Immucor, Inc. (Immucor), an in vitro diagnostics company, has reported revenues of $75.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, up 12%, compared with the revenues of $67 million in the year-ago quarter. It has also reported net income of $19.5 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, compared with the net income of $19.3 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
Financial Highlights
Gross margin was 71.4% in the quarter, compared with 72.1% in the prior year quarter.
Cash flow from operations for the nine months ended February 28, 2009 was $54.0 million, compared with $54.1 million in the prior year period.
“We are pleased with the stability of our performance given the current economic environment,” stated Gioacchino De Chirico, Immucor’s president and chief executive officer. “The demand for our reagent products, which account for nearly 90% of our total revenue, has remained stable as shown by our earnings and our cash flow.”
Nine-Month Results
For the first nine months of fiscal 2009, revenue was $221.5 million, compared with $192.6 million in the prior year period. Gross margin was 72.6%, up from 70.7% in the prior year period. Net income was $56.8 million, or $0.80 per fully diluted share, compared with $53.2 million, or $0.75 per fully diluted share in the prior year period.
Consolidated revenue was $75.3 million in the current year quarter, an increase of approximately $8.3 million, or 12%, over the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Reagent price increases and increased instrument revenue in the United States market as well as increased sales of reagents outside of the U.S. accounted for the majority of the revenue increase. Revenue in the quarter was negatively impacted by approximately $1.7 million from foreign currency translation as compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
Consolidated gross margin was $53.8 million, or 71.4% of revenue, in the current year quarter compared with $48.3 million, or 72.1% of revenue, in the prior year quarter. Consolidated gross margin was negatively impacted by higher than normal manufacturing variances, which included the disposal of certain inventory related to our transfer of production from Houston to Norcross, Ga.
“We believe that the need to address staff shortages and to prioritize patient safety will continue to drive long-term demand for our Echo instrument in the small-to-medium hospital segment. We believe we will be near our 350 Echo order target for fiscal 2009, despite the increased pressure our customers are experiencing due to the current economic climate,” stated Dr. De Chirico. “We expect to be at, or slightly above, the top end of our previous estimate of between 50 and 60 Galileo orders for the year.”
2009 Guidance
The company continues to expect fiscal 2009 revenue in the range of $292 million to $300 million and gross margins in the range of 71.0% to 73.0%. During the fourth quarter, the company expects to spend between $1.5 million and $2.0 million on a quality process improvement project, which will negatively impact fourth quarter gross margins. Including these expenses, the company expects full year diluted earnings per share to be at, or modestly above, the upper end of its previous guidance range of $0.97 to $1.02.