Marrone Bio (MBII) Posts Wider-than-Expected Loss in Q2
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. MBII posted a net loss of $7.4 million or 25 cents per share in second-quarter 2017, compared with a loss of $6.8 million or 28 cents per share a year ago. Loss per share for the quarter was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 21 cents.
Gross margin for the quarter was 38.8%, an improvement from 38.2% recorded a year ago.
Revenues & Shipments
Marrone Bio’s revenues went up 28% year over year to $6.5 million in the quarter, but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7 million. The company noted that unfavorable weather in key markets contributed to an absence of pest and a delayed planting season, negatively impacting the top line in the quarter.
Product shipments went up 36% year over year to $5.7 million in the quarter.
Financials
Marrone Bio ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of around $10.2 million, down around 52% year over year. Long-term debt was around $21 million, flat year over year. Net cash used in operations was roughly $9.8 million for first-half 2017, an improvement from $13.5 million of cash used a year ago.
Outlook
Marrone Bio said that it is seeing above industry average growth for its products driven by its portfolio approach to product development and marketing that focuses on addressing unmet market needs and promotes substantial opportunities for its products. It is gaining from efforts to grow revenues from existing as well as new products and strategic partnerships in the U.S. and overseas markets. The company expects its ongoing manufacturing improvement initiatives in R&D to contribute to a meaningful improvement in margins over the long term.
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. Quote
Price Performance
Marrone Bio has underperformed the industry it belongs to over a year. The company’s shares have lost around 31% over this period compared with the industry’s gain of 18.1% over the same period.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Marrone Bio is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock.
Better-placed companies in the chemicals space include The Chemours Company CC, Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO and BASF SE BASFY, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Chemours has an expected long-term earnings growth of 15.5%.
Kronos has an expected long-term earnings growth of 5%.
BASF has an expected long-term earnings growth of 8.6%.
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