MALVERN, Pa., March 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neuronetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STIM), a commercial stage medical technology company focused on designing, developing and marketing products that improve the quality of life for patients who suffer from psychiatric disorders, today announced its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year December 31, 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Highlights

• Fourth quarter 2018 revenue of $15.6 million, an increase of 29% over the fourth quarter of 2017
• Fourth quarter 2018 U.S. treatment session revenue of $9.9 million, an increase of 23% over the fourth quarter of 2017
• Fourth quarter 2018 U.S. NeuroStar® Advanced Therapy revenue of $4.8 million, an increase of 37% over the fourth quarter of 2017, driven by a 46% increase in capital revenue growth

Full Year 2018 Highlights

• Full year 2018 revenue of $52.8 million, an increase of 31% over the prior year
• Full year 2018 U.S. treatment session revenue of $35.3 million, an increase of 24% over the prior year
• Full year 2018 U.S. NeuroStar Advanced Therapy revenue of $14.6 million, an increase of 44% over the prior year, driven by a 59% increase in capital revenue growth

Fourth Quarter Financial and Operating Results

“The fourth quarter of 2018 was very strong for the company as we continued to drive adoption of NeuroStar Advanced Therapy, both in new system placements and into targeted high-volume practices as well as increasing overall system usage,” said Chris Thatcher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neuronetics. “The uptick in capital revenue growth of 46% in the quarter shows that even as we remain the leading provider of TMS for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, we are still able to drive meaningful increases in capital sales through a combination of our clinically effective treatment, our outstanding customer support infrastructure, and our ability to identify medical practices around the country who have a significant population of MDD patients for whom NeuroStar Advanced Therapy is indicated.”

U.S. Treatment Session revenue for the full year 2018 was $35.3 million, an increase of 24% over full year 2017 revenue of $28.4 million. The increase in U.S. Treatment Session revenue was primarily the result of a 25% increase in the number of treatment sessions sold, partially offset by a 5% decline in the average selling price due to pre-determined volume pricing discounts within our existing customer base which are triggered when those customers surpass certain high volume thresholds, plus an increase in other treatment session revenue.U.S. NeuroStar Advanced Therapy Revenue for the full year 2018 was $14.6 million, an increase of 44% over full year 2017 revenue of $10.1 million. The increase in U.S. NeuroStar revenue was driven by higher capital revenue growth of 59% due to higher unit sales, partially offset by a less than 1% decrease in average selling price, as well as lower upgrade, rent-to-own and other revenue.

Gross margin for the full year 2018 was 76.4%, which was slightly higher than the full year 2017 gross margin of 76.2%. Gross margin was higher due to increased leverage on our service and operations costs, which were partially offset by the higher mix of NeuroStar Advanced Therapy System revenues in 2018 in relation to treatment sessions revenues and the reduction in the average selling price of our treatment sessions.

Operating expenses during the full year 2018 were $60.2 million, an increase of $15.8 million compared to $44.4 million in the full year 2017. The increase was primarily driven by sales force expansion and marketing initiatives, as well as additional general and administrative expenses incurred to report as a public company.

Net loss for the full year 2018 was $24.1 million, or $2.69 per share, as compared to full year 2017 net loss of $16.1 million, or $86.34 per share. Net loss per share for the full year ended December 31, 2018 includes, on a weighted-average basis the 11.0 million shares of common stock issued upon the conversion of convertible preferred stock and 6.325 million shares of common stock issued upon the closing of our initial public offering. There were 17.744 million shares outstanding as of December 31, 2018.

EBITDA for the full year 2018 was $(19.5) million as compared to the full year 2017 EBITDA of $(12.7) million. The decrease in EBITDA compared to the full year of 2017 is primarily due to the increase in net loss for the same period. See the accompanying financial table that reconciles EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, to net loss.

Business Outlook

For the full year 2019, the Company expects to report total worldwide revenue of between $62.5 and $64.5 million, representing 18% and 22% year-over-year growth, respectively.

For the full year 2019, the Company expects gross margins to be in the mid 70% range, in line with full year 2018 margins.

For the full year 2019, the Company expects operating expenses to be between $71.5 and $76.5 million, primarily due to continued investment in our salesforce expansion efforts, research and development related to the development of our next generation NeuroStar platform, and clinical spending as we pursue additional indications for use, namely PTSD and Bi-Polar disorders.

For the first quarter of 2019, the Company expects total worldwide revenue of between $12.4 and $13.0 million, representing 22% and 28% year-over-year growth, respectively.

About Neuronetics

Neuronetics, Inc. is a commercial-stage medical technology company focused on designing, developing, and marketing products that improve the quality of life for patients who suffer from psychiatric disorders. Our first commercial product, the NeuroStar® Advanced Therapy System, is a non-invasive and non-systemic office-based treatment that uses transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, to create a pulsed, MRI-strength magnetic field that induces electrical currents designed to stimulate specific areas of the brain associated with mood. The system is cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adult patients who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in the current episode. Additional information can be found at www.neuronetics.com.