Fusion Antibodies FY2026 results: better margins, more cash, and early signs the strategy is working
Fusion Antibodies has put out an unaudited year-end trading update for FY2026, and the headline numbers are moving in the right direction. Revenue rose to £2.13 million from £1.96 million, gross margin improved sharply, and the cash balance more than doubled to £1.04 million from £0.4 million.
That said, this is not a straight-line growth story yet. The company itself describes performance as “mixed but improving”, and that feels fair. This is still a small, project-led business where timing matters, customer budgets matter, and one-off deals can make the numbers look better in a given year.
Fusion Antibodies FY2026 key numbers retail investors should know
| Metric | FY2026 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £2.13 million | £1.96 million |
| Revenue growth | Approximately 9% | Not disclosed |
| Gross margin | 50% | 22% |
| Underlying gross margin | 43% | 22% |
| Cash at year end | £1.04 million | £0.4 million |
The standout figure here is the margin improvement. Gross margin is basically the proportion of revenue left after direct project delivery costs. Moving from 22% to 50% is a huge jump, although investors should note that the company also reported an underlying gross margin of 43%, excluding the Finn Therapeutics IP transfer.
That matters because it shows the improvement was not only down to a one-off transaction. Even stripping that out, the underlying business appears to have become more efficient or more commercially attractive.
Why Fusion Antibodies gross margin improved so much in FY2026
There are two main drivers. First, underlying margins improved. Second, the company completed a £250,000 antibody intellectual property transfer to Finn Therapeutics, which boosted reported profitability.
There is a slight wrinkle here, and investors should not ignore it. Fusion says the full revenue for this project has been recognised in FY2026, but payment will be received in FY2027 on completion of a fundraise by Finn Therapeutics. In plain English, the revenue is booked, but the cash is not in the bank yet.
That does not automatically mean there is a problem, but it does add execution risk. If Finn Therapeutics’ fundraise is delayed or does not happen, that could affect cash timing. For a company of this size, cash timing matters a lot.
Customer diversification is the most important strategic takeaway from this RNS
The most encouraging part of this update is not actually the 9% revenue growth. It is the shift in customer mix. Fusion says it is seeing increasing engagement from larger pharmaceutical companies, alongside its traditional smaller biotech clients.
That is important because small biotech customers can be volatile. They are often dependent on financing markets, and when funding tightens, projects get delayed or cancelled. Larger pharma customers tend to be slower moving, but they can offer better visibility, bigger budgets, and more repeat work.
Fusion says it secured new projects with global pharmaceutical companies, including a humanisation project with a US-based speciality division of a global pharma business and a multi-target Integrated Therapeutic Antibody Services project with a European-based global pharmaceutical company. That is a positive signal. The names are not disclosed, but the direction of travel is clear.
There was also follow-on work from an existing US biotechnology customer in stable cell line development, adding around $460,000 of fees, with most of that recognised in FY2026. Follow-on contracts are usually a good sign because they suggest customers liked the original work enough to extend it.
OptiMAL patent and platform validation could matter more than this year’s revenue
For a business like Fusion, platform development can be where longer-term value is created. The big milestone in this update is the grant of a US patent for the OptiMAL platform, covering the core library design and methodology.
That strengthens the intellectual property position around one of Fusion’s proprietary tools. In a crowded life sciences services market, protected technology can help a company stand out, support pricing, and potentially open up licensing or partnership opportunities down the line.
The company also says its collaboration with the National Cancer Institute continues to produce promising validation results from OptiMAL. The exact data is not disclosed, so investors cannot judge the science in detail from this statement alone. But external validation, especially from a respected institution, helps build credibility.
Grant funding gives Fusion Antibodies some breathing space
Another useful feature of this update is the continued use of non-dilutive funding. That simply means money coming in without issuing new shares. For AIM investors, that is usually welcome news.
Fusion highlighted ongoing support from the Future Medicines Institute programme and an additional grant-funded collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast focused on a therapeutic antibody against DR5. The company expects up to £545,000 to be received over the duration of that project.
This matters for two reasons. First, it helps fund research and development without leaning entirely on commercial revenue or equity raises. Second, it gives Fusion the chance to build potentially licensable assets and case study data that could support future marketing and commercial wins.
There is also a practical operational benefit buried in the update. Fusion says microfluidic equipment available through the FMI initiative has reduced cell line development timelines from around eight to nine months to less than four months, while still producing good numbers of high-producing clones. If that translates consistently into client projects, it could become a meaningful commercial advantage.
Cash position improved, but this is still a small company with project revenue volatility
The jump in cash to £1.04 million is clearly positive. Compared with £0.4 million a year earlier, it suggests the business is in a more comfortable position than it was.
Still, I would not call this a fortress balance sheet. Fusion remains a small-cap life sciences company with project-based revenues, and the board explicitly flagged the inherent variability that comes with that model. Investors should expect lumpiness, not smooth quarterly progress.
The update also does not disclose profit, loss, or cash burn for the year. So while the headline cash number is better, we do not get a full picture here of how quickly money is being used or what the underlying earnings profile looks like. That is worth keeping in mind until the full results land.
What this Fusion Antibodies trading update means for shareholders in FY2027
The board says it is cautiously optimistic for FY2027, and that sounds about right. There are enough positives here to support a better outlook: stronger margins, a better cash position, momentum with larger customers, a US patent for OptiMAL, and grant funding to support platform work.
The risk is that this still depends on converting pipeline into revenue in a business where timing can shift quickly. Some of the year’s progress also leans on items that may not repeat in the same way, such as the Finn Therapeutics IP deal.
My read is that this is a credible update from a company that appears to be stabilising and improving rather than surging. It is not a blow-the-doors-off statement, but it is better than a routine trading update. The customer diversification angle is particularly important, because if Fusion can keep winning work from larger pharma groups, revenue quality could improve materially over time.
Bottom line on Fusion Antibodies FY2026 year-end trading statement
This was a positive update overall, with a few caveats. Revenue growth of 9% is decent, margin improvement is strong, cash is healthier, and the strategic pieces – patents, partnerships, grants, and bigger customers – are moving into place.
The negatives are mostly about scale and visibility. Revenue is still modest at £2.13 million, the business remains exposed to project timing, and at least one recognised revenue item depends on a customer’s future fundraise for cash collection.
For retail investors, the key question is whether FY2026 marks the start of more consistent commercial traction. This update suggests Fusion is heading in that direction, but the next set of results will need to show that progress turning into repeatable, cash-backed growth.
