AngioDynamics Guides FY 2011 EPS $0.48-$0.50 (ANGO)

AngioDynamics Guides FY 2011 EPS $0.48-$0.50 ANGO. AngioDynamics ANGO today reported financial results for the fiscal 2011 third quarter ended February 28, 2011. Net sales in the third quarter were $54.6 million, a 5% increase over the $52.2 million reported in the prior year period. Oncology/Surgery sales increased 19% to $16.3 million from the prior year, and included $1.9 million in NanoKnife® System sales, up from $800,000 in the prior year quarter. Vascular sales were $38.3 million, virtually identical to the third quarter a year ago. International sales in the third quarter increased 8% (9% in constant currency) to $6.3 million from the prior year period. Gross margin was 58.0% in the third quarter, which is the same as reported for the prior year period, and reflects a competitive pricing environment for many of the Company's Vascular products. Operating income was $5.2 million in the quarter compared with $5.6 million a year ago, primarily reflecting a 24% increase in R&D expense in support of the Company's new product development. Net income in the third quarter increased 14% to $3.8 million, or $0.15 per share, compared with $3.3 million, or $0.13 per share, a year ago. The Company's effective income tax rate for the quarter was 25%, compared with 38% for the prior year period. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to the reinstatement of the federal R&D tax credit during the quarter, and provided a benefit of approximately $0.02 per share. The Company expects its tax rate for the full year to approximate 33%. AngioDynamics generated cash flow from operations of $10.3 million during the quarter. At February 28, 2011, cash and investments totaled $120.2 million, and long-term debt was $6.3 million. For the nine months ended February 28, 2011, net sales were $159.5 million, a 2% increase over the $155.8 million reported for the nine months ended February 28, 2010. Gross margin for the nine month period was 58.5% compared with 59.1% for the prior year period. For the nine months to date, operating income was $14.1 million, a 2% decrease from $14.5 million in the year ago period. Net income for the nine months grew 5% to $9.0 million, or $0.36 per share, from the prior year period. The net financial impact of the NanoKnife program was $0.12 loss per share in the nine months and $0.17 loss per share in the comparable prior year period. “We posted continued strong growth in Oncology/Surgery product sales, with NanoKnife® System sales more than doubling from a year ago,” said Jan Keltjens, President and Chief Executive Officer. “While generating good volume increases during the quarter, our Vascular business continued to be impacted by pricing pressure. It is encouraging that our R&D investments are starting to generate results. In particular, we successfully launched our power-injectable Smart Port® and Morpheus® Smart PICC product lines. We are committed to investing in innovation to drive long-term revenue growth, and we launched four new products during the quarter. Year to date, we have launched 10 new products, meeting our goal for the current fiscal year. We are confident that our focus on expense management, investments in R&D and financial strength position us to drive our profitability and long-term growth. However, during the current fourth quarter, our top line outlook is being challenged by a combination of Vascular business pricing pressures and soft procedure volumes in the U.S. markets. As a result we are revising our guidance for the full fiscal year.”