NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Enzo Biochem reported after the close of the market on Thursday that its fiscal 2018 first quarter revenues rose 5 percent year over year, thanks largely to a 10 percent increase in revenues from its clinical labs business.
For the three months ended Oct. 31, the molecular diagnostics company reported total revenues of $27.7 million, up from $26.3 million in Q1 2017.
Revenues from the clinical labs business rose to $20.3 million from $18.6 million in the prior-year period, offsetting a 4 percent dip in product revenues to $7.1 million from $7.4 million year over year. Royalty and license fee income also fell 13 percent to $261,000 from $300,000.
"The first quarter of fiscal 2018 saw additional progress in moving aggressively towards our model as an integrated, growth-oriented molecular diagnostics company, and a low-cost medically related assay provider and reference service organization," Enzo President Barry Weiner said in a statement. He noted that the growth in clinical labs revenues was the result of expanded product and service capabilities, as well as geographical expansion, "along with increasing volume from our association with leading healthcare insurance providers."
Enzo's Q1 net loss narrowed to $640,000, or $.01 per share, from $1.5 million, or $.03 per share, a year earlier.
The firm's R&D expenses for the quarter fell 9 percent to $747,000 from $822,000 a year ago, and its Q1 SG&A costs dipped 6 percent to $10.8 million from $11.5 million in Q1 2017.
Enzo ended the quarter with $66.8 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Weiner said that the company is preparing to release a 13-analyte women's health diagnostics panel, which it presented last month at the annual meeting of the Association for Molecular Pathology. "Our focus is on gaining sustained profitability and advancing healthcare in today's challenging environment by providing affordable and reliable diagnostic testing," he added. "[Enzo's] expanding line of medically related, versatile, highly efficient platforms and assays … are increasingly professionally recognized for their sensitivity and economics."