Oxford Biomedica (LON: OXB), the London-listed contract manufacturer of viral vectors used in cell and gene therapies, saw its shares fall sharply today after cutting full-year revenue guidance. The company blamed client order delays and a further setback at a key US manufacturing site.
Shares plunged to 464p in early trade, down 21.5% from yesterday’s close of 591p, having traded as low as 446.5p. That puts the stock well below its 52-week range of 423.5p to 962p and far under both its 50-day average of 605p and 200-day average of 649p.
In a half-year trading update published earlier today, Oxford Biomedica said it now expects FY2026 revenue of £180m to £200m, down from previous guidance of £220m to £240m. The company also cut its operating EBITDA margin outlook, a profitability measure before interest, tax, depreciation and one-off items, to mid-single-digit percent from around 10% previously. It cited clients delaying and staging orders, alongside a further six-month delay to operational readiness at its Durham, North Carolina facility, though the first regulated manufacturing batch there is now under way.
The downgrade interrupts a run of accelerating growth: H1 2026 revenue rose about 9% to roughly £80m, following FY2025 revenue of £168.7m, itself up more than 30% on FY2024. Net cash roughly halved to £21m from £55m at the end of December, even as the company signed a record 17 new clients in the half, more than 30% above the whole of FY2025, and grew its new business pipeline by around 30% year-on-year to about $713m.
Chief executive Frank Mathias said: “We continue to see strong demand for OXB’s services, demonstrated by record new client activity in the first half, an expanding new business pipeline and a growing number of late-stage and commercial-stage opportunities.” He added that the company remains confident in its future despite the “short-term impact of changes in client ordering behaviour and the phased ramp-up” of the Durham site.
Management reiterated its medium-term ambitions unchanged, including FY2027 revenue growth of 25% to 30% and a long-term target of around £500m in revenue by 2030. Oxford Biomedica is due to report full interim results for H1 2026 on 22 September.