On November 17, 2023 Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, reported financial results and business highlights for the fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2023 ended September 30, 2023 (Press release, Twist Bioscience, NOV 17, 2023, View Source [SID1234637778]).

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"Fiscal 2023 was a defining year for Twist as we grew our revenue 20% year over year with strength in NGS and synbio in particular," said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience. "We took decisive action to align our cost structure with our accelerated path to profitability and implemented our strategy for key products to set the stage for near and long-term success."

Dr. Leproust continued, "Moving into fiscal 2024, we expect the momentum behind our SynBio product group will be bolstered by Express Genes with NGS revenue increasing as customers continue to advance development and commercial plans. This fiscal year, we will be focused on the path to increasing gross margin over time and driving toward profitability for the business. In parallel, resulting from the work over the last six months, we are cautiously optimistic that the Biopharma Solutions trajectory has turned positive and that we are positioned to scale the business."

FISCAL 2023 FINANCIAL RESULTS

•Orders: Total orders received for fiscal 2023 grew to $264 million compared to $226.4 million for fiscal 2022.
•Revenue: Total revenues for fiscal 2023 grew to $245.1 million compared to $203.6 million for fiscal 2022.
•Cost of Revenues: Cost of revenues for fiscal 2023 grew to $155.4 million compared to $119.3 million for fiscal 2022.
•Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses for fiscal 2023 decreased to $106.9 million compared to $120.3 million for fiscal 2022.

•Selling, General and Administrative Expenses: Selling, general and administrative expenses for fiscal 2023 decreased to $189.7 million compared to $212.9 million for fiscal 2022.
•Net Loss: Net loss attributable to common stockholders for fiscal 2023 decreased to $204.6 million, or $3.60 per share, compared to $217.9 million, or $4.04 per share, for fiscal 2022.
•Cash Position: As of September 30, 2023, the company had $336.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments.

FISCAL 2023 FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

•Orders: Total orders received for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 grew to $71.1 million compared to $62.1 million for the same period of fiscal 2022.
•Revenue: Total revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 grew to $66.9 million compared to $57.3 million for the same period of fiscal 2022.
•Cost of Revenues: Cost of revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 increased to $42.4 million compared to $31.6 million for the same period of fiscal 2022.
•Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased to $23.7 million compared to $29.6 million for the same period of fiscal 2022.
•Selling, General and Administrative Expenses: Selling, general and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased to $47.4 million compared to $54.2 million for the same period of fiscal 2022.
•Net Loss: Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased to $46.2 million, or $0.81 per share, compared to $51.1 million, or $0.91 per share, for the same period of fiscal 2022.

Recent Highlights:

•Grew customer base to approximately 3,450 customers in fiscal 2023, versus approximately 3,300 in fiscal 2022.
•Increased genes shipped to approximately 634,000 during fiscal 2023, compared with approximately 558,000 in fiscal 2022.
•Strengthened executive team with the appointment of Mark Buck as senior vice president, operations.
•Released 2023 ESG report and quantified the carbon footprint of manufacturing a single gene. The carbon footprint of the Twist DNA synthesis method to manufacture one gene is the equivalent of emissions from driving a car 0.092 miles (0.15 kilometers) while the carbon footprint of the 96 well plate-based methods of making one gene is the equivalent of driving a car 59 miles (95 kilometers).1

•Launched Twist Express Genes (formerly known as Fast Genes) with a rapid turnaround time of five to seven business days.
•Launched Twist Full Length Unique Dual Index Adapters (UDIs) to enable PCR-free whole genome sequencing (WGS) and multiplexing at scale.
•Signed new antibody discovery and licensing option agreement with Bayer worth up to $188 million in clinical and commercial milestone payments plus royalties.
•Entered into an agreement with Ono Pharma to discover and develop novel antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
•Announced a multi-program collaboration with IMIDomics whereby Twist will utilize its antigen development capabilities and Library of Libraries to conduct antibody discovery activities against targets identified by IMIDomics.

Fiscal 2024 Financial Guidance

The following statements are based on Twist’s current expectations for fiscal 2024. The following statements are forward-looking, and actual results could differ materially depending on market conditions and the factors set forth under "Forward-Looking Statements" below.

For the full fiscal year 2024, Twist expects:

•Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $285 million to $290 million, growth of 16 to 18 percent, including:
◦SynBio revenue of $113 to $116 million, growth of 16 to 18 percent
◦NGS revenue of $147 to $149 million, growth of 19 to 20 percent
◦Biopharma revenue of approximately $25 million, growth of 8 percent
•Gross margin is projected to be approximately 39% to 40%
•Operating expenses of approximately $294 to $298 million including:
◦R&D expense of $100 to $102 million
◦SG&A expense of $194 to $196 million
•Loss from operations before taxes of approximately $180 to 188 million, a decrease of 15 to 18 percent, which includes:
◦Stock based compensation of approximately $58 to 60 million
◦Depreciation and amortization of approximately $40 million
◦DNA data storage spend of approximately $37 to $39 million
•Capital expenditure of approximately $20 million
•Ending cash at September 30, 2024 of approximately $245 million

For the first quarter, Twist expects:

•Total revenue of $67 to $68 million
◦SynBio revenue of approximately $27 million
◦NGS revenue of $36 to $37 million
◦Biopharma revenue of approximately $4 million
•Gross margin of 38 to 39%
•Operating expenses of approximately $73 million
•Loss from operations of $47 to $48 million

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, Twist expects:

•Total revenue of approximately $78 million
•Loss from operations of $38 to $40 million, excluding any one-time adjustments
◦Stock based compensation expense of approximately $15 million
◦Depreciation expense of approximately $10 million
◦DNA data storage spend of approximately $8 million

Conference Call Information

The company plans to hold a conference call and live audio webcast for analysts and investors at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time today to discuss its financial results and provide an update on the company’s business. The conference call will be webcast live through the Investor Relations section under the "Company" tab at www.twistbioscience.com. Those parties interested in participating via telephone must register on the Company’s Investor Relations website or by clicking here. Upon registration, all telephone participants will receive the dial-in number along with a unique PIN number that can be used to access the call. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call fifteen minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. The webcast replay will be available for two weeks.