Merit Medical Reports Record Revenues For The Fourth Quarter And Year Ended December 31, 2010 And Gives Sales And Earnings Guidance For 2011

Revenues Up 20% for the Quarter and 15% for the Year

Gross Margins Up 430 Basis Point for the Quarter and 100 Basis Points for the Year

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah, Feb. 17, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MMSI), a leading manufacturer and marketer of proprietary disposable devices used primarily in cardiology, radiology and endoscopy, today announced record revenues of $81.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, an increase of 20% over revenues of $67.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010 were a record $296.8 million, an increase of 15% over revenues of $257.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Merit's non-GAAP net income, adjusted to eliminate non-recurring costs attributable to Merit's acquisition of BioSphere Medical, Inc., amortization of intangible assets, was $6.7 million, or $0.23 per share, up 22% for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, compared to $5.5 million, or $0.19 per share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Merit's non-GAAP net income for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $25.2 million, or $0.87 per share, up 3%, compared to $24.4 million, or $0.85 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2009. The non-recurring acquisition costs, which are attributable to the BioSphere acquisition and include legal, accounting, investment banking, severance, and stepped-up inventory costs, net of tax, were $1.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, and $4.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Merit also recorded a one-time goodwill impairment charge of $5.2 million, net of tax, for the Endotek division related to the assets acquired from Alveolus, Inc. during the year ended December 31, 2010. The amortization of intangible assets, net of tax, was $770,000 and $2.2 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2010, respectively, compared to $456,000 and $1.5 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009, respectively.