NEW YORK: Enzo Biochem announced after the close of the market on Thursday that its third quarter earnings rose 2 percent year over year, thanks largely to an 8 percent increase in revenues from its clinical lab business. For the three months ended April 30, the company reported revenues of $27.1 million, up from $26.4 million in Q3 2016.
Revenues from the clinical labs segment rose 8 percent to $19.6 million from $18.2 million a year earlier. The increase reflects new accounts added beyond existing regional areas, especially in the women’s health segment where Enzo has increased its market share in the New York metropolitan area, the company noted. Revenues from the life sciences business unit fell 9 percent to $7.5 million from $8.3 million in Q3 2016, due to lower product sales resulting from timing of certain US shipments that are expected to pick up in subsequent quarters, as well as continued weakness in the academic and industrial markets due to reduced funding. Revenues from royalties and license fees fell 29 percent to $193,000 from $270,000. “This was another excellent quarter of operational performance, one of sustained growth, technological advances, and market inroads. Our transformative strategy to a fully integrated molecular diagnostic company is being recognized in the marketplace,” Enzo President Barry Weiner said in a statement. “The quarter was notable for the steadily increasing performance of our clinical services. It reflected the addition of new clients, growing interest in our molecular diagnostic development capabilities, and expanding national reference services giving recognition of our leading position as a provider of comprehensive women’s health diagnostics.” Enzo reported its Q3 net loss significantly narrowed to $71,000 from $2.1 million a year ago. On a per share basis, the company reported no gain or loss for the quarter, compared to a loss per share of $.05 in Q3 2016.
The company’s Q3 R&D expenses fell 13 percent to $766,000 from $883,000 a year earlier. Its SG&A costs for the quarter dipped slightly to $10.6 million from $10.9 million in Q3 2016. The firm ended the quarter with $62.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. Enzo also announced this afternoon that it has received conditional approval from the New York State Department of Health for three of its women’s health-related molecular diagnostic tests for use with its AmpiProbe platform. Approval was given for a real-time PCR-based method for qualitative detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal swab specimens, the company noted. Weiner had told analysts during a conference call to discuss Enzo’s Q2 earnings that he expected the company would receive approvals for the diagnostics sometime this year, and that Enzo’s complete women’s health line of products would be released sometime this summer.
