Natus Medical (NSDQ:BABY) rode a strong 4th quarter to swing into the black during 2012.
The San Carlos, Calif.-based diagnostic and device maker posted a $4.76 million, or 29¢ per diluted share profit, on sales of $90.5 million during the 3-month period on December 31st, compared with a $17.3 million, or 14¢ per diluted share loss, on sales of $64.1 million during the same period last year.
The news of the companies earnings sent shares up 11% on The Street on February 28th.
For the full year, Natus reported net income of $3.62 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, on sales of $291.7 million during 2012, compared to an $11.7 million, or 47 cents per diluted share loss, on sales of $232.7 million.
Natus officials highlighted 2 major deals in the last year; spending $58 million was for CareFusion’s neurodiagnostic line in April 2012 and inking a $18.6 million deal for Astro Med’s Grass Technologies in January 2013.
"We expect to continue to show improved gross profits for core Natus in 2013, but as previously mentioned our recent Grass acquisition currently has a lower overall gross profit that will have a small effect on this metric," said CEO James Hawkins in the earnings call. "In the fourth quarter, we successfully integrated the Nicolet sales organization into Natus to create what we believe is the largest neurodiagnostic sales and service organization in the world."
The company expects to report between $362 and $367 million and non-GAAP adjusted EPS of 81¢ to 84¢ in 2013. For the 1st quarter of 2013, Natus expects between $83 and $85 million, or between 9¢ and 10¢ EPS.
