NanoString Technologies Releases Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Operating Results and Provides 2022 Financial Outlook

SEATTLE--()--NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2021.

Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights

  • Product and service revenue of $42.0 million, 18% year-over-year growth
  • GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP) revenue of $18.0 million, 48% year-over-year growth. GeoMx DSP revenue includes:
    • Instrument revenue of $11.9 million, 27% year-over-year growth
    • Consumables revenue of $6.1 million, 117% year-over-year growth, annualized pull-through of approximately $109,000 per installed system
  • nCounter revenue, inclusive of all service revenue, of $24.0 million, 2% year-over-year growth. nCounter revenue includes:
    • Instrument revenue of $5.7 million, 5% year-over-year decline
    • Consumables revenue of $13.8 million, flat year-over-year, annualized pull-through of approximately $53,000 per installed system
    • Service revenue of $4.6 million, 20% year-over-year growth

Full Year 2021 Financial Highlights

  • Product and service revenue of $144.0 million, 29% year-over-year growth
  • GeoMx DSP revenue of $51.9 million, 49% year-over-year growth. GeoMx DSP revenue includes:
    • Instrument revenue of $34.8 million, 17% year-over-year growth
    • Consumables revenue of $17.1 million, 226% year-over-year growth, average annualized pull-through of approximately $97,000 per installed system
  • nCounter revenue, inclusive of all service revenue, of $92.1 million, 20% year-over-year growth. nCounter revenue includes:
    • Instrument revenue of $20.8 million, 14% year-over-year growth
    • Consumables revenue of $54.8 million, 22% year-over-year growth, average annualized pull-through of approximately $55,000 per installed system
    • Service revenue of $16.5 million, 22% year-over-year growth
  • Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance of $348.9 million

“We delivered a strong finish to 2021, generating more than 70 Q4 instrument orders across GeoMx and CosMx. This demonstrates the appeal of our unique spatial biology portfolio, which addresses scientific questions at any scale,” said Brad Gray, President and CEO of NanoString. “During 2022, we plan to extend our leadership in spatial biology by driving GeoMx into mainstream research, launching CosMx as the market-leading spatial molecular imager, and integrating both with a cloud-based informatics portal, all while sustaining the growth of our nCounter platform.”

Operational Highlights

Spatial Biology

  • Spatial Genomics Summit: Held fourth annual Spatial Genomics Summit on February 28th, focused on scientific advancements and new technology in the spatial genomics market. Panelists included leading researchers from Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, New York University, Weill Cornell Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University and Illumina

GeoMx DSP

  • GeoMx Orders: Generated record orders for more than 50 GeoMx DSP systems in the fourth quarter, representing approximately 80% growth as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020
  • GeoMx Installed Base: Grew installed base to approximately 255 GeoMx DSP Systems at December 31, 2021, representing 96% growth over the prior year
  • Workflow Automation: Partnered with Leica, a division of Danaher, to provide a fully automated workflow for using the Leica Bond RX system to prepare slides for GeoMx DSP
  • Publications: Continued growth of peer-reviewed publications utilizing GeoMx DSP technology, with approximately 20 new publications in the fourth quarter, bringing the cumulative total to approximately 90 peer-reviewed publications as of December 31, 2021

CosMx SMI

  • CosMx Orders: Secured customer orders for 20 CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager (SMI) systems through a limited program open to existing and new GeoMx customers
  • Commercial Unveiling: Announced the initiation of a formal pre-order program for CosMx SMI with first shipments expected in late 2022

nCounter

  • nCounter Installed Base: Grew installed base to approximately 1,050 nCounter Analysis Systems at December 31, 2021, representing 11% growth over the prior year
  • Publications: Surpassed 5,200 cumulative peer-reviewed publications utilizing nCounter technology, representing an increase of more than one thousand publications over the last year, demonstrating continued research momentum for the nCounter platform

2022 Outlook

The company, based on its plans and initiatives for 2022, expects to record results approximately as follows:

