Stratagene beats by a penny and guides in line:
>>LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2005-- Stratagene Corporation (Nasdaq: STGN - News), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of specialized life science research and diagnostic products, today released strong financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2004.
For the fourth quarter of 2004, Stratagene's revenue grew 20% to $22.8 million compared with $18.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. For the year ended December 31, 2004, the Company's revenue grew 22% to $85.0 million compared with $69.7 million in fiscal 2003.
For the fourth quarter of 2004, the Company generated net income of $1.9 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared with $237,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the comparable quarter of 2003. For the year ended December 31, 2004, the Company's net income was $7.6 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared with $3.3 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for fiscal 2003.
For the full year 2004 the Company had an effective tax rate of 31%. The pre-tax income includes a gain on the sale of a portion of its minority interest in a limited partnership. Excluding the gain, which was not taxable to the Company, its effective tax rate for the full year was 37%.
At December 31, 2004, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $5.7 million and total assets were $80.2 million. Since June, the Company has repaid more than $11.5 million in total debt. As of December 31, 2004, total debt was $9.7 million.
"We had a very strong finish to 2004 and were pleased that we achieved fourth quarter revenue and earnings that were ahead of our expectations," said Joseph A. Sorge, MD, President and CEO of Stratagene Corporation. "Our two fastest growing product lines remained Quantitative PCR (QPCR) and clinical allergy diagnostics. During 2004 our QPCR product line sales growth remained strong and was up 30% and our clinical allergy diagnostic product line grew 22%.
"We remain confident that we are well positioned to successfully execute on our long-term molecular and clinical diagnostics strategies," continued Dr. Sorge. "Throughout 2005 we will continue to invest in diagnostic opportunities. To date, we remain on target to begin marketing our molecular diagnostics technology during the second half of 2005. In addition, we have continued to work closely with Bayer Diagnostics and Beckman Coulter to adapt our reagents to their diagnostic instruments. We have completed the initial development programs and we believe that Bayer Diagnostics and Beckman Coulter will both be ready to launch their new tests in the second half of 2005.
"We have also just signed an agreement with a European company to purchase our Mx 3000P QPCR thermal cycler instruments," continued Dr. Sorge. "This agreement further demonstrates that Stratagene is viewed by the scientific community as a superior manufacturer of QPCR instruments. We believe that these relationships, and others, including our recently announced strategic alliance with Affymetrix, coupled with our market leading chemistries will allow us to reach our objectives."
Stratagene was a privately held company until June 2, 2004, when it merged with Hycor Biomedical Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: HYBD) with Hycor surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Stratagene. Stratagene's year-to-date 2004 results include the historical results of Stratagene combined with the results of Hycor from the effective date of the merger through December 31, 2004. The inclusion of Hycor's results subsequent to the completion of the merger transaction is responsible for $5.6 million and $13.4 million of the increase in revenues in the three and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2004.
Gross margin increased to 64.4% for the fourth quarter of 2004 compared with 63.3% for the same quarter of 2003. In the fourth quarter of 2003, Stratagene recorded higher volumes of lower margin instrument sales, which reduced the gross margin. For the full year 2004, gross margin decreased to 65.6% compared with 66.8% in the comparable period of 2003 primarily due to the inclusion of lower margin clinical diagnostic product sales since the merger with Hycor.
Selling, marketing and general and administrative expenses increased 25% in the fourth quarter to $9.1 million compared with $7.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2003 primarily as a result of the addition of Hycor's expenses for 2004. Stratagene also recorded amortizable intangible assets related to patents, trade names and customer contracts, which are being amortized to selling, general and administrative expense through approximately June 2007. The quarterly amortization expense is currently approximately $130,000.
Outlook for the Full Year 2005
For the full year 2005, Stratagene continues to expect revenue to be between $95 and $98 million and net income to be between $.35 to $.40 per share. The Company expects its full year effective tax rate to be 36%. In addition, the Company expects to achieve a gross margin of approximately 64%. Research and development expenses should be between 12% and 13% of revenue and selling, general and administrative expenses should range between 37% and 38% of revenue.
Conference Call Today
Stratagene will host a conference call and webcast today, Tuesday, March 8, 2005, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company's fourth quarter and full year 2004 results, outlook for the full year 2005, as well as current corporate developments. The dial-in number for the conference call is 800-240-2430 for domestic participants and 303-262-2211 for international participants.
A taped replay of the conference call will also be available beginning approximately one hour after the call's conclusion and will remain available through Midnight on Tuesday, March 15, 2005. It can be accessed by dialing 800-405-2236 for domestic callers and 303-590-3000 for international callers, using the passcode 11025083#. To access the live webcast of the call, go to Stratagene's website at stratagene.com and click on the Investors icon. An archived webcast will also be available at stratagene.com. <<
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Stock was on a roll all day, despite the market having a poor one. Leakage?
Cheers, Tuck |
