CRO

AMRI swings to another loss despite big sales gains

Contract drug developer AMRI ($AMRI), on the mend after a series of setbacks, posted a 38% sales boost to start the year, but the costs of an ongoing transition dragged it into the red for yet another quarter.

AMRI's total revenue came in at $81.8 million in the first quarter, beating out the $59.3 million it posted last year. Leading the way was the company's API business, which jumped 27% to $37.8 million, followed by its discovery and development segment, which ticked up 1.4% to $19.3 million. And AMRI's drug product manufacturing business, brought to life by two recent acquisitions, soared nearly 800% to $18 million on the quarter.

But while AMRI's long-running makeover is paying off in revenue, it's not without costs. The Albany, NY, company posted a $2.2 million net loss on the quarter, falling short of last year's $3.5 million profits due in part to a series of charges tied to facility closures.

AMRI is in the midst of a transition, through which it's excising its dependence on royalty revenue and pivoting away from drug discovery, focusing instead on large-scale manufacturing. The company has been steadily buying up assets and dumping unwanted capacity on its way, and management is confident the contractor is on the path to consistent returns.

For the full year, the company is expecting its contract revenue to grow about 40% at midpoint, coming in between $335 million and $370 million. 

- read the results