NEW YORK – Berkeley Lights said after the close of the market Monday that revenues for its first quarter rose 9 percent year over year.
For the three months ending March 31, the Emeryville, California-based cell analysis tools firm said that revenues rose to $20.2 million, up from $18.6 million in the same quarter of last year.
In an investor call, Paul McClaskey, the firm's chief accounting officer, noted that North America accounted for 68 percent of total revenue, followed by Asia Pacific at 25 percent and EMEA at 7 percent.
McClaskey also mentioned that revenue from direct platform sales totaled $7.4 million and that the firm's installed base grew by four placements this quarter, to a total of 115 platforms.
The firm's net loss in the quarter rose to approximately $21.4 million, or $.32 per share, from $15.4 million, or $.24 per share, in the previous year's first quarter.
Berkeley Lights' R&D spending increased 35 percent year over year to $17.6 million from $13.0 million, while its SG&A costs climbed around 20 percent to $17.5 million from $14.6 million.
During the quarter, the firm appointed Siddhartha Kadia as CEO, upgraded to the Software Suite for its Beacon and Lightning platforms, and formed a strategic partnership with Vestaron aimed at developing pesticidal peptides.
McClaskey said that higher margins on strategic partnerships drove an increase in gross margins for the quarter.
"Gross margin for the first quarter of 2022 was 68 percent, compared to 67 percent in the first quarter of 2021," he said, adding that gross profit for the quarter amounted to $13.8 million, compared to $12.5 million in the prior year period.
Berkeley Lights finished the quarter with $164.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.
In after market trading on the Nasdaq, Berkeley Lights' shares were up 1.12 percent, at $4.50.