Bio-based earnings call: Codexis reports 16% revenue gain in 2011

February 8, 2012 | Jim Lane

Codexis (CDXS)

In California, Codexis announced a 16% year-over-year gain in 2011 revenues to $123.9 million, and a loss of $16.6 million, or $0.46 per share, compared to a loss of $8.5 million in 2010. On a non-GAAP basis, Adjusted EBITDA was $4.3 million for fiscal 2011 compared to $9.9 million for fiscal 2010. Codexis management the drag on earnings represented investment by the company in developing its renewable chemicals business following purchase of technology rights from Maxygen. For 2012, Codexis forecasts revenues in line with or exceeding 2011 results, and a positive EBITDA.

Two key product lines were launched in 2011, CodeXyme cellulase enzymes and CodeXol detergent alcohols. CodeXol is going through the scale-up from pilot and is not expected to reach commercial scale before 2015. CodeXyme is based around unlocking low-cost sugars from, initially, sugarcane bagasse, on the fuels side through its partnership with Raizen, the Shell-Cosan JV, and via an expanded set of feedstocks and focused on renewable chemicals through a partnership with Chemtex – the latter included a projected 25 million gallon facility based in the US. CEO Alan Shaw commented that he expects the company can generate as much as $1 billion in global revenue by 2020 through the commercialization of its enzyme platform.

Analyst view: Pavel Molchanov, Raymond James.

Amyris (AMRS)

In California, Amyris (AMRS) will not report its earnings for nearly three weeks (Feb 27), but the company is holding a conference call this Thursday to comment on its progress and near term goals. Concerned that a conference call on short notice might mean bad news, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov downgraded AMRS to “outperform”.