Unilife (NSDQ:UNIS) yesterday said it plans to lay off about 50 workers, or roughly 17% of its workforce, after reporting wider losses for its fiscal 4th quarter and full-year 2015 and missing expectations on Wall Street.
Saying it now has a lineup of products to cover its target markets, York, Pa.-based Unilife said it’s looking to lower its operating expenses by cutting its R&D spend by 25% to 30% and reducing its sales, general & administrative costs by about 20%. Earlier this month Unilife tapped Morgan Stanley to help it evaluate “strategic alternatives.”
“This cost reduction and realignment will enable us to dedicate resources to support customer ramp schedules under existing supply agreements, and enter into additional strategic relationships that represent attractive opportunities for growth. Active programs and discussions with all previously disclosed strategic customers are moving forward favorably,” chairman & CEO Alan Shortall said in prepared remarks.
The company reported 4th-quarter losses of -$26.1 million, or -22¢ per share, on sales of $3.5 million for the 3 months ended June 30. Compared with the same period last year, that’s a 71.0% increase in red ink, on a -47.2% sales slide. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, losses per share were -16¢, missing analysts’ consensus on The Street by 2¢. Analysts had also forecast sales of $5.8 million.
For the full year, Unilife reported losses of -$90.8 million, or -81¢ per share, on sales of $52.5 million, representing a 56.9% increase in losses despite sales growth of 53.9%, compared with fiscal 2014.
“Cash receipts during fiscal 2016 are expected to remain lumpy due to the milestone-based nature of these existing programs, and the timing as to when additional upcoming agreements are formalized. While there is potential to receive upfront or exclusivity fees associated with some of these upcoming agreements, we expect that existing and future customization programs will continue to represent the majority of our cash receipts this fiscal year. Product shipments from device platforms including prefilled syringes and wearable injectors will also gradually increase this fiscal year to support customer timelines for commercial rollout and clinical drug trials, and become more meaningful as programs advance through the start of fiscal 2017 and beyond,” Shortall said.
UNIS shares closed down -2.9% at $1.32 apiece yesterday and slid a further -6.1% to $1.24 each in after-hours trading.
