
Globus Medical (NYSE:GMED) blew the doors off of the sluggish growth rate for the spinal implant market during the 4th quarter, topping Wall Street’s expectations and sending share prices up today.
Globus said it expects to report sales of $115.2 million for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2013, representing a 14.6% gain on Q4 2012; analysts on The Street were looking for revenues of about $113 million. Full-year sales were $434.5 million, up 12.6% compared with projected growth in the low single digits for the overall spine market.
“2013 was an outstanding year of execution, delivering innovative new products, and expanding our sales force, while delivering strong financial results. Our business remains robust, and our fourth quarter and full year performance in 2013 is a testament to the consistent and focused execution of our strategy. We believe we will continue to grow our business at rates significantly above the industry by innovating in rapid response to the needs of our customers and patients and growing our sales footprint on a worldwide basis,” chairman & CEO David Paul said in prepared remarks.
Globus said it expects to put up earnings per share of 90¢-92¢ on sales of $480 million to $486 million this year, including the 5¢-7¢ dilution from its buyout of robotic surgery company Excelsius Surgical.
Leerink Partners analyst Richard Newitter called that guidance “conservative,” writing yesterday in a note to investors that “we think management is attempting to embed some conservatism at the beginning of the year simply to account for potential ‘unknowns’ in 2014.”
“But our impression, after talking to mgmt, is that: (1) business trends remain very strong, (2) mgmt is just trying to take a cautious stance, and (3) we believe 2014 should continue to see solid sales momentum from new product launches and ramping contribution from new sales rep hires – factors which will likely drive upside to this preliminary outlook,” Newitter wrote.
GMED shares were trading at $20.45 apiece as of about 10 a.m. today, up 1.7%.