NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – GenMark Diagnostics reported today that its preliminary fourth quarter revenues rose approximately 21 percent year over year, thanks to an increase of about 110 percent in revenues from its ePlex analyzers during the quarter.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2018, the company said it expects total revenues of about $19.4 million, including ePlex revenues of approximately $12.1 million. Analysts, on average, are expecting total revenues of $18.8 million for the quarter.
GenMark also said it placed 42 ePlex analyzers in Q4, finishing the year with an installed base of 354 ePlex analyzers in US and European labs.
For full-year 2018, the firm said preliminary total revenues rose about 35 percent to $70.8 million, including an increase of 270 percent in ePlex revenues to about $37.9 million. Analysts are expecting total revenues of $70.1 million for the year.
GenMark said it had cash and investments of approximately $45.2 million as of Dec. 31.
"We delivered solid financial and operational results in the fourth quarter. … We expect this strong momentum to continue in 2019, driven by the expanding installed base of our ePlex analyzers and the recent FDA clearances of our [Blood Culture Identification (BCID)] panels," GenMark President and CEO Hany Massarany said in a statement. "With the Gram-Positive and Fungal Pathogen panels already cleared for marketing in the US, and the Gram-Negative Panel currently under review by the FDA, we expect BCID to be a strong driver of ePlex placements and revenue growth in 2019. These will continue to be significant areas of focus for our company in 2019, as will our ongoing efforts to improve ePlex gross margin."
The company expects to issue full 2018 financial results and 2019 guidance in late February.
GenMark's shares rose more than 4 percent to $5.45 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.