Biosensors' profit takes a hit

By raphael lim

MEDICAL device maker Biosensors International's net profit took a beating for both its fourth quarter and the full year, hit by lower revenue and thinner gross margins. Net profit for the three months ended March 31, 2014, was US$6.1 million, or 0.36 US cent per share, down from US$29.8 million, or 1.73 US cents per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue fell 8 per cent to US$81.6 million, partly due to a decline in revenues from interventional cardiology. The segment, Biosensor's largest product revenue contributor, recorded a 14 per cent decline in revenue to US$63 million.

Revenue from the group's other product segments - critical care and cardiac diagnostic - grew.

For the full year, net profit fell 65 per cent to US$40.6 million. Revenue slipped - for the first time in five years - by 4 per cent to US$323.8 million, owing to a reduction in the licensee's drug-eluting stents (DES) sales in Japan.

Biosensors share price jumps on rumours of China Citic's interest

By

Angela Tan angelat@sph.com.sg

         

 

 

Citic Private Equity Funds Management Co. is considering buying full control of medical devices maker Biosensors International Group Ltd., two people with knowledge of the deliberations told Bloomberg - PHOTO: BIOSENSORS INTERNATIONAL GROUP 

CITIC Private Equity Funds Management Co is considering buying full control of medical devices maker Biosensors International Group Ltd, two people with knowledge of the deliberations told Bloomberg.

The wire agency said the Beijing-based firm, an arm of China's state-backed Citic Group Corp. conglomerate, is in talks with several banks about financing for a deal. It owns about 22 percent of the Singapore-listed company, which had a market value of S$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) as of Monday.

On Tuesday, Biosensors shares opened at 87 cents each before jumping to S$1.03. They are currently trading around S$1, up 13 cents or 15 per cent, the biggest intraday gain since September 2010, prompting a query from the Singapore Exchange. 

Sources told Bloomberg that Citic Private Equity is considering an offer for the rest of Biosensors after the company lost about half its value from a February 2012 peak.

Biosensors Q3 gain drops 55% to US$11.1m

By

Mindy Tan tanmindy@sph.com.sg

         

BIOSENSORS International's net profit for the third quarter ended December fell 55 per cent to US$11.1 million from US$24.9 million a year ago.

Revenue crept up one per cent to US$82.5 million from US$81.3 million.

This was largely due to growth in product revenue, which was offset by lower licensing revenue. Product revenue grew 6 per cent year-on-year to US$71.7 million, even as licensing and royalty revenue fell 21 per cent to US$10.8 million.

Basic earnings per share (EPS) fell to 0.65 US cents, from 1.41 US cents (before exceptional items) and 1.45 US cents (after exceptional items).

"In the third quarter, the operating environment for our business continued to be challenging. EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific) were the leading drug-eluting stents (DES) sales growth regions, although lower average selling prices remained as headwinds. In China, the weak market sentiment continued to cause some pressure on our revenue there," said Biosensors CEO Jack Wang.

HK firm exits Biosensors for US$312.3m

By

Jacquelyn Cheok jaccheok@sph.com.sg

         

TARGETING

 Shandong Weigao wants to focus on its main businesses - medical consumables, blood purification and orthopaedic products

Singapore
SHANDONG Weigao will be selling its entire 21.7 per cent stake in Singapore medical devices firm Biosensors International Group for US$312.3 million, because of increasing competition in China and its intention to focus on its main businesses.

Shandong Weigao, via its wholly owned subsidiary, Wellford Capital, will sell its stake to Bermuda's CB Medical Holdings at S$1.05 per share, which represents a premium of around 11.7 per cent to Biosensors' closing price of S$0.94 on Thursday.

Shandong Weigao said yesterday that it estimated a loss of around 449 million yuan (S$92.2 million) from the sale.

Net proceeds would be used as working capital and to develop its three core business units: medical consumables, blood purification and orthopaedic products.


CW8888: Cut losses as see no future in China!

