NEW YORK (360Dx) – Opko Health reported after the close of the market on Wednesday that its third quarter revenues fell nearly 12 percent year over year.
For the three-month period ending Sept. 30, revenue fell to $263.5 million, compared to $298.0 million for the comparable period in 2016. It fell short of the consensus Wall Street estimate of $319.4 million.
Service revenues fell to $229.0 million in the recently completed quarter from $259.0 million a year ago, while product revenues were up to $22.8 million from $20.6 million. Intellectual property transfer revenuse slid to $11.7 million from $18.4 million.
While revenues for its diagnostic business were not specifically broken out, company executives said in a conference call that revenues fell short of the company's expectations at its BioReference Laboratories business but noted the company expects improved revenues through the end of the year and in 2018. Steve Rubin, Opko executive vice president, said that the company is investing in system efficiencies, cost reductions, and new leadership that it expects will improve performance.
Adam Logal, the company's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said BioReference did not achieve the growth in patient that the company had expected for the quarter. As a result of the lower quarter, the company now anticipates BioReference revenues for the year to be similar to the 2016 overall levels, he said.
The company also noted that utilization of its 4Kscore prostate specific antigen blood test increased by 19 percent in the quarter compared to the same period last year. Rubin said the company is investing in enhancing marketing efforts to improve awareness of the test. The company is also planning direct-to-consumer regional television ads for the test, which will begin airing later this month, he said.
The company's GeneDx subsidiary has seen "continued ongoing growth in its high complexity exome and related tests," Rubin said, citing a 29 percent year-over-year increase in exome testing volume. The company expects advances in GeneDx's product line and gene sequencing panels to add to the diagnostic platform, he said. Year-to-date pricing headwinds appear to be leveling off, Rubin said, noting the company expected improved performance going forward.
The company noted that it filed a premarket approval application Wednesday with the US Food and Drug Administration for its Claros 1 immunoassay analyzer and its total prostate-specific antigen test.
The company's net loss for the quarter rose to $46.4 million, or $.08 per share, compared to a net loss of $15 million, or $.03 per share, for the comparable 2016 period, which the company attributed to heavy investment in future growth.
The average analysts' average was for a loss per share of $.05.
The company reported $32.3 million in R&D expenses for the quarter, a 32 percent year-over-year increase from $24.4 million last year. Its SG&A expenses grew 5 percent to $131.4 million from $124.9.
Opko finished the quarter with $100.3 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The company's shares fell 17 percent to $5.35 in early morning trading on Thursday on the Nasdaq.