NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) - GenMark Diagnostics reported after the close of the market on Thursday a 17 percent rise in second quarter revenues, an increase driven by the placement of 29 XT-8 molecular diagnostic systems during the period, bringing the total number of installed systems in the US to 591.
For the three-month period ended June 30, GenMark's revenues rose to $7.6 million from $6.6 million in Q2 2014, in line with the consensus Wall Street estimate.
The firm's net loss for the quarter increased to $12.2 million, or $.29 per share, from a year-ago loss of $11.2 million, or $.27 a share, but beat analysts' average estimate of a $.31 loss per share.
GenMark's R&D spending in the quarter was up nearly 10 percent to $8.9 million from $8.1 million in Q2 2014.The firm's SG&A expenses increased 12 percent to $7.4 million from $6.6 million in the prior-year period, due to costs associated with manufacturing the ePlex cartridge system.
On a conference call following the release of results, GenMark officials said the firm continues to expect to launch its ePlex system Europe in the fourth quarter of this year. The firm established a technical operations group to address manufacturing issues in bringing the cartridge into high-volume production and spent resources to resolve those issues. "We are close to reaching levels of reliability required for clinical studies and CE launch," GenMark CEO Hany Massarany said.
At the end of the second quarter, GenMark had cash and cash equivalents totaling $32.1 million and marketable securities of $30.5 million.
The company reiterated its full-year 2015 revenue guidance in the range of $38 million to $40 million. It expects to place approximately 25 to 35 additional XT-8 analyzers in the second half of the year.