ChemoMetec Q3 revenue rises 15% as XcytoMatic platform gains traction

ChemoMetec has reported third-quarter revenue of DKK 142.3 million for the period ending 31 March 2026, a 15% increase on the DKK 124.2 million recorded in the same quarter a year earlier. Stripping out a one-off IFRS reallocation of DKK 15.1 million between instrument and service revenue lines, the underlying quarter-on-quarter growth was 2% in Danish kroner and 8% in local currencies.

EBITDA for the quarter reached DKK 84.5 million, representing a margin of 59%. Adjusted for the accounting restatement, EBITDA was DKK 69.4 million and the margin stood at 55%, up from 51% in the prior-year period. For the nine months to March, revenue reached DKK 391.3 million and EBITDA DKK 220.7 million, with an adjusted 9M margin of 55%. The company maintained its full-year guidance of DKK 505–525 million in revenue and DKK 275–290 million in EBITDA.

XcytoMatic platform driving the shift to automation

The standout feature of the quarter was the acceleration in sales of instruments on the XcytoMatic (XM) platform, which includes the NC-203. Excluding the one-off effect, XM product sales more than quadrupled to DKK 14.6 million from DKK 2.9 million in the prior-year quarter. This offset a corresponding decline in sales of the company's legacy NC products, which ChemoMetec attributes to a lower level of commercial activity in already-approved cell and gene therapies — a dynamic visible across the broader sector as a handful of major manufacturers have scaled back or exited the market entirely.

Consumable sales fell 10% to DKK 56.1 million, reflecting both the softer cell-therapy commercialisation environment and the deliberate wind-down of ChemoMetec's animal semen, beer and milk product line, where revenue dropped 50% year-on-year following a strategic decision to deprioritise the segment. LCB (life-science research, cell and gene therapy, and bioprocessing) now accounts for 95% of nine-month revenue, up from 92% in the comparable period.

Geographically, Europe was the strongest performer, with Q3 revenue up 25% on an adjusted basis to DKK 47.0 million, driven by XM instrument placements and growing interest from bioprocessing customers. The USA/Canada region, which represents 54% of nine-month revenue, declined 14% in adjusted terms as USD weakness — the dollar depreciated roughly 10% against the krone — and lower patient volumes weighed on results.

Market context and competitive positioning

ChemoMetec's pivot towards automated cell-counting infrastructure puts it at the intersection of two structural trends: the maturation of cell and gene therapy manufacturing and the broader push to reduce cleanroom labour costs through integrated automation. The company says it has been selected as a preferred supplier in a significant number of automation set-ups, typically without facing direct competition from other cell-counting vendors — a claim that is plausible given the relatively specialised nature of high-throughput cell-viability measurement, though the competitive landscape in adjacent instrument categories is evolving as larger diagnostics and bioprocessing equipment companies expand their automation portfolios.

The XM Octopus software platform, a fleet-management and data-integration layer that enables remote control and API-based instrument connectivity, is approaching a soft launch, with a broader roll-out planned for late 2026. The XcytoMatic 50 (XM50), positioned as part of an upcoming Sample Management System, is expected to reach market gradually over the next six to twelve months. The FDA's cell and gene therapy approval pipeline is described by management as recovering after a period of stagnation, which, if sustained, would support consumables revenue in future periods as new therapies move into commercial production.

New partnerships with companies holding positions in bioprocessing were established during the quarter, though no counterparties were named. ChemoMetec views these collaborations as the primary route to penetrating the bioprocessing segment at scale, where integration with the XM platform is being positioned as a workflow automation enabler rather than a standalone instrument sale.