CFO: Zoll Medical outlook "bullish"
Zoll Medical Corp. (Nasdaq:ZOLL) CEO Richard Packer said the maker of defibrillators and medical devices has a lot of momentum and is generally executing well on its business plan. However, he acknowledged economic uncertainty and said the November elections could impact health-care spending. Packer made the comments during a morning conference call with investors and analysts.
“Clearly, we’re very excited about our results here,” Packer said. “We think we are lined up for a good back half of 2008.”
In an early Wednesday press release, Zoll raised its 2008 earnings guidance to $1.10 per share, up 10% from previous guidance of $1 per share. The company said strong results during the second quarter prompted the guidance increase.
“Obviously, we are running ahead of our plan for 2008,” CFO Ernest Whiton said. “Our outlook for 2008 is bullish based upon our first half, but there are some big macroeconomic uncertainties out there so we believe this is good, balanced guidance.”
Before Wednesday’s opening, Zoll posted second-quarter sales of $99.2 million, up 40% from $70.8 million a year earlier. The quarterly results beat Wall Street’s expectation of $84.2 million in sales by 18%.
Two accounts highlighted Zoll’s success during the second quarter, Packer said. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota chose Zoll as its resuscitation partner, he said. Zoll also standardized the Medical College of Virginia (part of Virginia Commonwealth University), which was the first time the college used Zoll defibrillators, Packer said.
Low international sales of Zoll’s AutoPulse cardiac support pump were a negative aspect of the quarter’s results, the CEO said.
“Lest anyone think we are hitting on all cylinders, the one significant downer for the quarter was international AutoPulse sales, which were significantly below last year’s sales,” Packer said. “After a series of quarters of increasing AutoPulse sales, it appears that the sales force took a bit of a breather this quarter. We look for much stronger performance in the next two quarters to get us back on track with AutoPulse international.”
The Chelmsford, Mass.-based company’s net income for the three months ended March 30 rose to $5.7 million, or $0.27 per share, from $3.2 million, or $0.15 per share, during the year-ago period. Wall Street anticipated earnings of $0.19 per share.
Quarterly gross profit increased 41% to $53.6 million from $38 million during the same period of 2007. Expenses during the quarter increased year-over-year to $45.1 million from $34 million.
In midday trading, ZOLL shares are soaring 25.26%, or $6.34, at $31.43. Shares have ranged between $19.91 and $31.75 over the last 52 weeks.
