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| And finally, we expect continued strength in our handheld devices, which serve the forensics market to bolster our overall growth as we continue to navigate a challenging macro environment for our desktops |
| We do have a previous generation of the MAVEN product that's for sale through that channel and that's been a good relationship |
| We are continuing to make sure that we're throttling and managing our R&D expenses, but we've also made great progress there over the last years as part of that portfolio build out |
| I'm very pleased with how our team has continued to execute, stay focused on our customers, and deliver a solid close to the year |
| The variety in our product portfolio and our presence in multiple markets have been a strength and distinct advantage |
| For the fourth quarter of 2023, product and service gross margin improved to 51%, compared to 46% for the prior year period, which helped to offset $1.2 million of favorable gross margin from contract revenue in the prior year period |
| And then recurring revenue was also strong, we saw across the board, both in large pharma accounts that have been established users for say a REBEL product there as a big driver, but also in some newer customer adoptions there |
| We are committed to reaching profitability with our existing cash reserves, and this path will be solidified as we return to robust double-digit growth rates in 2025 |
| First, we saw an uptick in fourth quarter bookings, resulting in our best desktop bookings quarter since Q4 2021, helped in part by contributions from our new products, MAVEN and MAVERICK |
| A second indicator is that we generated 25% more opportunities in the second half of 2023 for our desktop devices compared to the first half of the year, helped in part by our new product launches |
| I mean, we definitely saw a strong demand for our handhelds over 2023, and we do expect that to continue through this year |
| We saw strong demand for our handheld devices throughout 2023 and expect demand will continue this year as applications for chemical detection and identification at the point of need continued to gain traction in the US and internationally |
| We've seen good growth overall since the IPO |
| Between 2020, the year of our IPO, and 2023, revenues from our handheld portfolio have grown at a 29% CAGR, serving as a consistent contributor to top line growth |
| As you know, there's a lot happening in the field at this time, and we believe we're bringing a strong value proposition across our set of products, including for our online and in-line connected where you're doing real time monitoring without the risk of sampling and with reduced labor |
| Additionally, planned increases in NATO defense spending and spending in the Middle East are expected to have a positive impact |
| So on the whole, this year we expect 2024 to be better than 2023, likely not a material step change, but steady market improvement |
| We continue to enhance the value of our flagship handheld device with software and hardware accessories that provide our customers with additional capabilities |
| I mean, we feel very happy that we've been able to expand our set of products and kind of go from a one product to a complete strategy of PAT products spanning at-line, online and in-line capabilities and with that it gives us a range of price points that are accessible to a customer, a range of capabilities from, call it, more the bread and butter analytes, glucose and lactate, all the way through to a very comprehensive panel with our REBEL at-line analyzer |
| With the Q4 and product adoption, it was solid |
| With rising contributions from those new product launches, we are expecting desktop growth to rebound into positive territory in 2024 |
| Recurring revenue growth was driven primarily by strong service revenue, which grew to 38% year-over-year, offset in part by $3.5 million in recurring revenue from a large enterprise order with the U.S |
| So we're encouraged, we're seeing some of those positive indicators and anecdotes that things are moving in the right direction |
| We are confident that with an improved macro environment, we'll be able to return to robust double-digit growth in 2025, which will solidify a path to profitability with our existing cash reserves |
| With this anticipated improvement, we are well positioned to capture the opportunity in this market with an expanded product portfolio |
| We expect solid growth from our product serving the forensics market and overall revenue growth to accelerate throughout the year as the headwinds in the life science instrumentation and bioprocessing market begin to subside |
| Turning to our desktops, we are excited about our progress in cell therapies as tools that provide real-time analytics are pivotal in helping manufacturers develop more robust and reproducible processes |
| We enter 2024 with a strong cash position and zero debt, which we believe provides a multi-year runway to support our long-term growth objectives |
| Researchers concluded that ZipChip's rapid characterization illustrates its strength in monitoring product quality during AAV production |
| And on that handheld side, we have delivered the consistent growth above levels in the traditional lab mass tech market and grown 14% CAGR over the last two years |
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| Desktop revenue was $12 million for the full year 2023, a 20% decline compared to $14.9 million in the prior year period, as customers remain cautious in their capital expenditures |
| Desktop revenue from our products serving the life science, instrumentation, and bioprocessing markets for the fourth quarter 2023 was $3.2 million, down 2% from $3.3 million in the prior year period |
| But as we kind of look back on gross margin, we had some pressure on gross margin in the fourth quarter and in 2023 as a whole |
| For 2024, the delays in the US federal budget will remain the -- pressuring our handheld revenue growth |
| The ever-expanding fentanyl crisis is another key driver, including its unfortunate attempted use to disrupt elections with fentanyl being sent in the mail to election centers and officials |
| First, while Q4 had some indicators of positivity for the life science, instrumentation, and bioprocessing markets, we're assuming the pressures we saw throughout the year will persist through at least the first half of 2024 |
| Yes, we did reference to stepping up throughout the year, we see some continued pressures here in Q1 and Q2 on placements on the device side, both with kind of our ZipChip and REBEL devices, but also the timing of some of the new product adoption and placements on MAVERICK and MAVEN, especially with MAVERICK as we start to get the evaluations out there with the customers |
| Maybe a few factors in play for 2024 relate to that growth, $2 million year-over-year step down in AVCAD [LREC] (ph) revenues anticipated in the guide, which translates to roughly a 5% drag on our handheld growth |
| Closer to home, the ongoing fentanyl crisis shows no signs of abating |
| Recurring revenue, which consists of consumables, accessories, and service revenue, represented a third of total revenue in the quarter, and was $4.7 million, a $1.2 million decrease over the prior year period |
| This decrease was driven by a decline in handheld accessory and consumable revenue, offset in part by growth in service revenue |
| Pricing is definitely helping [Multiple Speakers] we also have some headwinds across the board |
| And then, of course, the fentanyl crisis is not abating, unfortunately, there and it just continues to rear its head in a broader way |
| It seems like there is a significant interest, just given the political uncertainties, war and other situations and as well as fentanyl crisis |
| And that was really despite some higher revenues and the cost to deliver the revenue, service personnel, contract trainers, materials, they all increase |
| As we look ahead to 2024, we expect our gross margins to continue to be in the low 50s due to the impact of pricing, higher material costs, and overall product, service, and channel mix |
| Key drivers of handheld adoption continue to be significant level of ongoing geopolitical risk with conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, along with rising tensions in other areas such as in Southeast Asia with Taiwan |
| The program's primary objective is to decrease the quantity of illicit drug samples sent to central labs for testing, similar to our successful multi-year program in Ohio, which has resulted in significant reduction in evidence testing backlogs |
| And we await the potential full rate production award as early as 2025 for AVCAD |
| The decrease in product and service growth margin was driven primarily by an increase in spending to reach scale within our operations and service functions, a temporary increase in the use of third-party contractors to train customers on our MX908, and a $0.6 million increase in non-cash stock-based compensation and intangible amortization |
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