PURE Bioscience Reports Second Quarter and Six Month Results
Conference Call Scheduled for Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 1:30pm PDT
SAN DIEGO, Calif., MAR,12, 2009 – PURE Bioscience (NASDAQ: PURE), creators of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial, today reported financial results for the second quarter and six-month periods ended January 31, 2009.
Second Quarter Results
Revenues for the second fiscal quarter were $284,800 compared with revenues of $152,434 in the same quarter last year. The Company reported a loss from operations before taxes of $(2,224,337), or $(0.07) per share, for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $(1,578,035), or $(0.06) per share, in the second fiscal quarter last year.
Included in the revenues for the period is the recognition of a $250,000 licensing fee recorded on January 31, 2009 at the conclusion of an agreement with a third party that granted a limited time period exclusive option to evaluate SDC for use within specified indications and for certain products. PURE continues its collaboration with the third party regarding formulation development for products specified under the original agreement.
Six-Month Results
Revenues for the six-month period were approximately $395,400 as compared with revenues of $247,724 in the same period of the previous year. For the six months, the Company reported a net loss from operations before taxes of approximately $3,874,118, or $(0.13) per share, compared with a loss of $2,598,454, or $(0.10) per share, in the same period last year.
Included in the loss for the three and six month periods is bad debt expense, within General and Administrative Expense, of $781,600. This expense relates to amounts billed to two international distributors in developing markets. The Company remains in discussions with the respective customers regarding the collection of the receivables and the maintenance of the customers’ contractual rights; however, as these accounts are over 180 days past the date of invoice, a full reserve has been established. The customers have invested significantly in this project and continue to represent their intention to pay these amounts.
Business Overview
During the second quarter, PURE announced a new agreement with Ciba (SWX: CIBN) to market and sell PURE’s SDC antimicrobial as a natural preservative and biocide in the personal care, household and industrial markets worldwide. In the personal care market, PURE granted Ciba exclusive marketing rights for SDC, which Ciba sells under the trade name Ciba® TINOSAN® SDC.
Michael L. Krall, President and CEO of PURE Bioscience, stated, “We are pleased to note that the first name brand personal care product line containing TINOSAN® SDC as the active ingredient was launched in Europe in January. This product introduction demonstrates an important and significant advance in the commercialization status of SDC and further confirms its acceptance as an active ingredient in personal care products.”
“The introduction of SDC as an active ingredient or as a preservative in Ciba’s customers’ products is a lengthy process, which includes formulating, testing and clearing regulatory requirements. The recent personal care product launch is the result of a multi-year project, and we believe that many other companies are going through the same process.”
Krall continued, “Of course we would prefer to publicize details on a regular basis about the progress of products, but confidentiality terms in our agreements, as well as those in succeeding downline agreements, prevent us from providing specific information about products and their launches.
“We anticipate that we will encounter similar customer confidentiality situations in the future as additional companies launch SDC-based products but also wish to maintain competitive positions in their respective industries. Our shareholders should know that we will make every effort to keep investors as informed as possible about the progress of our business as our customer’s products come to market,” Krall concluded.
As noted last quarter, the Company continues to expect that quarterly revenues will fluctuate until its larger customers have fully established their products in the marketplace. The SDC requirements of PURE’s distributors and customers during the early phases of their respective sales and marketing launches will vary significantly as the regulatory approvals necessary prior to commercialization vary significantly and are unpredictable.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 1:30 P.M. PDT to review and discuss its business outlook and the second quarter and six month financial results. Shareholders and other interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing 877-407-8033 or (International) 201-689-8033 a few minutes before 1:30 P.M. PDT on March 12th, 2009. The call is being webcast by Vcall and can be accessed at www.purebio.com . Investors can also access the webcast at www.InvestorCalendar.com. The webcast will be available for replay through June 13th 2009. A replay of the conference call will be accessible until May 13th 2009 by dialing 877-660-6853 or (International) 201-612-7415 and entering the Account#: 286 and the Conference ID#: 316499.
About PURE Bioscience
PURE Bioscience develops and markets technology-based bioscience products that provide solutions to numerous global health challenges, including Staph (MRSA). PURE's proprietary high efficacy/low toxicity bioscience technologies, including its silver dihydrogen citrate-based antimicrobials, represent innovative advances in diverse markets and lead today's global trend toward industry and consumer use of "green" products while providing competitive advantages in efficacy and safety. Patented SDC is an electrolytically generated source of stabilized ionic silver which formulates well with other compounds. As a platform technology, SDC is distinguished from competitors in the marketplace because of its superior efficacy, reduced toxicity and the inability of bacteria to form a resistance to it. PURE is headquartered in
This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project,” "expect" or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, acceptance of the Company's current and future products and services in the marketplace, the ability of the Company to develop effective new products and receive regulatory approvals of such products, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.