Azenta Life Sciences Reports Results of First Quarter of Fiscal 2022, Ended December 31, 2021

CHELMSFORD, Mass., Feb. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) today reported financial results for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021.

Summary of Results

Results of continuing operations reflect the Life Sciences business. Due to the agreement reached in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2021 to divest the semiconductor automation business, the results of the semiconductor automation business are treated as discontinued operations and reflected in total diluted EPS.

Management Comments

"Fiscal 2022 started strong with continued robust demand for our product and service offerings," stated Steve Schwartz, President and CEO. "Azenta is winning and executing around the globe, while expanding and deepening customer relationships as a critical part of their end-to-end processes.  With the closing of the sale of the semiconductor business on February 1^st, we are now a standalone life sciences company with a strong balance sheet to pursue strategic growth opportunities."

Summary of Q1 GAAP Results

• Revenue from continuing operations for the first quarter was $140 million, up 18% year over year. Year-over-year organic growth was 16%.
• Revenue from Life Sciences Products grew 10% year over year driven by strength in automated ultra-cold storage systems, and Life Sciences Services was up 24% with more than 20% growth in both Sample Repository Solutions and Genomic Services.
• Operating loss for the first quarter was $0.3 million. Gross margin was 48.0% and operating expense of $67.4 million included approximately $3.7 million of professional fees in support of M&A initiatives.
• We recorded a net benefit of $4.7 million from income tax, driven by the windfall tax benefit from stock compensation treatment recorded at time of vesting in the quarter. 
• Diluted EPS from continuing operations was $0.04 per share, essentially flat compared to the first quarter of 2021. Total diluted EPS of $0.58 includes $0.54 of diluted EPS from discontinued operations.

Summary of Q1 Non-GAAP Earnings for Continuing Operations

The Continuing Operations view shown on a non-GAAP basis provides additional performance information by excluding the impact of M&A costs, amortization, restructuring, purchase price accounting, certain tax impacts, and special charges or gains, such as impairment losses. 

• As referenced above, revenue in the first quarter was $140 million, up 18% year over year, with 10% growth in Life Sciences Products and 24% growth in Life Science Services.
• Operating income was $12 million, up 7% year over year, and operating margin was 8.8%, down 90 basis points year over year and up 60 basis points sequentially. Gross margin of 49.3% was lower by 100 basis points year over year and 40 basis points sequentially. The gross margin of the Products business was 45.9%, up 20 basis points year over year and lower 200 basis points sequentially. The gross margin of the Services business was 51.2%, lower by 190 basis points year over year and up 40 basis points sequentially. Operating expense in the quarter was $56.6 million, lower by $0.2 million compared to Q4 2021, and up $8.7 million year over year. Operating expense in the quarter included approximately $3 million related to support from personnel which will roll off with the finalization of the sale.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $20 million and Adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.2%, down 130 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Diluted EPS for the first quarter was $0.12, compared to $0.13 one year ago.

Cash and Liquidity

• Cash flow from operations on a total company basis was $16 million for the quarter.
• The Company ended the first fiscal quarter of 2022 with a total balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities of $232 million which excludes $45 million of cash held in discontinued operations. Total debt was $50 million and net cash was $182 million.

Subsequent Event - Sale of the Semiconductor Automation Business  

As previously announced, the Company completed the sale of its semiconductor automation business on February 1, 2022 to Thomas H. Lee Partners for a cash price of $3.0 billion, subject to final working capital and other adjustments.  Net cash proceeds from the divestiture are expected to be approximately $2.4 billion upon the settlement of fees and taxes.  Upon closure of the sale on February 1, 2022, the Company utilized approximately $50 million of proceeds to extinguish outstanding debt.  The Company also terminated its revolving line of credit, which had no borrowings outstanding.

Guidance for Continuing Operations for Second Quarter Fiscal 2022

The Company announced revenue and earnings guidance for continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2022.  Revenue is expected to be in the range of $137 million to $147 million and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the second fiscal quarter is expected to be in the range of $0.07 to $0.15.   GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations is expected to be in the range of ($0.04) to $0.04. 

Conference Call and Webcast

Azenta management will webcast its first quarter earnings conference call today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. During the call, Company management will respond to questions concerning, but not limited to, the Company's financial performance, business conditions and industry outlook. Management's responses could contain information that has not been previously disclosed.