Biosensors Q2 net slumps 60% to US$11.3m

By cai haoxiang haoxiang@sph.com.sg

                         

        

MEDICAL device manufacturer Biosensors Group International reported a 60 per cent drop in net profit for its second quarter ended Sept 30 to US$11.3 million, down from US$28.2 million a year ago.

Revenue was up 4 per cent to US$83 million, with product revenue up 10 per cent to US$72.2 million and licensing and royalties revenue down 25 per cent to US$10.8 million.

Due to weak market conditions and lower selling prices, delays of royalty improvement in Japan, the management revised its previous guidance for a 15 per cent growth in revenue for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. It now expects revenue growth to be "moderately positive".

The company said: "Sales growth for this fiscal year could be weak despite the double-digit sales volume growth in the group's drug-eluting stent product lines."

Biosensors Q1 net down 63%

By

cai haoxiang

         

MEDICAL device manufacturer Biosensors Group International announced a 63 per cent fall in net profit to US$12.1 million (S$15.3 million) for its first quarter ended June 30.

Lower profit was due to a combination of lower revenue, higher cost of sales and higher sales and marketing expenses.

Revenue was down 11 per cent to US$76.7 million.

The group is guiding for revenue for the fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2014, to grow by 15 per cent, driven by growth for drug-eluting stent sales and an expectation that China sales will recover.

BIOSENSORS : Finally it pays dividend!

Biosensors: Reports Financial Results For Fiscal Year 2013

 

For Q4 FY13, Biosensors reported total revenue of US$88.8 million, comparable to a year ago of US$88.2 million.

 

Product revenue of US$76.4 million, a 17% increase over US$65.3 million in Q4 FY12. Correspondingly, IVP sales rose to US$73.3 million, up 18% from US$61.9 million in Q4 FY12, driven by increased DES sales. CCP sales revenue was US$3.1 million, compared to US$3.5 million in Q4 FY12.

 

Licensing and royalties revenue was US$12.4 million, down US$10.4 million or 46% from US$22.8 million in Q4 FY12.

 

 

The Company has recommended a final dividend of US$0.02 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2013 amounting to US$34.5 million, subject to shareholders' approval...

 

 

Biosensors Receives CE Mark Approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex™

 

0 May 2013 10:24 Biosensors International Group, Ltd. has announced CE Mark approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex, the latest addition to the BioMatrix family of drug-eluting stents. BioMatrix NeoFlex features a new advanced stent delivery system, improving pushability, trackability and crossability.

 

It also has a lower lesion entry profile than its predecessor. BioMatrix NeoFlex retains the same unique combination of abluminal biodegradable polymer coating, proprietary limus drug Biolimus A9 and flexible platform which has made the BioMatrix stent family an increasingly popular choice of DES in the global markets where it is available...

 

 

Biosensors buys clinical apps firm for US$51m

By

Lee Meixian

         

Biosensors International Group has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Spectrum Dynamics for about US$51.1 million (S$63.3 million) - PHOTO: ST

Biosensors International Group has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Spectrum Dynamics for about US$51.1 million (S$63.3 million).

It will also make further payments up to US$4 million in 2014, and up to US$15 million in 2016 to Spectrum Dynamics, if certain performance benchmarks are met, it said.

Under the terms of the deal, the two companies will also create a joint venture aimed at developing future non-cardiac applications. Biosensors expects the transaction to be moderately accretive to its earnings in 2015.

Spectrum Dynamics is a privately held medical imaging and clinical applications company that has developed innovative technology providing high-speed, high-resolution functional 3D images to help physicians determine the most appropriate treatment for their patients.

Biosensors Receives CE Mark Approval for BioFreedom™

Singapore, 28 January 2013 – Biosensors International Group, Ltd. ("Biosensors" or the "Company", Bloomberg: BIG SP; Reuters: BIOS.SI; SGX: B20), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative medical devices, today announced CE Mark approval for its polymer-free drug-coated stent (DCS), BioFreedom™.

