Champions Oncology (CSBR) 2027 財年第一季法說會：營收成長 9%，服務毛利率達 51%

重點總覽

• 2027 財年第一季營收自去年同期的 1,400 萬美元成長約 9% 至 1,520 萬美元。
• 調整後 EBITDA 自 5.9 萬美元升至 67.1 萬美元，為連續第五個季度實現正數調整後 EBITDA。
• GAAP 淨虧損約為 42.6 萬美元（包含 110 萬美元的非現金費用），而去年同期虧損為 52.7 萬美元。
• 轉譯腫瘤學服務產生 1,430 萬美元營收。得益於第三方放射性標記成本降低及營運槓桿效益，該業務部門的毛利率自 43% 提升至 51%。
• 數據授權營收達 89.3 萬美元，超過 2026 整個財年的總和。管理層將此成長歸因於客戶群體的擴大。
• Champions Oncology 在本季末擁有約 440 萬美元現金且無債務；本季消耗約 50 萬美元現金，主要是受營運資金變動影響。

關鍵財務數據

業務與營運表現

轉譯腫瘤學服務業務受益於已簽約研究合約價值加速轉化為營收。管理層表示，近期的銷售品質有所提升，而本季簽署合約的轉化預期保持強勁。

服務業務的獲利能力亦有所改善。儘管營收增加，腫瘤學營收成本仍下降，主要原因在於 Champions Oncology 將更多放射性標記能力轉為自研，並減少了第三方成本。營收成長也帶來了額外的營運槓桿效益。

數據業務本季帶來 89.3 萬美元授權營收。管理層指出，AI 和機器學習開發決策所需具備深度特徵描述、臨床註解且源自患者的數據相當稀缺，這對市場需求形成支撐。公司的目標是將其數據應用從單項研究預測擴展至生物標記開發、患者篩選及臨床試驗設計。

公司全資持有的治療子公司 Corellia 繼續與創投機構及潛在製藥夥伴進行洽談。管理層表示，支持性數據持續鞏固該專案的合理性與吸引力。

管理層指引

Champions Oncology 未提供 2027 財年的具體財務預測數字。管理層表示，其重心仍放在營收成長、費用紀律以及將成長轉化為更高獲利能力上。

由於合約簽署的時間點各異且單季營收預計仍會有所波動，公司主要以年度為單位來評估數據授權業務。

管理層表示，若 Champions Oncology 為 Corellia 爭取到外部資金或授權合作，目前投入該業務的資金可重新分配至數據專案、其他優先成長事項及淨利提升上。目前尚未提供達成協議的時間表。

風險與關注事項

• 由於合約簽署時間不固定，數據授權營收在各季度之間可能出現較大波動。
• Corellia 的融資或合作洽談時間點與結果仍存在不確定性。
• 隨商業規模擴張，銷售及行銷費用自 180 萬美元增加至 300 萬美元，這使得將該項投資轉化為營收與利潤成長變得更為關鍵。
• 本季現金消耗約為 50 萬美元，主因是應付帳款減少及應收帳款增加。

法說會完整逐字稿

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the Champions Oncology First Quarter Fiscal Year 2027 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions]

Please note, this conference is being recorded.

I will now turn the conference over to your host, Rob Brainin, Chief Executive Officer. You may begin.

Robert Brainin

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining our first quarter fiscal 2027 earnings call. I'm Rob Brainin, CEO of Champions Oncology, and I'm joined today by our CFO, David Miller.

Before we begin, I'll remind everyone that today's remarks may include forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially, and you can find more information in our filings with the SEC. When we spoke in July, I said fiscal '26 was an investment year and that the onus was on us to deliver in fiscal 2027.

The first quarter was a strong data point that we're moving in the right direction. Revenue was $15.2 million, compared to $14 million in the first quarter of fiscal '26. Gross margin was 15%, up from 43% in Q1 fiscal '26. Adjusted EBITDA was approximately $700,000 and on a GAAP basis, we reported a net loss of $0.4 million. That included $1.1 million of noncash expense. This represents our fifth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA. Both our services business and our data business contributed to that improvement, and I'll touch on them in turn.

Our translational oncology services business generated $14.3 million of revenue in the quarter. And margins in that business held where we want today and the operating discipline we described in July showed up again this quarter. This is the part of Champions that has always been a predictive modeling business. A customer brings us to therapy, we run it through the most clinically relevant models in the industry, and we predict how the drug is likely to behave in patients. The demand environment for that work is healthy, and the quality of our tuber bank continues to be a core reason customers come to us.

