Cantel Medical (NYSE:CMD) shares took a hit today despite fourth-quarter results that topped the consensus forecast.
The Little Falls, N.J.-based infection prevention products and services company posted losses of -$2.3 million, or -5¢ per share, on sales of $233.4 million for the three months ended July 31, 2020, for a bottom-line slide into the red on a sales decline of -2.5%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 24¢, 25¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $223.6 million.
“We are pleased with our fourth-quarter performance in the face of the impact of COVID on procedures in our medical and dental segments,” Cantel CEO George Fotiades said in a news release. “We executed very well in managing operating expenses and working capital, and we were able to pay down $75 million of our revolver earlier in September.
“While it will take a while longer to see a full recovery of procedures, we will remain agile in managing operating expenses and operating margins, while continuing to aggressively execute on our Cantel 2.0 initiatives. Furthermore, we will look to continue to pay down debt as the opportunity arises.”
The company noted that the impact of COVID-19 and the deferral of elective procedures was felt in the medical and dental segments but daily sales rates improved over the fourth quarter.
Cantel expects a full recovery of elective procedures eventually, but the timing remains uncertain.
CMD shares closed the day down -4.2% at $47.04 per share. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished the day down -0.4%.
