NEW YORK – Centogene reported on Wednesday morning that its fourth quarter 2021 revenues dropped 39 percent year over year, driven by a decline in COVID-19 testing, while its full-year 2021 revenues climbed 48 percent.
"2021 was a transformative year, during which we further reinforced our position as the partner of choice for partners seeking innovative, new approaches to diagnose and treat rare and neurodegenerative diseases," Kim Stratton, who recently became Centogene's CEO after serving as interim CEO since December, said in a statement.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021, the Rostock, Germany-based rare disease company recorded €42.9 million ($47.7 million) in revenues, compared to €70.3 million in Q4 2020, beating the average Wall Street estimate of $31.3 million. The drop-off was primarily caused by a decrease in the COVID-19 testing business, from €59.8 million the previous year to €28.9 million, which the firm had anticipated. It still processed 456,100 SARS-CoV-2 test requests in Q4.
The decline in COVID testing was partially offset by a 34 percent increase in Centogene's core business: Diagnostics revenues in Q4 rose 30 percent to €7.5 million compared to €5.8 million in the year-ago quarter, while pharma revenues climbed 39 percent year over year to €6.5 million from €4.7 million.
Centogene said it plans to exit its COVID-19 testing business by the end of Q1 2022.
In Q4, the company added 24,000 individuals to its bio/databank of rare disease patients, adding to the 632,000 members the resource held as of the end of Q3.
Net loss for Q4 was €12.3 million, compared to a net profit of €3.4 million in Q4 2020. Centogene did not report EPS, R&D expenses, or SG&A costs for the quarter.
For full-year 2021, the company recorded €189.9 million ($211.3 million) in revenues, up 48 percent from €128.4 million in 2020 and beating the average Wall Street estimate of $194.0 million. Revenues were driven by COVID-19 testing sales, which shot up 64 percent to €146.4 million from €89.3 million in 2020.
Revenues from the company's core business increased 11 percent to €43.5 million in 2021, from €39.1 million the year before, driven by a 26 percent increase in diagnostics sales.
Net loss for the year was €46.9 million, compared to a net loss of €21.4 million in 2020. The company did not report EPS, nor did it release R&D or SG&A expenses for 2021.
As of Dec. 31, Centogene had €17.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. This did not include a $62 million debt financing the company secured last month, including a €15 million private placement from several VC investors and a $45 million senior secured loan from Oxford Finance.
For 2022, Centogene expects revenues in the range of €68 million to €70 million. This includes €18 million in COVID testing revenues, which are expected to expire at the end of Q1. The company anticipates its core business to grow between 15 percent and 20 percent in 2022.
In morning trading on the Nasdaq, Centogene's shares were up a fraction of a percent, at $4.08.