We feel good about how we're showing up in the market and look forward to continuing to share updates over the coming quarters as the year goes on. Data licensing revenue was $893,000 in the first quarter. To put that in context, we generated more data revenue in this 1 quarter than in all of fiscal 2026, reflecting the broader base of customers we spent the last year building. Let's look at TOS business, we look at this on an annual basis rather than a quarterly one, though. Contracts closed on their own time lines and what we're very pleased with the progress, revenue will remain lumpy.

Pipeline continues to be robust and the strategic case keeps strengthening. As sponsors lean harder on AI and machine learning to make development decisions, the constraint isn't the model. It's the data underneath it. Deeply characterized clinically annotated, patient-derived data is scarce, and we have it. That's what will let us move from predicting the outcome of one study at a time toward helping sponsors find signatures, select the right patients and design better trials.

On Corellia, our wholly-owned therapeutic subsidiary, we remain encouraged. The external conversations continue with both venture groups and potential pharmaceutical partners and the data we're generating continues to strengthen the case. I'm not going to put a date on any outcome for the same reason I came in July. If we're successful in securing outside funding or licensing partnership, the investment currently flowing into that business would be redeployed toward our other growth initiatives, particularly data and to the bottom line.

In conclusion, fiscal 2026 was an investment year. The first quarter of fiscal 2027 is evidence that those investments are paying off in revenue, in margin and in data as well as progress in our discussions related to Corellia's pipeline. We have 3 more quarters to prove it out in fiscal '27 and we'll be reporting against it in the same way each time.

With that, I'll turn the call over to David to walk through the financials in more detail.

David Miller

Thanks, Rob, and good afternoon, everyone. Our full financial results for the quarter will be filed with the SEC on Form 10-Q on or before September 14. As Rob highlighted, revenue for the first quarter was $15.2 million, an increase of approximately 9% from $14 million in the prior year quarter.

On a GAAP basis, we reported a net loss of approximately $426,000 compared with a net loss from operations of $527,000 a year ago.

Turning to the cash-based operating results as we typically discuss them. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $671,000 from $59,000 in the prior year quarter. This is our fifth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA and our focus is on continuing to grow revenue while expanding profitability.

Let me provide a little more detail on the drivers of the quarter, starting with revenue. The improved quality of our sales over the last several quarters resulted in a higher percentage of contracted study value converting to revenue in Q1. Importantly, that trend continued with sales made during the first quarter with expected conversion percentages remaining strong. And as Rob discussed, data license revenue also contributed to the year-over-year growth, reflecting the broader customer base we built last year.

Another meaningful development was the improvement in oncology services margin, which increased to 51% from 43%. The improvement was driven by a few factors. Cost of oncology revenue declined by approximately $500,000 to $7.5 million from $8 million a year ago despite the increase in revenue. The reduction was driven primarily by lower third-party radio labeling costs. As we've discussed over the past year, we've been working to bring those capabilities in-house, resulting in a lower cost structure. Increased revenue also contributed to the margin improvement, reflecting the leverage we have in the business.

Turning to operating expenses. R&D expense was $1.9 million compared with $2.1 million in the prior year quarter. We were able to reduce spending in our core services business, while redirecting resources towards Corellia and our data initiatives.

Sales and marketing expense was $3 million compared with $1.8 million a year ago. As we've discussed previously, we made a deliberate investment last year to expand our commercial organization across both our research services and data businesses. That investment is now reflected in our expense base and our focus is on generating greater revenue and profitability from it.

G&A expense was essentially flat at approximately $2.1 million in both periods.

Turning to cash. We used approximately $500,000 of cash during the quarter, primarily reflecting working capital movements in the ordinary course of business, including a reduction in accounts payable and higher accounts receivable. We ended the quarter with approximately $4.4 million of cash and no debt.

Overall, the quarter demonstrates the operating leverage we've been working towards. Revenue grew, oncology services margin improved significantly and adjusted EBITDA expanded while we continue to support the investments we've made for future growth. We are continuing to build on the foundation established last year with a focus on maintaining expense discipline and converting revenue growth into improved profitability.

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Rob and ask for any questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

We currently have no questions in the queue. I'd like to turn the floor back to Rob Brainin, for any closing remarks.

Robert Brainin

Great. Thank you. Really appreciate. I appreciate everyone dialing in or listening to the recording. As you can tell, we're really encouraged and excited about the progress we've been making and the trajectory of the business. And look forward to in the coming quarters, sharing more about that progress and how we're doing. We'll speak to you then. Have a great afternoon. Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.