Contact lens maker Cooper Companies Inc. (COO) said Thursday after the markets closed that its second quarter profit rose 37% from last year, helped by higher sales and improved margins.
The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations, but its quarterly sales fell short of analysts' forecast.
At the same time, the company slightly lowered the top end of its fiscal year 2013 revenue guidance range, but raised its full year earnings outlook.
Commenting on the results, Robert Weiss, Cooper's president and chief executive officer said, "I am enthused by our performance as we continue executing on our long-range strategies that lead to gaining market share and improving our operating margin."
Cooper Companies shares are currently gaining 2.54% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $113.13, up $2.13 or 1.92%. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $71.40 to $116.79.
For the second quarter ended April 30, 2013, the Pleasanton, California-based company reported net income of $75.1 million or $1.52 per share, compared to $54.9 million or $1.12 per share for the year-ago quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the latest quarter were $1.50 per share.
On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.38 per share for the second quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Gross margin for the quarter improved to 66% from 64% a year earlier, mainly due to a lower royalty payment on silicone hydrogel lens sales, product mix, and increased manufacturing efficiencies, while operating margin increased to 21% from 19% last year.
Net sales for the second quarter rose 11% to $384.04 million from $344.59 million in the same quarter last year. Eight analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $389.14 million for the second quarter.
Second quarter revenue for the CooperVision unit, which makes contact lenses, increased 7% to $309.3 million, while it surged 32% to $74.7 million for the CooperSurgical unit, which makes products for the woman's healthcare market.
Cooper Companies mainly competes with Alcon and Bausch & Lomb Inc. in the contact lens market.
For the fiscal year 2013, the company now forecasts revenue of $1.575 billion to $1.605 billion, earnings of $$6.42 to $6.52 per share and adjusted earnings of $6.15 to $6.25 per share. Previously, the company forecast revenue of $1.575 billion to $1.625 billion, earnings of $$6.22 to $6.37 per share and adjusted earnings of $5.95 to $6.10 per share.
Analysts currently expect the company to earn $6.05 per share on revenue of $1.61 billion for the fiscal year 2013.
The guidance excludes the financial impact for the proposed sale of Aime.
Last week, Cooper said that CooperVision has reached an agreement to sell Aime, its rigid gas permeable contact lens and solutions business in Japan, to Nippon Contact Lens Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The divestiture is expected to close during Cooper's fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Cooper expects the related charge to negatively impact its fiscal 2013 GAAP earnings per share by $0.25-$0.35.
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