NEW YORK – Fulgent Genetics reported after the close of the market on Tuesday that its fourth quarter revenues grew 48 percent year over year.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2019 the company reported revenues of $8.4 million, up from $5.7 million in Q4 2018. The firm said that it delivered 13,977 billable tests during Q4, more than double the number of tests in the prior-year period.
"We had a strong finish to the year, which was highlighted by revenue growth of more than 50 percent and billable test volume growth of more than 160 percent, year over year," Fulgent Chairman and CEO Ming Hsieh said in a statement. "We saw continued traction with our core oncology and reproductive health businesses in the quarter, while we continued to expand and diversify our customer base in both the clinical and research markets.
"As we look ahead, we remain focused on driving growth in our core test markets utilizing our technology platform while expanding our reach through partnerships and licensing agreements. We also see incremental opportunity to grow our international business, where we are in the early stages of expanding our sales organization," he added.
The company reported a Q4 net loss of $296,000, or $.01 per share, compared to a loss of $2.1 million, or $.11 per share, in Q4 2018. Adjusted EPS for the recently completed quarter was $.04. On a conference call with investors following the release of results, Fulgent CFO Paul Kim noted the firm completed a stock offering of approximately $28 million in November. The weighted average number of shares used to calculate earnings in Q4 2019 was about 20 million, compared to about 18.1 million in Q4 2018.
Fulgent reported that its Q4 R&D expenses rose 26 percent year over year to $1.8 million from $1.4 million. Its SG&A expenses rose 34 percent to $3.5 million from $2.5 million.
For full-year 2019, Fulgent reported that total revenues grew 52 percent to $32.5 million from $21.4 million in 2018. The firm reported delivering 58,573 billable tests, a 163 percent increase year over year.
Hsieh said on the call that the firm's clinical testing business accounted for approximately half of its 2019 revenues. Its sequencing services grew to approximately $4 million.
The firm's net loss for the year narrowed to $411,000, or $.02 per share, from $5.6 million, or $.31 per share, in 2018. Adjusted EPS for 2019 was $.19. The weighted average number of shares used to calculate earnings for 2019 was about 18.7 million compared to approximately 18 million in Q4 2018.
The company's 2019 R&D expenses rose 18 percent to $6.5 million from $5.5 million a year ago. SG&A expenses for the year rose 21 percent to $12.3 million from $10.2 million in 2018.
Fulgent ended the year with $12 million in cash and cash equivalents and $58.3 million in investments in marketable securities.
Kim said the firm has seen a strong start to the year and expects revenues of $40 million in 2020, which would represent approximately 23 percent growth year over year, with Q1 revenues of between $7.5 million and $8 million, "growing approximately $1.5 million each quarter thereafter."
In morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Fulgent were down almost 22 percent at $11.91.