NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Affymetrix said after the close of the market on Wednesday that total revenues moved up a fraction of 1 percent year over year in the fourth quarter.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2014 total revenues were $93.5 million compared to $92.6 million a year ago and above the consensus Wall Street estimate of $91.8 million. The revenues were slightly higher than those reported last month in Affymetrix's pre-announcement of revenues.
After adjusting for a one-time license payment made in Q4 2013 of $5.3 million and the sale of its Anatrace business with revenues of $200,000 in the most recently completed quarter, Affy said that revenues rose 7 percent year over year.
Product sales improved to $82.8 million from $82.1 million a year ago. Included in Q4 2014 product revenues were consumable revenues of $78 million and instrument revenues of $4.8 million. That compares to product revenues of $78.1 million and instrument revenues of $4 million in Q4 2013.
Services and other revenues inched up to $10.7 million from $10.5 million a year ago.
On a conference call following the release of the financial results, Affy President and CEO Frank Witney said that the core eBioscience flow cytometry immunoassay business improved by 6 percent year over year, while life science reagents grew about 4 percent. The gene expression business was down 24 percent year over year to $19.5 million in Q4 2014. Witney did not provide figures for the genetic analysis business, however, which has been a growth driver for Affy for the past several quarters.
Affy posted a profit of $5.2 million, or $.05 per share, for the quarter compared to a profit of $9.4 million, or $.10 per share, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, EPS for Q4 2014 was $.09, beating the average analysts' estimate of $.07.
Its R&D spending rose 7 percent to $12.8 million from $12 million, while its SG&A costs increased 2 percent to $39.9 million from $39.1 million. In Q4 2013 Affy recorded a gain of $9.3 million from the sale of a product line.
For full-year 2014, Affy posted $349 million in total revenues compared to $330.4 million in 2013, a 6 percent increase year over year and above the average analysts' estimate of $347.3 million.
Affy said that its total revenues were up 9 percent year over year on an adjusted basis after a one-time license payment of $5.3 million in 2013 and the sale of its Anatrace business with revenues of $4.5 million.
Product revenues for 2014 were $310.5 million, up from $302.7 million. Affy had $294.2 million in consumable revenues for the year compared to $288.2 million in 2013, and instrument revenues of $16.2 million, up from $14.4 million for the prior year.
Services and other revenues rose to $38.6 million from $27.8 million.
On the call Witney said that the Affy's genetic analysis business grew 40 percent in 2014 from 2013 with continued strong performance in its genotyping and clinical portfolios.
The eBioscience business was up 6 percent year over year, he added, while the life science reagents business grew 2 percent for the year. The gene expression business was off by 15 percent in 2014 compared to 2013.
Affy's net loss for 2014 narrowed to $3.8 million, or $.05 per share, from a net loss of $16.3 million, or $.23 per share, in 2013. On an adjusted basis, the company had EPS of $.30 and beat the consensus Wall Street estimate of $.25.
Its R&D costs increased 5 percent to $50.2 million from $47.7 million, while its SG&A expenses also increased 5 percent to $148.4 million from $141.4 million. Affy took a $4.5 million restructuring charge in 2013 for the Anatrace sale and it took a $5.1 million charge related to a legal settlement in 2014 compared to no such charges in 2013.
Affy finished 2014 with $79.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.
"The end of 2014 marked the completion of phase III of our strategic plan," to restore growth in Affy, Witney said on the call. "We exited phase II in a strong financial and competitive position, demonstrating that our strategic plan is founded on the right priorities, and we have the resources to execute against it." He noted that in phase II, Affy has improved its profitability and strengthened its balance sheet.
On the call Affy CFO Gavin Wood reiterated that the firm expects mid-single digit revenue growth for 2015 on a constant currency basis. Genetic analysis is anticipated to grow in the mid-teens, while eBioscience is projected to grow between 6 percent and 8 percent year over year. Gene expression revenues are expected to drop by about 10 percent year over year, and the life science reagents business is expected to shrink in the low-single digits, Wood said.
In early Thursday trade on the Nasdaq, shares of Affymetrix gained nearly 5 percent to $11.46.