NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Invitae reported after the close of the market Tuesday that its fourth quarter 2018 revenues increased 78 percent from the prior year.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2018, Invitae reported $45.4 million in revenues compared to $25.4 million in Q4 2017, beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $40.8 million. Invitae reported testing revenue of $44.5 million for the quarter, which includes $1.9 million in payments from Medicare for Lynch syndrome analysis, as well as $810,000 in other revenue.
Average revenue per test was $518 in Q4 compared to $490 in Q3.
Invitae accessioned more than 87,000 samples in Q4 2018, compared to 53,000 samples in Q4 2017. “Volume was strong across all diagnostic areas, from old and new accounts,” Invitae CFO Shelly Guyer said during a conference call to discuss Q4 earnings. “We experienced strong volumes from international markets, which now account for 10 percent of [the] total, as well as steadily growing testing related to our biopharma programs.” There was also an “uplift” in volumes from reproductive testing at the end of 2018, she added.
R&D spending in Q4 was $16.6 million, up 22 percent from $13.6 million in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, Invitae's SG&A costs went up 13 percent year over year to $33.5 million from $29.6 million.
Invitae's net loss for the quarter was $29.8 million, or $.40 per share, compared to a net loss of $40.5 million, or $.78 per share, in Q4 2017. The average analysts' estimate was a loss per share of $.45.
For full-year 2018, Invitae more than doubled revenues to $147.7 million, compared to $68.2 million in 2017, and beat analysts' consensus estimate of $143.1 million. During 2018, the company reported 290,000 billable tests, which accounted for testing revenue of $144.6 million.
The firm accessioned around 303,000 samples in 2018 compared to 150,000 samples in 2017. Previously, Invitae had projected that it would accession around 285,000 samples in 2018.
R&D costs were $63.5 million in 2018 compared to $46.5 million in 2017, while SG&A spending rose to $126.7 million in 2018 from $92.9 million in 2017.
Invitae’s net loss for 2018 was $129.4 million, or $1.94 per share, compared to a net loss of $123.4 million, or $2.65 per share, in 2017. The average analyst estimate was a net loss of $1.97 per share.
The firm ended the year with $131.9 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.
The company aims to accession more than 500,000 samples in 2019 and to generate more than $220 million in revenue.
“This guidance does anticipate a mix change, which includes an increase in reproductive testing volume as well as modest volumes from our new patient-initiated testing channel,” Guyer said.
This week, the company began selling a new noninvasive prenatal screening test and in the second quarter will enable consumers to initiate orders online for its suite of tests.
By 2020, the company plans to accession more than 1 million samples and net $500 million revenues.
Invitae's stock was up around 7 percent, to $17.74, in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.