BioFreedom represents the latest development in Biosensors’ stent technology, featuring a micro-structured abluminal surface which permits the controlled release of Biolimus A9™ (BA9™) without the use of a polymer. BA9 is a highly lipophilic anti-restenotic drug developed by Biosensors specifically for use with stents.

CE Mark approval for BioFreedom was supported by strong data from the BioFreedom First in Man study. In this study BioFreedom was compared to Boston Scientific’s Taxus™ Liberté™ drug-eluting stent (DES). At 12 months, BioFreedom demonstrated equivalent efficacy, measured by in-stent late lumen loss, compared with Taxus Liberté, with a trend towards superiority. Median in-stent late lumen loss in patients receiving BioFreedom was reduced to 0.17 mm as compared with a median in-stent late lumen loss of 0.35 mm in the Taxus Liberté group. Three year clinical results, presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium in October 2012, showed similar rates of MACE (Major Adverse Cardiac Events) between BioFreedom and Taxus Liberté, with no evidence of stent thrombosis in either group.

To further evaluate BioFreedom in a larger patient population, Biosensors recently announced initiation of enrolment in LEADERS FREE, the world’s first prospective, randomised double-blind trial between a DCS and bare-metal stent (BMS), exclusively involving patients at high risk of bleeding. The study has been designed to confirm that BioFreedom is as safe as a BMS in this patient group, and can deliver the anti-restenotic benefit of a DES, with only a one-month course of dual anti-platelet therapy administered to all patients.

This trial will provide additional data to support the launch of BioFreedom in select markets during 2013. The full commercial launch is currently anticipated during 2014.

 

Biosensors sets up S$800m MTN programme

BIOSENSORS International Group Ltd on Friday said its wholly owned Biosensors Investment (Singapore) Pte Ltd has set up an S$800 million Multicurrency Medium-Term Note (MTN) programme to raise funds through note issuances.

The medical devices maker said the net proceeds from the note issues may be used to "fund new business opportunities, refinance existing borrowings and finance investments (including capital expenditure) and working capital requirements of companies within the Biosensors group."
It added that it has received in-principle approval from the Singapore Exchange to list the notes issued under the programme.

Each series of notes may be issued in Singapore dollars or in other currencies, amounts and maturities, and may comprise notes with fixed, floating or variable interest rates, it said.

Biosensors shares down at 20-mth low

 

Biosensors is reporting its second quarter results on Nov 7 -PHOTO: SPH

SINGAPORE - Shares of Biosensors International fell as much as 5.5 per cent to a 20-month low, which OCBC Investment Research attributed to ongoing concerns over the impact of mandatory price cuts in stents in countries including India, China and Japan.

By 0436 GMT, Biosensors shares were down 2.8 per cent at S$1.055 with 6.8 million shares traded, 1.5 times its average daily volume over the last five sessions. Its shares have plunged 26 per cent since the start of the year, compared with the 25.4 per cent rise in the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index.

OCBC noted that Terumo Corp, which licenses Biosensors' drug-eluting stent technology for a royalty fee, said sales of one of its Nobori drug-eluting stent in Japan were hurt by an official price cut by the National Health Insurance and rising competition from new product launches.

This would affect Biosensors' licensing revenues in the second quarter ended September, OCBC said. Biosensors is reporting its second quarter results on Nov 7. - REUTERS

Axxess™ Self-Expanding Bifurcation DES Shown to be Safe and Effective up to Four Years

Singapore, 18 May 2012 – New long-term data from the DIVERGE study, presented yesterday at EuroPCR 2012 by Dr. John Ormiston, showed that the use of the Axxess™ drug-eluting stent (DES) for the treatment of complex coronary bifurcation lesions resulted in low levels of both MACE (a composite of cardiac death, MI and ischemia-driven TLR) and VLST (Very Late Stent Thrombosis) over a four-year period. Axxess™ is a self-expanding bifurcation stent which releases Biolimus A9™ from an abluminal biodegradable polymer coating.

