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Ginkgo Bioworks Lowers 2023 Forecast as Q2 Revenues Beat Consensus Estimate

NEW YORK – Ginkgo Bioworks on Wednesday lowered its 2023 revenue guidance to a range of $245 million to $260 million. The firm previously expected full-year revenues of at least $275.0 million.

The guidance adjustment followed the release of Boston-based Ginkgo's second quarter financial results. Revenues declined 44 percent year over year due to a continued, expected ramp-down of K-12 COVID-19 testing, part of the company's biosecurity business unit.

Revenues for the three months ended June 30 totaled $80.6 million, compared to $144.6 million in the same period a year ago. The result still easily beat the consensus Wall Street estimate of $71.6 million.

Revenues from the Boston-based company's cell engineering business were $45.3 million, up more than 2 percent from $44.2 million in Q2 2022. Biosecurity service revenues tumbled 75 percent to $24.5 million from $96.5 million a year ago. However, biosecurity product revenues nearly tripled to $10.8 million from the year-ago total of $3.9 million.

Ginkgo added 21 new cell programs to its cell engineering "foundry" during the quarter. The company said that it expects to add 100 cell programs for the full year.

A highlight of the recently completed quarter was a new drug discovery partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim worth as much as $406 million.

The firm's net loss for the quarter narrowed to $173.3 million, or $.09 per share, compared to a net loss of $670.6 million, or $.41 per share, in Q2 2022. It missed the consensus Wall Street estimate of a per-share loss of $.08. Ginkgo calculated Q2 net loss per share on approximately 1.93 billion weighted average shares, compared to 1.62 billion in the year-ago quarter.

R&D expenses for the quarter totaled $144.3 million, a 50 percent decline from $290.1 million a year ago. SG&A expenses fell 77 percent to $102.3 million from $438.4 million in the prior-year quarter.

Ginkgo ended Q2 with $1.17 billion in cash and cash equivalents, including $66.3 million in restricted cash.

In morning trading Thursday on the Nasdaq, Ginkgo's shares were down 15 percent to $1.70.

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