NEW YORK (360Dx) – Vermillion reported after the close of the market on Thursday that its fourth quarter revenues were up 16 percent year over year.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2018, the company reported total revenues of $922,000, up from $798,000 in Q4 2017.
Vermillion posted $793,000 in product revenues from sales of its OVA1 ovarian cancer test, up 21 percent from $658,000 in the prior-year quarter. Service revenues from its Aspira IVD business was down 8 percent to $129,000 from $140,000 in Q4 2017.
The company performed 1,996 OVA1 tests in Q4 2018, up 5 percent from 1,910 in Q4 2017, and generated $398 per test, up 15 percent from $345 per test in the year-ago period.
On a conference call following release of the results, Vermillion President and CEO Valerie Palmieri highlighted the company's plans to drive sales of OVA1, which have remained largely flat over the last few years.
She said that the company ended 2018 with 12 sales reps and completed in Q1 2019 an additional phase of hiring.
Palmieri also said Vermillion planned to announce a new OVA test in the second half of 2019. She described it as a "watch and wait product" based on seven markers that doctors could use to monitor low-risk ovarian adnexal mass patients who may not need surgery. The test would address a potential market of around 500,000 to 1 million women in the US.
Vermillion CFO Robert Beechey said on the call that the firm has regained compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements as on March 22, 2019 its stock closed above $1 for the 10th consecutive day. He said the company was formally notified by Nasdaq that it was back in compliance on March 26.
The firm's Q4 net loss attributable to common shareholders was $2.8 million, or $.04 per share, compared to $3.0 million, or $.05 per share, a year ago.
Vermillion's R&D spending fell 18 percent in Q4 2018 to $125,000 from $152,000 in Q4 2017 while its SG&A spending was flat year over year at $2.9 million.
For full-year 2018, the company posted revenues of $3.1 million, flat year over year.
Product revenues were down 3 percent to $2.8 million from $2.9 million the previous year while service revenues were $281,000 in 2018, up 5 percent from $268,000 in 2017.
The company performed 7,679 OVA1 tests in 2018, down 10 percent from 8,575 tests in 2017.
For full-year 2018, Vermillion's net loss attributable to common shareholders was $11.4 million, or $.16 per share, compared to a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $11.4 million, or $.20 per share, in 2017.
The company's R&D costs in 2018 were down 34 percent year over year to $550,000 from $837,000, while its SG&A costs were up 9 percent to $10.7 million from $9.8 million.
Vermillion finished 2018 with $9.4 million in cash and cash equivalents.
On Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq, Vermillion's stock was down 15 percent to $1.09.