SAN DIEGO, March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc. (SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today reported total revenues of $33.7 million and $89.7 million for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012, respectively. Net loss was $32.8 million, or $0.29 per share, and $117.1 million, or $1.03 per share, for the fourth quarter and full year, respectively.

"It has been a little more than one year since the Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (SCMM) launched MaterniT21 PLUS, the first non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) in the United States that measures circulating cell-free nucleic acids in maternal blood for the detection of fetal aneuploidies. During 2012, SCMM established itself as the leader in the NIPT field with the good acceptance of MaterniT21 PLUS by the medical community," said Harry Hixson, Jr., Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Sequenom. "SCMM and its licensees have also seen rapid acceptance of non-invasive prenatal testing in countries outside the United States."

Fourth Quarter 2012 PerformanceTotal revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 increased to $33.7 million, 117% over revenues of $15.5 million for the comparable period in 2011. Fourth quarter 2012 revenues from the genetic analysis operating segment were essentially flat year-over-year, while revenues from the SCMM diagnostics services operating segment grew to $21.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 up from $2.8 million in the prior year period. Revenues from the SCMM diagnostics segment are recorded primarily on the cash basis.

Total cost of revenues increased to $21.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $9.3 million for the prior year period. Cost of revenues increased due to the significant increase in the number of diagnostic tests performed, with accessions of 33,000 samples during the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to 8,000 samples accessioned during the prior year period.

Today we filed a Form 8-K which describes that management identified an accounting error in our previously issued consolidated financial statements. The resulting change in classification increased cost of revenues and decreased selling and marketing expense by the same amount and thus had no effect on revenues or net loss for this, or any period. This accounting error related to the classification of costs related to field service personnel for our genetic analysis business as selling and marketing expenses rather than as cost of revenues in prior periods. The cost of genetic analysis product sales and services for the fourth quarter of 2011 now includes an additional $0.8 million in maintenance labor services. These costs were previously classified as selling and marketing expenses.

Overall gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 37% as compared to gross margin of 40% for the fourth quarter of 2011. Fourth quarter gross margin for our diagnostics services business was positive for the first time since the launch of SCMM's MaterniT21 PLUS test, even with revenues being recorded on the cash basis. Gross margin for our genetic analysis business for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 67% compared to 70% for the prior year period.

Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $41.8 million, as compared to total operating expenses of $28.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. Selling and marketing expenses increased to $13.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 from $8.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, resulting primarily from higher labor costs associated with the expansion of the SCMM sales force and marketing efforts. Research and development expenses increased to $14.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, as compared to $13.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, resulting primarily from the expansion of capacity and the progress toward validation of the MaterniT21 PLUS test at the North Carolina facility.

General and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $13.7 million, as compared to $6.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, due to increased litigation expenses and increased infrastructure to support the Company's operations. Total stock-based compensation expense was $4.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2012; an increase from $2.8 million in stock-based compensation recorded for the fourth quarter of 2011 as a result of a change in estimate for performance based stock awards.

Net loss for the fourth quarter 2012 was $32.8 million or $0.29 per share, as compared to net loss of $22.2 million, or $0.22 per share for the same period in 2011. Net cash used in operating activities was $14.5 million for the fourth quarter 2012, lower than the previous quarters in 2012.

"We made significant progress in our performance during 2012, with strong revenue growth during the fourth quarter as our diagnostic services revenues increased and our overall cash burn declined," said Paul V. Maier, Sequenom's CFO. "We look forward to continued growth in 2013 through greater testing volumes and revenues, as well as test capacity expansion. To meet the growing demand for its testing services, we expect Sequenom CMM's third laboratory location in North Carolina will become operational later this year."

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Sequenom, Inc. Reports Financial Results For The Fourth Quarter And Full Year Of 2012

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