  • Total product and service revenue of $170 to $180 million, representing growth of 18% to 25% as compared to 2021
    • GeoMx DSP revenue of $73 to $78 million, representing growth of 41% to 50% as compared to 2021
    • nCounter revenue, inclusive of all service revenue, of $97 to $102 million, representing growth of 5% to 11% as compared to 2021
  • Adjusted gross margin on product and service revenue of 56% to 58%
  • Adjusted operating expenses of $155 to $165 million
  • Adjusted EBITDA loss of $55 to $65 million

Financial Results

We have elected to present selected non-GAAP, or adjusted, financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA. These adjusted financial measures are calculated excluding certain items that may make it more challenging to compare our GAAP operating results across periods. Such items may include collaboration revenue, stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, or one-time charges such as transaction related fees and expenses or restructuring charges and severance costs. A reconciliation of adjusted financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP financial measure can be found in the notes and table at the end of this press release.

(dollars in thousands)

Three Months Ended December 31,

 

GAAP

 

Non-GAAP Adjusted

 

2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

Product and service revenue

$

42,007

 

 

$

35,714

 

 

$

42,007

 

 

$

35,714

 

Collaboration revenue

 

448

 

 

 

548

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

42,455

 

 

 

36,262

 

 

 

42,007

 

 

 

35,714

 

Cost of product and service revenue

 

20,046

 

 

 

16,718

 

 

 

19,394

 

 

 

16,256

 

Research and development

 

18,162

 

 

 

14,623

 

 

 

15,693

 

 

 

12,284

 

Selling, general and administrative

 

31,596

 

 

 

23,990

 

 

 

26,553

 

 

 

19,012

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

N / A

 

 

 

N / A

 

 

$

(19,633

)

 

$

(11,838

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-operating expense, net

 

(1,912

)

 

 

(3,935

)

 

 

(1,912

)

 

 

(3,935

)

Net loss

$

(29,261

)

 

$

(23,004

)

 

$

(21,545

)

 

$

(15,773

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

GAAP

 

Non-GAAP Adjusted

 

2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

Product and service revenue

$

143,957

 

 

$

111,444

 

 

$

143,957

 

 

$

111,444

 

Collaboration revenue

 

1,128

 

 

 

5,872

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

145,085

 

 

 

117,316

 

 

 

143,957

 

 

 

111,444

 

Cost of product and service revenue

 

68,304

 

 

 

52,409

 

 

 

65,502

 

 

 

50,423

 

Research and development

 

69,504

 

 

 

62,857

 

 

 

59,301

 

 

 

53,446

 

Selling, general and administrative

 

115,503

 

 

 

90,097

 

 

 

92,985

 

 

 

75,168

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

N / A

 

 

 

N / A

 

 

$

(73,831

)

 

$

(67,593

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-operating expense, net

 

(7,028

)

 

 

(22,031

)

 

 

(7,028

)

 

 

(14,888

)

Net loss

$

(115,254

)

 

$

(110,078

)

 

$

(80,859

)

 

$

(82,481

)

Supplemental Information

As a supplement to the table above, we have posted to the investor relations section of our website, at www.nanostring.com, supplemental financial data that include our adjusted financial measures as compared to the nearest comparable GAAP financial measures, for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2021 and for each quarter and the full year of 2020.

Conference Call

Management will host a conference call today beginning at 1:30 pm PT / 4:30 pm ET to discuss these results and answer questions. Investors and other interested parties can register for the call in advance by visiting https://www.incommglobalevents.com/registration/q4inc/9930/nanostring-fourth-quarter-2021-operating-results/. After registering, an email confirmation will be sent including dial-in details and unique conference call codes for entry. Registration is open throughout the call, but to ensure connection for the full call, registration in advance is recommended. The link to the webcast and audio replay will be made available at the Investor Relations website: www.nanostring.com. A replay of the call will be available beginning March 1, 2022 at 7:30 pm ET through midnight ET on March 10, 2022. To access the replay, dial (866) 813-9403 or (929) 458-6194 and reference Conference ID: 709416. The webcast will also be available on our website for one year following the completion of the call.

