NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Invitae reported after the close of the market Monday that its first quarter revenues climbed 158 percent year over year, falling short of the consensus Wall Street estimate on the top line but beating the estimate on the bottom line.
The San Francisco-based genetic testing firm posted revenues of $10.3 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017, compared with $4 million for the first quarter of 2016. Despite the strong growth, the firm still fell shy of analysts' consensus estimate of $10.9 million.
CEO Sean George said on a conference call with analysts, however, that the firm's revenues were in line with its expectations.
"Our current year collectability is roughly correlated to the covered lives as reported in the second quarter last year," said George. "Since then, covered lives have roughly doubled, and we expect to reach more predictable collectability by Q3 or Q4 of this year."
Invitae said that it accessioned more than 26,000 samples for testing during the quarter, a 166 percent increase over Q1 2016. It further noted that during the quarter it inked contracts with insurers, including several statewide fee-for-service Medicaid plans and additional Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, that brought the total lives contracted to more than 187 million.
In Q1, the revenue collected per report delivered was $502, said George, adding that during the quarter, the firm was implementing contracts signed with two major payors, which led to a delay in invoices on those accounts, and as a result less revenue than was expected by analysts who cover the company.
George said he expects revenue to improve in Q2 and to accelerate in the second half of 2017.
He further said that Invitae is well positioned to meet its goal of 110,000 to 120,000 samples accessioned in 2017.
Invitae's net loss for the quarter was $26.9 million, or $.64 per share, versus a loss of $25.6 million, or $.80 per share, for the first quarter of 2016. Analysts, on average, had expected a loss per share of $.66.
The firm's R&D costs were down around 6 percent at $10 million from $10.7 million, while its SG&A spending spiked 43 percent to $18.3 million from $12.8 million.
Invitae closed the quarter with $43.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $53.3 million in marketable securities.
The firm retained its forecast for revenues between $55 million and $65 million for fiscal year 2017.
In Tuesday morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Invitae were down around 5 percent at $10.20.