Full Press Release Details
Sight Reports First Quarter 2016 Financial Results
Sylmar, CA, April 28, 2016 - Second Sight Medical
Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYES) ("Second Sight" or "the Company"), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of
implantable visual prosthetics to provide some useful vision to blind patients, today reported financial results for the three-month
period ended March 31, 2016.
Recent Company Highlights:
"Despite anticipated challenges
due to a change in the 2016 Medicare outpatient payment rate that affected our U.S. implant volumes in the first quarter,
we believe Second Sight is well-positioned for future growth," stated Will McGuire, President
and CEO of Second Sight. "In late February we began temporarily discounting the Argus II in the U.S. to continue to
make our life-changing technology available to qualified patients. We are confident that this decision will allow implant volumes
in the U.S. to rebound over the next several quarters. In fact, we are pleased with the level of activity that we are seeing with
customers who are currently assessing patients and scheduling surgeries," McGuire added.
Page 2 : Second Sight Reports First Quarter 2016 Financial Results
"Looking ahead, we are excited about the multiple opportunities
for Second Sight to serve a growing population of individuals that have lost their sight. We are developing significant enhancements
to the Argus II externals and advanced software improvements are on the horizon. Our Dry-AMD trial is now fully enrolled and for
the Orion I, we have concurrence with the FDA on key pre-clinical tests that pave the way for a human feasibility study in 2017.
Taken together, we are building a solid platform that will deliver long-term growth and move us closer to our ultimate goal of
restoring vision to the blind and improving their overall quality of life," concluded McGuire.
First Quarter 2016 Financial Results
Total revenue was $1.1 for the first quarter of 2016, compared
with $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2015. There were 10 Argus II retinal prostheses implanted in the first quarter of
2016, compared to 19 for the first quarter of 2015. The decline was primarily driven by a reduction in U.S. implant volumes as
a result of customer concerns that the new Medicare outpatient payment rate, which became effective on January 1, 2016, would be
insufficient to cover costs of the Argus II and related surgical procedure. As a result, the Company made a decision
to temporarily discount the Argus II in late February to address this concern and expects implant volumes to rebound in future
Gross profit was $141,000 in the first quarter of 2016,
compared to $404,000 in the first quarter of 2015. Gross margin was lower, largely
due to lower sales and production volumes in the current quarter.
Total operating expenses in the first quarter of 2016 were $6.0
million, compared with $5.4 million in the first quarter of 2015, reflecting higher clinical and stock based compensation costs,
offset by lower research and development expenses net of grants.
Net loss in the first quarter of 2016 was $5.8 million,
or $0.16 per share, compared with a net loss of $5.0 million, or $0.14
per share, in the prior year quarter. The Company recorded non-cash charges of $1.0 million and $0.6
million during the first quarters of 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Non-GAAP adjusted net loss in the first quarter of 2016, excluding
non-cash charges, was $4.8 million, or a non-GAAP net loss of $0.13 per share, compared to a non-GAAP adjusted net loss of $4.4
million, or $0.12 per share, in the first quarter of 2015.
Page 3 : Second Sight Reports First Quarter 2016 Financial Results
As previously announced, Second Sight management will host its
first quarter 2016 conference call as follows:
| Date | April 28, 2016 | |
| Time | 4:30 PM EDT | |
| Telephone | U.S: | (800) 950-7243 |
| International: | (212) 231-2919 | |
| Webcast (live and archive) | www.secondsight.com under the 'Investor Relations' section. |
A replay of the conference call will be available for two weeks
after the call's completion by dialing (800) 633-8284 (U.S.) or (402) 977-9140 (International). The conference ID for
the replay is 21810024. The archived webcast will be available for 30 days via the aforementioned URL.
About the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System
Second Sight's Argus II System provides
electrical stimulation that bypasses the defunct retinal cells and stimulates remaining viable cells inducing visual perception
in individuals with severe to profound Retinitis Pigmentosa. The Argus II works by converting images captured by a miniature video
camera mounted on the patient's glasses into a series of small electrical pulses, which are transmitted wirelessly to an array
of electrodes implanted on the surface of the retina. These pulses are intended to stimulate the retina's remaining cells, resulting
in the perception of patterns of light in the brain. The patient then learns to interpret these visual patterns, thereby regaining
some visual function. The Argus II is the first artificial retina to receive widespread approval, and is offered at approved centers
in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the U.S.
Second Sight's mission is to develop,
manufacture and market innovative implantable visual prosthetics to enable blind individuals to achieve greater independence. Second
Sight has developed and manufactures the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System. Enrollment has been completed in a trial to test
the safety and utility of the Argus II in individuals with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Second Sight is also developing
the Orion I Visual Cortical Prosthesis to restore some vision to individuals who are blind due to causes other than
preventable or treatable conditions. U.S. Headquarters are in Sylmar, California, and European Headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
For more information, visit www.secondsight.com.
Page 4 : Second Sight Reports First Quarter 2016 Financial Results
This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections.
All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are "forward looking statements." These statements
may be identified by words such as "estimates," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," or
"planned," "seeks," "may," "will," "expects," "intends," "believes,"
"should," "potentially," "objectives," and similar expressions or the negative versions thereof and
which also may be identified by their context. While management has based any forward looking statements included in this release
on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. Forward-looking statements involve
inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements,
as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed
on March 11, 2016 and the Company's other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We
urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating the Company's forward-looking statements. We caution readers
not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise
required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions
to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with
regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Reconciliation to Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to reporting all financial information required
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the Company is also reporting Non-GAAP net loss and Non-GAAP
net loss per share which are non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP net loss and Non-GAAP net loss per share are not measurements
of financial performance under GAAP and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute or alternative to net income, operating
income or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, or as a substitute or alternative to cash flow from operating
activities or a measure of the Company's liquidity. In addition, the Company's definition of Non-GAAP net loss and Non-GAAP
net loss per share may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures reported by other companies. Non-GAAP
net loss and Non-GAAP net loss per share, as defined by the Company, represent net loss adjusted for non-cash stock-based compensation.
Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information regarding the performance of
the Company's business operations and facilitates comparisons to the Company's historical operating results. For a
full reconciliation of Non-GAAP net loss to the most comparable GAAP financial measures, please see the tables at the end of this
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