Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NSDQ:ISRG) reported another stellar year, posting a 64 percent increase in profits on the back of continued strong sales of the company’s da Vinci Surgical Systems.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company reported year-end sales of $1.4 billion, up some 34 percent when compared to the just over $1 billion in sales the company reported for the comparable period last year. That increase, which beat Wall Street’s estimates by about $21 million, helped push profits up by 64 percent as the company posted $381.8 million in net income, compared to $232.6 for the same period last year.

Sales of the company’s da Vinci Surgical System jumped 35 percent in 2010, perhaps a good sign for the flagging capital equipment industry. However, Intuitive never had a dramatic decrease in sales of its robotic surgical systems, which can cost around $1.2 million on average, even during the height of the recession.

During the fourth quarter ended on December 31, Intuitive posted net income of $121.2 million on $389.3 million in sales, compared to a $77.5 million profit on $323 million in sales during the comparable period last year.

Company officials said the boost in sales during the fourth quarter was the result of a 35 percent increase in procedures by surgeons using the da Vinci system

The company finished the year with $1.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments, an increase of $437 million during the year. Officials said they also used $200 million to buy back 742,000 shares of stock.

Rick Wise, an analyst for New York, NY-based investment bank Leerink Swann called the results “quite excellent.”

“In the context of a difficult environment, ISRG continues to drive strong adoption within key procedures (e.g., benign dVH),” Wise wrote in a note to investors. “And several promising new procedure opportunities are emerging (colorectal, lung, head & neck).”