Biosensors Reports Financial Results for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2015

SINGAPORE, Aug. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Biosensors International Group, Ltd. ("Biosensors" or the "Company", Bloomberg: BIG SP; Reuters: BIOS.SI; SGX: B20), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative medical devices, today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended 30 June 2014 ("Q1 FY15").

Quarter Highlights and Recent Developments:

• Total revenue was US$80.2 million, representing a 5% growth from the quarter ended 30 June 2013 ("Q1 FY14"). Product revenue increased 8% year-over-year, partially offset by lower licensing and royalty revenue.
• Cardiac Diagnostic division sales grew substantially from Q1 FY14. This is a significant achievement as it represents a new product category and demonstrates the Company's ability to pursue growth through portfolio expansion.
• In the drug-eluting stent (DES) business, both the BioMatrix™ family of stents and Excel recorded double-digit volume increases compared with Q1 FY14.
• Although the Company's DES average selling prices (ASPs) were lower in comparison with Q1 FY14 which is in line with the trend observed across the industry, the Company's ASPs were relatively steady as compared with the fourth quarter of FY14 ("Q4 FY14").
• Under the leadership of Mr. Yoh-Chie Lu, Biosensors' Chairman and interim CEO, the Company continued to make steady progress in improving its operational efficiency through cost reduction and other initiatives, as observed in the gradual reduction in sales and marketing ("S&M") expense as a percentage of product revenue versus Q1 FY14.

"In the first quarter, although weak market sentiments continued to pressure our DES revenue, we are encouraged by the good volume growth compared to Q1 FY14," said Mr. Lu. "In addition, our Cardiac Diagnostic segment recorded satisfactory growth and improved profit which is in line with our product diversification strategy. We remain excited about this segment's potential. As a result of our cost reduction initiatives, we also reduced our sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of our product revenue compared to a year ago."

Performance Summary for Q1 FY15

For Q1 FY15, Biosensors reported total revenue of US$80.2 million, representing a 5% increase from US$76.7 million in Q1 FY14, as a result of higher product revenue partially offset by lower licensing and royalty revenue. Product revenue of US$70.5 million represents an 8% year-on-year increase from Q1 FY14, largely attributable to growth in Cardiac Diagnostics revenue, which rose to US$4.4 million from US$0.7 million in the same quarter last year. The Company's Critical Care Product ("CCP") business segment also achieved a record quarter of US$4.4 million, representing a 28% growth from the same quarter last year.

Licensing and royalty revenue for Q1 FY15 was US$9.7 million, representing a 16% decrease from US$11.6 million in the same quarter last year.

Gross margin on total product sales was 71% for the quarter compared with 75% for Q1 FY14. This change in gross margin reflects the change in the Company's product mix as well as DES price erosion in various geographic regions as compared to Q1 FY14.

Total operating expense as a percentage of product revenue for the quarter was 64%, which is comparable to the same quarter last year. 

In detail, the quarter's sales and marketing ("S&M") expense was US$26.9 million; general and administrative ("G&A") expense was US$10.7 million; and research and development ("R&D") expense was US$7.0 million.

Net profit for Q1 FY15 was US$9.9 million, or 0.58 US cents basic and diluted earnings per share ("basic EPS" and "diluted EPS" respectively). This compares to a net profit of US$12.1 million, or basic EPS of 0.70 US cents and diluted EPS of 0.69 US cents, for Q1 FY14.

Financial Guidance for FY15

For the fiscal year ending 31 March 2015 ("FY15"), the management expects challenging market conditions such as increased competition and price erosion to continue in the global DES market. The Company will continue to bring new innovative products to the market, expand its existing product portfolio, and enter new geographical territories to improve its overall performance.

"Biosensors is transitioning from being heavily reliant on licensing and royalty income to becoming more capable of generating profits from its own operations, which is ultimately more sustainable," said Mr. Lu. "The Company is also taking steps to improve the operational efficiency and productivity for our existing businesses and markets. We are happy to see the progress we have achieved so far, especially in the area of sales and marketing expense. At the same time, we will continue to actively identify new growth opportunities, including acquiring new businesses and other ways to improve our overall performance.  We firmly believe that we have the right combination of leadership, strategy and resources to propel us forward and enable us to become a leading international medical device player."

Media/Investor Relations Contact

Wong Teck Yenn
Director, Investor Relations
Tel: (65) 6213 5777
Email: [email protected]

About Biosensors International Group, Ltd

Biosensors International Group, Ltd. develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices, aiming to improve patients' lives through pioneering medical technology that pushes forward the boundaries of innovation. Founded in 1990, the Company was listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2005.

The Group currently operates through four business units ("BU"): the Cardiovascular BU, composed primarily of Excel™ and the BioMatrix™ family of drug-eluting stents and stent technologies such as BA9™; the Cardiac Diagnostic BU, including Spectrum Dynamics products that offer advanced medical imaging and clinical solutions to help interventional cardiologists determine the most appropriate treatment for patients; the Peripheral Intervention BU, offering solutions for the treatment of patients with peripheral arterial disease; and the Critical Care Products BU, which fosters the development of critical care catheters, hemodynamic monitoring, and related devices used during heart surgery procedures, vascular surgery procedures and intensive care treatment.

The Group has operations worldwide and is headquartered in Singapore.

For more information, please visit www.biosensors.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements herein include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "project" or "continue" or the negative thereof or other similar words. All forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, customer acceptance and market share gains, competition from companies that have greater financial resources; introduction of new products into the marketplace by competitors; successful product development; dependence on significant customers; the ability to recruit and retain quality employees as Biosensors grows; and economic and political conditions globally. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and Biosensors assumes no duty to update them to reflect new, changing or unanticipated events or circumstances.

SOURCE Biosensors International Group, Ltd.