Merit Medical (NSDQ:MMSI) beat expectations for Q2 by a slim margin, topping forecasts for sales and earnings. The company also announced it expanded its distribution center in the Netherlands.
South Jordan, Utah-based Merit Medical reported profits of $7.4 million, or 17¢ per share, on sales of $138.1 million for the 3 months ended June 30. That amounts to a 99.2% bottom line gain on sales growth of 7.2% compared with the same period last year.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were 25¢, beating analysts expectations by 2¢, where analysts were looking for sales of $135.8 million.
The news sent shares up 13.38% to $25.08 in mid-day trading today.
“We are pleased with the results of the 2nd quarter as we continue to execute our plan. We are particularly pleased with the expense discipline that has contributed to the improvement in our operating results,” CEO Fred Lampropoulos said in an SEC filing.
“In the past 2 weeks we have commenced production in our new Tijuana, Mexico facility. We were able to initiate production with no significant interruption because of our agreement with our former contract manufacturer to transfer existing employees to our new facility. We were able to accomplish this with essentially no employee fallout which we believe will contribute to continued product quality with our trained and stable workforce. We anticipate that this facility will be a substantial contributor to our operating plan as we move forward,” Lampropoulos said. “Our product pipeline is stocked with strategic products that we intend to introduce over the next few quarters and which we believe will provide substantial momentum for 2016 and beyond.”
The company said it has expanded its European distribution center and corporate office in the Netherlands which serves Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“The expansion of our Netherlands facility enables 1500 shipments per day to more than 100 countries in 20 different languages. This further illustrates our commitment to serving our customers and our passion for continually improving our processes and procedures,” Lampropoulos said in a press release.