Pacific Biometrics Inc. (PBME) posted first-quarter sales of $2.3 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, up 27.5 percent compared with $1.8 million during the same period last year. But net losses also soared for the Seattle-based biomarker developer, to $273,000 compared with $6,000 during the first quarter of fiscal 2009:
Press Release
Pacific Biometrics Inc. Reports First Quarter Operating Results
Revenue Increased 27% From Prior-Year Period
SEATTLE, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Pacific Biometrics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: PBME) (“PBI” or “the Company”), a leading provider of specialty central laboratory and clinical biomarker services, today announced its operating results for the first quarter of FY2010. The Company will host an investor conference call to discuss its FY2010 first quarter operating results at 4:15 p.m. EST today (see details below).
For the three months ended September 30, 2009, revenues increased 27% to $2,301,375, compared with $1,805,042 in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. The Company posted an operating loss of $213,708 in the most recent quarter, versus an operating loss of $213,372 in the prior-year period. The Company reported a net loss of $273,150, or $0.01 per share, in the most recent quarter, versus a net loss of $5,737, or $0.00 per share, in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The increase in net loss was primarily due to the fact that in the first quarter of FY2009 the Company recorded a significant non-cash gain related to convertible debt that was then outstanding.
“We are pleased that our first quarter revenues were 27% above last year’s levels,” commented Ron Helm, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Biometrics, Inc. “Having said that, we did not reach our internal revenue goal, in part because of the early termination of several clinical studies for reasons unrelated to our performance. Unfortunately, studies are sometimes terminated unexpectedly by clinical trial sponsors, for a variety of reasons, prior to the completion of our work under the terms of the original contracts. This is simply a feature of our business. We also cannot ignore the ongoing economic difficulties that continue to impact the clinical trials industry, combined with the impact of tight credit markets on spending and investment in all sectors of our markets.”
“Although our gross profit margins improved and our SG&A expense ratio declined relative to the prior-year period, we still recorded an operating loss in this year’s first quarter. This reflects, in large part, the significant and ongoing investments we are making in our clinical biomarker services business, which we continue to see as a major growth opportunity going forward. Despite the decline in first quarter net income, I am pleased to report that PBI continued to generate positive cash flow from operating activities during the three months ended September 30, 2009.”
“Based on our internal financial metrics, we are optimistic that our revenues for fiscal 2010 will exceed the record revenues achieved in fiscal 2009,” Mr. Helm continued. “We are encouraged by the substantial requests for proposals received from new and existing customers in recent months, and I am confident that PBI’s scientific, technical and operational capabilities, combined with a more aggressive business development strategy, will allow us to capture our fair share of these new contract opportunities. Also, our continued focus on biomarkers is gaining traction in a market that is experiencing significant growth in outsourced lab services and in which there are as yet no dominant industry leaders. To further capitalize on these trends, we are investing in new instrument platforms that will allow us to broaden our therapeutic areas of expertise and open up additional growth opportunities.”
For additional information, see Pacific Biometrics’ Annual Report on Form 10K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009 and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2009, available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Investor Conference Call
Pacific Biometrics, Inc. will host an investor conference call to discuss its first quarter FY2010 operating results, along with other relevant subjects at 4:15 p.m. EST (1:15 p.m. PST) today — Monday, November 16, 2009.
Stockholders and other interested parties may listen to the conference call by dialing 800-860-2442 (international/local participants dial 412-858-4600) and requesting the “Pacific Biometrics, Inc. Conference Call” a few minutes before 4:15 p.m. EST on November 16, 2009. A replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the call through Monday, November 23, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. EDT by dialing 877-344-7529 (international/local participants dial 412-317-0088) and entering the Conference ID 435436.
About Pacific Biometrics, Inc. (PBI)
Established in 1989, PBI provides specialized central laboratory and contract research services to support pharmaceutical and diagnostic manufacturers conducting human clinical trial research. The Company provides expert services in the areas of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, and nutrition. The PBI laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists, New York State, and the Lipid Standardization Program. PBI’s clients include many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical, biotech, and diagnostic companies. PBI also provides clinical biomarker services focusing on the emerging field of biomarker assay development and testing. Services include validating and performing ligand-binding assays for novel clinical biomarkers, immunogenicity testing, and multiplex testing.
PBI is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and its common stock trades on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “PBME”. For more information about PBI, visit the company’s web site at www.pacbio.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release includes forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the growth in revenues that may result from established and new services, including our biomarker services, our strategic planning and business development efforts, impacts on our financial results, our future growth, and the viability and acceptance of our products and services in the market. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, our ability to bid on and win laboratory services contracts, client changes or early terminations of studies, variability in backlog, the success of our marketing and business development efforts, competition in the industry, general economic factors in the industry, and our ability to manage growth, as well as the risks and other factors set forth in our periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2009).
SOURCE Pacific Biometrics, Inc.