NEW YORK – Interpace Biosciences reported after the close of the market on Thursday that its first quarter revenues rose 53 percent year over year.
For the three months ended March 31, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based firm reported revenues of $9.2 million, up from $6.0 million in the year-ago quarter and beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $8.9 million.
"While we were generally pleased with first quarter progress, we did experience the business impact from the coronavirus pandemic and while recovering, we do anticipate the impact will continue through the remainder of 2020 and perhaps beyond," Jack Stover, president and CEO of Interpace, said in a statement."
On a conference call following the release of the financial results, CFO Fred Knechtel said that "The business was impacted by lower than expected clinical service volume beginning in mid-March, which we believe resulted from the reduction of non-essential testing procedures in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic."
In Q3 2019, the firm acquired Cancer Genetics' biopharma service business, and Knechtel said that to optimize that business' lab operations, Interpace is transitioning lab work from Rutherford, New Jersey to a lab facility in Morrisville, North Carolina. The firm will be investing to facilitate the move, training lab personnel, build out facilities, and validate processes over the next several months
Also on the call, Stover said that Interpace plans to launch an ELISA coronavirus antibody test to its employees and customers at the firm's CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited lab in Pittsburgh. The firm has completed validation, acquired acceptable kits and reference samples, and expects to soon launch the service.
The firm posted a net loss of $9.3 million, or $2.32 per share, in the recently completed quarter, compared to a net loss of $3.4 million, or $.97 per share, in the year-ago period. It fell short of the consensus Wall Street estimate for a loss of $1.22 per share.
Interpace's R&D spending increased 53 percent year over year to $809,000, from $528,000 in Q1 2019, while its sales, marketing, general and administrative costs rose nearly 40 percent to $7.4 million from $5.3 million.
The company finished the quarter with $13.4 million in cash and cash equivalents.
While Interpace is projecting second quarter revenue of between $5.6 million and $6.0 million, Stover said the firm is currently unable to provide guidance for full-year 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our focus for the rest of the year will be continuing to respond to changing conditions while positioning ourselves for growth and expansion, improving business processing and integrating our service offerings," Stover added.
In Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Interpace were down about 11 percent at $4.75.