NEW YORK – Berkeley Lights reported on Tuesday a 35 percent increase in first quarter revenues driven by higher consumables and service revenues.
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Emeryville, California-based cell analysis firm reported $18.6 million in revenues, up from $13.8 million during the year-ago quarter and beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $16.6 million.
Product revenues were $13.5 million, up 27 percent from $10.7 million a year ago, while service revenues were $5.1 million, up 65 percent from $3.1 million a year ago.
Direct platform revenues — including instruments, fully-paid workflow license agreements, and platform support — were $11.1 million for the quarter, up 18 percent. Recurring revenue — including consumables, annual workflow license or subscription agreements, and service and warranty contracts — was $4.4 million, up 77 percent from a year ago. Joint development agreement and partnership revenues were $3.1 million compared to $1.9 million for Q1 2020.
"We started the year with strong platform placements, continued to expand opportunities in our core business, and grew our total addressable market," Berkeley Lights CEO Eric Hobbs said in a statement. "As we look ahead in 2021, I continue to be excited about the opportunities in front of us, and I am confident that we are well positioned to execute our strategy to transform the market for cell-based products this year and beyond."
On a conference call with investors following the release of results, Hobbs noted that about a third of total revenues came from contract research organizations, the largest contributor to revenues. Sales in the Asia Pacific region were strong, he said, accounting for 45 percent of all revenues; sales from North America accounted for 40 percent of revenues.
The installed base of Berkeley Lights' single-cell analysis instruments grew to 85 during the quarter, with eight new direct placements, the majority of them Beacon systems, including one subscription. Two more systems were transferred to customers as part of milestone programs, Hobbs said.
Berkeley Lights' net loss for the quarter was $15.4 million, or $.24 per share, compared to a loss of $8.4 million, or $3.02 per share, a year ago, in line with analysts' average estimate of a $.24 loss per share.
Berkeley Lights used approximately 65 million weighted-average shares to calculate the per-share loss in the recently completed quarter compared to about 3 million weighted-average shares a year ago. The company completed its initial public offering in July, from which it raised $187.9 million in net proceeds.
The firm's research and development expenses for the quarter totaled $13.0 million, up 19 percent from $11.0 million a year ago. Sales, general, and administrative expenses doubled to $14.6 million from $7.2 million a year ago.
Berkeley Lights ended the quarter with $230.2 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Berkeley Lights CFO Kurt Wood reiterated the company's guidance for full-year 2021 revenues to be in the range of $90 million to $100 million, representing year-over-year growth of 40 percent to 56 percent. He added that revenues will be weighted towards the back half of the year as more business development collaborations come online. Berkeley Lights expects to place at least 45 platforms over the course of the year.
In Tuesday morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Berkeley Lights were down 10 percent at $41.00.