Juniper Pharmaceuticals announced financial results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2015.
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Fourth quarter total revenues increased to $7.6 million, compared with $7.3 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014. A $1.5 million increase in service revenues was partially offset by lower product revenues and royalties in the fourth quarter of 2015 versus the prior year period.
Gross profit increased to $3.0 million, compared with $2.8 million in the prior year quarter.
Total operating expenses were $2.7 million higher in the fourth quarter of 2015 as compared to the prior year quarter. The increase was largely driven by a $1.5 million increase in R&D spending and a $1.3 million increase in general and administrative costs in the fourth quarter of 2015 versus the prior year period.
As a result, Juniper recorded a net loss of $2.1 million, or ($0.19) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to a net loss of $0.5 million, or ($0.05) per diluted share, in the same period of 2014.
Total revenues increased 16% year-over-year to $37.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2015, as compared to $32.5 million in the previous year. The increase was primarily driven by higher sales of CRINONE® (progesterone gel) to Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and higher service revenues.
Product revenues from Merck KGaA increased 29% to $22.2 million in 2015, compared with $17.2 million in the prior year. The $5.0 million increase primarily reflects continued in-market demand for CRINONE®, combined with entry into new markets in 2015.
Service revenues increased 33% to $11.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, as compared with $8.8 million in the prior year. The $2.9 million increase primarily reflects increases in customer volume across our service offerings. In local currency, revenues increased 44% year over year; however this was dampened by the effect of the strong U.S. Dollar relative to the British Pound.
Royalties totaled $3.7 million in 2015, compared with $6.3 million in the prior year. The decrease in 2015 was primarily driven by a $2.2 million one-time benefit from the monetization of intellectual property that benefitted 2014.
Gross profit increased to $16.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2015, as compared with $14.8 million in the prior year. Gross profit as a percentage of total revenues was 43% for the full year 2015, compared to 46% in the prior year. Excluding the impact of the monetization of intellectual property, the gross margin was 42% in the prior year.
Operating expenses increased to $18.7 million in 2015, up from $11.0 million in the prior year. The $7.7 million increase was primarily driven by a $6.3 million increase in research and development (R&D) costs associated with Juniper's renewed focus on drug development.
R&D expense in 2015 was largely driven by costs for the ongoing Phase 2b clinical trial of COL-1077 10% lidocaine bioadhesive vaginal gel for pain associated with minimally invasive gynecologic procedures. 2015 R&D expense also includes development costs for our IVR product candidates.
General and administrative costs increased by $1.9 million, while sales and marketing costs were $0.5 million lower in 2015 versus 2014.
The Company recorded a net loss of $2.1 million, or ($0.20) per diluted share, in the twelve months ended December 31, 2015. The result compares with net income of $3.4 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014.
Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA was $1.6 million for the 2015 compared to $7 million for the 2014 period. We have determined not to provide Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA figures for future periods, as management believes this measure will not provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance in such periods. ■