Biota Pharmaceuticals Q4 Loss Widens

(RTTNews) - Biota Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BOTA) reported that its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $6.5 million from $5.9 million in the same period of 2012. The widener net loss was the result of a $2.0 million increase in operating expenses that included a $1.8 million reduction in expenses from a foreign exchange gain, a $0.5 million decrease in interest income and a $0.3 million increase in income tax expense, offset in part by a $2.2 million increase in revenue. But net loss per share narrowed to $0.23 from $0.26 last year.

Revenue for the quarter increased to $9.3 million from last year's $7.1 million, primarily as a result of a $4.6 million increase in service revenue related to the advancement of laninamivir octanoate into a Phase 2 clinical trial under the BARDA contract, offset in part by a decrease of $2.2 million in royalty revenue from net sales of Relenza and Inavir.

As of June 30, 2013, the company held $66.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. On April 15, 2013, the Company provided financial guidance indicating that it anticipated having between $62-$67 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments on hand at June 30, 2014. Due primarily to the significant increase in the value of the U.S. dollar (the Company's reporting currency) as compared to the Australian dollar since April 2013, and to a lesser extent its lower expectations with respect to Relenza royalty revenue in fiscal 2014, the company now anticipates having approximately $57-$62 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments on hand at June 30, 2014.