LION bioscience Reports Significant Revenue Growth of 73% in Fiscal Year 2001/2002 Despite Difficult Market Conditions
HEIDELBERG, Germany & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BW HealthWire) June 5, 2002
Basis Established to Expand Leading Market Position in Integration Solutions
LION Confirms Goal to Break Even in Q4 of Fiscal Year 2003/2004
LION bioscience (Neuer Markt: LIO, WKN 504 350, Nasdaq: LEON), a leading provider of integrated IT solutions for the life sciences industry, today announced its results of operation for fiscal year 2001/2002. Key points include:
* More than doubling of customer base, strong revenue growth of 73% compared with previous year despite difficult market conditions
* Strong cash position of EUR 124m secures future growth
* Major milestones in IT-Driven Drug Discovery (iD3(TM)) achieved
* Focusing on core strength in Life Science Informatics (LSI(TM))
* Active search for a partner or investor for IT-Driven Drug Discovery unit
* Building a customer focused organization and strengthened sales & marketing
Year-End Results of Fiscal Year 2001/2002
In fiscal year 2001/2002 (April 2001 - March 2002) revenues grew strongly to EUR 40.4m from EUR 23.3m (+73.5%). In the same period, net loss increased from EUR 23.9m to EUR 54.6m compared to the previous fiscal year. As of March 31, 2002, LION had EUR 124.0m in cash and marketable securities on hand.
Total operational costs came to EUR 84.5m in FY 2001/2002 compared to EUR 48.1m in the previous fiscal year. This increase of 75.6% mainly reflects the acquisition of Trega Biosciences, Inc. and NetGenics, Inc. Trega Biosciences, acquired in March 2001, was included for 12 months; while NetGenics was consolidated for two months after its acquisition effective January 31, 2002. Overall R&D expenses increased to EUR 53.9m from EUR 26.9m. The build up of an international sales and marketing organization increased costs to EUR 12.9m from EUR 5.7m in FY 2001. Cost for general and administration (G&A) increased to EUR 18.7m from EUR 7.5m in the previous year.
One-time effects included EUR 19.0m of devaluation of financial assets and a EUR 15.5m extraordinary profit from the sale of Tripos shares. LION's strategic investments in minority shares of early-stage companies were written down to reflect the rapid decline in their value in recent months. Marketable securities were adjusted to market valuation. Overall, the results from marketable securities and other long-term investments contributed a loss of EUR 3.5m, which was reported below the operating results due to its non-recurring nature.
Focus on Core Competence in Life Science Informatics
In the last fiscal year, LION was able to significantly strengthen its life science informatics offerings. Product milestones include:
* Acquisition of NetGenics as the basis to build the most comprehensive and flexible integration platform
* Several portals were built based on SRS for major content providers in the life science industry.
LION sets the industry standard for integration solutions with more than 60 industrial and more than 130 academic customers worldwide. Based on this success, the company will increasingly focus on its Life Science Informatics business.
Key Milestones in IT-Driven Drug Discovery Achieved
LION's in-house IT-driven drug discovery unit iD3(TM) achieved its goals by establishing a cutting edge target class approach in only two years and was able to demonstrate about a 20% time savings through in silico procedures. Intellectual property in the form of lead series and novel co-factors is being secured through patent filings. Given the success of its drug discovery unit, LION is now in a position to seek a partner or investor for iD3(TM).
Building a Customer-Focused Organization
LION will optimize its product offerings in Life Science IT and introduce modular solutions based on a new, expanded integration platform. This offering addresses opportunities in the industry as quantified by a market study conducted early this calendar year. LION will pursue this opportunity with a focused key account organization.
Financial Outlook
Management confirms the goal to break even by the end of fiscal year 2003/2004. The company expects moderate revenue growth for FY 2002/2003 and thereafter strong revenue growth for the following years. The available liquidity of EUR 124m is expected to secure the future growth of LION.
Additional Achievements in Fiscal Year 2001/2002 Include:
* Identification of more than 350 targets for Bayer in half the agreed time frame, demonstrating acceleration of drug discovery through IT;
* Building SRS portals for Affymetrix, Incyte Genomics and Derwent Scientific for internal and external application;
* Co-operations with industry leaders have been established to enrich life science informatics offerings: IBM, MDL, GeneProt;
* Expansion of our collaboration with Nestle to implement the first step of an IT-based knowledge management and project tracking system;
* Patent applications for the first lead series from own IT-Driven Drug Discovery filed after only 16 months.
LION's annual report for fiscal year 2001/2002 is available for downloading from LION's website at www.lionbioscience.com/annual-report. The report can also be ordered directly from the company. |
