Third Quarter Total Revenue Increased 50 Percent to $39.9 Million

Third Quarter Product and Service Revenue Increased 34 Percent to $35.3 Million Driven by COVID-19 Testing

GAAP Net Loss in the Third Quarter Was $6.0 Million; Non-GAAP Net Income Was $2.5 Million   

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluidigm Corporation (Nasdaq:FLDM), an innovative biotechnology tools provider with a vision to improve life through comprehensive health insight, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020.

Financial Highlights

Third Quarter 2020

• Third quarter revenue increased 50.4 percent to $39.9 million from $26.5 million in the third quarter of 2019. Product and service revenue increased 34.4 percent to $35.3 million. Microfluidics product and service revenue increased 88 percent driven by COVID-19 testing. Total revenue included $4.5 million of other revenue.
• GAAP net loss for the quarter was $6.0 million, compared with a GAAP net loss of $12.9 million for the third quarter of 2019.
• Non-GAAP net income was $2.5 million for the quarter, compared with a $6.2 million non-GAAP net loss for the third quarter of 2019.
  

“I am extremely pleased with our exceptional performance this quarter with strong execution on our COVID-19 testing and clinical research strategies yielding sequential growth for both the microfluidics and mass cytometry businesses,” said Chris Linthwaite, President and CEO. “FDA Emergency Use Authorization of the Advanta™ Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay at the end of August drove growing awareness and healthy adoption of saliva-based testing, with new instrument placements across multiple customer segments including clinical and public health labs, and academic medical centers.”

“In the third quarter, we closely managed our cash and operating expenses while making progress on milestones tied to collaboration payments,” added Linthwaite. “Moving forward, we are focused on expanding our diagnostic reach as our customers utilize microfluidics to address the gap in COVID-19 testing capacity. Longer-term, we are also executing on a product roadmap for microfluidics and mass cytometry to drive growth from translational and clinical research and diagnostics customer segments.”

A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures can be found in the tables of this news release.

Third Quarter 2020 Results

Revenue by category:

Product and service revenue by market:

• Mass cytometry product and service revenue decreased 3 percent to $15.1 million from $15.5 million in the prior year period due to lower sales of instruments, partially offset by higher sales of consumables and services.
  
  
• Microfluidics product and service revenue increased 88 percent to $20.2 million from $10.7 million in the prior year period primarily due to higher sales of instruments and consumables.

Revenue by geographic area:

*Americas geographic area includes Other Revenue of $4.5 million

Product and service margin: 
Product and service margin was 58.9 percent in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 52.6 percent in the year ago period and 52.5 percent in the second quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP product and service margin was 68.3 percent in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 65.2 percent in the year ago period and 67.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

The year-over-year increase in non-GAAP product and service margin was primarily due to sales of COVID-19 related consumables and lower inventory reserves. The increase was partially offset by a higher mix of microfluidics instruments, as well as lower prices and lower product volumes for mass cytometry instruments. On a sequential basis, the increase in non-GAAP product and service margin was primarily due to sales of COVID-19 related consumables partially offset by a higher mix of microfluidics instruments.

GAAP product and service margin, both sequentially and on a year-over-year basis, was positively impacted by fixed amortization over higher revenue in addition to the factors described above.

Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of September 30, 2020: 
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash as of September 30, 2020 totaled $73.4 million, including approximately $20 million of net proceeds from sales of common stock under an “at the market” equity offering program and $10 million of unspent milestone payments under our National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) contract. Cash and cash equivalents, available for sale securities, and restricted cash as of September 30, 2019 totaled $64.8 million.

Operational and Business Progress

Microfluidics and COVID-19 testing progress

• Received FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the saliva-based Advanta™ Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay for COVID-19 on August 25.
• Achieved initial milestone for $11.7 million payment under NIH RADx agreement; executed definitized contract with NIH RADx.
• Sold 795,000 COVID-19 assays in the third quarter.
• Sold more than 30 Biomark™ HD instruments in the third quarter.
• Year-to-date, 43 Biomark HD instruments have been enabled for COVID-19 testing.
• Announced an agreement with Healthvana Inc. to provide clinical laboratory customers utilizing the Fluidigm^® saliva-based Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay with the option to deliver test results faster via Healthvana’s mobile platform.
• Introduced the Fluidigm COVID-19 Campus Safeguard Program to support saliva-based testing needs for U.S. colleges and universities, with participation already at Oklahoma University, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis.
• Fluidigm COVID-19 testing adopted by clinical labs and public health and academic medical centers including: Dante Labs in Europe; Millennium Health, which has partnered with the U.S. Health and Human Service to provide surge testing through the federal Community-Based Testing Site program; hospitals in Greece; ImmunoGenomics; and Vero Diagnostics.

