NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Quidel reported after the close of the market on Wednesday that its third quarter revenues rose 3 percent year over year.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, revenues increased to $50.9 million from $49.3 million in Q3 2016, beating the average analyst expectation for revenues of $50.3 million.
In the prior-year quarter, Quidel received a final milestone-based cash payment of $3.8 million dollars from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Excluding that amount, revenues increased by 12 percent and were driven by immunoassay sales, the firm said.
Quidel's molecular business revenue grew 13 percent over the prior-year quarter, from $2.5 million to $2.8 million. In the quarter, the firm's Solana RSV + hMPV molecular assay received FDA clearance.
Immunoassay product revenue was up 19 percent, meanwhile, from $30.6 million to $36.5 million. Revenue from the firm's Sofia immunoassay line increased 39 percent to $19.6 million, while QuickVue immunoassay product revenue decreased 6 percent to $15.6 million. The InflammaDry and AdenoPlus eyecare diagnostic businesses acquired from RPS this year contributed $1.3 million to this category in the quarter, the firm said.
A Lyme disease assay on the firm's Sofia platform received 510(k) clearance in the quarter.
Gains in the molecular and immunoassay businesses were offset by 6 percent losses in both virology and specialty products.
Quidel's Q3 net loss grew to $5.5 million, or $.16 per share, from $572,000, or $.02 per share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company reported earnings per share of $.17, beating the Wall Street estimate of a loss of $.04 per share.
The company's R&D costs decreased to $7.5 million from $8.8 million due to lower development spending for the Savanna MDx system, while its SG&A costs increased from $18.2 million to $19.5 million due to the increased personnel and consulting costs associated with the InflammaDry and AdenoPlus acquisitions.
The firm also recorded $4.6 million in due diligence and integration costs related to the acquisition of the Alere Triage and BNP assets.
In a statement, Douglas Bryant, Quidel's president and CEO said the firm "has transformed itself with the completion of the acquisition of the Alere Triage and B-type Naturietic Peptide (BNP) Assay businesses. … This transaction broadens our business by unlocking growth opportunities in several new end markets, both geographically and by product. We are well underway in our efforts to bring together these two strong organizations and look forward to providing updates as we move through the process."
Quidel finished the third quarter with $173 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash.Â