MFIC's fortunes recover on the back of strong sales
industrial submicron processing equipment, has returned to
profitability in the first quarter of 2006 after big losses in
first quarter of last year, buoyed by increased demand from
drugmakers who are scaling up their production for clinical trials
and commercialisation.
The Newton-based company witnessed a 24 per cent increase in sales to $3.15m (€2.45m), driven by what MIFC referred to as a "substantially higher level of laboratory unit sales to new and existing customers."
MFIC is attempting to enter biotech and pharma markets where conventional processing technologies are still dominant, so this year's figures are showing the company's penetration of these markets is increasing.
The company's Microfluidiser processors overcome limitations of conventional processing by utilising high-pressure streams that collide at ultra-high velocities in precisely defined microchannels.
Therefore the company has few direct competitors in the field and during the first quarter it claims it shipped an unusually high number of laboratory units, as its customers seek to develop new products or investigate reformulation of existing products.
Indeed, MFIC's order backlog reached $3.45m, an increase of 19 per cent from $2.8m year-over-year.
The increased sales volumes were reflected on the company's bottom line, which swung from a pre-tax loss of $193,066 to a pre-tax profit of $68,629.
"During the past quarter we saw increased demand for our advanced materials processing equipment across our targeted industry markets, specifically in the biopharmaceutical market, which is continuing," MFIC CEO Irwin Gruverman said.
"Based on current trends and performance, we are confident of sustained revenue growth."
Nevertheless, the company's margins in Q1 of 2006 were only 2.1 per cent, indicating the company needs to work on keeping its costs down; total operating expenses climbed to $1.63m, a 4 per cent increase that MFIC blames on higher general and administrative expenses, resulting from higher professional fees and non-cash stock compensation charges.
MFIC also said it shipped the first two M-110EH-30 lab machines, introduced in late 2005, that operate at 30,000 psi process pressure and are recommended for immiscible liquid emulsions and solids-in-liquid suspensions.
Among the company's bestsellers, partly due to recent equipment enhancements, is the M-700 Series, which generates up to 40,000 psi operating pressure and can process at a wide range of pressures and flows.
Microfluidics manufactures two levels of Microfluidiser material processors; laboratory and scaleup production units.
MIRC also conducts in-house product development programs in applications such as polymer nanoparticle production for delivery of potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) - including insoluble injectables and genetic therapeutic materials targeted to cells - and APIs in nanosuspensions for injection and for transdermal and oral formulations.
