By Connor Hart

Lifecore Biomedical swung to a loss despite posting higher revenue in its fiscal second quarter, boosted by new project agreements.

The Chaska, Minn., company, which develops and manufactures pharmaceutical products, on Thursday reported a loss of $6.6 million for the quarter ended Nov. 24, compared with a profit of $14.2 million a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, Lifecore posted a loss of 25 cents, compared with earnings of 39 cents in last year's quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting a loss of 29 cents a share.

Revenue increased 8% to $32.6 million. Analysts had forecast $29.7 million, according to FactSet.

The company attributed this raise primarily to higher contract development and manufacturing organization revenues, which were up $1.9 million. Hyaluronic acid manufacturing revenues were $500,000 higher.

Chief Executive Paul Josephs said the company had a productive quarter, which included signing two new project agreements. "Our achievements during the period spanned finance, operations and business development, all of which supported our overall growth strategy," he said.

For its fiscal 2025, Lifecore now expects to post a net loss between $28.6 million and $26.6 million, compared with a prior outlook for a loss between $25.9 million and $23.9 million. The wider loss is due to higher stock-based compensation, interest expense, former CFO severance and elevated legal expenses, the company said. Analysts surveyed by FactSet project a loss of $40.6 million.

It backed its outlook for adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, between $19 million and $21 million, the midpoint of which is ahead of analyst expectations for $19.2 million, according to FactSet.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 02, 2025 16:32 ET (21:32 GMT)

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