Vericel (NASDAQ: VCEL) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.07), $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.06). Revenue for the quarter came in at $21.81 million versus the consensus estimate of $22.5 million.

• Total net product revenues increased 21% to $21.8 million compared to $18.0 million in the first quarter of 2018;
• Gross margins of 60% compared to gross margins of 57% in the first quarter of 2018;
• Net loss of $2.8 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to $7.7 million, or $0.21 per share, in the first quarter of 2018;
• Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA loss of $0.4 million compared to a loss of $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2018;
• As of March 31, 2019, the company had $84.1 million in cash and short-term investments compared to $82.9 million as of December 31, 2018; and
• Full year 2019 revenue guidance for MACI® and Epicel® raised to $110 to $114 million compared to previous full year revenue guidance of $108 million to $112 million.

Recent Business HighlightsD

uring and since the first quarter of 2019, the company:

• Announced an exclusive license agreement with MediWound Ltd. for North American rights to NexoBrid®, a biological orphan product for debridement of thermal burns;
• Deployed the expanded MACI sales force, which increased from 40 to 48 territories; and
• Reported publication of outcomes data from 954 burn patients treated with Epicel in the Journal of Burn Care and Research.

“We delivered another solid quarter of performance and the MACI sales force continues to increase its productivity even as we add new representatives, which speaks to the quality of our sales representatives as well as the demand for MACI,” said Nick Colangelo, president and CEO of Vericel. “Based on the strong underlying indicators of growth for the rest of the year we have raised our full year 2019 revenue guidance. Moreover, we believe that the addition of NexoBrid significantly expands our burn care target addressable market and will enable us to build a second significant commercial franchise to go along with our cartilage repair franchise, thereby enhancing the long-term growth profile of the company.”

GUIDANCE:

Vericel sees FY2019 revenue of $110-114 million, versus the consensus of $112.51 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Vericel (VCEL) click here.