Non-GAAP, or Adjusted, Financial Information

We believe that the presentation of non-GAAP, or adjusted, financial information provides important supplemental information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to our financial condition and results of operations. Reconciliation of adjusted financial measures to the most directly comparable financial result as determined in accordance with GAAP are included at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data. A reconciliation of adjusted guidance measures to corresponding GAAP measures is not available on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the uncertainty regarding certain expenses that may be incurred in the future. For further information regarding why we believe that these adjusted measures provide useful information to investors, the specific manner in which management uses these measures and some of the limitations associated with the use of these measures, please refer to “Notes Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Information” at the end of this press release.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research. The company provides three platforms that allow researchers to map the universe of biology. The nCounter® Analysis System, cited in more than 5,200 peer-reviewed publications, offers a way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, proteins, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision. NanoString’s GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler enables highly multiplexed spatial profiling of RNA and protein targets in various sample types, including FFPE tissue sections, and has been cited in approximately 90 peer-reviewed publications. The CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager, with commercial availability expected in 2022, enables highly sensitive, high-resolution imaging of hundreds to thousands of RNAs or proteins directly from single cells within morphologically intact whole tissue sections. For more information, visit www.nanostring.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding expectations for demand for our products and growth in our business, future revenue growth, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and future financial performance, the impact of new products and expansion into new markets, the growth trajectory of our nCounter, GeoMx and CosMx franchises, the anticipated launch of new products and technology and our estimated 2022 operating results and our anticipated GAAP and non-GAAP operating results. Such statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include market acceptance of our products; delays or denials of regulatory approvals or clearances for products or applications; the extent and duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse conditions in the general domestic and global economic markets; the effects of ongoing litigation; the impact of competition; the impact of expanded sales, marketing, product development and clinical activities on operating expenses; delays or other unforeseen problems with respect to manufacturing and product development; as well as the other risks set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. NanoString Technologies disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

The NanoString logo, NanoString, NanoString Technologies, GeoMx and nCounter are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries.

NANOSTRING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

 

Three Months Ended

December 31,

 

Years Ended

December 31,

 

2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instruments

$

17,560

 

 

$

15,318

 

 

$

55,616

 

 

$

47,830

 

Consumables

 

19,874

 

 

 

16,578

 

 

 

71,846

 

 

 

50,097

 

Services

 

4,573

 

 

 

3,818

 

 

 

16,495

 

 

 

13,517

 

Total product and service revenue

 

42,007

 

 

 

35,714

 

 

 

143,957

 

 

 

111,444

 

Collaboration

 

448

 

 

 

548

 

 

 

1,128

 

 

 

5,872

 

Total revenue

 

42,455

 

 

 

36,262

 

 

 

145,085

 

 

 

117,316

 

Costs and expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of product and service revenue

 

20,046

 

 

 

16,718

 

 

 

68,304

 

 

 

52,409

 

Research and development

 

18,162

 

 

 

14,623

 

 

 

69,504

 

 

 

62,857

 

Selling, general and administrative

 

31,596

 

 

 

23,990

 

 

 

115,503

 

 

 

90,097

 

Total costs and expenses (a) (b)

 

69,804

 

 

 

55,331

 

 

 

253,311

 

 

 

205,363

 

Loss from operations

 

(27,349

)

 

 

(19,069

)

 

 

(108,226

)

 

 

(88,047

)

Other income (expense):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss on extinguishment of debt and termination of revolving loan facility

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7,143

)

Interest income

 

147

 

 

 

228

 

 

 

649

 

 

 

1,744

 

Interest expense

 

(1,876

)

 

 

(4,255

)

 

 

(7,490

)

 

 

(15,408

)

Other income (expense), net

 

