Oct. 1, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- NORCROSS, Ga., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Immucor, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUD), a global leader in providing automated instrument-reagent systems to the blood transfusion industry, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2010 first quarter ended August 31, 2009.
Financial Highlights
-- Revenue for the fiscal first quarter of 2010 was $83.1 million, up 14%
from $73.2 million in the prior year quarter.
-- Gross margin was 71.9% in the quarter, compared with 73.0% in the prior
year quarter. Current quarter gross margin included expenses of
approximately $2.3 million related to the Quality Process Improvement
Project.
-- Net income in the quarter was $21.3 million, compared with $20.0 million
for the same quarter last year.
-- Diluted earnings per share totaled $0.30 in the quarter, compared with
$0.28 for the same period last year. The current year quarter included
the impact from the Quality Process Improvement Project of approximately
$0.02 per diluted share, net of tax.
-- Cash flow from operations for the quarter ended August 31, 2009 was
$24.5 million, compared with $21.6 million in the prior year.
-- The current year included a full quarter of results for BioArray
Solutions, which was acquired on August 4, 2008.
"Despite the economy, we continue to generate revenue, earnings and cash flow growth due to the needs-based aspect of our business and our focus on automation that improves blood bank operations," stated Dr. Gioacchino De Chirico, Immucor's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Selected Product Revenue and Gross Margin
($ amounts in thousands) Revenue
Fiscal Q1 2010 Fiscal Q1 2009 Growth
-------------- -------------- ------
Gross Gross
Revenue Margin Revenue Margin $ %
------- -------- ------- -------- - -
Traditional
reagents $54,719 76.1% $49,272 78.7% $5,447 11%
Capture reagents 18,303 83.3% 15,174 86.7% 3,129 21%
Instruments 9,292 32.0% 8,579 17.4% 713 8%
Consolidated revenue was $83.1 million in the current year quarter, an increase of approximately $9.9 million, or 14%, over the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Revenue in the quarter benefited from both price and volume contributions. Revenue in the quarter, as compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2009, was negatively impacted by approximately $1.7 million due to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.
Consolidated gross margin was $59.7 million, or 71.9% of revenue, in the current year quarter compared with $53.4 million, or 73.0% of revenue, in the prior year quarter. During the current year quarter, gross margin was negatively impacted by the costs related to the Company's Quality Process Improvement Project. The Project's goal is to establish a world-class quality system while simultaneously addressing the deficiencies noted by the Food and Drug Administration in its June 2009 administrative action.
"We are making good progress on our Quality Process Improvement Project and continue to believe that our efforts will result in a world-class quality system," stated Dr. De Chirico. "We remain on track for the project to be completed by the end of our third quarter of fiscal 2010."
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses for the first fiscal quarter of 2010 increased by approximately $3.5 million, or 16%, over the prior year quarter primarily attributable to the BioArray acquisition.
Summary of Instrument Orders
Q1 2010 Orders
-------------- Cumulative
Instrument N.A. (1) ROW(2) Total Orders (3)
---------- --------- -------- ------ ---------
Echo 23 17 40 643
Galileo 0 14 14 651
(1) N.A. - North America (the U.S. and Canada)
(2) ROW - all parts of the world other than the U.S. and Canada
(3) Cumulative Orders - total orders received since the launch of the
instrument
Of the cumulative orders since the instruments' launch, approximately 430 Echo orders and 614 Galileo orders were generating reagent revenue at their expected annualized run rate as of August 31, 2009, an increase of 70 Echo instruments and 18 Galileo instruments in the fiscal first quarter.
"We have seen a lengthening of sales cycles for the Echo in fiscal 2010 and now believe that we will generate 280 to 320 Echo orders compared with our previous expectations of 320 to 350 orders in fiscal 2010," stated Dr. De Chirico. "We have strong Echo pipelines and continue to believe in the opportunity for Echo, which is targeted at small- to medium-sized hospitals, due to the need for automation in that market segment, particularly in the U.S."
"For Galileo, our high volume instrument, we continue to expect to generate 50 to 70 orders in fiscal 2010, with orders in the U.S. and Canada being lower until the introduction of our next generation automated instrument, the Galileo Neo(TM)," stated Dr. De Chirico. "We continue to expect to launch the Neo in the first calendar quarter of 2010."
Fiscal 2010 Financial Guidance
The Company continues to expect fiscal 2010 consolidated revenue in the range of $322 million to $332 million and consolidated gross margins in the range of 70.0% to 71.5%. The Company's Quality Process Improvement Project is included in cost of goods sold.
