Unilife’s Q4 income down on costs and rev decline
Revenue for the three months ended June 30 was $2.7m (€2.1m), down some 65 per cent on the year-earlier period, due to a decline in revenue from its deal with French drug major Sanofi-Aventis.
The firm explained that the reduction was partly because it had received accelerated milestone payments from Sanofi in fiscal 2009 after industrialisation of the firms’ ready-to-fill syringe project moved ahead of schedule.
Unilife also said that costs associated with the ongoing expansion of its manufacturing workforce at its facility in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, which will employ 241 people by 2013, and legal charges resulting from its move from Australia to the US.
The combined impact left Unilife with a net loss of $9.7m for the period, down from a profit of some $2.2m in the final three months of 2009. For the full year the deficit increased from $517,000 to just under $30m.
Despite the deepening losses, company CEO Alan Shortall was upbeat about Unilife’s performance in fiscal 2010, describing both the move to the US and recently completed listing on the NASDAQ as part of a pivotal year for the firm.
He pointed to a number of business developments during the 12 month period, including both the expansion of its deal with Sanofi and its deals with Stason and Clinicare, as further evidence of progress.
Shortall also outlined Unlife's focus going forward, explaining that the firm is "working to finalize the industrialization of the Unifill syringe and expand relationships with interested pharmaceutical companies," and is moving forward with construction of its manufacturing facility in York, Pennsylvania.
