MorphoSys AG — Earnings Release 2003

Feb 26, 2004

News Details

Corporate | 26 February 2004 07:45

MorphoSys AG Reports Financial Results for Fiscal Year 2003

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– MorphoSys AG (Prime Standard, Frankfurt/Germany: MOR) today announced its financial results for the three-months’ period and fiscal year ending December 31, 2003. Financial Highlights of the Year 2003: – Achievement of first-ever positive cash-flow from operations – Substantial increase of cash position by over 20% compared to prior year – Significant improvement of Net Result by more than 80% over prior year – Attainment of a positive EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), not including stock based compensation, of EUR 1.2 million, compared to a EUR -18.7 million in the prior year – Successful clearance of XOMA’s shareholding in MorphoSys arising from the two companies’ cross-licensing and settlement agreement in 2002 Operational Highlights of the Year 2003: – Signature of a therapeutic antibody collaboration with Pfizer, Inc., with a potential value of more than US$ 50 million over the next five years – Conclusion of a therapeutic antibody collaboration and cross license agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim. Boehringer Ingelheim exercised its first option to develop a therapeutic antibody during the year. – Presentation of promising animal data from pre-clinical studies for MOR101 and MOR102 – Publication of successful in vivo results of the collaboration with Roche in Alzheimer’s disease at the annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience – Achievement of the third milestone in therapeutic antibody collaboration with Centocor – Completion of an antibody manufacturing agreement with Lonza Biologics for the production of clinical grade antibody drugs providing access to manufacturing capacities for MorphoSys and for its partners “Our strategy is paying off. We continue to build a strong pipeline of therapeutic antibodies through our own and our joint programs with high quality partners. As these compounds advance, the value which accrues to MorphoSys will increase significantly”, stated Dr. Simon Moroney, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys AG. Dave Lemus, Chief Financial Officer of MorphoSys AG commented: “The year 2003 was a transforming one for MorphoSys, in which cash flow from operations was positive for the first time in our Company’s history. We have now established a solid basis from which to expand our business looking ahead.” Financial Review for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year 2003: Revenues for the year 2003 amounted to EUR 15.3 million (2002: EUR 16.8 million), a decrease of 9%. Using constant exchange rates, MorphoSys 2003 revenues would have been EUR 15.9 million. Total operating expenses for the year 2003 were EUR 18.8 million (2002: EUR 42.3 million), representing a reduction of 56% over the prior year. Research and Development expenses fell by EUR 10.6 million to EUR 9.0 million in 2003 (2002: EUR 19.6 million). The decrease in R&D expenses resulted chiefly from lower licensing costs as a result of licensing and settlement agreements closed in prior years, a change in accounting estimate, and a refocusing of the Company’s proprietary drug development plans. Sales, General & Administrative expenses decreased by EUR 11.1 million to EUR 7.6 million (2002: EUR 18.7 million), largely due to lower patent litigation costs and other cost savings associated with the Company’s restructuring plan implemented during the year. Non-cash charges related to stock based compensation decreased by EUR 1.7 million to EUR 2.2 million (2002: EUR 3.9 million). Amortization of intangibles and depreciation amounted to EUR 1.6 million and 0.9 million, respectively for the full year 2003 (2002: EUR 1.2 million and EUR 0.9 million). EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), not including stock-based compensation, amounted to EUR 1.2 million (2002: -18.7 million). Non-operating loss in 2003 amounted to EUR 0.7 million (2002: non-operating income of EUR 1.1 million). For the full year 2003 MorphoSys posted a net loss of EUR 4.1 million compared to EUR 24.4 million in the same period of the previous year. The resulting loss per share for the year 2003 amounted to EUR 0.96 (2002: EUR 6.35). For the three-months’ period ending December 31, 2002, MorphoSys posted revenues of EUR 4.4 million. Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter 2003 amounted to EUR 2.5 million, comprising Research and Development costs of EUR 0.5 million, Sales, General and Administrative expense of EUR 1.4 million, and stock-based compensation of EUR 0.6 million. On December 31, 2003, the Company had EUR 23.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, an increase of more than 20%, or EUR 4.1 million, compared to the EUR 19.1 million balance at December 31, 2002. For the first time, MorphoSys achieved a positive cash flow from operating activities of EUR 5.8 million, in comparison to net cash used in operating activities of EUR 15.2 million in 2002. The number of outstanding shares at December 31, 2003 was 4,841,570 shares, compared to 3,889,944 at December 31, 2002. MorphoSys in brief: MorphoSys develops and applies technologies for the production of synthetic antibodies, which accelerate drug discovery and disease-related target molecules. The Company was founded in 1992 and has a wide range of innovative technologies, above all HuCAL, the Human Combinatorial Antibody Library, which is used by researchers worldwide for human antibody generation. The Company has collaborations with international pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer (Berkeley, California/USA), Biogen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Wilmington, Delaware/USA), Centocor Inc. (Malvern, Pennsylvania/USA), GPC Biotech AG (Martinsried/Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel/Switzerland), ImmunoGen Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts/USA), Oridis Biomed GmbH (Graz/Austria), Pfizer Inc. (Delaware/USA), ProChon Biotech Ltd. (Rehovot/Israel), Schering AG (Berlin/Germany) and Xoma Ltd. (Berkeley, California/USA). Further information can be found on the Company’s website: http://www.morphosys.com Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the safe harbour provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “expects” and similar expressions. The company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the company’s future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect future operations and business prospects include, but are not limited to, clinical and scientific results and developments concerning corporate collaborations and the company’s proprietary rights and other factors described in the prospectus relating to the company’s recent public offering. For more information, please contact MorphoSys: Dr. Claudia Gutjahr-Löser, Manager Corporate Communications, Tel. +49 (0)89 89927 122, gutjahr@morphosys.com The Consolidated Financial Statements for 2003 can be found on the Company’s website: http://www.morphosys.com end of message, (c)DGAP 26.02.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 663200; ISIN: DE0006632003; Index: Nemax 50 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 260745 Feb 04