Shares in specialist infection prevention and control firm Byotrol (BYOT:AIM) are up 360% so far in 2020, reflecting the exceptional demand seen for the company’s technologies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The company recently (27 April) reported a trading update for the financial year to 31 March 2020, and confirmed it is benefiting from a secular shift towards the heightened importance of infection prevention.

Audited revenues are expected to be around £6m and exclude a material new contract which will now fall into the 2021 financial year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are expected to be £0.25m.

The new financial year started with an order book greater than £2m, compared with £1.7m in March and historically around £0.3m. Supply chain constraints are restricting additional orders being delivered, but these are expected to ease over the coming months.

The order book excludes licences, royalties and technical deals such as the recently signed (20 March) deal with fellow contamination prevention company Tristel (TSTL:AIM).

The 10-year collaboration will result in Byotrol receiving a combination of supply payments as well as royalty and success-based fees.

The company will supply a concentrated disinfectant targeted for use in hospitals as well as a long-lasting anti-microbial product, to be dispensed through Tristel’s dedicated hospital surface disinfection portfolio.

Perhaps more importantly, the two firms will work together to bring a new-to-market product which combines Tristel’s proprietary sporicidal chemistry with Byotrol’s long-lasting anti-microbial technology. The unique product will speedily eliminate spores on application and will then remain active for eight hours after application.

Byotrol has spent a number of years developing technologies which have been approved for use in both the US through Federal Protection Agency and Europe through Biocidal products regulation. The firm is now focused on monetising these technologies.

The management team are working on a number of long-term supply contracts and licences including Byotrol24, a multi-purpose disinfectant for the US market.

Contamination specialist peer Tristel is due release a trading update towards the end of June. Given continuing momentum experienced by Byotrol it wouldn’t be surprising to see Tristel benefiting from the same high demand and possibly beating estimates.

According to Refinitiv data the company is expected to report full-year revenues up 15% to £30m and 30% growth in EBITDA to £9.2m. Tristel is a running Great Idea in Shares. 

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