What happened
After the company reported fiscal second-quarter sales and profit that beat Wall Street analysts' forecast on both the top and bottom lines, Abiomed's (ABMD) shares surged 10.5% higher on Thursday.
So what
Despite warning last quarter that sales could dip quarter to quarter because of seasonality, the maker of temporary heart pumps reported revenue of $181.8 million that bested last fiscal quarter's $180 million in sales, as well as the industry watchers' outlook for revenue of about $175 million. For comparison, sales were $132.8 million in its second quarter last year.
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In the U.S., Impella heart pump revenue increased 34% to $152.2 million because of a 29% increase in patient use. And outside the U.S., its sales jumped 67% to $23.1 million due to its commercial launch in Japan.
Abiomed also reported GAAP earnings per share of $1.09 that handily outpaced analyst forecasts by $0.36, and non-GAAP income of $0.81 per share, which beat estimates by $0.08. Last year, GAAP EPS totaled $0.54.
The jump in earnings was supported by an increase in operating margin to 27.7% from 23.9% one year ago. Spending on research and development as a percentage of revenue fell 2.1% to 12.5%, while spending on selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased 1.8% to 43.4%.
Now what
The quarter was good enough for management to boost its full-fiscal-year sales outlook to at least $765 million, up 29% year over year, from its prior outlook for sales of at least $755 million. Entering this fiscal year, management was guiding for full-fiscal-year sales of at least $740 million, so Abiomed has boosted the low end of its guidance by $25 million so far this year.
There's good reason to be optimistic about this company. In September, management reported results from a study showing its heart pumps improve patient outcomes. The fact that Abiomed has only penetrated about 9% of its market opportunity -- and that this data is likely to support greater use of its products -- suggest this company could have a long runway of double-digit growth.
