Celera Genomics Group, a PE Corporation business, today reported revenues of $8.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2000, ended December 31, 1999, compared to $1.7 million for the second quarter of fiscal 1999. The operating loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2000 was $39.3 million, versus $12.9 million for the prior year's second quarter. The net loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2000, after credit for taxes, was $24.3 million, or $0.94 per share , compared to a net loss of $8.6 million, or $0.35 per share, for the same period last year. Per share results have been reported before giving effect to a two-for-one stock split payable to stockholders of record as of February 4, 2000. 

The increase in revenues in the second quarter resulted from subscription and genomic service
agreements initiated during the second half of fiscal 1999. The increase in the net and operating losses resulted from a planned increase in expenses related to building Celera's infrastructure for rapidly sequencing, analyzing, and delivering a variety of genomic database products. Research and development expenses for the second quarter of fiscal 2000 were $38.1 million, up $29.9 million from last year's second quarter, as the Group significantly expanded its sequencing capacity and its bioinformatics and scientific research capabilities. Selling, general, and administrative expenses for the second quarter of fiscal 2000 were $9.5 million, compared to $5.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 1999 and $8.4 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2000. 

For the six months ended December 31, 1999, Celera reported revenues of $16.6 million, compared to $5.6 million for the comparable period in fiscal 1999. The net loss during the first six months of fiscal 2000, after credit for taxes, was $43.7 million, or $1.69 per share, compared to $12.2 million, or $0.49 per share, during the first half of the previous year. 

During the second quarter Celera announced that it entered into a five-year genomics agreement with Pfizer Inc.. The Group will provide Pfizer access to its human gene index; its human, mouse, and Drosophila genome databases; and its single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) database. Celera will also collaborate with Pfizer on the identification of a large number of novel drug target genes. The Group did not record significant revenues in the second quarter from this agreement. 

Other recent developments include: 

• Having compiled DNA sequence in its database that covers 90 percent of the human genome. The Group believes that more than 97 percent of all human genes are represented in its database.
• The release of a partially assembled genome sequence of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to the public data bank. Celera and its collaborators intend to submit a manuscript on the Drosophila genome to a scientific journal for publication in Spring 2000.
• The acquisition of Panther(TM) technology, an important software tool for analyzing the
  genomic data Celera is generating, from the Molecular Applications Group (MAG) and the
  hiring of key software engineers from MAG.
• The acquisition of a 47.5-percent equity stake in Shanghai GeneCore BioTechnologies, a
  genomics service company with research collaborations with several Chinese government
  agencies and research institutions.
• A two-for-one split of Celera Genomics Group common stock, payable in the form of a
  100-percent stock dividend to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 4, 2000. 

PE Corporation currently comprises two operating groups. The Celera Genomics Group,
headquartered in Rockville, Md., intends to become the definitive source of genomic and related
medical information. The PE Biosystems Group (NYSE: PEB - news), with sales of $1.2 billion
during fiscal 1999, develops and markets instrument-based systems, reagents, software, and contract services to the life science industry and research community. PE Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, California.

Company news release
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