DIVERGE, a prospective, single-arm, multi-center study of 302 patients with de novo bifurcation lesions across 14 sites in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, is the largest study conducted to date with a DES specifically designed for treating coronary bifurcation lesions. Following implantation of Axxess, the side branch treatments were left at the operators’ discretion. Additional conventional sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) were placed in 21.7% of the distal parent and/or side branch vessels. In 64.7% of the cases both branches were treated with an additional SES.

At four years post-procedure, 96.7% of patients originally enrolled in the study (292) were available for follow-up. The cumulative rate of MACE was 18.5%. The occurrences of the individual components were 5.1% for cardiac death, 7.9% for myocardial infarction and 10.6% for ischemia-driven TLR.
There were only three cases (1.0%) of Academic Research Consortium (ARC)-defined definite VLST, all of which involved at least one SES: just one of these cases also involved Axxess. No VLST events were observed in Axxess patients between years three and four of the study.

"These long-term results from DIVERGE are important because of the frequent presentation of bifurcation lesions in our daily clinical practice," commented Principal Investigator Dr. Stefan Verheye, Antwerp Cardiovascular Institute, Belgium. "These types of lesions are associated with higher complication and restenosis rates compared to conventional lesions. The four-year results confirm the earlier results already presented, and strengthen the evidence that the Axxess stent is a safe and effective alternative for patients with certain bifurcation lesions."


The Axxess bifurcation DES consists of a conical-shaped self-expanding nitinol (nickel/titanium) stent platform, specifically designed to conform to the shape of the bifurcation anatomy. It has been tailored to reconstruct the bifurcation without creating a false carina (the ridge where the two vessels join), lowering the risk of uncovered struts at the flow divider. The stent is coated with a biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) polymer that releases Biolimus A9™ (BA9™), an anti-restenotic drug designed by Biosensors specifically for use with DES. Both BA9 and the biodegradable polymer are vital components of the BioMatrix™ DES family, which has more published data to support its safety and efficacy than any other biodegradable polymer DES.

Biosensors received CE Mark approval for Axxess in April 2011, supported by the positive nine-month results from the DIVERGE trial, which were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) in March 2009. These demonstrated low overall rates of MACE (7.6%), restenosis (0.7%) and late stent thrombosis (0.3%) in patients treated with Axxess.

Axxess is now available in most major markets worldwide.

Biosensors Announces First Large-Scale Study with BioFreedom™

Paris, France, 16 May 2012 – Plans for a ground-breaking new study involving BioFreedom™, the polymer-free drug-coated stent (DCS) from Biosensors, were announced yesterday at EuroPCR by Principal Investigator Dr Philip Urban, Hôpital de la Tour, Geneva.

LEADERS FREE is the world’s first prospective, randomised double-blind trial between a DCS and bare-metal stent (BMS), assessing the potential to deliver the anti-restenotic benefit of a drug-eluting stent with a shorter course of dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) in patients with high risk of bleeding.

“The results of this study will be particularly important as we hope they will show, for the first time, that a new type of stent can be more effective than a bare metal stent in a subgroup of patients not previously studied, yet just as safe”, commented Dr Urban. “Furthermore, this study could potentially change clinical practice by facilitating short DAPT duration in patients who may not be suitable for longer courses”.

LEADERS FREE will enrol approximately 2,500 patients from 60 sites across Europe, Asia and South America, with follow-up for two years. The trial will include patients identified as having a high risk of bleeding. Patients in both arms of the study will be prescribed only one month of DAPT, although they will take a single anti-platelet drug indefinitely.

The co-primary endpoints of the study will be: 1) non-inferiority of BioFreedom compared with BMS in terms of specific safety factors (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and definite/probable stent thrombosis) after one year and; 2) superiority over BMS in terms of clinically-driven target lesion revascularization at 12 months.
Investigators anticipate enrolling the first patient within the next few months, and completing the process by early 2014. Primary endpoint data is likely to be presented during 2015.

