From Bloomberg:
quote.bloomberg.com
Incyte Loss Larger Than Expected as Affymetrix Gains Ground
Incyte Loss Larger Than Expected as Affymetrix Gains Ground
Palo Alto, California, July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., a provider of genetic information to drugmakers, reported a larger-than-expected second-quarter loss as rival Affymetrix Inc. gained ground in a key market.
Incyte reported a second-quarter loss of $7.4 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with net income of $5.2 million, or 18 cents, in the year-earlier period. The loss was larger than the 22-cent average forecast of seven analysts polled by First Call Corp.
Incyte failed to sign up new customers for its microarray gene-chip product as fast as Affymetrix. Microarrays are devices that let researchers evaluate potential candidates for new drug by testing them against thousands of fragments of DNA that are arranged on computer-chip-size devices. ''It was a pretty grim quarter,'' said Paul Kelly, an analyst with ING Baring Furman Selz. ''The Incyte technology is inferior to the Affymetrix chip technology.''
Revenue rose 15 percent to $37.9 million from $33.1 million a year earlier. Costs and expenses soared 58 percent to $45.6 million from $28.8 million.
Palo Alto, California-based Incyte said in February that it would boost R&D spending and operate the company at a loss for at least a year so it can develop next-generation products that will better position it to compete with rivals like Affymetrix and PE Corp.'s new Celera Genomics Group.
At the time, it said it expected revenue to grow to about $190 million this year from $132 million in 1998. The company subsequently cut that forecast to about $170 million to $175 million, citing sluggish microarray sales. It reiterated that revenue target today in a conference call with investors.
Incyte attributed the weak sales of its gene-chip products to patent litigation with Affymetrix over the microarrays.
Customers held off on buying Incyte's product until after May 6, when a federal court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to Affymetrix, Incyte Chief Executive Roy Whitfield said in a conference call with investors. |
