NxStage Medical (NSDQ:NXTM) shares are up today after the home hemodialysis company reported better-than-forecast results for the 4th quarter and 2014 and said it opened 2 new dialysis centers in the Boston area.
Lawrence, Mass.-based NxStage pared its losses by 3.9% to -$5.0 million, or -8¢ per share, for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2014, on sales growth 15.1% to $79.9 million, compared with the same period in 2013.
Analysts were looking for per-share losses of -10¢ on sales of $75.8 million.
For the full year, NxStage reported wider losses by 29.0% of -$23.9 million, or -39¢ per share, on sales growth of 14.5% to of $301.5 million compared with 2013. Analysts on Wall Street forecast per-share losses of 41¢o n sales of $297.3 million for 2014.
"Our strong 4th-quarter results capped a year of solid growth and execution for NxStage. We delivered on our key goals for 2014, exceeding our target of 15% annual growth in the home, advancing our growth strategy and extending our market leadership with yet another 1st-ever indication, home nocturnal hemodialysis," founder & CEO Jeffrey Burbank said in prepared remarks. "We remain confident that we can continue this momentum, while investing in our future game-changing technologies. Our priorities for 2015 remain the same: 15% annual growth in the home, strong top-line growth, and progress toward sustainable operating profitability. As we look beyond 2015, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on the tremendous market opportunity with the System One. With an innovative pipeline that includes, among others, our peritoneal dialysis system and our next-generation hemodialysis system, we intend to extend our reach to a much larger patient base across the broader chronic and critical care dialysis markets. We look forward to bringing these revolutionary innovations to the market to improve the standard of renal care for patients and deliver higher value to our shareholders."
NxStage said it expects to post loss of -$6.5 million to -$7.5 million on sales of $77.5 million to $78.5 million for the 1st quarter. Full-year losses are pegged at -$20.0 million to -$24.0 million on sales of between $324.0 million and $328.0 million, according to a press release.
"We remain committed to maintaining strong financial discipline. We are targeting roughly 50% reduction in cash usage in 2015 compared with 2014. More importantly, excluding our investment in NxStage Kidney Care, we expect to transition to quarterly positive operating income during 2015. This coupled with a strong liquidity position including over $50 million in cash at the end of last year, allows us to execute on our plans utilizing our current balance sheet," CFO Matthew Towse said in a statement.
NxStage also said it opened a pair of NxStage Kidney Care dialysis centers in the Boston area, both of which will offer home nocturnal hemodialysis with its recently approved NxStage System One device.
The centers, located in Wakefield and Norwood, will offer a wide variety of dialysis options including home hemodialysis, home dialysis training, home nocturnal hemodialysis, in-center dialysis, peritoneal dialysis and short-term respite care.
"Our focus is on putting the patient first. By listening to our patients’ needs and priorities we develop personalized education, training and flexible treatment plans that provide high quality care," said Dr. Christopher Ying, medical director at the Wakefield site. "We help our patients choose a dialysis therapy that best meets their health and lifestyle goals, as well as their desire to do dialysis when and where they want, including while they are sleeping."
In addition to Massachusetts, NxStage operates dialysis centers in Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
NXTM shares were up 1.4% to $18.34 apiece today in above-average volume.
Val Kennedy contributed to this report.
