NEW YORK ─ Trinity Biotech said on Tuesday that its second quarter 2020 revenues dropped 29 percent year over year, partly due to the adverse impact of COVID-19 on its diabetes, autoimmune, and infectious disease revenues.
For the three months ended June 30, the diagnostic company posted revenues of $16 million compared to $22.5 million in the prior-year quarter.
Dublin-based Trinity's clinical laboratory segment revenues fell 27 percent year over year to $14.8 million from $20.4 million, while its point-of-care revenues slid 38 percent year over year to $1.3 million from $2.1 million.
The decrease in clinical laboratory revenues was primarily due to the impact of COVID-19 on diabetes, autoimmune, and infectious disease test revenues, partly offset by growth in viral transport media revenues. The drop in point-of-care revenues was primarily due to lower HIV test revenues in Africa because of logistical constraints caused by the pandemic. Point-of-care revenues were also lower because Trinity decided to discontinue its US HIV product in Q4 2019.
Trinity CEO Ronan O'Caoimh said in a statement that the firm has submitted an Emergency Use Authorization application to the US Food and Drug Administration for an ELISA antibody test. "We are also developing a rapid COVID-19 antibody test, which will be capable of giving results in 12 minutes using a finger prick sample of blood," he said. For that test, the company intends to "avail of the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization pathway by the end of 2020," he added.
In Q2, Trinity posted a net loss of $1.5 million, or $.07 per American depositary receipt (ADR), compared to a loss of $5.4 million, or $.26 per ADR, in the prior-year quarter.
Trinity Biotech's Q2 R&D spending dropped 14 percent year over year to $1.2 million from $1.4 million, and its SG&A costs dropped 24 percent year over year to $5.0 million from $6.6 million. The decreases were largely due to its furloughing of employees due to the pandemic, the company said. The SG&A expense decrease was also due to the near elimination of travel costs, discretionary sales, and marketing expenditures such as tradeshow expenses.
The firm's CFO Kevin Tansley said in a statement that it reported an increase of $2.3 million in its cash balances in the quarter, largely driven by the receipt of $4.5 million under the US government’s Paycheck Protection Program. "Whilst this support came in the form of loans, we expect that in accordance with the rules of this scheme these loans will be forgiven," Tansley said.
Trinity finished the quarter with $15.6 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Its ADRs were trading up more than 14 percent at $1.91 in mid-day trading on the Nasdaq.