San Carlos, Calif.-based Natus Medical (NTUS) shares are surging in early Thursday trading, up more than 7% as of this writing, following release of the company's Q2 earnings results.
Reporting $0.13 per share in profits on $82.3 million in revenues, Natus appears at first glance to have missed analyst targets on both counts. However, Natus focused investor attention on its pro forma earnings performance instead, where the company's $0.21-per-share performance would equate to an earnings beat on that count, at least.
Company CEO Jim Hawkins blamed "weakness in international markets, particularly Europe and to a lesser extent Latin America," for the company's "second quarter revenue shortfall." On the other hand, he argued that "our improved operating margin" shows progress toward a goal of improving the company's pro forma profit margins.
Going forward, Natus says it is targeting $80 million to $82 million in revenues for Q3, and $84 million to $88 million in Q4 of this year -- resulting in year-end revenues of $332 million to $338 million. The company did not say how much it expects to earn as GAAP net profits, positing instead a full-year pro forma earnings number of between $0.76 and $0.82.
