ROCHESTER — OptimizeRx Corp. (OTCQB:OPRX), the Rochester-based provider of digital health messaging for the pharmaceutical industry, reported a loss of $189,179 or 1 cent a share in the first quarter, an improvement from a loss of $882,682 or 3 cents a share in the first quarter of 2017.
The company also reported a $9 million private stock placement and said it would soon pursue listing on the Nasdaq stock market.
Revenue was a record $4.1 million, up 91 percent from $2.2 million a year earlier. The company said the increase was mostly due to revenue from OptimizeRx’s core products of financial and brand messaging, coupled with broader distribution with the company’s new channel partners.
Operating expenses were $2.3 million, up from $1.7 million a year earlier, but down as a percentage of revenue, to 56 percent, from 77 percent a year earlier.
OptimizeRx CEO William Febbo said in a press release: “This strong performance was driven by growth across all of our messaging products as well a brand support … The big jump in gross margin to 51.2 percent was primarily due to increased brand messaging revenues, which has a large fixed-cost component, and we expect to maintain if not expand gross margin throughout the year … Through to the end of the year, we expect our actual operating expenses to continue at the Q1 2018 level or perhaps only slightly above, as we further implement our business plan and expand our operations to grow the business in a very dynamic and active marketplace.”
Febbo also reported board approval of a one-for-three reverse stock split, which will allow the company to meet the minimum price requirement for listing on the Nasdaq market.
“Driven by the launch of additional channels, brands and products, as well as the ongoing growth in our nationwide EHR network, we expect continued revenue growth in 2018,” Febbo said. “While we are focused on the top-line, we are also carefully managing our expenses. Together, we believe this will keep us on track to achieving profitability on quarterly basis by the end of the year.”
A replay of the conference call discussing these results is available at the investors section of www.optimizerxcorp.com or by calling (844) 512-2921 in the United States, or (412) 317-6671, using the replay ID 4411468.
OptimizeRx also announced a $9 million private placement of its stock with two institutional investors and a large family office. the company said it would issue five million shares of its common stock to the investors at $1.80 per share. The company said it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
Said CEO Febbo: “We expect to use some of the proceeds from this capital raise to fund additional sales and channel investments in our core ambulatory market, where we continue to demonstrate high ROI for our pharma clients’ marketing spend. It will also support our further expansion into the hospital channel, which represents a significant growth opportunity.”
OptimizeRx’s cloud-based system supports patient adherence to medications by providing real-time access to financial assistance, education, and critical clinical information. The company’s network is comprised of leading electronic health records platforms like Allscripts, Amazing Charts and Quest, and provides more than half of the ambulatory market access to these benefits within their workflow at the point of care.