Cooper Companies Inc. (COO), which makes contact lenses and surgical instruments for gynecologists and obstetricians, said Thursday after the markets closed that its third quarter profit rose from last year, helped by higher sales and better cost control. However, the company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, came in below analysts' expectations.
The Pleasanton, California-based company GAAP net income for the third quarter of $21.9 million or $0.48 per share, compared to $17.9 million or $0.39 per share for the year-ago quarter.
Excluding $4.1 million or $0.06 per share of charges for the recently announced manufacturing restructuring at the company's contact lens unit CooperVision, non-GAAP earnings for the latest quarter was $0.54 per share.
Last month, Cooper said its CooperVision unit will close its soft contact lens plant in Norfolk, Virginia, citing efficiencies achieved over the last year, cut 570 jobs and take related charges.
On average, 8 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.62 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales for the third quarter increased 2% to $285.23 million from $278.51 million in the same quarter last year. Seven analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $288.84 million for the third quarter.
Selling, general and marketing expenses for the quarter fell to $100.0 million from $110.6 million a year ago, while research and development expenses declined to $7.7 million from $9.0 million last year.
Commenting on the third quarter results, Robert Weiss, Cooper's president and chief executive officer said, "This quarter was another step in the right direction for the long-term health of our company. Although our quarterly earnings were lower than we would have liked, we generated extremely strong cash flow and now expect roughly $100 million of free cash flow for the fiscal year."
For the third quarter, net sales for the company's CooperVision unit rose 2% year-over-year to $240.9 million, while net sales for its CooperSurgical unit grew 4% to $44.3 million.
For the first nine months of its fiscal year 2009, the company reported GAAP net income of $70.4 million or $1.55 per share, compared to $36.0 million or $0.79 per share for the same period last year.
Excluding charges, non-GAAP net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2009 was $1.61 per share.
Net sales for the nine-month period increased to $796.97 million from $780.53 million in the prior year period.Looking forward to the fourth quarter, the company said it expects net sales of $271 million to $285 million, GAAP earnings of $0.56 to $0.58 per share and non-GAAP earnings of $0.66 to $0.68 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.60 per share on revenue of $280.27 million for the fourth quarter.
For the fiscal year 2009, the company said it now expects net sales of $1.068 billion to $1.082 billion, GAAP earnings of $2.11 to $2.13 per share and non-GAAP earnings of $2.27 to $2.29 per share. Previously, the company expected net sales of $1.03 billion to $1.10 billion and GAAP earnings of $2.16 to $2.36 per share.
Cooper CEO Weiss said, "Excluding charges for the recently announced manufacturing restructuring, we expect to exceed the mid-point of our previous annual earnings guidance."
Analysts currently expect the company to earn $2.30 per share on revenue of $1.08 billion for the fiscal year 2009.
Cooper share, which have traded in a range of $10.17 to $38.37 over the past year, closed Thursday's regular trading session at $26.67, up 31 cents or 1.18%. The stock is currently losing 94 cents or 3.52% in after hours trading.
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