Abiomed Inc. (NSDQ:ABMD) finished the best year in its history by surpassing the $100 million sales mark.
The Danvers, Mass.-based cardiac assist device maker said total sales jumped 18 percent to $101.1 million for the 12-month period ended on March 31, compared to $85.7 million during the same period last year. The strong sales helped the company trim net losses to $11.7 million, compared to $19 million for the same period last year.
During the fourth quarter, ABMD reported a 24 percent jump in revenues to $28.1 million, compared to $22.8 million for the same period last year.
However, the company reported net losses of $1.7 million, compared to a $975,000 profit for the same period last year. Officials said the company’s 2010 results included a $6.4 million windfall from the sale of WorldHeart stock, which pushed it temporarily into the black.
Abiomed officials credited sales of its workhorse Impella pump as primarily responsible for the robust fourth quarter sales. Impella treatments jumped 41 percent during the three month period and re-orders jumped 39 percent.
The company also provided strong guidance for the coming year, forecasting that fiscal 2012 sales will be in the range of f $120 million to $125 million with Impella sales driving most of that growth.
Wall Street remains bullish on shares of ABMD, which has jumped 86 percent since the start of the year, based on the $17.86 closing price on May 17.
The spike highlights the company’s steady advances since it won 510(k) clearance for the Impella 5.0 and LD pumps nearly two years ago. Back then Abiomed shares were trading at about $5.50; since then it’s reported steadily increasing sales and cut its net losses considerably. The company rang Wall Street’s bell — literally — with its third-quarter results, reporting that sales jumped nearly 23 percent during the three months ended Dec. 31., to $27.2 million. That helped it pare losses to just $802,000, or 2 cents per share. Abiomed posted losses of $4.6 million, or 12 cents per share, on sales of $22.8 million during Q3 2010.
That performance itself sent shares up about 25 percent that day, which ended with CEO Michael Minogue ringing the NASDAQ exchange’s closing bell.
