 14 to 20 million euros in 2024.
Portzamparc and Degroof Petercam recognize that Carmat’s turnover is lower than expected, but highlight the reassuring pace of new implants, which is one per week in the fourth quarter.
This is a “very good signal regarding the resolution of the company’s scale-up problems”, specifies Portzamparc.
The turnover target given by Carmat for 2024 is higher than Portzamparc’s estimate of 9 million euros, which already includes the capital increase of 50 million euros. Portzamparc estimates the issue price at 5.77 euros per share.
Degroof Petercam says the 2024 target is in line with its estimate of €15 million, adding that Carmat’s short-term goal is clearly to expand its financial visibility.
In October, the group carried out a capital increase of seven million euros with several of its historical financial shareholders in order to have sufficient liquidity to continue its activities.
Last month, it announced the commissioning of a second production building in Bois-d’Arcy (Yvelines) which should make it possible to achieve the production capacity objective of 500 cores per year at the start of 2024.
Carmat hopes to reach financial balance in 2027.
(Written by Augustin Turpin, with contributions from Michal Aleksandrowicz, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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