NxStage Medical Inc. posted solid first-quarter sales growth, pared its losses and inked a distribution deal for its home dialysis products with a British distributor.
The Lawrence-based device maker’s U.S. sales reached $33.7 million, up 9 percent over the $31 million it posted during same period last year. Net losses narrowed to $12.2 million for the quarter, down 8.2 percent compared to $13.9 million during the first quarter of 2008.
Future sales are likely to rise even higher after Kimal plc begins distributing NxStage’s System One portable dialysis system across the pond.
In an exclusive, five-year distribution deal, the prominent U.K. medical device distributor agreed to sell NxStage’s full suite of dialysis products.
Company officials see opportunity in Great Britain after its National Health Services mandated an increase the number of patients undergoing home-based dialysis. NxStage said there are more than 20,000 dialysis patients in Scotland, England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
Kimal plc, founded in 1964, is a well-known distributor for several major American medical device makers in the U.K., including Cordis and Cook Medical.
For the quarter just ended, NxStage reported a sales increase in its home dialysis segment of 36 percent, to the tune of $14.4 million, compared with $10.5 million for first quarter of 2008. The home market made up a little less than half of the company’s sales for the quarter.
The company also managed to reduce its cash burn rate, spending just less than $4 million during the quarter compared to $20 million for the same period last year. Overall, the company ended the 2009 first quarter with a little less than $20 million in cash and equivalents in the bank, down from more than $26 million during the 2008 first quarter.
NxStage said it expects sales of between $33 million and $35 million for the second quarter and net losses in the range of $11.5 million to $12.5 million.
