NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – CombiMatrix reported after the close of the market on Thursday a 28 percent jump in first quarter revenues, an increase driven by growing sales of both its microarray and non-microarray diagnostics tests.
For the three-month period ended March 31, CombiMatrix's revenues rose to $2.3 million from $1.8 million in the same period a year earlier, matching analysts' average estimate.
Revenues from prenatal and miscarriage analysis microarray tests surged to $1.6 million from $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2014, pushing total array revenues up to $2.1 million from $1.7 million. Revenues from non-array tests climbed to $236,000 from $76,000.
The company's net loss in the quarter was $2.7 million, or $.23 per share, from $2 million, or $.18 a share, in Q1 last year. Excluding a non-cash expense for deemed dividends from issuing Series E convertible preferred stock, CombiMatrix said its net loss was $1.8 million, or $.15 per share, just beating the average Wall Street estimate of a loss of $.16 a share.
CombiMatrix attributed the decline in its loss partly to lower litigation costs following the resolution of an insurance fraud suit filed by a former employee.
CombiMatrix's R&D spending in the first quarter edged up to $157,000 from $134,000, while SG&A expenses slipped to $2.6 million from $2.7 million as the decrease in litigation costs outweighed costs associated with sales and marketing.
In a statement, CombiMatrix President and CEO Mark McDonough called Q1 "truly a phenomenal quarter." He added, "We continued to see record microarray test volumes, revenues and collections. Our Sequenom collaboration continues to gain traction and is driving increased volumes at attractive reimbursement rates. We had a record quarter in terms of cash collections from tests performed despite a dynamic reimbursement environment for all healthcare laboratories. [And] we signed several contracts with providers that expand our penetration into our target markets."
At the end of the first quarter, CombiMatrix had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaling $8.7 million.