LION bioscience Reports Revenue Increase of 9.7 Million Euros for the First Nine Months of Fiscal Year 2001
HEIDELBERG, Germany, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- LION bioscience AG (Nasdaq: LEON; Neuer Markt: LIO) today reported strong quarterly revenue growth and continuous decrease of quarterly net losses in the current fiscal year, including:
-- A third quarter revenue increase of 161% to 7.7 million Euros compared
to Q3 of fiscal year (FY) 2000.
-- A nine-month revenue increase of 169% to 15.5 million Euros compared to
the same period of FY 2000.
-- A positive December EBIT, which has led to the best quarter in LION
history.
Net sales for the first nine months of FY 2001, ended December 31, 2000, increased by 9.7 million Euros or 169%, to 15.5 million, compared to 5.8 million in the same period of FY 2000. For the third quarter of FY 2001, net sales increased by 161% to 7.7 million Euros, compared to 2.9 million in the same period during FY 2000.
LION's Life Science Informatics (LSI(TM)) business unit increased its sales to 14.2 million Euros in the first nine months of FY 2001 compared to 2.9 million during the same period of the previous year.
Revenues of the information driven drug discovery (iD3(TM)) business unit decreased to 1.3 million Euros compared to 2.9 million in the same period in FY 2000. The reason for this decrease is that, consistent with its strategy, the company moved from fee-for-service projects to internal drug discovery on nuclear receptors at the beginning of 2000.
LION achieved a positive EBIT of 105.000 Euros during the month of December 2000.
Research and development expenses doubled within the first nine months (143% of net sales) to 22.0 million Euros, compared to 10.4 million (181% of net sales) in the same period of FY 2000. SG&A expenses increased by 68% to 8.0 million Euros in the first nine months of FY 2001 compared to 4.7 million in the first nine months of FY 2000.
Excluding non-cash compensation charges, the operating loss amounts to 13.3 million Euros (86% of net sales) for the first nine months ended December 31, 2000, compared to 9.4 million (164% of net sales) during the same period of the FY 2000. Including the previously reported non-cash compensation expenses of 8.7 million Euros that resulted from the conversion of preferred shares to ordinary bearer shares, and an additional non-cash personnel expense of 1.3 million for outstanding stock options, the company has realized an operating loss of 23.3 million (151% of net sales).
Key Partnerships Strengthen Growth
In October 2000, LION formed a strategic alliance with Celera Inc. Rockville, MD (NYSE: CRA). Celera uses LION's SRS technology as base technology for its Celera Discovery System (CDS) for the worldwide distribution of human genome data.
On October 16, 2000 LION expanded its i-biology(TM)collaboration with Bayer to include the area of pharmacophore informatics. This landmark collaboration is designed to integrate genomics and chemical sciences in a novel and unique way to better predict biological activities from chemical structures.
On December 27, 2000 LION bioscience announced that it had entered into a merger agreement to acquire Trega Biosciences Inc., San Diego, CA (Nasdaq: TRGA) in a stock for stock transaction. LION has agreed to acquire 100% of the equity of Trega in exchange for LION American Depositary Shares (ADS). LION and Trega will combine complementary technologies and products, which are expected to significantly enhance LION's position as a leading provider of comprehensive solutions for enterprise-wide data integration, data analysis and information management solutions for the Life Sciences industry.
LION has successfully expanded its operations during this period in the USA, Europe and Japan through new customer contracts. After the first nine months of the FY 2001, the company achieved its operational goals.
The comprehensive report for the first nine months of the fiscal year can be downloaded from the LION web site: lionbioscience.com (see section "Financial Information"), or can be requested directly from the company.
About LION bioscience
LION bioscience AG (http://www.lionbioscience.com) is a pioneer in the field of enterprise-wide R&D data analysis and information management systems and solutions for the life sciences and, ultimately, the healthcare industry.
To date, LION AG has established numerous alliances in informatics and genomics with leading Life Science research companies, including Aventis, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celera, DuPont, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Merck Inc., Nestle, Novartis, Paradigm, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Pfizer, Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals and Tripos.
All statements in this press release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. securities laws. Such statements are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially from those projected because of factors such as uncertainties relating to technologies, product development, or manufacturing, market acceptance, cost or pricing of LION's products, dependence on collaborations and partners, regulatory approvals, competition, intellectual property of others, or patent protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed in LION's Registration Statement on Form F-1 declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2000. LION expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates, revisions or corrections to any forward-looking statements or historical information contained herein.
LION bioscience(R), i-biology(TM) are either registered trademarks of LION bioscience AG in the United States and/or other countries, or LION bioscience AG has pending applications for these trademarks in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademark of the respective owners.
LION bioscience Noonan/Russo Communications
Klaus Sprockamp Ernie Knewitz
CFO/COO 212-696-4455 x204
49-6221-4038-192 ernie.knewitz@noonanrusso.com
klaus.sprockamp@lionbioscience.com
LION bioscience
Dr. Alexander Asam, MBA
Head of Investor Relations
49-6221-4038-215
alexander.asam@lionbioscience.com
SOURCE LION biosciences AG
CO: LION biosciences AG; Celera Inc.; Trega Biosciences Inc.
ST: Germany
IN: MTC BIO
SU: ERN
02/07/2001 02:00 EST prnewswire.com |
