Bolstered by a 15 percent increase in revenues from year-ago levels — all but a relative sliver coming from reorders — Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (NSDQ:CSII) narrowed its net loss by $1.2 million, to $4.4 million, during the final three months of its 2010 fiscal year.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based company makes and markets the Diamondback 360 PAD system, designed to remove plaque from inside the arteries of the leg using an orbiting, diamond-coated crown atop a catheter-guided shaft. It and the successor Diamondback Predator device are approved to treat peripheral arterial disease; separate trials are pending to test its efficacy in removing calcified coronary lesions and to evaluate its use treating PAD lesions above and below the knee, respectively.
CSI announced August 10 its financial results for both its fiscal fourth quarter and the 12 months ended June 30. The 29-cent net loss on $18.0 million in overall revenues during the fourth quarter topped consensus analyst opinion for both the top and bottom lines, beating the 40-cent net loss Wall Street was expecting by 27 percent.
In prepared remarks, CEO David Martin said CSI increasingly is building customer awareness of the Diamondback systems, particularly during the final six months of the now-concluded fiscal year. That awareness also is translating to higher usage and repeat business, he said, with reorders accounting for 93 percent of the reported $18 million in fourth quarter revenues.
For the full fiscal year, the net loss at CSI totaled $23.9 million, up from the $9.1 million net loss reported during the year-ago period. Revenues rose 14.8 percent year-over-year, climbing to $64.8 million from $56.5 million.
But despite progress improving gross margins and reducing operating expenses, company officials are forecasting a net loss of between $4.7 million to $5.3 million during the current quarter ending in September. That would work out to between 31 cents and 34 cents a share, at least 3 cents below the 37-cent loss analysts, on average, are predicting for the period. Revenues are expected to be in a range between $17 million and $18 million, which would be at least a 12.5 percent increase over year-ago comparisons but well below the $18.8 million in revenues analysts expect.
Revenues during the September quarter tend to be lower than other periods, as fewer procedures are performed during the summer, according to CSI executives.