WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Biomedica Inc. (Nasdaq: BBII) today announced that revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2000 was $6,830,713, a decrease of $14,452 compared with revenue of $6,845,165 for the same period in 1999. Net loss for the quarter was $671,234, or $(0.13) per share, compared with a net loss of $237,244, or $(0.05) per share, for the same period last year.
"Our plan for the year called for a loss in the first quarter followed by a near-term return to profitability. We are disappointed, however, that this loss was greater than expected," said Kevin Quinlan, President and Chief Operating Officer. Quinlan stated that several factors were behind the loss: "First, we had lower than expected sales of our custom panel and Basematrix products as several important customers delayed orders at our BBI Diagnostics unit. Their results were also hurt by the need to focus on transitional issues in our newly implemented enterprise resource planning system, with resultant inefficiencies in both our materials and manufacturing areas. Second, turn-around-time in our molecular laboratory increased due to employee turnover, resulting in lower than expected testing volume. Third, we were unable to ramp-up our repository operations as quickly as planned. And finally, we expended significantly more money this year on our leading-edge technology platforms in anti-viral drug discovery (Panacos Pharmaceuticals) and pressure cycling technology (PCT) -- both in research and development and in additional funding-related activities."
"Our goals for the year, as discussed in previous press releases, are very clear," said Richard T. Schumacher, Founder, CEO and Chairman of BBI. "We intend to reduce our equity investment in Panacos to below 50%, thereby allowing us to reduce the impact of their expected future losses on our results; we intend to develop additional partnerships in the area of PCT, so that others can share in the costs and rewards of developing this exciting technology; and we intend to return BBI to profitability. Despite the disappointment of not achieving our first quarter financial plan, we nonetheless made excellent progress in both our Panacos and PCT programs, and we remain optimistic that we will still achieve our FY2000 plans for Panacos, PCT and a return to profitability."
Boston Biomedica, Inc. is an infectious diseases management company providing products and services for the detection and treatment of infectious diseases (ID) such as AIDS, Lyme Disease, and Viral Hepatitis. The Company has four business units: (1) BBI Diagnostics, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer and seller of quality control and other diagnostic products used to increase the accuracy of in-vitro diagnostic tests, (2) BBI Clinical Laboratories, a leading specialty infectious diseases testing laboratory, (3) BBI Biotech Research Laboratories, providing R&D support for the other BBI business units as well as contract research services for third parties, and (4) BBI Source Scientific, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of laboratory and diagnostic instrumentation. In addition, the Company is pursuing research and development programs in the areas of Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) and drug discovery (Panacos Pharmaceuticals), with the goal of introducing new solutions for the detection and treatment of infectious diseases.
Statements contained in this news release that state the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-looking" statements. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected include the possibility that due to unforeseen technical and other difficulties Boston Biomedica may not be able to successfully establish Panacos Pharmaceuticals as an independent Company or develop pressure cycling technology (PCT) into commercially successful products or such activities may take longer than currently expected. Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, current R&D activities may not lead to commercially successful products. The financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2000 are not necessarily indicative of future results. Future revenue may not meet expectations due to changes in customer needs and technological innovations. There can be no assurance that the Company will return to profitability in the near future. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Company's report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2000. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.
Visit us at our website http://www.bbii.com .
Please email us at IR@bbii.com if you prefer to receive future
announcements electronically.
SOURCE Boston Biomedica Inc.
Web site: http: //www.bbii.com
CONTACT: Richard T. Schumacher, CEO and Chairman, or Kevin W. Quinlan, President and COO, or William R. Prather, M.D., Sr. VP Finance & Business Dvlp., all of Boston Biomedica, 508-580-1900, or fax, 508-580-1110