BioFreedom represents the latest development in Biosensors’ stent technology, featuring a micro-structured abluminal surface which permits the controlled release of Biolimus A9™ (BA9™) without the use of a polymer. BA9 is a highly lipophilic antirestenotic drug developed by Biosensors specifically for use with stents.

Biosensors has applied for CE Mark approval for BioFreedom. As with its other products, the company is committed to building a significant body of clinical evidence before making BioFreedom commercially available. LEADERS FREE will represent a major contribution to the evidence surrounding the use of BioFreedom in patients with high risk of bleeding.

BioMatrix Flex™ Chosen for Largest Ever Clinical Trial Involving a Drug-Eluting Stent

Paris, France, 16 May 2012 – BioMatrix Flex™, Biosensors’ Biolimus A9™-eluting stent system with abluminal biodegradable polymer, has been chosen as the stent platform for GLOBAL LEADERS, the largest ever randomized clinical trial involving a drug-eluting stent (DES). The latest plans for the trial were announced yesterday at EuroPCR by Study Chairman Professor Patrick W. Serruys.

GLOBAL LEADERS, an investigator-driven trial supported by both Biosensors and AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, aims to enroll around 16,000 patients from an “all-comers” population to compare the effectiveness of two different pharmaco-intervention strategies. All patients will receive BioMatrix Flex™, and then be randomized to either a study treatment strategy of one month’s acetyl salicylic acid (ASA), otherwise commonly known as aspirin, plus ticagrelor, a novel antiplatelet drug, followed by 23 month’s ticagrelor single-drug treatment; or a reference treatment strategy of 12 month’s DAPT (ASA plus ticagrelor for acute coronary syndrome patients; ASA plus clopidogrel for elective patients), followed by 12 month’s ASA single-drug treatment.

Recruitment is due to commence by the end of this year. Patients will be followed-up for two years.

“BioMatrix Flex is a logical choice as the stent platform for GLOBAL LEADERS”, commented Prof. Serruys. “Its abluminal biodegradable coating gives it the long-term safety profile of a bare-metal stent. In addition, the four-year results from the LEADERS trial have provided solid evidence of improved clinical outcomes versus the gold-standard first-generation sirolimus-eluting stent”.

GLOBAL LEADERS is being independently designed, implemented and analyzed by the study investigators, led by Professor Serruys (Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands), Professor Stephan Windecker (University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland) and Dr. Marco Valgimigli (University of Ferrara, Italy). This latest plan for the trial represents a significant evolution in the concept, protocol, management and support of GLOBAL LEADERS as originally conceived and announced at EuroPCR last year, which it supersedes and replaces.

“We are delighted that such a prestigious international group of physicians has independently chosen our DES for this landmark study”, added Dr. Jack Wang, CEO of Biosensors.

Biosensors in deal to develop $76m innovation centre

By JASMINE NG


Biosensors International on Friday said its subsidiary, Biosensors Interventional Technologies, has signed a land lease with JTC Corporation to develop a new manufacturing, research and development centre in Singapore.

The 12,000 sq m land is located in Tukang Innovation Park. The lease is granted for a term of 30 years, with an option to renew for another 30 years.

The construction is expected to be completed within three years and will cost $76 million.

The acquisition and construction project will be funded through internal resources and bank borrowings.

'We expect our overall facility costs to be more economical in comparison with long term leasing over the same period of time,' executive chairman Yoh-Chie Lu said.

'By leveraging the building construction cost with commercial bank funding, we should also be able to minimise our upfront cash outflow for this investment,' he added.

Biosensors on Friday also announced organisational changes to its senior management team.

Jack Wang has been appointed CEO of Biosensors. He was previously co-CEO.

Jeffrey Jump - who was also co-CEO - assumes the role of president for the firm's newly-created cardiovascular business unit.

