SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 31, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Dionex Corporation (Nasdaq:DNEX) today announced record net sales and earnings for the second quarter and six months ended December 31, 2007.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2008, sales were $98.0 million, an increase of 17% compared with the $83.5 million reported in the same quarter of last year. Currency fluctuations added $5.3 million to reported sales for this quarter, or 6%, compared with the second quarter of fiscal year 2007. Diluted earnings per share were $0.77 for the second quarter, compared to the $0.68 reported in the second quarter of last year. Net income for the second quarter of last fiscal year included a discrete tax benefit from the extension of the federal research credit of approximately $550,000 or $0.03 per share.
For the first six months of fiscal 2008, sales were $180.5 million, an increase of 15% compared with the $156.4 million reported for the first six months of fiscal 2007. Currency fluctuations added $7.5 million to our reported sales in the first six months of fiscal 2008, or 5%, compared to the first six months of fiscal 2007. Diluted earnings per share were $1.30, an increase of 17% compared with the $1.11 reported in the first six months of fiscal 2007.
During the quarter, the Company repurchased 187,642 shares of its common stock for $15.9 million. In the first six months of fiscal 2008, the Company repurchased 445,467 shares of its common stock for $34.5 million.
Lukas Braunschweiler, President and Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the results, said, "We are very pleased to report such strong results for the second quarter. We reported the highest quarterly sales in the history of the Company. We also reported record earnings for the quarter, driven by solid and continued operating margin expansion.
"We experienced strong growth in all three major geographic regions and in both ion chromatography and HPLC. Sales in North America were up 21% for the quarter reflecting a continuation of improved performance in North America. European sales grew in the high teens in reported dollars and in the mid-single digits in local currency. Sales in our Asia/Pacific region grew 15% in the second quarter in reported dollars and 11% in local currency, driven by strong results in China, Korea, India and Australia.
"Demand from our life sciences and environmental customers was up strongly this quarter. Customer demand in our chemical/petrochemical and food/beverage markets was up significantly this quarter, while demand from our electronic and power customers was down this quarter.
"We experienced high teens sales growth in ion chromatography this quarter. The sales growth was broad based coming from both instrumentation and consumables. Our HPLC sales growth was strong again this quarter. We continue to be very pleased with the strong customer acceptance of our new Ultimate 3000 HPLC products.
"Based on our strong performance in the second quarter we believe that we are well positioned for good growth in sales and earnings in the second half of fiscal year 2008. We estimate that net sales will be in the range of $92-$96 million and diluted earnings per share will be in the range of $0.66-$0.70 for the third quarter. We are increasing our sales and diluted earnings per share forecasts for the full fiscal year 2008. We estimate that sales will be in the range of $363-$370 million and diluted earnings per share will be in the range of $2.62-$2.69. Our forecasts are based on the following assumptions: (1) currency rates will have a 4 percentage point positive impact on sales in fiscal year 2008; (2) our gross profit margin will be approximately 66% for the remainder of fiscal year 2008; and (3) our tax rate for the second half of fiscal year 2008 should be in the range of 35.5%-36.5%."
Dionex Corporation is a leading manufacturer and marketer of chromatography systems for chemical analysis. The Company's systems are used in environmental analysis and by the life sciences, food and beverage, chemicals, petrochemicals, power generation and electronics industries in a variety of applications.
Management of the Company will discuss the second quarter results in a conference call on Wednesday, January 31, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). To listen to the call live, please tune into the webcast via www.dionex.com. A playback of the conference call will be available from 8:00 a.m. PT, Friday, February 1, 2008 until 5:00 p.m. PT, Friday, March 28, 2008.
Certain statements contained herein or made in the quarterly conference call that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ from these statements are foreign currency fluctuations, competition from other products, economic conditions in the areas in which the company sells its products and demand for analytical instrumentation. These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
December 31, December 31,
2007 2006 2007 2006
-------- -------- -------- --------
Net sales $ 98,038 $ 83,519 $180,461 $156,376
Cost of sales 31,832 27,655 60,528 52,614
-------- -------- -------- --------
Gross profit 66,206 55,864 119,933 103,762
-------- -------- -------- --------
Operating expenses:
Selling, general
and administrative 35,888 30,576 67,044 59,005
Research and product
development 7,568 6,101 14,169 11,849
-------- -------- -------- --------
Total operating
expenses 43,456 36,677 81,213 70,854
-------- -------- -------- --------
Operating income 22,750 19,187 38,720 32,908
Interest income, net 262 191 729 500
Other income (expense) (639) 262 (1,390) (69)
-------- -------- -------- --------
Income before taxes
on income 22,373 19,640 38,059 33,339
Taxes on income 7,544 6,373 13,080 11,401
-------- -------- -------- --------
Net income $ 14,829 $ 13,267 $ 24,979 $ 21,938
======== ======== ======== ========
Basic earnings per
share $ 0.80 $ 0.69 $ 1.34 $ 1.14
======== ======== ======== ========
Diluted earnings
per share $ 0.77 $ 0.68 $ 1.30 $ 1.11
======== ======== ======== ========
Shares used in computing
per share amounts:
Basic 18,605 19,154 18,685 19,297
======== ======== ======== ========
Diluted 19,242 19,609 19,268 19,732
======== ======== ======== ========
DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AT DECEMBER 31, 2007 AND JUNE 30, 2007
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
December 31, June 30,
2007 2007
----------- ---------
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash, cash equivalents
and short term investments $ 64,249 $ 55,062
Accounts receivable, net 68,285 65,990
Inventories 30,476 28,626
Other current assets 20,895 21,096
--------- ---------
Total current assets 183,905 170,774
Property, plant and equipment,
net 64,611 62,366
Goodwill and other intangible
assets 32,437 32,398
Other assets 16,923 6,231
--------- ---------
$ 297,876 $ 271,769
========= =========
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Notes payable $ 14,080 $ 231
Accounts payable 12,549 12,293
Accrued liabilities 47,892 48,946
Income taxes payable 302 13,068
Accrued product warranty 3,181 2,875
--------- ---------
Total current liabilities 78,004 77,413
Deferred income taxes and
other 26,777 8,648
Stockholders' equity 193,095 185,708
--------- ---------
$ 297,876 $ 271,769
========= =========