Cepheid's 1Q Losses Widen By Meet Estimates

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) — Molecular diagnostics testing company Cepheid said Thursday its loss widened in the first quarter on reduced profit from partnerships and its biothreat testing business.

The company reported a loss of $7.4 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.85 million, or 3 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue fell about 13 percent to $38.8 million as business from the company's biothreat division plunged about 37 percent. Those losses were partially offset by sales of the company's clinical tests, which increased 79 percent from the first quarter of last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a loss of 13 cents per share and revenue of $38 million.

Cepheid focuses on diagnostic systems and tests for reference laboratories, hospitals and physician's offices. The products test for hospital-acquired infections, infectious diseases and biothreats such as anthrax.

The company placed 95 testing systems during the period, which executives hailed as a success given the cash-strapped condition of many hospitals and medical facilities. Revenue from the testing systems business fell 32 percent to $4.8 million in the quarter.

Company shares tumbled 31 cents, or 4.4 percent, to close at $6.79 in regular trading. But shares rallied more than 10 percent in afterhours trading to $7.50 after the in-line results were announced.