Biosensors Q3 net profit surge on investment gains

By CARINE LEE


Biosensors International Group Ltd on Wednesday posted a net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, of US$291.54 million, from gain on remeasurement of joint-venture company, and realisation of translation difference in investment of the JV.

Profit excluding exceptional items was US$22.87 million, a 42 per cent increase year-on-year from US$16.15 million.

Revenues for the quarter nearly doubled to US$84.75 million from US$42.59 million, on the back of a surge in licensing and royalties revenues.

Earnings per share before exceptional items was 1.63 US cents, up from 1.37 US cents a year ago.

Including exceptionals, EPS was 17.78 cents. A year ago, EPS with exceptionals was 1.22 cents.

Year-to-date net profit before exceptional items was US$71.33 million, up 76 per cent year-on-year from US$40.41 million.


Turnover for the nine months rose 82 per cent to US$203.98 million from US$112.1 million.

Year-to-date earnings per share before exceptionals was 5.03 cents, up from 3.33 cents a year ago.

Including exceptional items, EPS for the nine months ended Dec 31, was 23.39 cents. A year ago, EPS with exceptional items was 2.32 cents.

Biosensors International to Participate in the 30th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

Biosensors International Group, Ltd. (“Biosensors” or the “Company”, Bloomberg: BIG:SP; Reuters: BIOS.SI; SGX: B20), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative medical devices for interventional cardiology and critical care procedures, today announced it will be participating in the 30th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference which will be held from 9th to 12th January 2012 in San Francisco, United States.


During this conference, the senior management of Biosensors will present on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 11:00am PST within the Asia Healthcare Company Track, and will also meet investors in scheduled one-on-one and small group meetings throughout the conference.

Biosensors Completes JWMS Acquisition

Shandong Weigao becomes a Key Shareholder


3 October 2011, Singapore ‐ Biosensors International Group, Ltd. (“Biosensors”) and Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited (“Shandong Weigao”) today announced the restructuring of the shareholding in JW Medical Systems Ltd (“JWMS”) whereby Biosensors acquired the remaining 50% equity interest in JWMS from Shandong Weigao. Biosensors now owns 100% of JWMS and welcomes Shandong Weigao as one of its key shareholders, with two representatives on its board of directors.

Under the agreement, Shandong Weigao has received from Biosensors: (i) cash payment of S$160 million (approximately equivalent to US$122 million based on exchange rate of US$1:S$1.3080), (ii) 260 million new ordinary shares, and (iii) US$120 million aggregate principal amount of 4.0% convertible notes due 2014.

Mr. Yoh-Chie Lu, Chairman of Biosensors said, “We are pleased to have obtained approvals for this deal from the relevant authorities and our shareholders. With JWMS now a fully-owned subsidiary of Biosensors, we are well-positioned to increase our presence in China’s fast-growing drug-eluting stent market. We look forward to working more closely with Shandong Weigao. Together, we will continue to build Biosensors into a world class medical device company.”

“Biosensors has become a leading developer of drug-eluting stents. We intend to actively contribute towards its future growth potential,” said Mr. Chen Xue Li, Chairman of Shandong Weigao. “We are committed to working closely with the management and board of Biosensors to further enhance and unlock the value of the company for its shareholders.”

Biosensors will consolidate JWMS’ operations into its own financial results beginning the second half of its financial year 2012.

Biosensors Reports Continued Strong Sales and Operating Results for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2012

Highlights of quarterly performance:


 Continued robust revenue growth in Q1 FY12, with total revenue of US$57.0M, representing a 73% increase year-on-year


 Approximate six-fold increase in net profit over Q1 FY11 to US$22.6M


 Agreement announced to acquire the remaining 50% interest in JW Medical System Limited (“JWMS”) from Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited (“Weigao”) subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approval


 Plans for Global LEADERS, the largest ever “all comers” randomized clinical trial between two drug-eluting stents, announced during the EuroPCR congress in Paris


 Terumo commenced sales of its Nobori drug-eluting stent in Japan during May resulting in an increased licensing revenue for the quarter

“This is yet another quarter of improvement in our product sales, achieved without any major new geographical market access,” commented Co-CEO Mr. Jeffrey B. Jump. “Our results reflect an increased penetration in existing territories, due to greater levels of acceptance of our products by physicians, as well as the launch of the Nobori stent in Japan.”

