SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 30, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Dionex Corporation (Nasdaq:DNEX) today announced record net sales and earnings for the third quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2008.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2008, sales were $98.4 million, an increase of 16% compared with the $85.0 million reported in the third quarter of last year. Currency fluctuations increased sales by $6.2 million, or 7%, for the third quarter compared with the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.72 for the third quarter, an increase of 22%, compared with the $0.59 reported in the third quarter of last year.
For the nine months ended March 31, 2008, sales were $278.8 million, an increase of 16% compared with the $241.3 million reported for the same period of last year. Currency fluctuations increased sales by $13.0 million, or 6%, for the first nine months compared with the first nine months of fiscal 2007. Diluted earnings per share were $2.01, an increase of 18% compared with the $1.70 reported for the first nine months of fiscal 2007.
During the quarter, the Company repurchased 273,699 shares of its common stock for $20.9 million. In the first nine months of fiscal 2008, the Company repurchased a total of 719,166 shares of its common stock for $55.4 million.
Lukas Braunschweiler, President and Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the results, said, "We achieved record sales for the Company, reaching a new milestone. We also reported very strong earnings per share and operating income growth, driven by strong sales growth and a tax benefit. The results for the third quarter were even better than we anticipated at our last conference call.
"We experienced strong sales growth in North America and the Asia Pacific region and in both of our major product lines, ion chromatography and HPLC. Sales in North America grew strongly again this quarter, growing 15%, adding to the very solid growth reported for the first six months of fiscal 2008. Sales in Europe increased in reported dollars, but were slightly down in local currency, mainly driven by weaker demand from some of our life sciences customers. Sales in our Asia/Pacific region grew almost 40% in the third quarter in reported dollars and 31% in local currency. We achieved strong sales growth in all major countries in the region, particularly in China, India and Korea. In addition, Japan sales grew 18% in the third quarter.
"We are pleased that we achieved growth in each of our end-user markets in the third quarter, including life sciences, environmental and chemical/petrochemical.
"Sales of our ion chromatography products were up 20% in the third quarter driven by strong demand for our IC instrumentation and consumables in North America and the Asia Pacific region. We experienced slight growth in HPLC for the quarter driven by strong growth in North America and Asia Pacific, offsetting a decline in Europe.
"We believe that our strong performance in the third quarter and on a year-to-date basis leaves us in a good position for solid sales and earnings growth in the fourth quarter. We estimate that net sales will be in the range of $93-$96 million in the fourth quarter and that diluted earnings per share will be in the range of $0.67-$0.71 per share. We are increasing our sales and EPS guidance for the full year. For the full year, we estimate that sales will be in the range of $372-$375 million and diluted earnings per share will be $2.68-$2.72. Among the assumptions on which our guidance is based are: (1) currency rates will have a 4-5 percentage point positive impact on sales for all of fiscal 2008; (2) our gross margin will be approximately 66% for the remainder of fiscal 2008; (3) our tax rate for the fourth quarter 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 third quarter results in a conference call on Wednesday, April 30, 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, Thursday, May 1, 2008 until 5:00 p.m. PT, Monday, June 30, 2008.
Certain statements contained herein that are not purely historical (such as statements related to the Company's future plans and prospects including its sales and earnings growth estimates) may be deemed to be forward-looking statements which are subject to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events and the future financial performance of the Company that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors including: foreign currency fluctuations, competition from other products, economic conditions in the areas in which the company sells its products, and demand for analytical instrumentation and other factors listed in the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. The financial information contained in this release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, each as it may be amended from time to time. The Company's results of operations for the third quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2008 are not necessarily indicative of the Company's operating results for any future periods. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to the Company, which is subject to change. Although any such projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, the Company will not necessarily update the information, since the Company will only provide guidance at certain points during the year. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.
DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
March 31, March 31,
2008 2007 2008 2007
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net sales $ 98,356 $ 84,954 $278,817 $241,330
Cost of sales 33,831 29,172 94,359 81,786
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Gross profit 64,525 55,782 184,458 159,544
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and
administrative 37,170 31,389 104,214 90,394
Research and
product development 7,337 6,360 21,506 18,209
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total operating expenses 44,507 37,749 125,720 108,603
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Operating income 20,018 18,033 58,738 50,941
Interest income, net 326 236 1,055 736
Other income (expense) (151) 205 (1,541) 136
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Income before taxes on income 20,193 18,474 58,252 51,813
Taxes on income 6,599 6,977 19,679 18,378
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net income $ 13,594 $ 11,497 $ 38,573 $ 33,435
========= ========= ========= =========
Basic earnings per share $ 0.74 $ 0.60 $ 2.07 $ 1.74
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.72 $ 0.59 $ 2.01 $ 1.70
========= ========= ========= =========
Shares used in computing
per share amounts:
Basic 18,438 19,047 18,602 19,214
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted 18,992 19,551 19,176 19,672
========= ========= ========= =========
DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AT MARCH 31, 2008 AND JUNE 30, 2007
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
March 31, June 30,
2008 2007
--------- ---------
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash, cash equivalents and short
term investments $ 72,033 $ 55,062
Accounts receivable, net 74,258 65,990
Inventories 32,120 28,626
Other current assets 24,669 21,096
--------- ---------
Total current assets 203,080 170,774
Property, plant and equipment, net 69,044 62,366
Goodwill and other intangible assets 33,393 32,398
Other assets 14,733 6,231
--------- ---------
$320,250 $271,769
========= =========
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Notes payable $ 17,969 $ 231
Accounts payable 15,238 12,293
Accrued liabilities 52,701 48,946
Income taxes payable 6,777 13,068
Accrued product warranty 3,585 2,875
--------- ---------
Total current liabilities 96,270 77,413
Deferred income taxes and other 28,149 8,648
Stockholders' equity 195,831 185,708
--------- ---------
$320,250 $271,769
========= =========