Shares of Heiq PLC (LON: HEIQ) crashed 21.9% after the innovative Swiss textiles company released a positive trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2020.
The company said that it expects revenues for its 2020 financial year to beat market estimates driven by the robust performance of its core portfolio products led by strong sales of HeiQ Viroblock, an antimicrobial technology launched in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was not yet clear why Heiq shares sold off as much as they did, with the only explanation being that investors were unwinding their long positions following the massive rally that started in December 2020.
The firm’s shares were trading at 120p in early December before rallying over 100% to yesterday’s closing price of 243p. Some long-term investors were likely selling some of their shares today to book profits given that the company started trading on the LSE on 7 December 2020.
Heiq noted that its viroblock technology has now been used in over 1 billion face masks leading to its winning the Swiss Technology Award in Q4 2020.
The firm also expects its operating profits for FY 2020 to be in line with market expectations despite the company's record number of investments in H2 2020. Heiq’s 2021 financial year is off to a great start, and the company is confident about its prospects.
HeiQ co-founder and CEO Carlo Centonze said: “2020 was a milestone year for HeiQ, characterised by rapid growth and innovation. Not only did we respond quickly to the COVID-19 outbreak by bringing HeiQ Viroblock to market early, we did so while also delivering robust sales growth for many existing products within our 200-strong portfolio of novel textile technologies. These achievements solidified our position as a profitable and fast-growing pioneer in the $24 billion textile chemicals market.”
Heiq share price
Heiq shares fell 21.94% to trade at 185p having fallen from Monday’s closing price of 237p.
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