Trinity Biotech slips into the red with third quarter loss

Irish medical diagnostic firm Trinity Biotech fell into the red in the third quarter, reporting a $369,000 (€339, 970) pre-tax loss versus a $12.6 million profit for the same three-month period a year earlier.

The company, which is based in Bray, Co Wicklow, and is quoted on the Nasdaq exchange, recorded revenues of $26.1 million, up 1.4 per cent from $25.9 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and share option expense for the quarter was $4.6 million.

Operating profit for the quarter was $2.7 million, as against $3 million for the same quarter in 2015.

A breakdown of turnover shows point-of-care revenues fell by 9.5 per cent in the third quarter, from $5.4 million to $4.9 million, which the company said was within the normal fluctuation range of HIV sales in Africa. Clinical laboratory sales rose 4.3 per cent to $21.2 million from $20.3 million, primarily because of increased Premier and autoimmune revenues.

Research and development expenses were in line with the equivalent quarter last year at $1.3 million.

Trinity said its decision earlier this month to pull a filing with US authorities for approval of a product for diagnosing heart attacks and to close a facility in Uppsala, Sweden, did not impact on the latest results.

Costs incurred

The company expects to record an impairment charge of in excess of $50 million in the fourth quarter in relation to the costs incurred on its Meritas project and the closure of the facility.

Trinity said it was asked by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reconsider withdrawing its submission for the heart attack diagnosis Meritas Troponin-I test and Meritas Point-of-Care Analyzer, due to concerns about its clinical performance.

“The last few weeks have been difficult for the company. We had invested considerable time and effort in developing our Troponin test on the Meritas platform and it was extremely frustrating that, even with its clear performance advantages over its competitors, FDA approval was not forthcoming,” said chief executive Ronan O’Caoimh.

He said the company believed the technical performance of Meritas still made it a valuable platform.

“In the months ahead we will look closely at a wide range of alternatives with a view to maximising this value. This will include looking at alternative menus and/or collaborations with third parties.”

Mr O’Caoimh said while Trinity would continue to look at acquisitions, he believed that at the current share price, a buyback of stock represented the best option for the company at present.