PAT Group's unaudited consolidated sales for fiscal 2021 amounted to €2,304k, up +34 % on 2020. Group sales were in line with forecasts, thanks in particular to Plant Advanced Technologies PAT SA's active cosmetics business and the dynamism of its subsidiaries Couleurs de Plantes and StratiCELL. The Group benefited from the ramp-up of its cosmetics partnership with Clariant, the launch of a cosmetics product with Seppic at Dermophil, and an active ingredient with a luxury goods giant.
Plant Advanced Technologies PAT recorded sales of €1,537k at December 31, 2021, compared with €1,271k in 2020.
For its part, StratiCELL, a Belgium-based subsidiary specializing in in vitro efficacy studies for skin care products, reported sales of €818k to December 31, 2021. This growth is due in particular to a clear upturn in the market in 2021, but is also linked to research and development efforts in areas such as the study of skin microbiota and inflammatory pathologies such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and acne. Marketing and sales actions undertaken in the US cosmetics and pharmaceutical markets also contribute to sales growth.
Couleurs de Plantes, a subsidiary based in Rochefort-sur-Mer, is a producer of plant colorants and pigments. Business at Couleurs de Plantes was brisk in 2021, with record sales of 569 k€ at December 31, 2021 since its creation in 2005. In particular, business grew in the cosmetics sector, where demand for natural products is well established. In addition, the textile sector is undergoing profound change, and the use of plant dyes appears to be one of the technical responses to the marketing of less polluting products, opening up excellent prospects.
PAT Zerbaz, a subsidiary based on Reunion Island and specializing in the discovery of active ingredients and rare plant molecules from tropical biodiversity, recorded sales of €482k at December 31, 2021.
Finally, Temisis, a subsidiary based in Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, is developing a high-potential anti-inflammatory for the treatment of psoriasis. Temisis is working to elucidate the mechanism of action of this "first-in-class" molecule: TEM1657. It is the strongest known regulator of the NFKBIZ target, at the heart of autoimmune inflammatory diseases, a target for which there is as yet no molecule on the market. Temisis recalls that the financing requirement for the Phase 1 clinical trial of its TEM1657 molecule, scheduled for 2023, is between €8 and €10 million, which will be financed by future subscriptions. Essentially focused on R&D, the company does not record any sales.
Cellengo, a subsidiary based in Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, specializes in the development and production of active ingredients using metabolic engineering and synthetic biology technologies for the Group's nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, agrochemical and cosmetics markets. For the moment, this subsidiary is entirely dedicated to R&D, and does not generate any sales.
What are the short- and medium-term prospects?
According to PAT, the partnership with Clariant should continue to grow in cosmetics, and in pharmaceuticals, the pre-clinical phase of its "first-in-class" TEM1657 molecule is very promising.
In addition, projects are underway in nutraceuticals and agrochemicals, which should provide growth drivers in the next three to five years.
The PAT Group is confident of achieving its growth targets, and in particular of breaking even by 2023.
