Scientific Industries Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 20, 2025

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: The company completed the sale of its legacy Genie products division to Mettler Toledo’s Ohaus division, marking a strategic pivot away from its 70-year-old core brand to fund new growth initiatives.
  • Positive Sentiment: Scientific Industries is focusing on its future as a pioneer of AI-powered life science platforms, starting with its vivid computer vision-based automated pill counters and a subscription-driven monetization model.
  • Positive Sentiment: Q2 R&D milestones include optimized nanoparticle-based dissolved oxygen sensors, improved biomass and pH sensing technologies, an advanced liquid injection system, and a new BioArP Pro sensor, driving several near-term product launches.
  • Negative Sentiment: The broader lab tools and bioprocessing sector remains subdued, with softer order volumes, extended procurement cycles, and Q2 revenue approximately $140,000 below last year as academic and early-stage biotech spending tightened.
  • Positive Sentiment: Despite market headwinds, lead generation is up 35%, with deepening strategic engagements at Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, and J&J, plus independent peer-review validation and industrial customer successes bolstering the commercial funnel.
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Earnings Conference Call
Scientific Industries Q2 2025
00:00 / 00:00

There are 4 speakers on the call.

Speaker 3

Today, and welcome to the Scientific Industries second quarter, fiscal year 2025 financial results conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Joe Dorame, Managing Partner. Please go ahead.

Operator

Thanks, Michael. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us today to review Scientific Industries' financial results for the second quarter of 2025 and June 30, 2025. With us today on the call are Helena Santos, Chief Executive Officer; Daniel Grünes, CEO of SBI; and John Moore, Chairman. After the conclusion of today's prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. Before we begin with prepared remarks, I would like to remind everyone, certain statements made by the management team of Scientific Industries during this conference call constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Operator

Except for the statements of historical fact, this conference call may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainty, some of which are detailed under risk factors in documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements were made. The company cannot be more assured that such forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Scientific Industries does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Helena Santos, CEO of Scientific Industries. Helena.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Joe, and thank you everyone for joining us today. This really is a historic time for our company where a 70-year-old chapter closes and a new one begins. Two weeks ago tomorrow, we sold our legacy Genie lab products division to a respected player in our industry, the OHAUS division of Mettler Toledo. Scientific Industries was founded on the promise that it had invented a unique product and by the standards at that time, innovative and market-worthy. To its testament, the Vortex Genie is still today one of the most widely recognized and respected brands in the lab equipment industry. I want to take this opportunity to thank just some of our dedicated team that helped create and nurture a product line that is known for excellence in quality and service. Mr. Robert Nichols, our Division President; Ms.

Speaker 1

Deborah Siegel, our VP of Sales and Marketing; and all of the people behind the scenes who love the Genies and have gone above and beyond what's expected of them. These individuals will always be honored as part of the company's history. We've welcomed new friends from OHAUS into our lives, and jointly, we've made a commitment to ensure that the Genie customers and suppliers will receive the same quality products that have made the Genie name a trusted brand. This was an important, targeted, strategic step to enabling the next chapter in our company's history, one that will define the future of Scientific Industries. What is the future of Scientific Industries? How do we define the future for ourselves? Just like we were pioneers in vortexing technologies, we see ourselves as pioneers of AI-powered life science platforms.

Speaker 1

Starting with our Vivid computer vision-based automated pill counters, where we will focus on machine learning capabilities, features, innovation, and subscription monetization. This roadmap will place us in the forefront of pill counting technology and ultimately providing shareholder value. Our Torbal scales division, which will continue to operate out of here in Bohemia, provides solid and predictable cash flows with realistic opportunity for growth. Next, and perhaps the more important platform for many of our shareholders, is our bioprocessing division, which is getting close to realizing its potential with the expectation of some very important product development milestones coming up, as Mr. Daniel Grünes will discuss right after me. Finally, I would like to thank our shareholders for their unwavering support throughout our journey and evolution. None of this would be possible without you. I thank you, and I now turn it over to Daniel. Daniel?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Helena, and good afternoon, everyone from Germany. As we move to the second quarter of 2025, the broader laboratory tools and bioprocessing sector continues to face a subdued operating environment. Across the board, peers such as Sartorius, Thermo Fisher, and Danaher have reported softer order volumes, extended procurement cycles, and capital conservatism, especially in academic and early-stage biotech settings. These headwinds are well recognized and largely macro-driven, shaped by tight research budgets, lingering uncertainty in biotech funding, and ongoing prioritization of cash efficiency across the value chain. At Scientific Bioprocessing, we see a very similar picture. Revenue softness remains a short-term reality, but one that does not reflect the lack of demand. Instead, we continue to experience a clear and growing wave of customer engagement, trial activity, and long-term strategic dialogue.

