Company Profitable for 2nd Consecutive Quarter
Martinsried/Munich, April 29, 2004 MorphoSys AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MOR; Prime Standard Segment) today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2004. Revenues increased by 14% to € 4.2 million, and total operating expenses decreased by 20% to € 4.4 million. The Company reported a quarterly profit - the second consecutive quarter in which earnings have been positive - which amounted to € 0.5 million (March 31, 2003: € -1.8 million loss). A positive EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization), excluding stock-based compensation, was also maintained, amounting to € 1.5 million in the first quarter of 2004 (March 31, 2003: € -0.7 million). The Company’s cash position equaled € 23.8 million at the end of the first quarter 2004, up from € 23.2 million at year-end 2003.
Revenues grew by 14% in the first three months of 2004 to € 4.2 million (March 31, 2003: € 3.7 million). Total operating expenses including stock-based compensation for the first three months of 2004 amounted to € 4.4 million, compared to € 5.5 million in the same period of 2003. Research and development costs decreased to € 2.6 million from € 2.7 million; sales, general & administrative expenses amounted to € 1.5 million compared to € 2.2 million, and stock-based compensation fell to € 0.3 million (March 31, 2003: € 0.5 million). Amortization of intangibles and depreciation amounted to € 0.8 million for the first three months of 2004 (March 31, 2003: € 0.5 million). Non-operating income in the first three months of 2003 amounted to € 0.6 million (March 31, 2003: non-operating loss of € 0.1 million). The resulting net income per share for the first three months of 2004 amounted to € 0.10 (March 31, 2003: loss per share of € 0.46).
Highlights of the First Quarter 2004 Included:
· Payment from GPC Biotech to MorphoSys for the extension of a license to a HuCAL® antibody to treat certain types of leukemia
· Achievement of further milestones in the Centocor collaboration, and the start of a new therapeutic antibody project in the area of auto-immune diseases
· Cross-licensing agreement with Bayer Healthcare providing Bayer with HuCAL GOLD® and securing access for MorphoSys to the human cell line HKB 11
· Announcement of the formation of its new antibody business unit, “Antibodies by Design”
· Granting of additional U.S. patents for proprietary HuCAL® antibody technologies
Commenting on the numbers, Dave Lemus, Chief Financial Officer of MorphoSys AG said: “Today’s results represent an excellent start to the year for MorphoSys. We have now achieved two quarters in a row in which bottom-line earnings were positive. This is an important step in helping us realize our objective of a second year where EBITDA is positive.”