TransEnterix (NYSE:TRXC) today reported preliminary 2019 revenue numbers that failed to meet the expectations of Wall Street analysts — but the robotic surgery company closed the year with two new customer agreements.
Research Triangle Park, N.C.– based TransEnterix touts its Senhance System as a more economical option when it comes to laparoscopic and robotic systems, with haptic feedback, surgeon camera control via eye sensing and improved ergonomics. But it only sold three Senhance Systems in 2019, with revenue from the sales and related consumables and sales contracts expected to be $600,000 in Q4 and $8.3 million to $8.5 million for the full year.
Wall Street analysts on average expected Q4 revenues of $4.93 million and 2019 revenues of $13.63 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.
TransEnterix, though, entered into two customer agreements in Q4 — one in the United States and one in Germany — in which hospitals will lease Senhance Systems to perform surgeries. Installation is expected this month, with clinical cases expected to start early this year.
In other positive news, the number of Senhance procedures nearly tripled to 1,600 in 2019 and there were 16 peer-reviewed clinical papers published about the system.
The company — which has no debt and about $10.6 million in cash on hand — has already said it is looking into strategic alternatives to raise more money; that’s corporate-speak for seeking a potential sale.
TransEnterix’s goals for 2020 include expanding the number of sites in the U.S., Europe and Japan that are using the Senhance System, increase utilization at existing sites, double the number of clinical cases involving Senhance, and generate more meaningful clinical and economic evidence. The company is also planning to launch its scene cognition and augmented intelligence module in the United States by mid-2020, expand the European launch of 5 mm articulating instruments and submit for U.S. clearance near the end of the year, obtain general surgery and bariatric indications in the U.S., and obtain a pediatric indication in Europe.
“The challenges we faced in 2019 shouldn’t overshadow the significant progress we made in putting the pieces in place to make 2020 a transformative year for TransEnterix. … We believe we are on the cusp of introducing transformative technological capabilities in augmented intelligence and instrumentation,” TransEnterix CEO Anthony Fernando said in a news release.
