Shares of Abiomed (ABMD) closed down 10% today after the medical-device maker reported earnings from its second fiscal quarter and muted guidance for the quarter ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Revenue was up 27% from the first quarter as hospitals opened up and doctors were able to perform procedures to implant Abiomed's Impella heart pumps. While the most recent quarter looked better than the first fiscal quarter, procedure growth is still stymied with Abiomed's revenue up just 2% compared to the same quarter last year. Year-over-year growth outside the U.S. was up 13%, but U.S. sales, which are substantially larger, dragged down overall sales with a decrease of 1% year over year.
Abiomed is still generating operating cash flow and continues to turn a profit to the tune of $62.2 million in the second fiscal quarter. The bottom line was boosted by a gain on its investment in Shockwave Medical and excess tax benefits related to employee share-based compensation awards. But even backing out those two items, the profit was $46.1 million, substantially higher than the $13.1 million Abiomed earned in the year-ago quarter.
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Unfortunately, Abiomed's management doesn't expect growth to come back anytime soon. In the current quarter, the healthcare company is looking for revenue in the range of $221 million to $230 million, which would be flat to 4% growth compared to the same period last year.
Fortunately for Abiomed and its investors, the patients aren't going to get better on their own, so the company should be able to capture many of the patients who have put off procedures until the pandemic begins to wane.
