China Medical posts fiscal 4Q profit on test sales

Shares of China Medical Technologies Inc., which makes tumor therapy and in-vitro testing equipment, soared Thursday after the company posted a 25 percent rise in fiscal fourth-quarter profit on higher sales of diagnostic tests.

In afternoon trading, shares were up $6.22, or 18.6 percent, to $39.66.

The company earned $15 million, or 53 cents per share, compared with $10.8 million, or 40 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $19 million, or 66 cents per share, in the latest period.

Revenue rose more than 74 percent to $40.5 million from $21.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

China Medical said 60 percent of its revenue came from sales of its ECLIA and FISH diagnostic tests. ECLIA is a test of blood, urine or saliva used to diagnose diseases while FISH is used to detect certain DNA sequences in chromosomes.

The company expects even a greater percentage of revenue to come from the two tests in the future.

For the full year, the company earned $46.4 million, or $1.71 per share, compared with $37.5 million, or $1.39 per shares in fiscal 2007.