German research outfit Evotec is dialing up its full-year revenue expectations thanks to a series of contract wins.
The Hamburg-headquartered company is projecting 45% annual growth over 2014's €73.4 million ($82.8 million), raising its guidance from the 35% yearly jump it forecast last quarter. The change is a reaction to the strong performance of EVT Execute, the company's CRO arm, plus some positive trends in EVT Innovate, through which Evotec develops proprietary drug candidates.
With more money coming in, Evotec is looking to bolster its internal spending, maintaining its previously stated plan of putting €20 million ($22.6 million) into R&D in 2015 and adding another €10 million ($11.3 million) for technology upgrades.
"We're delighted that our No. 1 drug discovery services continue to attract new customers while satisfying the needs of our existing customers," CEO Werner Lanthaler said in a statement. "Both segments are performing very well at this stage."
In the first half of the year, Evotec grew its revenue by 37%, with Execute growing 49% over the same period in 2014 to offset a 5% decline in Innovate cash.
Since then, the company has inked a pair of major R&D collaborations, deepening its ties with existing partner Sanofi ($SNY) in a $330 million diabetes deal and signing on to help Pfizer ($PFE) discover new treatments for fibrosis. The two tie-ups mirror ongoing pacts with Roche ($RHHBY), Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ), Bayer and others.
- read the statement (PDF)