This article has been updated with information from Centogene's earnings call.
NEW YORK – Centogene on Wednesday morning reported a 212 percent year-over-year increase in third quarter revenues, driven by the continued expansion of its COVID-19 testing business.
"We had a very strong quarter from a revenue perspective," said Andrin Oswald, the company's new CEO, in a conference call to discuss the financial results. Oswald joined Centogene as CEO earlier this month, following the somewhat abrupt resignation of its previous CEO, Arnd Rolfs, in October.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, Centogene's revenues totaled €36.3 million ($44.3 million) compared to €11.6 million in Q3 of last year, beating the average analyst estimate of €28.4 million.
Diagnostics revenues were €32.5 million in Q3, up almost fivefold from €6.8 million a year ago, and included €27.4 million from commercial coronavirus testing. Without COVID-19 testing, diagnostics revenues were down 25 percent year over year. Pharmaceutical revenues totaled €3.8 million in the quarter, down 21 percent from €4.8 million a year ago.
COVID-19 testing volumes grew particularly at Centogene's airport locations, which account for most of its coronavirus testing. During the quarter, the company added a rapid antigen test to its existing PCR test to give travelers another choice.
Oswald acknowledged that the COVID-19 testing business has been "a critical additional source of revenue for the company, as our core business has not yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels."
However, since the summer, the firm has made progress in refocusing on its core business segments. For example, it has signed 12 new pharmaceutical partnerships in the second half of this year so far, including seven in Q3 alone, which are expected to start contributing to revenues next year. In addition, it has added 113,000 new patients to its database over the last 12 months.
While its rare disease diagnostic testing volume has not fully recovered yet, "we are happy to see higher and steadier numbers, despite the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and lockdown restrictions in Europe and other critical markets," Oswald said.
The additional revenue from COVID-19 testing will allow the company to make strategic investments to support its work in the rare disease space, he added, including in the commercial organization, lab capacity, and scientific research.
Given the recent rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, coronavirus testing will likely decrease in the future, but it is not yet clear when. "It is uncertain for how long and what types of testing will be required in different settings," Oswald said. "Recognizing these uncertainties, our COVID-19 testing platform and locations provide us with enough flexibility to offer necessary testing capabilities while communities remain in need."
"While we're committed to provide COVID-19 testing as we move into 2021, I want to emphasize that our focus is on the core business segment, as this is the long-term future of the company," he said.
Centogene reported a net loss of €5.6 million for Q3, up from €4.3 million during the same quarter in 2019.
R&D expenses totaled €4.8 million, more than double the €2.0 million a year ago. SG&A expenses in Q3 were €9.7 million, up 45 percent from €6.7 million last year.
Centogene ended the quarter with €28.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The company increased its full-year 2020 revenue guidance to more than €100 million, from a previously raised estimate of €80 million.
In morning trading on the Nasdaq, Centogene shares were up almost 4 percent at $11.92.