NEW YORK – Ginkgo Bioworks reported after the close of the market on Monday that its fourth quarter 2021 revenues grew 363 percent year over year, while its full-year revenues grew 309 percent, driven by biosecurity revenues.
In the three months ended Dec. 31, the firm's first full quarter operating as a public company, Ginkgo booked $148.5 million in revenues, beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $94.8 million. The Boston-based firm went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition corporation in September, raising $1.63 billion.
"The current market environment provides both challenges and opportunities, but I've never been more excited about Ginkgo's future," Ginkgo CEO and Cofounder Jason Kelly said in a statement. "We met or exceeded each of our publicly disclosed metrics in 2021, some significantly, and we believe we are in the strongest position that we've ever been in as a company."
Foundry revenues were $34.2 million, up 108 percent from $16.4 million in Q4 2020, and included equity-based payments of $12 million from Cronos for hitting commercial milestones. Biosecurity service revenues from the firm's Concentric subsidiary were $105.9 million, up more than 15-fold from $6.9 million a year ago, while biosecurity product revenues were $8.4 million, down 3 percent from $8.7 million a year ago.
On a conference call with investors following the release of the results, Ginkgo officials said they had started 10 new cell programs in the quarter, a key performance indicator the firm tracks. The figure "drives near-term foundry revenues and potential downstream value share," Ginkgo CFO Mark Dmytruk said.
Ginkgo Bioworks' net loss for the quarter totaled $1.6 billion, or $1.10 per share, compared to a net loss of $46.9 million, or $.04 per share, in Q4 2020, in line with the consensus Wall Street estimate. The number of weighted average shares of common stock used to compute net loss per share was approximately 1.53 billion, compared to approximately 1.29 billion in Q4 2020.
The firm reported $985.0 million in R&D expenses for the quarter, up 16-fold from $61.2 million a year ago, driven by stock-based compensation expenses. SG&A expenses were $781.6 million, up more than 60-fold from $12.9 million a year ago, also driven by stock-based compensation expenses.
Dating back to 2015, the firm has "historically not booked stock-based compensation expenses with restricted stock unit (RSU) grants," Dmytruk explained, but in Q4, Ginkgo's board modified the rules, resulting in a one-time catchup adjustment of $1.5 billion in Q4. The firm expects to see an additional $2.2 billion catchup expense in 2022, he added.
For the full year, Ginkgo reported revenues of $313.8 million, up fourfold from $76.7 million in the prior year, beating the average analyst estimate of $251.6 million.
Foundry revenues for the year were $113.0 million, up 91 percent from $59 million a year ago, including approximately $24 million in equity-based payments from Cronos. Biosecurity services revenues were $177.8 million, up from $8.7 million a year ago, while biosecurity product revenues were $23.0 million, up from $8.7 million a year ago.
The firm added 31 new cell programs in 2021, compared to 18 in 2020. It has 71 active programs across 33 customers.
Related-party revenues, tied to equity the firm has taken from customers in lieu of royalties or, less commonly, up-front fees, were 42 percent of revenues for the year, compared to 72 percent of revenues in 2020.
Ginkgo Bioworks' net loss for the year totaled $1.83 billion, or $1.39 per share, compared to a net loss of $126.7 million, or $.10 per share, in 2020, missing the consensus Wall Street estimate of a $.20 loss per share. The number of weighted average shares of common stock used to compute net loss per share was approximately 1.36 billion, compared to approximately 1.27 billion in 2020.
The firm reported $1.15 billion in R&D expenses for the year, compared to $159.8 million a year ago, driven by stock-based compensation expenses. Excluding stock-based compensation, R&D expenses were approximately $219 million. SG&A expenses were $863.0 million, compared to $38.3 million in the prior year, driven by stock-based compensation expenses. Excluding stock-based compensation, they were approximately $106 million.
As of Dec. 31, Ginkgo had $1.55 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
For 2022, Ginkgo provided guidance of total revenues between $325 million and $340 million, with foundry revenues between $165 million and $180 million and biosecurity revenues of at least $160 million, though the firm said biosecurity remains "an uncertain business." The firm expects to add 60 new cell programs in 2022.
In Tuesday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Ginkgo Bioworks were up 15 percent at $4.21.