On March 12, 2024 Champions Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSBR), a global preclinical and clinical research services provider that offers end-to-end oncology solutions, reported its financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2024, ended January 31, 2024 (Press release, Champions Oncology, MAR 12, 2024, View Source [SID1234641061]).

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Third Quarter and Recent Highlights:

•Third quarter revenue of $12.0 million, a decline of 6%
•Gross margin declined to 35%
•College of American Pathologists (CAP) has awarded accreditation to US-based laboratory

Ronnie Morris, CEO of Champions, commented, "As discussed over the course of the year, we’re navigating through a challenging economic environment, specifically in the biotech sector, that began approximately one year ago. However, we still remain confident that the tide is turning and we will emerge stronger over the coming quarters." Morris added, "We remain actively engaged with investors in an effort to raise capital for our wholly owned subsidiary, Corellia, AI. Conjunctively, our two lead targets continue to progress with the potential of a licensing deal in the coming quarters."

David Miller, CFO of Champions, added, "In response to our lower revenue growth, we’re strategically right-sizing the business to reduce costs and improve short term results as we rebound to previous revenue levels. These reductions will not have a long-term impact on the business and we believe our quarterly results will gradually improve going forward."

Third Fiscal Quarter Financial Results

Total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was $12.0 million compared to $12.8 million for the same period last year, a decrease of 5.9%. The decline in revenue was primarily from customer

Exhibit 99.1
cancellations in prior periods which led to lower study revenue in the third quarter. Total costs and operating expenses for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 were $14.6 million compared to $15.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2023, a decrease of $635,000 or 4.2%.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2024, Champions reported a loss from operations of $2.6 million, including $379,000 in stock-based compensation and $481,000 in depreciation and amortization expenses, compared to a loss from operations of $2.5 million, inclusive of $331,000 in stock-based compensation and $575,000 in depreciation and amortization expenses, in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Excluding stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization expenses, Champions reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

Cost of oncology solutions was $7.8 million for the three-months ended January 31, 2024, an increase of $150,000, or 1.9% compared to $7.7 million for the three-months ended January 31, 2023. The increase in cost of sales was primarily from an increase in compensation expense and mouse costs resulting from some operational inefficiencies. For the three-months ended January 31, 2024, total gross margin was 34.7% compared to 39.7% for the three-months ended January 31, 2023. The lower margin resulted primarily from a combination of a decline in revenue against relatively unchanged fixed costs and higher variable costs due to some operational inefficiencies.

Research and development expense for the three-months ended January 31, 2024 was $2.2 million, a decrease of $1.0 million or 31.7%, compared to $3.2 million for the three-months ended January 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to reduced investment in our target discovery program. Sales and marketing expense for the three-months ended January 31, 2024 was $1.8 million, a slight increase of $36,000, or 2.0%, compared to $1.8 million for the three-months ended January 31, 2023. General and administrative expense for the three-months ended January 31, 2024 was $2.8 million, an increase of $195,000, or 7.6%, compared to $2.6 million for the three-months ended January 31, 2023. The increase was primarily from compensation and recruiting expenses and an increase in bad debt reserves.

Net cash used in operating activities was approximately $920,000 for the three-months ended January 31, 2024 and was primarily due to our operational loss, offset by net changes in our working capital accounts and deferred revenue in in the ordinary course of business. Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $125,000 for investment in additional lab and computer equipment. There were no financing activities for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Year-To-Date Financial Results

For the first nine months of fiscal 2024, revenue decreased 11.4% to $36.2 million compared to $40.8 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2023. The decline in revenue was primarily from customer cancellations in fiscal year 2023 resulting in lower study revenue during fiscal year 2024. Total costs and operating expenses for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 were $43.2 million compared to $43.5 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2023, a decrease of $296,000 or 0.7%.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2024, Champions reported a loss from operations of $7.1 million, including $855,000 in stock-based compensation and $1.4 million in depreciation and amortization expenses, compared to a loss from operations of $2.7 million, inclusive of $656,000 in stock-based compensation and $1.7 million in depreciation and amortization expenses, in the first nine months of fiscal 2023. Excluding stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization expenses, Champions reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $4.8 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2024 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $400,000 in the first nine months of fiscal 2023.

Exhibit 99.1

Cost of oncology solutions was $22.2 million for the nine-months ended January 31, 2024, a slight decrease of $43,000, or 0.2% compared to $22.2 million for the nine-months ended January 31, 2023. For the nine-months ended January 31, 2024, total gross margin was 38.7% compared to 45.6% for the nine-months ended January 31, 2023. The lower margin resulted from lower revenue against a generally unchanged cost base. The variable cost component of cost of sales did not decline meaningfully despite the lower study volume due to some operational inefficiencies.

Research and development expense for the nine-months ended January 31, 2024 was $7.5 million, a decrease of $1.2 million or 13.8%, compared to $8.7 million for the nine-months ended January 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily from reduced investment in our target discovery program. Sales and marketing expense for the nine-months ended January 31, 2024 was $5.3 million, a slight increase of $135,000, or 2.6%, compared to $5.2 million for the nine-months ended January 31, 2023. The increase was the result of an increase in compensation expense. General and administrative expense for the nine-months ended January 31, 2024 was $8.3 million, an increase of $811,000, or 10.8%, compared to $7.5 million for the nine-months ended January 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to an increase in compensation and recruiting expenses and allowances for bad debt, offset by a reduction in IT costs.

Net cash used in operating activities was $4.3 million for the nine-months ended January 31, 2024. The cash used in operating activities was primarily due to the net loss from operations excluding non-cash expenses. Net cash used in investing activities was $950,000 and was primarily from investment in additional lab and computer equipment. Net cash used in financing activities was approximately $382,000 resulting from repurchases of common stock and was offset by proceeds received from options exercises.

The Company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents on hand of approximately $4.5 million. The Company has no debt.

Conference Call Information:
The Company will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. EDT (1:30 p.m. PDT) to discuss its third quarter financial results. To participate in the call, please call 877-545-0523 (Domestic) or 973-528-0016 (International) and enter the access code 860900, or provide the verbal reference "Champions Oncology".
Full details of the Company’s financial results will be available by or before March 18, 2024 in the Company’s Form 10-Q at www.championsoncology.com.
* Non-GAAP Financial Information