NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Fluidigm reported after the close of the market Monday that its first quarter revenues increased 77 percent year over year, driven by strong instrument sales as well as contributions from a recent acquisition.
The South San Francisco, Calif.-based firm reported total revenues of $25.7 million for the three-month period ended March 31, compared to $14.5 million in the first quarter of 2013.
During the quarter, Fluidigm spent $207 million to acquire DVS Sciences, a provider of mass cytometry instruments and reagents. Excluding contributions from DVS Sciences, Fluidigm said its organic revenues grew 58 percent to $22.9 million compared to its Q1 2013 results, in line with Wall Street analysts' average estimate.
"The key things supporting our growth in the quarter remain consistent with previous quarters," CEO Gajus Worthington said on an earnings call. "First, we are leading and driving the single-cell genomics market, and second, increasing utilization by high-throughput production genomics customers drive a robust consumable pull through," he said.
He noted that Fluidigm's single-cell genomics revenues more than doubled in Q1, and said that the company shipped "record numbers" of its C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep System and its BioMark HD System.
Fluidigm reported instrument revenues of $15.1 million, a 91 percent increase over the $7.9 million it logged in Q1 2013. Excluding sales of DVS Sciences' CyTOF 2 mass cytometers, the company's organic instrument revenues rose 62 percent in Q1. According to Fluidigm, about 80 percent of BioMark sales were motivated by single-cell research, and a fifth of C1 purchases were bundled with a BioMark.
The company posted consumables revenues of $10.3 million, up 63 percent from $6.3 million in Q1 2013 and driven primarily by high-throughput production genomics customers. Without DVS Sciences' contribution, its consumables revenues rose 55 percent in Q1, Fluidigm said.
The company posted a net loss in Q1 of $15.4 million, or $.57 per share, compared to a net loss of $3.6 million, or $.14 per share, in the first quarter of 2013. On a non-GAAP basis, Fluidigm said that it turned a slight profit of $75,000, or $.00 per share, while analysts' consensus estimate was for a loss per share of $.31.
Fluidigm's first quarter R&D expenses jumped 81 percent to $7.6 million from $4.2 million in the comparable period last year. Meantime, SG&A costs rose 38 percent to $15.3 million from $11.1 million in Q1 2013. It also recorded $10.7 million in acquisition-related expenses.
CFO Vikram Jog said that the increase in R&D expenses was driven by the DVS Sciences acquisition, as well as new hires. An increase in headcount was also responsible for rising SG&A costs, he said.
The firm finished the year with approximately $143.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.
Fluidigm forecast 2014 total revenue of between $111 million to $116 million. It raised its organic revenue guidance to between $91 million and $94 million, an increase of 28 percent to 32 percent over 2013. It previously had forecast growth of between 23 percent and 28 percent.
In Tuesday morning trade on the Nasdaq, shares of Fluidigm were down nearly 7 percent at $36.51.