Fluidigm Reports Strong Q1 2013 Results

Fluidigm Corporation has announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2013 was $14.5 million, an increase of 33% from $10.9 million in the first quarter of 2012. Product margin was 70% in the first quarter of 2013, compared to 67% in the first quarter of 2012.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2013 was $3.6 million, compared to a net loss of $6.7 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Non-GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2013 was $3.5 million, compared with $4.9 million non-GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2012 (see accompanying table for reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP measures).

“Our revenue from single-cell genomics applications nearly doubled year-over-year, primarily due to sales of our C1™ Single-Cell Auto Prep System. In addition, single-cell gene expression motivated about 70% of our BioMark™ HD sales. We continue to see a fundamental shift occurring in the genomics market from studying bulk, heterogeneous cell samples to analyzing individual cells, and Fluidigm is emerging as the leader in this exciting new market,” said Gajus Worthington, Fluidigm President and Chief Executive Officer.

Worthington continued, “Increased sales to high-throughput production genomics customers in agricultural and clinical laboratory settings also contributed to growth in the quarter,” continued Worthington.

Financial Highlights and Analysis
• Fluidigm’s instrument installed base expanded to approximately 720 units at the end of Q1 2013.
• Analytical systems (BioMark, BioMark HD, and EP1™) represented 64% of the installed base and preparatory systems (Access Array™ and C1) represented the remainder.
• Instrument revenue grew 34% year-on-year in the quarter, driven largely by sales of the C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep System.
• Consumables revenue grew 31% year-on-year in the quarter, driven by high-throughput production genomics customers.
• Consumables pull-through was within its historical range of $40,000 - $50,000 per instrument/year for analytical systems, and was slightly above its historical range of $10,000 - $15,000 per instrument/year for preparatory systems.
• Geographic revenue as a percent of total product revenue in the first quarter of 2013 was as follows: United States - 49%; Europe - 25%; Asia-Pacific - 13%; Japan - 10%; and Other - 3%.
• Fluidigm ended the first quarter of 2013 with approximately $86.9 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments.
• Fluidigm received approximately $3.1 million in cash for its minority equity interest in Verinata Health, Inc. in connection with Verinata’s acquisition by Illumina, Inc.
• Excluding the proceeds from the sale of the Verinata investment, Fluidigm was cash flow neutral for the first time in any quarterly period in the company’s history.

Business Highlights Since Fluidigm’s Last Earnings Release
• The Sanger Institute-EBI Single Cell Genomics Centre, which was launched in April 2013, ordered a C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep System and a BioMark HD System to support its single-cell genomics research.
• Twelve single-cell publications referenced Fluidigm in the quarter, up from six the previous quarter. The total number of single-cell publications referencing Fluidigm is now over 70.
• HLA typing emerged as a high-throughput production genomics application for Fluidigm’s Access Array System. The DKMS Life Science Lab (Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH) scaled its HLA typing operations to thousands of samples per week using Fluidigm’s Access Array Systems. Separately, a peer-reviewed publication in Tissue Antigens authored by Roche scientists delineated the value of the Access Array System for high-throughput HLA typing with NGS systems.
• Fluidigm experienced growing demand for its custom assays business, in particular SNPtype™ assays, driven by production genomics customers.

Financial Outlook
Fluidigm is maintaining its 2013 total revenue growth guidance of 22%-26% over 2012. Historically, Fluidigm’s product revenues have tended to be lowest in the first quarter of the year and highest in the fourth quarter of the year. This trend is expected to continue in 2013.

Operating expenses in 2013 are projected to be between $63 million and $66 million. Stock compensation expense is projected to be between $5.5 million and $6.5 million. Capital spending is projected to be between $4 million and $5 million.

Total cash flow is expected to be negative for 2013. We expect to break even at the EBITDA level at quarterly revenue of approximately $20 million.