NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Chembio Diagnostics reported after the close of the market Thursday that its fourth quarter revenues increased 27 percent on higher product sales, matching its preliminary report.
The Medford, NY-based firm reported total Q4 revenues of $7.6 million, up 27 percent from $6.0 million in Q4 2017. It said that product sales increased nearly 16 percent year over year to $5.6 million, while revenues from licenses, royalties, R&D, milestones, and grants increased 76 percent to $2.0 million.
Chembio's net loss for the quarter was $3.2 million, or $.21 per share, compared to a loss of $2.0 million, or $.16 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2017.
For full year 2018, Chembio's total revenues were up 39 percent to $33.4 million from $24.0 million. Product sales jumped 38 percent to $26.7 million from $19.3 million, while license and royalty revenue climbed to $948,773 from $741,534, and R&D, milestone, and grant revenue increased to $5.7 million from nearly $4.0 million.
Chembio's net loss climbed to $7.9 million, or $.55 per share, from $6.4 million, or $.52 per share, for FY 2017.
Its R&D expenses for the year were nearly flat with 2017 at $8.5 million, while its SG&A spending jumped 23 percent to $11.1 million from $9.0 million.
Chembio finished the year with $12.5 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The firm also said in a separate announcement that it will be awarded a conditional long-term arrangement (LTA) from UNICEF for purchases of its DPP Zika/Chikungunya/Dengue System. The system includes the DPP Zika/Chikungunya/Dengue IgM/IgG multiplex test and DPP Micro Reader, and provides results in 15 minutes from only 10μl of fingertip blood.
The LTA, valid through Dec. 31, 2020, includes a firm purchase commitment of $1.5 million and possible additional purchases of up to $2.0 million, for a total amount of up to $3.5 million. The purchases are subject to Chembio gaining receipt of CE mark certification, completing clinical and analytical performance evaluations, and a successful quality management system inspection.