Champions Oncology Reports Fiscal 2012 Second Quarter Financial Results

HACKENSACK, N.J., Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Champions Oncology, Inc. (OTC: CSBR) reported the following results:

Fiscal Year 2012 Second Quarter Financial Results:

Operating revenues were $1.7 million and $0.9 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $3.4 million and $2.5 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Total operating expenses were $4.2 million and $1.9 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $8.0 million and $4.1 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Champions reported a net loss of $2.3 million , or ($0.05) per share and $0.05 million, or ($0.00) per share for  three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $4.4 million, or ($0.09) per share and $0.65 million, or ($0.02) per share for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Champions recognized a net loss of $1.5 million, excluding stock based compensation of $0.9 million, or ($0.03) per share and net income of $0.1 million, excluding stock based compensation of $0.2 million, or $0.00 per share for  three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and net losses of $2.5 million, excluding stock based compensation of $1.9 million, or ($0.05) per share and $0.3 million, excluding stock based compensation of $0.4 million, or ($0.01) per share for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Operating Results

Revenues from Transitional Oncology Services (TOS) were $1.2 million and $0.6 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.6 million or 100%. TOS revenues were $2.2 million and $1.1 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $1.1 million or 100%. These increases in TOS revenues were due primarily to the Company's increased sales efforts and investments in its technology platform.

Cost of TOS was $0.6 and $0.4 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.2 million, or 50%.  Cost of TOS was $1.1 million and $1.0 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.4 million, or 57%. The increase in cost of sales was due to increased sales volume of the TOS business.

Revenues from Personalized Oncology Services (POS) were $0.6 million and $0.3 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.3 million, or 100%. POS revenues were $1.2 million and $1.4 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, a decrease of $0.2 million, or 14%. The six month decrease can be attributed to the Company's strategic decision to reengineer its products to facilitate lower price points which are expected to result in higher volumes. The Company experienced significantly higher volumes compared to the prior year, but they were not sufficient to overcome the impact of price decreases.

Cost of POS was $0.5 and $0.2 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.3 million, or 150%.  Cost of POS was $0.9 million and $0.5 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.4 million, or 80%. The increase in cost of sales corresponds to the higher sales volumes achieved in fiscal year 2012.

Research and development expense was $1.0 million and $0.7 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.3 million, or 43%.  Research and development expense was $1.6 million and $1.5 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.1 million, or 7%.  The increase from prior year periods was primarily related to our continued investment in growing our technology platform.

Sales and marketing expense was $0.7 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.6 million.  Sales and marketing expense was $1.3 million and $0.1 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $1.2 million.  The year to date increase is primarily related to an increase in our costs associated with increasing our sales force to align with the Company's growth strategy.

General and administrative expense was $1.5 million and $0.6 million for the three months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $0.9 million.  General and administrative expense was $3.1 million and $1.3 million for the six months ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, an increase of $1.8 million. These increases are primarily related to an increase in stock-based compensation and an increase in Company personnel due to growth.

For the second quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or ($0.05) per share, compared to a net loss of $0.05 million, or ($0.00) per share, in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2011.  In addition to the factors described above, the Company's net losses reflect non-cash expenses, i.e., share-based compensation and depreciation, of $0.9 million or ($0.02) per share, in the second quarter of 2012 compared to $0.2 million, or ($0.00) per share, in the second quarter of 2011.

The Company's cash position on October 31, 2011 was $7.1 million.

* Non-GAAP Financial Information

See the attached Reconciliation of GAAP Net Loss to Non-GAAP Net Loss for an explanation of the amounts excluded to arrive at non-GAAP net loss and related non-GAAP loss per share amounts for the fiscal second quarter ended, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  Non-GAAP financial measures provide investors and management with supplemental measures of operating performance and trends that facilitate comparisons between periods before and after certain items that would not otherwise be apparent on a GAAP basis.  Certain unusual or non-recurring items that management does not believe affect the Company's basic operations do not meet the GAAP definition of unusual or non-recurring items.  Non-GAAP net loss and non-GAAP loss per share are not, and should not be viewed as a substitute for similar GAAP items.  We define non-GAAP diluted loss per share amounts as non-GAAP net loss divided by the weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding.  Our definition of non-GAAP net loss and non-GAAP diluted loss per share may differ from similarly named measures used by others.

Full details of the Company's financial results will be available in the Company's Form 10-Q at www.championsoncology.com.

About Champions Oncology, Inc.
Champions Oncology, Inc. is engaged in the development of advanced technology solutions and services to personalize the development and use of oncology drugs.  The Company's Tumorgraft™ Technology Platform is a novel approach to personalizing cancer care based upon the implantation of primary human tumors in immune deficient mice followed by propagation of the resulting engraftments, or Tumorgrafts™, in a manner that preserves the biological characteristics of the original human tumor.  The Company uses this technology in conjunction with related services to offer solutions for two customer groups:  Personalized Oncology Solutions ("POS") in which physicians and patients looking for information help guide the development of personalized treatment plans, and Translational Oncology Solutions ("TOS") in which pharmaceutical and biotech companies seeking personalized approaches to drug development can lower the cost and increase the speed of developing new drugs and increasing the adoption of existing drugs. The Company's Tumorgraft™ Technology Platform consists of processes, physical tumors and information that we use to personalize the development and use of oncology drugs.  The Company is building its Tumorgraft™ Technology Platform through the procurement, development and characterization of numerous Tumorgrafts™ within each of several cancer types.  Tumorgrafts™ are procured through agreements with a number of institutions in the U.S. and overseas as well as through its POS business.  The Tumorgrafts™ are developed and tested through agreement with a United States-based preclinical facility.

The Company provides POS to oncologists by establishing and administering expert tumor panels for their patients to analyze medical records and test results, to assist in understanding conventional and experimental options and to identify and arrange for testing, analysis and study of the patients' cancer tissues, as appropriate.  Additionally, the Company offers Personalized Tumorgraft™ development, drug studies and genome sequencing as part of its POS whereby physicians can evaluate the effects of cancer drugs on their patients' tumorgrafts and understand the genetic make-up of their patient's tumor enabling them to better select treatment regimens that may be efficacious to the patient.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995) that inherently involve risk and uncertainties.  Champions Oncology generally uses words such as "believe," "may," "could," "will," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements.  One should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many unforeseen factors.  See Champions Oncology's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2011 for a discussion of such risks, uncertainties and other factors.  Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made, and Champions Oncology's future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements may not meet these expectations.  The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in Champions Oncology's expectations, except as required by law.

CONTACT:
Susan Foreman
Champions Oncology, Inc.
+1-410-369-0365

SOURCE Champions Oncology, Inc.