For Q1 FY12, Biosensors reported total revenue, including licensing and royalties, of US$57.0 million, a 73% increase over the same quarter of fiscal year 2011 (“Q1 FY11”). Total product revenue in Q1 FY12 was US$41.4 million, a 41% increase from Q1 FY11’s US$29.4 million.

Total Interventional Cardiology Products (“IVP”) revenue was US$37.7 million, a 43% increase from Q1 FY11’s US$26.3 million. The increase was primarily driven by continued growth in the sales of the Company’s BioMatrix™ family of drug-eluting stents (“DES”). Total Critical Care Products (“CCP”) revenue for Q1 FY12 was US$3.7 million, a 23% increase from Q1 FY11’s US$3.0 million.

Licensing and royalties revenue in Q1 FY12 grew to US$15.6 million. This is an approximate four-fold increase over Q1 FY11’s revenue of US$3.6 million.
 
Gross margins on total product sales were 74% in Q1 FY12, an improvement of 1% from Q1 FY11. This was driven primarily by the shift in product mix towards the Company’s higher margin DES products, combined with increased economies of scale in manufacturing.

Sales and marketing expenses were US$16.1 million in Q1 FY12 compared to US$9.4 million in Q1 FY11. The increase was due to higher payroll and related expenses associated wit the build up of the sales and marketing function as well as higher expenses for participation in medical congresses and travel.

General and administrative expenses were US$6.1 million in Q1 FY12 compared to US$4.5 million in Q1 FY11. The increase was mainly attributable to higher professional and patent renewal fees, as well as increased payroll-related and travel expenses.

Research and development (“R&D”) expenses, which include costs for new product development and testing, clinical trials and regulatory approvals, were US$4.4 million in Q1 FY12 compared to US$3.2 million in the prior year’s corresponding period. The increase was mainly due to higher clinical trial expenses.

Included in the Q1 FY12 results is the equity method of accounting for the Company’s 50% ownership interest in JWMS. This resulted in a net income of US$4.1 million, compared to US$5.2 million for Q1 FY11.
 
For Q1 FY12, the Group reported a net profit of US$22.6 million or 1.68 US cents basic earnings per share (“basic EPS”) and 1.64 US cents diluted earnings per share (“diluted EPS”), compared to a net profit of US$3.2 million or basic EPS of 0.30 US cent and diluted EPS of 0.29 US cents for Q1 FY11.

Excluding the fair value adjustments for warrants, net profit would have been US$24.1 million, or basic EPS of 1.80 US cents and diluted EPS of 1.76 US cents. For Q1 FY11, excluding the restructuring charges related to the closure of the U.S. operations and fair value adjustments for warrants, net profit would have been US$9.9 million or basic EPS of 0.93 US cents and diluted EPS of 0.90 US cents.

The Company continues to expect its full year FY12 total revenue to be 50% - 60% higher than its full year FY11 total revenue. In this assumption, the Company anticipates to complete the acquisition of the remaining 50% equity of JWMS within the second quarter of this fiscal year, subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approval.

"Looking ahead for this new fiscal year, we believe the market dynamics will continue to improve for Biosensors,” concluded Co-CEO Dr. Jack Wang, “This last period represents our fifteenth consecutive quarter of product sales growth. We will continue to invest in our sales and marketing channels to maintain this sales momentum. During the past quarter, we announced the intention to take over the remaining equity of JWMS from our JV partner. Subject to various approvals, once this deal is concluded, it will present better opportunities for Biosensors in China. Last but not least, we remain committed to investing in R&D to develop superior cardiovascular solutions for the future."