NEW YORK – NanoString Technologies reported after the close of the market on Tuesday that its fourth quarter revenues were down 19 percent year over year, while full-year 2022 revenues dropped 12 percent.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Seattle-based spatial biology technology company's revenues dropped to $34.4 million from $42.5 million in Q4 2021, beating analysts' average estimate of $33.7 million.
“We are thrilled with the momentum that’s building in the spatial biology market,” Brad Gray, president and CEO of NanoString, said in a statement. “In 2022, we grew spatial biology instrument orders 50 percent year on year, and with approximately $40 million of CosMx orders in backlog, we are well positioned for strong revenue growth in 2023.”
Q4 instrument revenues were $10.9 million, down 38 percent from $17.6 million in the same quarter in 2021. During the quarter, the company had over 105 new system orders, including approximately 80 for CosMx and over 25 for GeoMx. The firm also said it shipped its first 13 CosMx systems in Q4, generating revenue of approximately $3.0 million.
At the end of 2022, NanoString said it had backlog orders for over 165 CosMx systems, representing revenue of approximately $40 million to be recognized in future periods.
Consumables revenues totaled $18.5 million in the quarter, a 7 percent decrease from $19.9 million in Q4 2021. Services and other revenues for the fourth quarter were $5.0 million, essentially unchanged from a year ago.
NanoString's net loss for Q4 was $44.1 million, or $.95 per share, compared with a net loss of $29.3 million, or $.64 per share, in Q4 of 2021. This exceeded the Wall Street analysts’ consensus, which was a net loss of $.58 per share.
The company's Q4 R&D spending rose 5 percent to $19.1 million from $18.2 million a year ago. Its SG&A spending in Q4 swelled 17 percent to $36.9 million from $31.6 million.
For full-year 2022, NanoString's revenues dropped 12 percent to $127.3 million from $145.1 million in 2021, beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of $126.3 million.
Instrument revenues were down 32 percent to $37.6 million from $55.6 million the year before.
The company grew its total installed base of spatial biology platforms to approximately 350, an increase of approximately 37 percent compared to 2021.
Consumables revenues dipped 2 percent for the full year to $70.4 million from $71.8 million in 2021. Services and other revenues increased 10 percent to $19.3 million in 2022 compared to $17.6 million in 2021.
NanoString's 2022 net loss was $159.5 million, or $3.44 per share, compared to a net loss of $115.3 million, or $2.54 per share, in 2021. On average, analysts had expected a full-year net loss of $2.91 per share.
The firm's full-year R&D spending increased 2 percent to $70.8 million from $69.5 million in 2021, and SG&A spending increased 24 percent to $143.1 million from $115.5 million.
The company ended the year with $112.3 million in cash and cash equivalents and $898,000 in restricted cash and equivalents.
For 2023, the company expects revenue between $170 million and $180 million, including spatial biology revenue of $95 million to $100 million and nCounter revenue, inclusive of all service and other revenue, of $75 million to $80 million.
In Wednesday morning trading on the Nasdaq, NanoString’s stock was down almost 9 percent to $8.89.