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Illumina Q4 Revenues Rise 11 Percent; Full Year Revenues Up 21 Percent

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Illumina reported after the close of the market on Tuesday that its fourth quarter 2018 revenues rose by 11 percent, echoing its pre-announcement forecast at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference earlier this month.

The San Diego-based company reported total Q4 2018 revenues of $867 million, compared to $778 million in Q4 2017, and beating the analysts' average estimate of $863.5 million. Its Q4 revenue included $738 million in product and $129 million in service and other revenue.

Service revenue was driven largely by Genomics England.

Sequencing system revenue in Q4 was $159 million, representing 21 percent year-over-year growth, and included the shipment of more than 100 NovaSeq instruments. Sequencing consumable revenue in Q4 was $466 million.

Revenues from Illumina's microarray business were up 7 percent year over year to $132 million.

"Genomics continues to enable an increasing number of research, translational, and clinical applications across a broad range of customers," Illumina CEO Francis deSouza said during a conference call with investors.

Net income was $210 million, or $1.41 per share, compared to $68 million, or $.46 per share, in Q4 2017. Adjusted net income was  $1.32 per share, falling short of analysts' average estimate of $1.36 per share.

Illumina's Q4 R&D expenses climbed 28 percent to $176 million from $137 million a year ago. Its SG&A expenses increased 24 percent to $217 million from $175 million in the prior year period.

For fiscal year 2018, the firm's total revenues grew 21 percent to $3.33 billion from $2.75 billion in 2017. Net income attributable to stockholders for EPS was $826 million, or $5.56 per share, compared to a net income of $725 million, or $4.92 per share in 2017. Adjusted EPS for 2018 was $5.72 per share, short of the Wall Street estimate of $5.76 per share.

Illumina's 2018 R&D expenses totaled $623 million, a 14 percent increase from $546 million in 2017. Total 2018 SG&A expenses rose 18 percent to $794 million from $674 million in 2017.

Illumina expects its 2019 revenues to grow between 13 percent and 14 percent. That guidance excludes any impact from the pending acquisition of Pacific Biosciences, which the company expects to close mid-year.

As of Dec. 30, 2018, Illumina held $1.14 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $2.37 billion in short-term investments.

In Wednesday morning trading on the Nasdaq, Illumina's stock was down nearly 3 percent at $277.78.

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