NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – MDS today reported that its fourth-quarter revenues fell 4 percent, as its Analytical Technologies and Pharma Services units both had declines in revenues year over year.
The Toronto-based firm brought in revenues of $322 million for the three-month period ended Oct. 31, compared with revenues of $327 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. MDS said that excluding the impact of foreign exchange and acquisitions and divestitures, the firm’s revenues were up 4 percent.
MDS Analytical Technologies, which houses the firm’s mass spectrometry and Molecular Devices businesses, had a drop in revenue to $99 million from $108 million. The firm said that the division continues to be impacted by soft demand for high-end instruments.
MDS Pharma Services’ Q4 revenues fell to $112 million from $123 million year over year, and revenues for MDS Nordion grew to $84 million from $76 million.
The company posted a net loss of $255 million, or $2.11 per share, due primarily to a $501 million write-off during the quarter associated with its investment in the MAPLE nuclear-reactor project. MDS posted a profit of $15 million, or $.13 per share, for the comparable period of 2008. The fourth-quarter results also include a $160 million benefit for forgiveness of debt related to the MAPLE project, which was scrapped earlier this year. MDS has since filed a $1.6 billion court claim related to the project.
MDS’ SG&A costs for the quarter declined 8 percent year over year to $77 million from $84 million, while its R&D spending dropped 30 percent to $14 million from $20 million.
For full-year 2008, MDS brought in revenues of $1.3 billion, up 8 percent from revenues of $1.2 billion in 2007. The results are better than the revenue range of between $1.21 billion and $1.22 billion the firm predicted last week.
The firm’s net loss for the year was $233 million, or $1.91 per share, versus a profit of $781 million, or $5.92 per share, in 2007. Last year’s results include an $806 million gain from the sale of the firm’s Canadian diagnostics business.
MDS finished fiscal 2008 with $120 million in cash and cash equivalents.