NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Luminex reported after the close of the market on Monday that its first quarter revenues rose 9 percent thanks in large part to a 39 percent increase in system revenues and record revenues from assays and royalties.
For the three months ended March 31, the molecular diagnostics firm reported revenues of $63.0 million, up from $57.7 million a year ago, and beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $61.0 million.
The company reported systems revenues rose to $8.3 million from $6.0 million a year ago, and revenues from consumables rose 20 percent to $11.9 million from $9.9 million in Q1 2015. Further, revenues from royalties rose 7 percent to $11.5 million, and revenues from assay sales rose 6 percent to $27.0 million with infectious disease assays comprising approximately 72 percent of all assay sales for the quarter. All other revenues fell 25 percent to $4.3 million.
Luminex also said it shipped 255 multiplexing analyzers during the quarter.
On a conference call with analysts, President and CEO Homi Shamir said that the company's current acceleration in revenue growth hasn't been seen since 2014 and puts Luminex on target to achieve double-digit revenue growth.
The molecular diagnostics side of Luminex's business generated $28 million in revenues this quarter, driven by 20 percent growth in the firm's infectious disease test portfolio, Shamir said. This was partially offset by softness in the genetic test portfolio.
Shamir also added that the company applied last week to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for its Zika virus assay on its Magpix clinical diagnostics instrument. Revenues from the assay will depend on whether there's an epidemic, he said, and although the Olympic Games in Brazil this summer present a good opportunity for distribution, the firm plans to talk with the government there to possibly provide the test for free.
Luminex also submitted its Flu RSV A&B assays to the FDA last week, and anticipates submission to the FDA later in the year for its group B strep assay.
The company reported net income of $8.7 million, or $.21 per share, up from $7.4 million, or $.18 per share. On an adjusted basis, Luminex reported EPS of $.29, significantly beating analysts' average estimate for EPS of $.14.
Its R&D costs rose 9 percent to $11.0 million from $10.1 million in Q1 2015, and its SG&A costs rose 5 percent to $20.4 million from $19.5 million. Luminex ended the quarter with $134.3 million in cash and cash equivalents and $14.0 million in short-term investments. Shamir and CFO Harriss Currie said the company is on the lookout for potential M&A targets. However, Currie added, if Luminex can't find something to buy by the end of the year, the firm will look to share its cash with shareholders through a share buyback or dividend.
For the second quarter, the company expects revenues of $60 million to $62 million. Analysts have estimated revenues of $61.9 million for Q2. The company also added $2 million to the lower end of its guidance for 2016, and now expects revenues of $247 million to $255 million. Analysts, on average, expect revenues of $249.9 million for the year.
"Moving forward, we are building on a successful market introduction of Aries [molecular diagnostics platform], and our assay pipeline, which includes our next-generation Aries chemistry, is proceeding according to plan," Shamir said in a statement. On the call, he added that the company plans to place close to 100 Aries systems by the end of the year.