(99

)

 

 

145

 

 

 

(20

)

 

 

(971

)

Total other expense, net

 

(1,828

)

 

 

(3,882

)

 

 

(6,861

)

 

 

(21,778

)

Net loss before provision for income taxes

 

(29,177

)

 

 

(22,951

)

 

 

(115,087

)

 

 

(109,825

)

Provision for income taxes

 

(84

)

 

 

(53

)

 

 

(167

)

 

 

(253

)

Net loss

$

(29,261

)

 

$

(23,004

)

 

$

(115,254

)

 

$

(110,078

)

Net loss per share, basic and diluted

$

(0.64

)

 

$

(0.53

)

 

$

(2.54

)

 

$

(2.82

)

Weighted average shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share

 

45,682

 

 

 

43,431

 

 

 

45,299

 

 

 

39,083

 

(a) Includes $6.5 million and $6.3 million of stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $30.2 million and $19.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

(b) Includes $1.5 million and $1.4 million of depreciation and amortization expense for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $5.9 million and $5.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

 

NANOSTRING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

 

December 31,

 

2021

 

2020

Assets

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

107,068

 

$

411,848

Short-term investments

 

241,821

 

 

 

28,883

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

40,130

 

 

 

31,100

 

Inventory, net

 

31,486

 

 

 

22,959

 

Prepaid expenses and other

 

7,115

 

 

 

4,190

 

Total current assets

 

427,620

 

 

 

498,980

 

Property and equipment, net

 

27,043

 

 

 

20,828

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 

19,226

 

 

 

21,492

 

Other assets

 

5,592

 

 

 

2,895

 

Total assets

$

479,481

 

 

$

544,195

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

Accounts payable

$

14,283

 

 

$

5,313

 

Accrued liabilities

 

6,765

 

 

 

4,970

 

Accrued compensation and other employee benefits

 

17,466

 

 

 

15,262

 

Customer deposits

 

1,278

 

 

 

1,631

 

Deferred revenue and other liabilities, current portion

 

7,474

 

 

 

5,610

 

Operating lease liabilities, current portion

 

4,889

 

 

 

4,313

 

Total current liabilities

 

52,155

 

 

 

37,099

 

Deferred revenue and other liabilities, net of current portion

 

3,527

 

 

 

1,843

 

Long-term debt, net

 

225,144

 

 

 

172,703

 

Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion

 

21,693

 

 

 

25,602

 

Total liabilities

 

302,519

 

 

 

237,247

 

Total stockholders’ equity

 

176,962

 

 

 

306,948

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

479,481

 

 

$

544,195

 

 

Notes Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Information. In addition to our results reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we believe certain non-GAAP, or adjusted, measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. We use adjusted financial measures to evaluate our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We believe that adjusted financial measures, when taken collectively, may be helpful to investors because it provides consistency and comparability with past financial performance. However, adjusted financial information has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In particular, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate similarly titled non-GAAP or adjusted measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our adjusted financial measures as tools for comparison. A reconciliation is provided below for adjusted financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are a number of limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP, or adjusted, financial measures as analytical tools. Investors are encouraged to review the related U.S. GAAP financial measures and the reconciliation of these adjusted financial measures to their most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business.

Expenses excluded from non-GAAP, or adjusted, cost of product and service revenue, research and development expense and selling, general and administrative expense. We exclude stock-based compensation expense and depreciation and amortization expense, which are non-cash expenses, from certain of our adjusted financial measures because we believe that excluding such items provides meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance. We exclude reorganization and restructuring costs, certain expenses related to collaborations, recoveries of certain previously remitted state and local taxes and cloud computing arrangement implementation expenses from certain of our adjusted financial measures because such expenses have no direct correlation to the continuing operation of our business as such expenses are non-recurring or non-operating in nature, and therefore we believe excluding these items provides meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance.

Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as GAAP net loss adjusted for collaboration revenue, stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, net interest expense, other non-operating expense or income, provision for income tax and other special items as determined by management, including loss on extinguishment of debt, reorganization and restructuring costs, certain expenses related to collaborations, recoveries of certain previously remitted state and local taxes and cloud computing arrangement implementation expenses.

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA ($ in thousands)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended December 31,

 

 

2021

 

2020

Net loss - GAAP

 

$

(29,261

)

 

$

(23,004

)

Collaboration revenue

 

 

(448

)

 

 

(548

)

Stock-based compensation1

 

 

6,484

 

 

 

6,297

 

Depreciation and amortization2

 

 

1,524

 

 

 

1,437

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

1,729

 

 

 

4,027

 

Other (income) expense, net

 

 

99

 

 

 

(145

)

Provision for income taxes

 

 

84

 

 

 

53

 

Certain collaboration agreement expenses4

 

 

 

 

 

45

 

Cloud computing arrangement implementation expenses6

 

 

156

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA - non-GAAP

 

$

(19,633

)

 

$

(11,838

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Years ended December 31,

 

 

2021

 

2020

Net loss - GAAP

 

$

(115,254

)

 

$

(110,078

)

Collaboration revenue

 

 

(1,128

)

 

 

(5,872

)

Stock-based compensation1

 

 

30,173

 

 

 

19,374

 

Depreciation and amortization2

 

 

5,871

 

 

 

5,738

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

6,841

 

 

 

13,664

 

Other expense, net

 

 

20

 

 

 

971

 

Loss on extinguishment of debt and termination of revolving loan facility

 

 

 

 

 

7,143

 

Provision for income taxes

 

 

167

 

 

 

253

 

Reorganization and restructuring charges3

 

 

 

 

 

629

 

Certain collaboration agreement expenses4

 

 

115

 

 

 

585

 

Recovery of certain previously remitted state and local taxes5

 

 

(896

)

 

 

 

Cloud computing arrangement implementation expenses6

 

 

260

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA - non-GAAP

 

$

(73,831

)

 

$

(67,593

)

1 For the three months ended December 31, 2021, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included stock-based compensation expense of $0.5 million, $1.5 million and $4.5 million, respectively. For the three months ended December 31, 2020, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included stock-based compensation expense of $0.3 million, $1.3 million and $4.7 million, respectively. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included stock-based compensation expense of $2.1 million, $6.2 million and $21.9 million, respectively. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million, $4.2 million and $14.1 million, respectively.

2 For the three months ended December 31, 2021, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included depreciation and amortization expense of $0.2 million, $0.9 million and $0.4 million, respectively. For the three months ended December 31, 2020, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included depreciation and amortization expense of $0.2 million, $1.0 million and $0.2 million, respectively. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included depreciation and amortization expense of $0.7 million, $3.9 million and $1.3 million, respectively. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, our cost of product and service revenue, research and development expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses included depreciation and amortization expense of $0.9 million, $4.0 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

3 For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, our research and development expenses included reorganization and restructuring charges of $0.6 million.

4 For the three months ended December 31, 2020, our research and development expenses included expenses related to certain of our collaboration agreements of $0.1 million. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, our research and development expenses included expenses related to certain of our collaboration agreements of $0.1 million. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, our research and development expenses included expenses related to certain of our collaboration agreements of $0.6 million.

5 For the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, our selling, general and administrative expenses included recoveries related to certain previously remitted state and local taxes of $0.9 million.

6 For the three months ended December 31, 2021, our selling, general and administrative expenses included cloud computing arrangement implementation expenses of $0.2 million. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, our selling, general and administrative expenses included cloud computing arrangement implementation expenses of $0.3 million.

Contacts

Doug Farrell
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
dfarrell@nanostring.com
Phone: 206-602-1768

Release Summary

NanoString reports Q4 and FY21 operating results.

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Contacts

Doug Farrell
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
dfarrell@nanostring.com
Phone: 206-602-1768