Veracyte Announces Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Business Progress

On October 22, 2019 Veracyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCYT) reported financial results and business progress for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019. For the third quarter of 2019, revenue was $31.0 million, an increase of 32% over the third quarter of 2018 (Press release, Veracyte, OCT 22, 2019, View Source [SID1234542412]). Net cash used in operating activities in the third quarter of 2019 was $1.6 million, an improvement of 13% compared with the third quarter of 2018.

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"We had a solid third quarter in which we continued to drive volume and revenue growth across our products and grew biopharmaceutical services revenue through key milestone achievements," said Bonnie H. Anderson, chairman and chief executive officer of Veracyte. "We are particularly excited by the new, preliminary data for our noninvasive nasal swab test for early lung cancer detection, which we believe has significant potential to improve care among the millions of patients with suspicious lung nodules detected each year. Importantly, as we grow our business and advance our pipeline, we remain on track to achieve our goal of reaching cashflow breakeven status before the end of the year."

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results

For the third quarter of 2019 as compared with the third quarter of 2018:

Revenue was $31.0 million, an increase of 32%; excluding $4.3 million of biopharmaceutical services revenue, revenue was $26.7 million, an increase of 15%.
Gross Margin was 71%, an increase of six percentage points; excluding biopharmaceutical services revenue, gross margin was 66%, an increase of two percentage points.
Operating Expenses, Excluding Cost of Revenue were $23.6 million, an increase of 21%.
Net Loss was $0.7 million, an improvement of 84%.
Net Loss Per Share was $0.02, an improvement of 83%.
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities was $1.6 million, an improvement of 13%.
Cash and Cash Equivalents were $195.7 million at September 30, 2019.
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2019, as compared with the prior year period of 2018:

Revenue was $90.6 million, an increase of 37%; excluding $11.8 million of biopharmaceutical services revenue, revenue was $78.8 million, an increase of 20%.
Gross Margin was 71%, an increase of eight percentage points; excluding biopharmaceutical services revenue, gross margin was 66%, an increase of three percentage points.
Operating Expenses, Excluding Cost of Revenue were $71.2 million, an increase of 17%.
Net Loss was $5.1 million, an improvement of 74%.
Net Loss Per Share was $0.11, an improvement of 80%.
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities was $5.0 million, an improvement of 59%.
Third Quarter 2019 and Recent Business Highlights

Commercial Growth and Reimbursement Expansion:

Grew total genomic test volume in the third quarter of 2019 to 9,941, an increase of 24% over the third quarter of 2018.
– Increased Percepta Genomic Sequencing Classifier (GSC) volume to 793 tests, an increase of 112% compared to the third quarter of 2018.

– Expanded Envisia Genomic Classifier volume to 223 tests, a Q3 2019 growth sequentially over Q2 2019 of 72%.

– Grew Afirma test volume to 8,925 tests, an increase of 17%, compared to the third quarter of last year.

Strengthened Library of Clinical Evidence:

Published a clinical and analytical validation paper in Frontiers in Endocrinology demonstrating the Afirma Xpression Atlas’s ability to help inform surgery and treatment decisions in patients with thyroid nodules deemed suspicious for cancer by the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier. A separate paper published in Thyroid reinforced the test’s potential value in clinical practice.
Five studies are being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST 2019), including:
– Three abstracts showing that the Envisia classifier enhances physicians’ ability to confidently distinguish idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis from other interstitial lung diseases when used with high-resolution CT imaging.

– Two abstracts demonstrating the clinical validity and utility, respectively, of the Percepta classifier in lung cancer diagnosis when bronchoscopy findings are inconclusive.

Advanced Pipeline:

Presented data at CHEST 2019 demonstrating the ability of the company’s preliminary nasal swab test to enable early lung cancer detection and diagnosis. The findings show that the test can accurately classify lung cancer risk in patients with lung nodules so that they may be directed to prompt diagnosis and treatment or may be monitored noninvasively.
Updated 2019 Financial Outlook

Veracyte is re-affirming its 2019 annual revenue guidance of $119 million to $122 million and net cash used in operating activities of $2 million to $4 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Veracyte will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its financial results and provide a general business update at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time today.

The conference call will be webcast live from the company’s website and will be available via the following link: View Source webcast should be accessed 10 minutes prior to the conference call start time.

A replay of the webcast will be available for one year following the conclusion of the live broadcast and will be accessible on the company’s website at View Source

The conference call can be accessed as follows:

U.S./Canada participant dial-in number (toll-free):

(855) 541-0980

International participant dial-in number:

(970) 315-0440

Conference I.D.:

8767084