Luminex, Myriad boasts top line growth, but Affymetrix sinks

Luminex, the developer of the xMAP multi-analyte profiling platform, has forecast a bullish revenue outlook for 2009, after it recorded robust top line growth for 2008, respectively. Describing 2008 as a "transformational year", the Austin, Texas firm said fourth-quarter revenue was up 31% to $28.3m. Growth during this period reflected an 18% rise in shipments of its analyser systems, as well as a 53% increase in consumable sales and 44% increase in royalty revenue. Gross profit margin also showed considerable improvement, widening 7 percentage points in the fourth quarter to 69%. However, reported net income plunged nearly 82% to $2m in 2008, due to the negative impact of one-off gains in the previous year that boosted earnings for Q4 2007. Excluding the gain on settlement of litigation and liability, Luminex had recorded a loss of $2.8m for Q4 2007, which meant it swung into profit for the same period in 2008. For the full year 2008, revenue was up 39% at $104.4m, gross profit margin increased from 61% to 68% and net income was $3.1m. Luminex anticipates maintaining double-digit growth rates for 2009. It expects full year revenue to grow between 25-34% to $130-140m.