Abiomed (NSDQ:ABMD) today posted 4th-quarter and fiscal 2016 results that beat its own forecast and the expectations of Wall Street analysts, but investors still sent shares down in mid-morning activity today amid broader market declines.
The Danvers, Mass.-based miniature heart pump maker reported profits of $11.0 million, or 24¢ per share, on sales of $94.0 million for the 3 months ended March 31, for top-line growth of 39.1%. And although that represents a -88.9% bottom-line plunge compared with Q4 2015, Abiomed attributed the decline to an $86.5 million income tax benefit last year; after that’s backed out, pre-tax profits were up 62.9% to $20.2 million, the company said.
The Street was looking for earnings per share of 19¢ on sales of $90.5 million. Abiomed said sales of its flagship Impella heart pump rose 40% to $88.6 million worldwide.
“Our performance validates Impella as the new standard of care and Abiomed as 1 of the fastest-growing, GAAP-profitable medical technology companies. We have a long runway for growth, as today we estimate that we have penetrated only 5% of the total high-risk patient population,” chairman, president & CEO Michael Minogue said in prepared remarks. “I am proud of our dedicated employees and grateful to our customers that have enabled our company to create a new era of medicine focused on the field of heart recovery. Fiscal 2017 is positioned to be a fantastic year, as we continue to execute our plan with our exclusive regulatory approvals.”
Abiomed said it expects to bring in $430 million to $445 million in revenues during fiscal 2017, with operating margins at 18% to 20%.
ABMD shares were down -1.0% to $98.24 apiece today amid declines in the broader markets, where the Dow Jones index slipped 0.9% to 17,723 and the NASDAQ index was off -1.1% at 4,766.37.
