Inspiration Healthcare - shares up 11% on strong underlying H1 growth
Investors have reacted well to news from Inspiration Healthcare Group (AIM: IHC), the global medical technology company. The shares are up by 11% to 20.5p on the back of a positive trading update for the six months ended 31st July 2026 which revealed that the company expects to close the financial year slightly ahead of market expectations.
Inspiration Healthcare designs, manufactures and markets pioneering medical technology, specialising in neonatal intensive care medical devices which are addressing a critical need to help to save the lives and improve the outcomes of patients from birth. The company sells its own products, along with complementary distributed products, for use in neonatal intensive care. These are designed to support even the most premature babies throughout their hospital stay. Its own branded products range from highly sophisticated capital equipment, such as ventilators for life support, through to single-use disposables.
In the UK and Ireland, products are sold directly to hospitals and healthcare providers, and in the rest of the world Inspiration has an established network of distribution partners, giving access to more than 75 countries. The company operates in the UK from its world-class Manufacturing and Technology Centre in Croydon and in the USA from a facility in Florida.
H1 trading
While revenues for the first half were down from £24 million in H1 last year to £22 million, this was attributed to the prior period benefitting from significant one-off contract revenues of £6.5 million, a fact already known by the market.
That one off aside, there was strong underlying growth across the firm’s key product areas. Neonatal ventilation business SLE performed very well, with product revenues of £12.7 million which, excluding the impact of one-off export contracts in the prior year, represented underlying growth of 38%.
In pneumatic ventilation division Airon revenues increased by 40% to £1.6 million following an initial order under the firm’s three-year purchasing agreement with a large US healthcare provider.
Meanwhile, in the MedTech distribution business revenues increased by a more modest 7% to £7.6 million. Key news in this division, announced in June, is that Inspiration is transitioning the distribution of infusion products back to partner Micrel Medical Devices. The company has been the exclusive distributor of Micrel's ambulatory infusion pumps and related consumables in the UK since 2011 but the existing distribution agreement ends on 31st January 2027, with the firm then increasing focus on its core neonatal business. The infusion products generated revenue of £9.7 million, at a contribution margin of c.25%, in the year ended 31st January 2026. While the transfer is understandably expected to reduce divisional revenues in the short term, the firm has said that it is confident in its ability to capitalise on opportunities ahead.
Inspiration Healthcare 5-year share price chart
In Inspiration’s full year results for the year to 31st January 2026, released in mid-June, it said that, with the different opportunities presented by these three business units, its vision is to double group sales over the next five years – with sales for that year being £47.5 million. These interim figures show good progress towards that implied, near £100 million sales goal, with continued demand for the core neonatal intensive care products in particular being seen.
On the balance sheet, net debt (excluding IFRS 16 lease liabilities) remained broadly stable at £5.2 million at the period end, up slightly from £5.1 million six months earlier.
On the outlook, as well as confirming the slightly ahead trading, CEO Raffi Stepanian, said, "We enter the second half of the year with confidence, a strong orderbook and pipeline of opportunities…”. The release date of the full interims hasn’t been announced but given last year’s timeline it should be around the second week of October.
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Disclosures
Inspiration Healthcare is not a corporate client of Optimo Research Ltd.
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