Speaker 2

The shift towards integrated, data-rich, and digitally connected bioprocessing solutions is not only progressing, it's accelerating behind the scenes. This shift plays directly into our strengths. Our technology is designed for a new era of bioprocessing, one where labs must move faster, generate deeper insights, and be more innovative at lower cost. That is why, even as the external market remains cautious, we are staying focused on execution. This is a period of platform technology completion, real-world validation, and commercial activation. We are confident that the momentum we're building today through increased customer interest, strong top-of-the-funnel performance, and rapid product development will translate into growth as market activity normalizes. Let me dive into the business and begin on the R&D side, where Q2 marked focused, meaningful progress across all major development tracks of the DOTS multiparameter sensor platform.

Speaker 2

In dissolved oxygen sensing, we advanced our nanoparticle-based pill technology through a comprehensive optimization phase. This included improvements in formulation, freeze-drying protocols, beta sterilization, and external compatibility testing. We validated performance in both baffled microbial shake fluids and mammalian systems and are now preparing for market launch in Q3 to drastically expand the applicability of our technology into segments that have been inaccessible so far. For biomass monitoring, we achieved a significant milestone with major improvements in measurement accuracy under highly turbulent conditions, such as baffled fluids, as well as under mammalian cell culture conditions. Enhanced pill rejection algorithms, particularly at low cell densities, resulted in strong accuracy gains across microbial cultivations and mammalian cultures. These improvements were verified in pilot studies and culminated in a successful market launch of improved biomass monitoring in Q2.

Speaker 2

In pH sensing, which is very important and core to our technology strategy, we continue to push toward a wide range measurement capability. Both nanoparticle and pill-based chemo sensor formats were advanced, supported by algorithmic optimization, electronics enhancements, and calibration simplification. Internal lab validation is ongoing, and pilot evaluations are scheduled to begin in Q4. Our LIST2 liquid injection system also advanced in several key areas. We completed design studies, component development, and early-stage hardware handling tests. Based on extensive user feedback, we initiated a hardware redesign to prioritize simplicity and usability while still delivering bioreactive-grade functionality in a shake fluid environment. Although this introduces a short delay, it reflects a stronger alignment with real-world and particularly industrial needs. A new patent application was also filed this quarter to protect our high-precision dispensing technology for shaken systems.

Speaker 2

With the BioArtPro, our miniaturized biomass sensor for stirred bioreactors, we made clear technical progress this quarter. We finalized the hardware redesign focused on bubble rejection and miniaturization, completed electronics and firmware prototypes, and initiated lab testing. Based on the encouraging results from these early evaluations and clear interest from the market, we've now formally added the BioArtPro to our R&D and product launch roadmap. We see strong potential here to address longstanding sensing gaps in high throughput bioreactor applications, and we are treating it as a strategic extension of our core offering. In glucose sensing, we also saw significant advances. Enzyme stabilization improved more than tenfold, enabling us to expand work on both pill and flow cell formats.

Speaker 2

Based on our modular enzymatic platform, we were able to further prototype and add a lactic sensor to the pipeline this quarter, with first proof of concept studies successfully completed, reinforcing our confidence in enzymatic chemo sensing as a versatile technology base for future application even beyond glucose and lactate. Lastly, our DOTS multiparameter sensor platform software continued to evolve with backend updates that support broader sensor integration, more efficient calibration workflows, and scalable data processing. These infrastructure improvements ensure that everything we're developing can be deployed and scaled with confidence in customer environments. In summary, on the R&D side, Q2 was a strong quarter of execution across our pipeline, advancing key technologies towards commercial readiness while expanding the roadmap in direct response to customer demands and real-world performance.

