ROCHESTER — OptimizeRx Corp. (NASDAQ: OPRX), the Rochester-based provider of digital health messaging for the pharmaceutical industry, reported net income of $226,344 for the full year 2018, vs. a loss of $2.1 million a year earlier. Revenue was $21.2 million, up from $12.1 million a year earlier.
For the fourth quarter, the company posted a loss of $109,914 or 1 cent a share, compared to a loss of $237,000 or 2 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue was $6.6 million, up from $4 million a year earlier.
The company said the revenue increase came resulted from an increased number of pharmaceutical engagements, additional distribution points in the company’s network, and growth with new messaging solutions.
Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2018 were $4.2 million, up from $2.8 million in the same year-ago quarter. The increase is primarily related to the company’s acquisition of CareSpeak Communications in October and additional expenses related to its growth initiatives. However, operating expense as a percentage of revenue decreased to 64 percent from 69 percent in the same year-ago quarter.
The company expects to be GAAP profitable on a quarterly basis. Although one-time expenses related to investments and growth initiatives could result in a loss in any given quarter, such as the company’s acquisition of CareSpeak.
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $8.9 million at Dec. 31, compared to $5.1 million a year earlier. The increase in cash was primarily due to the net proceeds of $8.1 million from the equity raise completed in May 2018. The company has continued to operate debt-free and had positive cash flow from operations of $696,000 in 2018.
“In Q4, we realized our seventh quarter in a row of revenue growth and our first year of profitability,” said OptimizeRx CEO William Febbo. “These record results were driven by better client access, broader provider reach, solid technology and operational performance. Given how early we are in our company’s evolution, we anticipate continued investment in our commercial reach, product extensions, channel partners and best-in-class team. As a result of our recent acquisition of CareSpeak Communications, we now have a highly-cost efficient and capable tech team to develop additional applications, facilitate integrations, and support cross platform development. They helped complete our integration of CareSpeak, and we expect revenues from direct-to-patient digital health messaging to grow nicely in 2019. We also expect this service to improve medication affordability and adherence by closing the communication gap between pharma and patients. Today, our network reaches over half the nation’s healthcare providers and the ambulatory market, making OptimizeRx the healthcare industry’s largest point-of-care network. Through our digital platform, pharma companies can regain critical access to doctors and their patients and provide the information and savings they need, and precisely when they need it, at the point of care. This helps create better health outcomes and a win-win-win for all.”
Added OptimizeRx president Miriam Paramore: “We have been very focused on our expansion into the hospital market where we see great potential. We recently joined forces with IllumiCare, a pioneer in point-of-care healthcare information technology that saves hospitals millions annually. IllumiCare’s Smart Ribbon platform will feature a new app from OptimizeRx, the RxSavings App, designed to present drug savings opportunities—such as co-pay offers and vouchers—that providers and the clinical care team can distribute to the patient directly at the point-of-care. The RxSavings App is set to launch in Q2 2019, making it available to 120 IllumiCare-served hospitals in the U.S.”
Febbo added: “For 2019, we’ll remain focused on generating revenue from our core messaging solutions and expanding our channel partner network, which now includes reach into the hospital market. Following our participation at the recent HIMSS health IT conference, we are encouraged by the several big players involved in ambulatory and hospital systems who expressed strong interest in working with us.”
A replay of a conference call discussing these results is available at www.optimizerx.com. Or, call (844) 512-2921 in the United States or (412) 317-6671 internationally, using the replay ID 7188619.