NEW YORK – Enzo Biochem reported after the close of the market on Monday that revenues for its fiscal year 2021 second quarter rose 62 percent year over year, driven by a 92 percent increase in revenues from its clinical laboratory business.
For the three months ended Jan. 31, the diagnostics company reported total revenues of $31.5 million compared to $19.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Enzo noted that the gains reflected a continuation in increased business activity, particularly related to growth in COVID-19 testing.
Clinical services revenues rose to $24.0 million from $12.5 million in Q2 2020. The growth was driven by an increase in the volume of accessions of about 65 percent to more than 330,000 from approximately 200,000 in the previous year's second quarter, Enzo said.
Revenues in the firm's life sciences unit also rose in Q2, increasing 9 percent to $7.5 million from $6.9 million in Q2 2020.
"The company's strong financial performance in the second quarter is another reflection of the strength of our new business model for integrated diagnostic product and services. The high gross margins achieved this quarter further validate the strength of Enzo's strategy," Enzo Chairman and CEO Elazar Rabbani said in a statement. "These results are especially indicative of the advancements we have made in development of proprietary products, notably our versatile GenFlex molecular diagnostic platform, as well as our integrated end-to-end business strategy that ranges from research through final diagnostic products and services."
Enzo President Barry Weiner noted that the company's open system approach and GenFlex platform enables laboratories to use third-party reagents as well as their own.
"We remain committed to our growth strategy and expect that the higher margins achieved by the vertically integrated model of COVID-19 testing can be extended to a range of other molecular tests as well as key platforms such as immunohistochemistry and cytology, both of which can face challenges as a result of widespread use of closed system platforms," he added.
The company also said that Rabbani will step down from his post as CEO and will transition to a scientific role within Enzo once a qualified successor is identified and hired by the board. He will also remain on the board as a director.
For Q2, the company reported net income of $2.3 million, or $.05 per share, compared to a net loss of $7.7 million, or $.16 per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Enzo reported net income of $.09 per share for the quarter.
Enzo's Q2 R&D expenses fell 24 percent to $800,000 from $1.1 million in the year-ago period, while SG&A expenses rose slightly to $11.0 million from $10.7 million.
At the end of the quarter, Enzo had cash and cash equivalents of $44.5 million.
The firm's shares rose more than 43 percent to $4.24 in Tuesday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.