ConMed (NSDQ:CNMD) shares ticked up today after the medical device company beat its own forecast and Wall Street’s expectations with its 4th-quarter and 2013 results.
ConMed reported profits of $10.2 million, or 36¢ per share, on sales of $203.4 million for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2013, for a -6.1% top-line slide on 1.1% sales growth. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, profits were $14.9 million, or 53¢ per share, ahead of the 49¢ adjusted EPS expected on The Street. The revenue number beat both ConMed’s top-end guidance for $200 million and analysts’ consensus of $197.2 million.
Full-year profits reached $35.9 million, or $1.28 per share, on sales of $762.7 million, for a -11.2% profit decline on a -0.6% sales decline. Adjusted profits were $50.8 million, or $1.81 per share, again ahead of The Street’s $1.76 outlook. ConMed’s 2013 sales also topped its top-end, $759 million prediction and analysts’
$756.5 million call.
The beats prompted investors to send CNMD shares up 1.8% to $46.46 apiece today as of about 1:30 p.m.
"We exited 2013 with strong sales and earnings that exceeded the high end of our guidance for both metrics," president & CEO Joseph Corasanti said in prepared remarks. "Fourth-quarter 2013 sales of $203.4 million grew 2.1% on a constant currency basis, compared with a strong performance in the 4th quarter of 2012, and were driven by stronger-than-anticipated sales in Europe and capital equipment products sales. We also achieved sales growth for our single-use and capital products and improved our adjusted gross margins, which led to better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share of $0.53 for the 4th quarter."
ConMed said it expects 1st-quarter adjusted EPS to come in at 45¢-49¢ on sales of $$191 million to $196 million and reiterated its 2014 guidance. Full-year adjusted EPS are still pegged at $1.90-$2.00 on sales of $770 million to $780 million, according to a press release.
"Looking forward to 2014, we believe that continued modest improvement in the global economy will allow ConMed to achieve annual sales growth and we are reiterating our 2014 sales and adjusted earnings per share guidance. This forecast is based on our expectations for continued sales growth for our single-use products and continued sales improvement for our capital products as the capital equipment replacement cycle normalizes," Corasanti said in a statement.