Mass Cytometry and Imaging Mass Cytometry Progress

• Record sales of the Maxpar^® Direct™ Immune Profiling Assay™ for COVID-19 immune profiling studies.
• Launch of a new Innovative Solutions offering by Fluidigm Therapeutic Insights Services, the robust IMC™ Cell Segmentation Kit, which facilitates an end-to-end workflow for Imaging Mass Cytometry™ (IMC) single-cell data analytics.
• Use of CyTOF^® technology in 16 COVID-19 publications and five COVID-19 clinical trials through September.
• Use of CyTOF technology in 113 National Clinical Trials through September, including 25 initiated in 2020, with three of those utilizing Imaging Mass Cytometry. Total publications and reviews involving CyTOF technology exceeded 1,300, including 65 that involved Imaging Mass Cytometry.

Conference Call Information

Fluidigm will host a conference call today, November 5, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. PT, 5:00 p.m. ET, to discuss third quarter 2020 financial results and operational progress. Individuals interested in listening to the conference call may do so by dialing the following:

US domestic callers: (877) 556-5248
Outside US callers: (720) 545-0029
Please reference Conference ID: 7187059

A live webcast of the conference call will be available online from the Investor Relations page of the company’s website at Events & Presentations. The link will not be active until 1:45 p.m. PT, 4:45 p.m. ET, on November 5, 2020.

After the live webcast, the call will be archived on Fluidigm’s Investor Relations page at investors.fluidigm.com. In addition, a telephone replay of the teleconference will be available approximately 90 minutes after the end of the call.

The replay dial-in numbers are:

US domestic callers: (855) 859-2056
Outside US: (404) 537-3406
Please reference Conference ID: 7187059

The telephone replay will be available until November 12.

Statement Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Fluidigm has presented certain financial information in accordance with U.S. GAAP and on a non-GAAP basis for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2020, and September 30, 2019. Management believes that non-GAAP financial measures, taken in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, provide useful information for both management and investors by excluding certain non-cash and other expenses that are not indicative of the company’s core operating results. Management uses non-GAAP measures to compare the company’s performance relative to forecasts and strategic plans and to benchmark the company’s performance externally against competitors. Non-GAAP information is not prepared under a comprehensive set of accounting rules and should only be used to supplement an understanding of the company’s operating results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Fluidigm encourages investors to carefully consider its results under GAAP, as well as its supplemental non-GAAP information and the reconciliation between these presentations, to more fully understand its business. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP operating results are presented in the accompanying tables of this release.

Use of Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among others, statements regarding opportunities for Fluidigm technology and products, including growth from sales of Fluidigm’s diagnostic tests, increasing adoption of such tests, and a product roadmap encompassing new customer segments. Forwardlooking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated results, including but not limited to the potential adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic on our business and operating results during 2020; the suitability and acceptance of our tools and technology by the research community pursuing solutions for the novel coronavirus pandemic; our ability and/or the ability of the institutions utilizing our products and technology to obtain FDA and any other requisite approvals to use our products and technology for diagnostic testing purposes; customers and prospective customers continuing to curtail or suspend activities utilizing our products; interruptions or delays in the supply of components or materials for, or manufacturing of, our products resulting from the pandemic or other factors; challenges inherent in developing, manufacturing, launching, marketing, and selling new products; risks relating to reliance on sales of capital equipment for a significant proportion of revenues in each quarter; potential product performance and quality issues; the possible loss of key employees, customers, or suppliers; intellectual property risks; competition; uncertainties in contractual relationships; risks relating to company research and development, sales, marketing, and distribution plans and capabilities; reductions in research and development spending or changes in budget priorities by customers; seasonal variations in customer operations; unanticipated increases in costs or expenses; and risks associated with international operations. Information on these and additional risks and uncertainties and other information affecting Fluidigm's business and operating results is contained in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Fluidigm disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.

About Fluidigm 

Fluidigm (Nasdaq:FLDM) focuses on the most pressing needs in translational and clinical research, including cancer, immunology, and immunotherapy. Using proprietary CyTOF and microfluidics technologies, we develop, manufacture, and market multi-omic solutions to drive meaningful insights in health and disease, identify biomarkers to inform decisions, and accelerate the development of more effective therapies. Our customers are leading academic, government, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, plant and animal research, and clinical laboratories worldwide. Together with them, we strive to increase the quality of life for all. For more information, visit fluidigm.com.

Fluidigm, the Fluidigm logo, Advanta, Biomark, CyTOF, Direct, Imaging Mass Cytometry, IMC, Immune Profiling Assay, and Maxpar are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Fluidigm Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Fluidigm products are provided for Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Available Information
We use our website (fluidigm.com), investor site (investors.fluidigm.com), corporate Twitter account (@fluidigm), Facebook page (facebook.com/Fluidigm), and LinkedIn page (linkedin.com/company/fluidigm-corporation) as channels of distribution of information about our products, our planned financial and other announcements, our attendance at upcoming investor and industry conferences, and other matters. Such information may be deemed material information, and we may use these channels to comply with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Therefore, investors should monitor our website and our social media accounts in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, and webcasts.

Contact:

Investors:
Agnes Lee
Vice President, Investor Relations
650 416 7423
agnes.lee@fluidigm.com

Media:
Mark Spearman
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
650 243 6621
mark.spearman@fluidigm.com

Source: Fluidigm Corporation