Integra LifeSciences (NSDQ:IART) eked out some Wall Street-beating numbers for the 4th quarter and raised its outlook for 2016, prompting investors to send its share price up today.
Plainsboro, N.J.-based Integra posted profits of $15.0 million, or 39¢ per share, on sales of $241.2 million for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2o15, marking a -12.7% profit slide on sales growth of 10.1% compared with Q4 2014.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were 87¢, a penny ahead of the consensus on The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $241.1 million.
Integra swung to a loss for the full year at -3.5 million, or -10¢ per share, on sales growth of 10.8% to $882.7 million compared with 2014. Adjusted EPS came in at $3.08, 3¢ under consensus. Analysts were looking for 2015 sales of $888.7 million.
“Strong growth in our regenerative portfolios drove full-year organic sales growth of 6.7%, at the high end of our guidance range,” president & CEO Peter Arduini said in prepared remarks. “These results helped drive gross margin improvement of 140 basis points to 67.5% for the full year. We are pleased with our 2015 results and are enthusiastic about our prospects for 2016.”
Integra boosted its guidance for the rest of the year, saying it now expects to report adjusted EPS of $3.35 to $3.50 on sales of $975 million to $1 billion.
“Strong organic growth and an improved product mix drove margin expansion, cash flow and earnings growth for 2015,” CFO Glenn Coleman said. “Our 2016 guidance for double-digit sales growth, strong earnings growth, as well as improvements in gross margin and free cash flow keep us on a path to achieve our long-term growth and profitability targets.”
Last year was a busy 1 for Integra. The company closed the spinout of its spine business in July 2015, creating SeaSpine Holdings (NSDQ:SPNE), and acquired TEI Biosciences and TEI Medical for $312 million that same month. In August Integra floated a $200 million follow-on offering. And just this month Integra closed on the buyout of the U.S. rights to Tornier‘s Salto Talaris and Salto Talaris XT ankle replacements and Futura silastic toe replacements, as part of Tornier’s $3.3 billion merger with Wright Medical (NSDQ:WMGI).
IART shares were up 2.1% to $60.86 apiece in early afternoon trading today.
