On February 2, 2024 Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, reported financial results and business highlights for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 ended December 31, 2023 (Press release, Twist Bioscience, FEB 2, 2024, View Source [SID1234639822]).

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"We’re starting fiscal 2024 off strong with record revenue of $71.5 million for the first fiscal quarter, coming in above our projection, with a gross margin of 40.5%," said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience. "In SynBio, after a limited launch of Express Genes in November, we expanded the offering to include midi and Maxi preps at Express speed and over time, we expect this offering will allow us to both expand our share of market and convert the Maker’s Market of researchers who make their own genes into DNA buyers."

Dr. Leproust continued, "NGS had a strong quarter, with our top ten customers accounting for 44% of NGS revenue. As we move through the year, we plan to introduce new products and differentiated solutions to our customers and remain laser focused on revenue growth, margin expansion and financial discipline as we progress on our path to profitability."

FISCAL 2024 FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

•Orders: Total orders received for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 increased to $77.5 million compared to $64.7 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
•Revenue: Total revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 increased to $71.5 million compared to $54.2 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
◦Synbio revenue increased to $26.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $21.7 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
▪Synthetic genes revenue increased to $19.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $16.2 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
▪Oligo Pools revenue increased to $4.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $3.7 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.

▪DNA libraries revenue increased to $2.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $1.8 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
◦NGS revenue increased to $39.4 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $24.4 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
◦Biopharma revenue was $5.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $8.2 million in the same period of fiscal 2023.
•Cost of Revenues: Cost of revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 was $42.5 million compared to $29.4 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
•Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 were $23.1 million compared to $31.2 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
•Selling, General and Administrative Expenses: Selling, general and administrative expenses for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 were $52.8 million compared to $42.3 million for the same period of fiscal 2023.
•Net Loss: Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 was $43.0 million, or $0.75 per share, compared to $41.8 million, or $0.74 per share, for the same period of fiscal 2023.
•Cash Position: As of December 31, 2023, the company had $311.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Recent Highlights:

•Shipped products to 2,140 customers in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to approximately 2,060 customers in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
•Shipped approximately 171,000 genes during the first quarter of fiscal 2024, compared with approximately 134,000 genes during the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
•On January 24, 2024, expanded Express Genes rapid gene synthesis service to all prep scales.
•Appointed Adam Laponis as chief financial officer.

Updated Fiscal 2024 Financial Guidance

The following statements are based on Twist’s current expectations for fiscal 2024, including the second quarter of fiscal 2024. The following statements are forward-looking, and actual results could differ materially depending on market conditions and the factors set forth under "Forward-Looking Statements" below.

For the full fiscal year 2024, Twist provided the following updated financial guidance:

•Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $288 million to $293 million, growth of 18 to 20 percent, and includes the following:

◦SynBio revenue is expected to be in the range of $114 million to $117 million compared to the previous estimate of $113 million to $116 million, indicating year over year growth of 16 to 19 percent
◦NGS revenue is expected to be in the range of $150 million to $152 million compared to the previous estimate of $147 million to $149 million, indicating year over year growth of 21 to 23 percent
◦Biopharma revenue is expected to be approximately $24 million compared to the previous estimate of approximately $25 million, indicating year over year growth of approximately 3 percent
•Gross margin is expected to be approximately 40% to 41% for fiscal 2024, an increase across the range
•Loss from operations before taxes of approximately $189 million to $194 million, an increase from $180 million to $188 million provided previously
◦Capital expenditure of $15 million, a decrease of $5 million from prior guidance
◦Ending cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at September 30, 2024 of approximately $245 million, unchanged from previous guidance

For the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, Twist provided the following financial guidance:

•Total revenue of approximately $70 million to $71 million
◦SynBio revenue of approximately $28.5 million
◦NGS revenue of approximately $37 million to $38 million
◦Biopharma revenue of approximately $4.5 million
•Gross margin of 39%

Conference Call Information

The company plans to hold a conference call and live audio webcast for analysts and investors at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time today to discuss its financial results and provide an update on the company’s business. The conference call will be webcast live through the Investor Relations section under the "Company" tab at www.twistbioscience.com. Those parties interested in participating via telephone must register on the Company’s Investor Relations website or by clicking here. Upon registration, all telephone participants will receive the dial-in number along with a unique PIN number that can be used to access the call. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call fifteen minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. The webcast replay will be available for two weeks.