Abaxis Reports Record Revenues For The Third Quarter Of Fiscal 2010

UNION CITY, Calif., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ABAXIS, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, today reported financial results for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2009.  

Record quarterly highlights include:

• Revenues of $31.0 million, up 15% over last year's comparable quarter.
• North America revenues of $24.9 million, up 9% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Veterinary market sales of $23.9 million, up 33% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Total medical and veterinary instrument sales of 1,212 units, up 37% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Gross profit of $18.3 million, up 21% over last year's comparable quarter.

Other quarterly highlights include:

• Total medical and veterinary reagent disc sales of $16.3 million, up 5% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Operating income of $5.4 million, up 14% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Cash, cash equivalents and investments as of December 31, 2009 of $93.2 million, compared to $74.6 million as of December 31, 2008.

Quarterly Results:  For the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2009, Abaxis reported revenues of $31.0 million, as compared with revenues of $27.0 million for the comparable period last year, an increase of 15 percent.  Revenues from instrument sales, which include chemistry analyzers, hematology instruments, coagulation analyzers and i-STAT analyzers, increased by an aggregate of $485,000, or 6 percent, over the same period last year.  The company reported total medical and veterinary instrument sales of 1,212 units, up 37 percent over the same period last year.  Revenues from consumables, which include reagent discs, hematology reagent kits, coagulation cartridges, i-STAT cartridges and heartworm rapid tests, increased by an aggregate of $3.4 million, or 20 percent, over the same period last year.  The company reported net income of $3.4 million for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2009, which was flat in comparison to the same period in 2008.  The company's effective tax rate in the quarter ended December 31, 2009 was 37 percent, compared to 34 percent for the same period last year.  The company reported diluted net income per share of $0.15 (calculated based on 22,617,000 shares) for the third quarter of fiscal 2010, compared to $0.15 per share (calculated based on 22,264,000 shares) for the same period last year.

Nine-Month Results: For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2009, Abaxis reported revenues of $90.9 million, as compared with revenues of $79.2 million for the comparable period last year, an increase of 15 percent.  Revenues from instrument sales decreased by an aggregate of $1.4 million, or 6 percent, over the same period last year.  The company reported total medical and veterinary instrument sales of 2,971 units, up 23 percent over the same period last year.  Revenues from consumables increased by an aggregate of $11.6 million, or 23 percent, over the same period last year.  The company reported net income of $10.4 million, compared to $9.4 million for the same period last year.  The company's effective tax rate in the nine-month period ended December 31, 2009, was 39 percent, compared to 36 percent for the same period last year.  The company reported diluted net income per share of $0.46 (calculated based on 22,549,000 shares) for the nine months ended December 31, 2009, compared to $0.42 per share (calculated based on 22,325,000 shares) for the same period last year.

Other Reported Information:  Consumables revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were $20.1 million, up 20 percent over the $16.8 million reported for the same period last year.  Total sales in the medical market for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were $5.2 million, a decrease of 28 percent compared to the same period last year, primarily due to a decrease in instrument sales to the U.S. government and distributors in North America.  Medical sales worldwide, excluding sales to the U.S. government, during the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were $4.8 million, a decrease of 21 percent compared to the same period last year, primarily due to inventory stock adjustments by distributors in North America.  Total sales in the veterinary market for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were $23.9 million, an increase of 33 percent compared to the same period last year.  Veterinary reagent disc sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were $12.8 million, an increase of 13 percent compared to the same period last year.  

Non-cash compensation expense recognized for share-based awards during the third quarter of fiscal 2010 was $1.4 million, compared to $465,000 for last year's comparable quarter.

Clint Severson, chairman and chief executive officer of Abaxis, commented, "We are pleased to report another solid quarter of double digit growth accompanied with strong operating margins.  Revenues grew 15% to a record of $31.0 million for the quarter, led by a 37% increase in instrument unit sales.  Operationally, gross margins continue at record levels, expanding 300 basis points versus the comparable quarter last year.  Our balance sheet remains healthy with $93.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, short- and long-term investments and no long-term debt."

Mr. Severson continued, "Our medical market sales team has made substantial progress in expanding our customer base by growing the installed base of Piccolo instruments, excluding the U.S. government.  With Piccolo instrument unit sales during the third quarter increasing 12% compared to our second quarter and 48% higher than the first quarter of the fiscal year, we are beginning to experience the benefits of our new strategic plan in addressing the medical point-of-care market.  Our goal is to remain focused on growing both our medical and veterinary markets by providing leading-edge technology and quality products to our customers allowing them to improve the way healthcare is delivered."

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