ACTON, Mass., Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Psychemedics Corporation (NASDAQ:PMD) today announced fourth quarter and year-end financial results for the period ended December 31, 2012. The Company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share payable to shareholders of record as of March 7, 2013 to be paid on March 21, 2013. This will be the Company's 66^th consecutive quarterly dividend.

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The Company's revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $25.2 million, an increase of 5% as compared to $24.1 million for 2011. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $3.0 million or $0.57 per diluted share, a decrease of 15% from 2011 during which the Company earned $3.5 million or $0.67 per diluted share. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $5.7 million, an increase of 2% as compared to $5.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Net income for the quarter was $273 thousand or $0.05 per diluted share, a decrease of 38% from $438 thousand or $0.08 per share for the same period of 2011.

Raymond C. Kubacki, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated:

"2012 was a year of major accomplishments and transition. In addition to record revenues, primarily due to strong new business growth, the Company re-established its strong patent protection and successfully transitioned to a new production technology.

"As you will recall, in January 2012, we received a new patent (our seventh) covering a process that releases virtually 100% of the drugs trapped in hair without destroying the drugs. This patent is fundamental to hair analysis drug testing because if you can't get the drugs out of the hair, you cannot measure them.

"In the second quarter of 2012, the FDA granted the Company 501(k) clearances for five new, additional assays to test for the detection of cocaine, opiates, PCP, methamphetamine and marijuana using enzyme immunoassay (EIA) analysis of head and body hair. The newly developed immunoassays produced by the R&D team at Psychemedics were uniquely designed specifically to meet and even exceed the standards of radioimmunoassay (RIAH), and represent a significant technological breakthrough.

"By combining our new FDA-cleared immunoassays, which are equivalent in effectiveness and sensitivity to radioimmunoassay, with our new patented method of releasing the drugs from the hair, we continue to demonstrate our technological leadership and to offer truly proprietary technology that provides superior detection of drugs of abuse for our many clients. That is what sets us apart.

"Of course, receiving the patent and FDA clearances was just the beginning. We then needed to implement this change in technology from RIAH to EIA. I am pleased to say that we made this once in a generation transition with an almost seamless impact to our clients. That said, the transition impacted profits in Q3 and Q4 of 2012 through the additional costs of; re-engineering of several operational processes and systems, one-time development costs, and maintaining two technologies in parallel to ensure a smooth transition for our clients. Even with this impact, we still obtained a pre-tax margin for 2012 of 20%. In addition to the P&L impact of this new technology, the project also required a major capital investment in excess of $1.5 million. This along with $1.2 million of additional capital investment, is the driver behind the reduction in our cash balance at year end.

"The Company's balance sheet remains strong with approximately $3.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and no long-term debt. Our directors share our confidence in the future of Psychemedics and remain committed to rewarding shareholders and sharing the financial success of the Company with them as we grow. Therefore, we are pleased to declare our quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share. This dividend represents our sixty-sixth consecutive quarterly dividend."

Psychemedics is the world's largest provider of hair testing for drugs of abuse with thousands of corporations relying on the patented Psychemedics drug testing services. Psychemedics' clients include over 10% of the Fortune 500, some of the largest police departments in America and six Federal Reserve Banks.

The Psychemedics web site is http://www.psychemedics.com/

Cautionary Statement for purposes of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: From time to time, information provided by Psychemedics may contain forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements contained in this release that are not historical facts (including but not limited to statements concerning earnings, earnings per share, revenues, dividends, future business, new accounts, customer base, market share, test volume sales, marketing strategies, and technological advantages) may be "forward looking" statements. Actual results may differ from those stated in any forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include but are not limited to risks associated with the expansion of the Company's sales and marketing network, technological developments, intellectual property protection, development of markets for new products and services offered, the economic health of principal customers of the Company, government regulation, including but not limited to FDA regulations, competition and general economic conditions and other factors disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Psychemedics Corporation
Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income

Psychemedics Corporation
Balance Sheets

Contact:
Neil Lerner
Vice President Finance
(978) 206-8220
Neill@psychemedics.com