Wilco Groenhuysen
Analyst · Deutsche Bank. You may begin
Thank you, Bill. And good morning, everyone. We delivered record revenue of $53.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, growing 77% year-over-year and 7% quarter-over-quarter. For the full year, we delivered $177 million in net revenues, representing 114% growth year-over-year. Revenue growth was driven both by increased Optune adoption and by an increase in net revenues per patient. The increase in net revenues per patient was primarily driven by an increase in positive coverage policies in the United States and improving reimbursement approval rates in Germany. In 2018, with the implementation of the new ASC 606 revenue recognition standard, we estimate that global net revenues per patient will be approximately 45% of gross billings. We are engaged in active dialogues with government payers in the United States, Germany, Switzerland and Israel and expect that any anybody positive reimbursement decision resulting from these discussions will be the next likely trigger to drive a significant improvement in net revenues per patient. We recognize that everyone on the call is eager for an update on Medicare discussions. We continue to engage in active discussions with the CMS administration regarding Medicare reimbursement for Optune. The discussion currently focuses on ensuring Medicare appropriately prices the billing code for Optune under its existing rules. We plan to request Medicare coverage for Optune after we clearly understand how CMS and Medicare intend to calculate pricing. Medicare does not have a defined timeline for this process and we're unable to predict when the discussions will come to a resolution. As a reminder, we continue to treat Medicare patients, representing 20% to 25% of the US patient population, although we have not yet received any material payments from Medicare. Gross profit in the quarter was $38 million or 71% of net revenues compared to $19.3 million or 64% of net revenues for the same quarter last year. The improved margin was driven both by improved net revenues as a percentage of gross billings and by the ongoing efforts to reduce our cost of revenues, with efficiency initiatives and scale. Moving down the income statement, our R&D expenses were $10 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to $8.5 million for the same period last year. We anticipate that R&D expenses will increase in future quarters as we continue to enroll patients in Phase III pivotal trials. We are committed funding research and development activities to advance our clinical pipeline and realize the full value of our technology across multiple solid tumor indications. Our SG&A expenses for the quarter were $32.5 million compared to $28.7 million for the same period last year. For the full year 2017, SG&A expenses were $122.6 million compared to $110.5 million for the same period in 2016. This represents 114% growth in revenue in 2017 versus 2016 with only 11% growth in SG&A expenses. Driving operating leverage in our commercial business has been a core strategic objective of ours in 2017 and we continue to see the results of these efforts. Our fourth quarter 2017 operating loss was $4.5 million compared to an operating loss of $17.9 million for the same period last year. It's important to note that our fourth quarter 2017 operating loss includes $6.4 million in non-cash share-based compensation to employees. Net loss for the fourth quarter 2017 was $10.9 million or $0.12 per share compared to a net loss of $22.2 million or $0.26 per share for the same period last year. Our ongoing focus on leveraging our existing infrastructure has resulted in significant year-over-year reduction in cash burn. At December 31st, 2017, we had a total of $183.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments on our balance sheet. Importantly, our GBM business [indiscernible 16:38] pipeline. We are committed to funding research and development activities to advance our clinical pipeline and anticipate these expenses will increase in future quarters as we continue to enroll patients in Phase III trials. In February 2018, we further strengthened our cash position when we entered into a new $115 million term loan agreement with an investment fund managed by Pharmakon Advisors, LP. Proceeds of this term loans were used to pay in full Novocure's existing $100 million term loan debt and to fund working capital. Through this transaction, we significantly improved the maturity profile of our debt which now extends to February 2023. There are no explicit financial covenants, so the funds will be available to us during the term of the loan. Lastly, but not unimportantly, we reduced the cost of capital, demonstrating our commitment to non-diluted capital. We believe this new credit facility significantly reduces the risk that additional capital will be needed to fund our company. The agreement provides us with the financial stability and flexibility to continue to execute our core strategies with the support of a strong balance sheet. Novocure is a global oncology company with a proprietary platform technology, a growing commercial business and a significant upside potential. We're focused on two clear priorities. First, drive commercial adoption of Optune. Second, advance our clinical pipeline to include a range of solid tumor cancers where we think Tumor Treating Fields can help patients. We believe we enter 2018 well-positioned to execute on both fronts. With that, I'll open the call to questions. Operator?