The call will be broadcast live over the Internet and, together with presentation materials referenced on the call, will be hosted at the Investor Relations section of Azenta's website at https://investors.azenta.com/events, and will be archived online on this website for convenient on-demand replay.  In addition, you may call 800-584-1012 (US & Canada only) or +1-212-231-2907 for international callers to listen to the live webcast.

Regulation G – Use of Non-GAAP financial Measures

The Company supplements its GAAP financial measures with certain non-GAAP financial measures to provide investors a better perspective on the results of business operations, which the Company believes is more comparable to the similar analyses provided by its peers.  These measures are not presented in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. These measures should always be considered in conjunction with appropriate GAAP measures.  A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most nearly comparable GAAP measures is included at the end of this release following the consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations and statements of cash flows.

"Safe Harbor Statement" under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Some statements in this release are forward-looking statements made under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees but involve risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause Azenta's financial and business results to differ materially from our expectations. They are based on the facts known to management at the time they are made. These forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements about our revenue and earnings expectations, our ability to increase our profitability, our ability to improve or retain our market position, our ability to deliver financial success in the future, and our ability to invest the cash proceeds from the sale of our semiconductor automation business. Factors that could cause results to differ from our expectations include the following:  the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the markets we serve, including our supply chain, and on the global economy generally, the volatility of the life sciences industries the Company serves; our possible inability to meet demand for our products due to difficulties in obtaining components and materials from our suppliers in required quantities and of required quality; the inability of customers to make payments to us when due; the timing and effectiveness of cost reduction and cost control measures; price competition; disputes concerning intellectual property; uncertainties in global political and economic conditions, and other factors and other risks, including those that we have described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, current reports on Form 8-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. As a result, we can provide no assurance that our future results will not be materially different from those projected. Azenta expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Azenta undertakes no obligation to update the information contained in this press release.

About Azenta Life Sciences

Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) is a leading provider of life sciences solutions worldwide, enabling impactful breakthroughs and therapies to market faster. Azenta provides a full suite of reliable cold-chain sample management solutions and genomic services across areas such as drug development, clinical research and advanced cell therapies for the industry's top pharmaceutical, biotech, academic and healthcare institutions globally. As of December 1st, the company changed its name and ticker to Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) from Brooks Automation, Inc, (Nasdaq: BRKS).

Azenta is headquartered in Chelmsford, MA, with operations in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.azenta.com.

AZENTA INVESTOR CONTACTS:

Sara Silverman
Director of Investor Relations
Azenta Life Sciences
978.262.2635
sara.silverman@azenta.com

Sherry Dinsmore
Azenta Life Sciences
978.262.4301
sherry.dinsmore@azenta.com

Notes on Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Non-GAAP financial measures are used in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP and should not be relied upon to the exclusion of GAAP financial measures. Management adjusts the GAAP results for the impact of amortization of intangible assets, restructuring charges, purchase price accounting adjustments and charges related to M&A to provide investors better perspective on the results of operations which the Company believes is more comparable to the similar analysis provided by its peers.  Management also excludes special charges and gains, such as impairment losses, gains and losses from the sale of assets, certain tax benefits and charges, as well as other gains and charges that are not representative of the normal operations of the business. Management strongly encourages investors to review our financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety and not rely on any single measure.

Business Line Realignment – Life Sciences Services

In the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, as the Company integrated the Genomic Services component and the Sample Repository Solutions component to form the Life Sciences Services segment, the Company realigned certain laboratory services which existed in each business line to be managed underneath the Genomic Services business unit.  The table below reflects the revenue for our Sample Repository Solutions and Genomic Services businesses after the reclassification of these laboratory services over the historical quarterly periods and for the full fiscal years of 2021 and 2020. 

Management's discussion and analysis of results throughout fiscal year 2021 have previously reflected the revenue amounts reported below.  This table serves to update an immaterial misclassification in the disaggregated revenue disclosure in its Revenue from Contracts with Customers footnote in the Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, as well as to retroactively reclassify the footnote information for the quarterly periods and full fiscal year of 2020 for this business realignment to provide additional clarity.

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SOURCE Azenta