NEW YORK – Pacific Biosciences reported after the close of the market on Tuesday that its fourth quarter 2021 revenues grew 33 percent year over year, while its full-year revenues jumped 65 percent.
"Our record fourth quarter represents the culmination of the most transformative year in PacBio history," Christian Henry, the firm's president and CEO, said in a statement. "We developed new products and hit major development milestones for future platforms. We saw tangible progress from our existing clinical research collaborations and inked new ones. I expect PacBio to continue this momentum into 2022 and set the stage for accelerated growth over the next several years."
Revenues for the quarter totaled $36.0 million, up from $27.1 million in Q4 of 2020 and just short of the average Wall Street estimate of $36.1 million. The result was in line with a preliminary estimate provided by Henry last month at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference.
"Driving record performance is the adoption of the Sequel II and IIe," Henry said on a conference call with investors following the release of the financial results. Also, customers are using their instruments "more than ever before," he added.
Product revenues totaled $31.2 million, up 19 percent from $23.6 million in the year-ago quarter, while service and other revenues grew 39 percent to $4.9 million from $3.5 million. Instrument revenues totaled $16.2 million, up from $13.6 million a year ago, and consumables revenues were $15.0 million, up from $10 million in Q4 of 2020.
During the quarter, PacBio placed 48 Sequel II or IIe systems, bringing its total installed base up to 374 instruments as of Dec. 31, 2021. More than half of orders in the quarter were from new customers, Henry said, the most since PacBio launched the Sequel II.
Sequel II and IIe systems accounted for 82 percent of consumables revenues, PacBio CFO Susan Kim said, with the rest coming from older systems.
By region, revenues from the Americas were up 54 percent year over year to $18.7 million; Asia Pacific revenues grew 5 percent to $8.3 million; and Europe, Middle East, and Africa revenues grew 29 percent to $9.2 million, an all-time high, Kim said.
The firm's net loss in Q4 was $69.3 million, or $0.31 per share, compared to net income of $74.9 million, or $0.37 per share, in Q4 of 2020. That quarter, PacBio recognized a $98.0 million reverse termination fee received from Illumina in January 2020 as "other income." On an adjusted basis, net loss was $0.30 per share in Q4 of 2021, missing analysts' average estimate for a loss of $0.28 per share.
The firm's R&D costs more than doubled in Q4 to $42.6 million from $17.4 million a year ago, as did SG&A expenses, to $37.3 million from $18.0 million a year ago.
PacBio's full-year 2021 revenues grew 65 percent to $130.5 million from $78.9 million in 2020, in line with the analysts' average estimate of $130.5 million.
Product revenues grew 73 percent to $113.5 million from $65.4 million a year ago and service and other revenues increased 26 percent to $17.0 million from $13.5 million in 2020. Instrument revenues were $61.3 million, up from $34.3 million a year ago, and consumables revenues were $52.2 million, up from $31.1 million a year ago.
The company's net loss in 2021 totaled $181.2 million, or $.89 per share, compared to net income of $29.4 million, or $0.17 per share, in 2020. Adjusted loss per share was $0.93, missing analysts' consensus estimate for a net loss of $0.85 per share.
PacBio's full-year 2021 R&D expenses nearly doubled to $112.9 million from $64.2 million in 2020. SG&A expenses jumped 71 percent to $124.1 million from $72.8 million in 2020. The firm ended the year with 728 employees, Kim said, compared to 412 a year ago.
Kim provided full-year 2022 revenue guidance in the range of $160 million to $170 million, equaling growth of approximately 23 to 30 percent. PacBio expects first quarter revenues in the range of $31 million to $34 million, representing approximately 12 percent growth, year over year, at the midpoint.
PacBio saw lower utilization of its instruments in January, attributable to the impact of COVID-19 slowing projects and even preventing laboratory access for some customers, Kim said. But over the rest of the year, she said the company "expects global activity will accelerate and positively impact our growth."
As of Dec. 31, 2021, PacBio had $1.04 billion in cash and investments.
In Wednesday morning trade on the Nasdaq, shares of PacBio were flat at $11.34.