Speaker 2

Turning to the commercial side, despite a difficult market environment, we continue to see strong engagement with our technologies across the board. Lead generation is up 35% year to date, and both Q1 and Q2 tracked fully in line with our commercial targets for 2025. This reinforces the sustained relevance of our product vision in the market and the depth of customer interest across application areas. At the same time, the impact of broader market conditions remains visible, particularly when it comes to capital conversion. Scientific conferences, which have traditionally been one of our, if not the most effective engagement channel, are experiencing lower in-person attendance due to tighter travel and event budgets. This has reduced immediate conversion opportunities, even though top-of-the-funnel demand remains strong. More broadly, we continue to see conservative investment behavior across both academia and biotech.

Speaker 2

Academic labs are facing reduced federal funding, while early-stage biotech remains challenged by a cautious financing environment and continued pricing policy debates, particularly in the U.S., primarily resulting in longer purchasing cycles and greater selectivity in capital projects. This effect obviously translates into our numbers. While Q2 revenue was up 66% compared to the soft Q1, it remained approximately $140,000 below the same quarter last year. Academic sales, which represented 24% of total revenue in 2024, account for only 6% year to date. As a result, a number of pipeline opportunities originally expected to close in 2025 have now shifted into 2026 and beyond. Both the current and next year's pipelines reflect that reality. At the same time, improvements in operational efficiency have contributed to a cash consumption that is fully in line with our 2025 targets and below that of the same period in 2024.

Speaker 2

Having said that, we are also seeing several reasons for optimism. Firstly, engagement with leading biopharma companies is deeper than ever. Since the launch of our mammalian cell culture line in Q1, we've initiated product trials with Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, and Johnson & Johnson, just to name a few, companies that represent major strategic opportunities and we're optimistic about converting these engagements into commercial agreements. Secondly, our technology continues to earn third-party validation. In April, the leading European technical university in Aachen published a peer-reviewed study confirming the performance advantages of our DO sensor pills and MPS sensor over established reference methods. This kind of independent data is crucial for driving adoption, especially in regulated or innovation-conservative environments. Lastly, Q2 delivered the first significant industrial customer success story from BRAIN AG. Together, we demonstrated that DO-based feeding in modern shake fluids improves simulation of bioreactor conditions during early strain screening.

Speaker 2

The results not only validate our approach but point to meaningful reductions in reliance on bioreactor runs. We are particularly excited that BRAIN AG plans to present these findings at RAFT 2025, the leading fermentation technology conference in November in the U.S. While the market continues to play some friction between interest and closed orders, the quality of our engagement, the strength of our funnel, and the momentum behind our platform give us confidence. As market conditions improve, we believe we are well positioned to convert today's interest into tomorrow's growth. Until then, our focus remains on high-quality execution, close customer collaboration, and thoughtful scaling so that when the market rebounds, we are ready to capture it. With that, I hand the call back to Joe.

Operator

Thanks, Daniel. Michael, we're ready to take any questions. Can you please provide instructions for our folks to queue up?

Speaker 3

Certainly. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily for callers to join the queue. Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. Seeing no questions, this concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to John Moore for any closing remarks.

Operator

Thank you. Scientific Industries was founded over 70 years ago to solve an important 20th-century problem: reproducibility in lab experiments through the invention of the Vortex Genie mixer. The company developed an iconic product, was used in virtually every life science lab in the world. However, we acquired many competitors over the 70 years. The company was challenged to deliver satisfactory shareholder returns. Over the last five years, we began to transition the company to transform this small but iconic company to solve important big 21st-century problems like pharmageddon, you know, challenges in pharmacy productivity and small-scale to large-scale scale-up in the synthetic biology industry. We believe that solving these problems is going to dramatically improve our ability to be able to create shareholder returns by changing the complexity of the company to selling not only hardware but also subscription software and single-use sensor technology.

Operator

We appreciate the support from our shareholders. We're excited about this historic transformation. We're grateful to Helena Santos for having managed the transformation and sale of the product line to Mettler Toledo, and we're looking forward to the future.

Speaker 3

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

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