SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dionex Corporation (Nasdaq:DNEX) today announced record net sales and earnings for the second quarter and six months ended December 31, 2008.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2009, sales were $103.0 million, an increase of 5% compared with the $98.0 million reported in the same quarter of last year. Currency fluctuations reduced reported sales by $4.1 million this quarter, or 4%, compared with the second quarter of fiscal year 2008. When measured in local currencies, sales increased by 9% for the quarter. Diluted earnings per share were $0.93 for the second quarter, an increase of 21% compared to the $0.77 reported in the second quarter of last year.
For the first six months of fiscal 2009, sales were $196.5 million, an increase of 9% compared with the $180.5 million reported for the first six months of fiscal 2008. Overall, currency fluctuations increased our reported sales in the first six months of fiscal 2009 by approximately $900,000, or 1%, compared to the first six months of fiscal 2008. Diluted earnings per share were $1.57, an increase of 21% compared with the $1.30 reported in the first six months of fiscal 2008.
During the quarter, the Company repurchased 120,462 shares of its common stock for $5.9 million. In the first six months of fiscal 2009, the Company repurchased 322,046 shares of its common stock for $19.3 million. In the second quarter, the Company completed the acquisition of the AutoTrace product line from Caliper Life Sciences as reported previously.
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 of fiscal year 2009, given the current economic and currency environment. We reported the highest quarterly sales in the history of the Company, surpassing the $100 million mark for the first time. We also reported record earnings for the quarter, driven by solid operating margin expansion. We managed operating expenses very effectively allowing us to report these very solid results.
"We experienced strong local currency growth in two of our three major geographic regions and in both ion chromatography and HPLC. Sales in North America were down 2% for the quarter reflecting a weaker demand from our customers in this region. European sales were down 3% in reported dollars but grew in the mid-single digits in local currency. Sales in our Asia/Pacific region for the second quarter grew 26% in reported dollars and 27% in local currency.
"Global demand from our environmental, life sciences, chemical/petrochemical and power customers was up this quarter. Customer demand in our food/beverage and electronics markets was down this quarter driven by weaker end customer demand and economic concerns.
"We experienced mid-single digit sales growth in ion chromatography this quarter. The sales growth was strong and broad based, but was offset by the negative impact of the strengthening U.S. dollar. Our HPLC sales were also up in the mid-single digits this quarter compared with the second quarter last year. Given the weakening demand that we experienced in life sciences in North America and the negative impact of the strengthening U.S. dollar, we are very pleased with the overall growth reported for our HPLC product line. We continue to experience strong customer acceptance of our Ultimate 3000 products, especially the new Ultimate 3000 RSLC system.
"In the first six months of this fiscal year, we have performed very well growing our sales and earnings beyond our earlier expectations. We are seeing some effects from the economic slowdown, especially in our North American market and in certain countries outside of North America. In addition, we continue to have challenging comparisons on a reported dollar basis due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar. Our estimates for fiscal year 2009 are based on the following assumptions: (1) currency rates will have a negative 5-6 percentage point impact on our reported sales for the second half of fiscal year 2009, if currency rates stay as they are now; (2) our gross margin will be in the range of 65%-67% in fiscal 2009; and (3) our tax rate for fiscal year 2009 should be in the range of 35%-36%. Thus, we estimate that net sales will be in the range of $95-$98 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 and $385-$393 million for the full fiscal year 2009. We estimate that GAAP diluted earnings per share will be in the range of $0.71-$0.76 for the third quarter and $2.98-$3.10 for the full year."
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 Thursday, January 29, 2009, 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, January 30, 2009 until 5:00 p.m. PT, Tuesday, March 31, 2009.
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, ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, 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,
---------------------- -----------------------
2008 2007 2008 2007
-------- -------- -------- --------
Net sales $ 103,041 $ 98,038 $ 196,476 $ 180,461
Cost of sales 33,471 31,832 64,195 60,528
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Gross profit 69,570 66,206 132,281 119,933
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Operating expenses:
Selling,
general and
administrative 36,206 35,888 72,403 67,044
Research and
product
development 7,451 7,568 14,480 14,169
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total
operating
expenses 43,657 43,456 86,883 81,213
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Operating income 25,913 22,750 45,398 38,720
Interest income,
net 266 263 451 730
Other income
(expense) 23 (640) (590) (1,391)
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Income before
taxes on income 26,202 22,373 45,259 38,059
Taxes on income 9,176 7,544 16,417 13,080
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net income $ 17,026 $ 14,829 $ 28,842 $ 24,979
========= ========= ========= =========
Basic earnings
per share $ 0.95 $ 0.80 $ 1.60 $ 1.34
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted earnings
per share $ 0.93 $ 0.77 $ 1.57 $ 1.30
========= ========= ========= =========
Shares used in
computing
per share amounts:
Basic 17,912 18,605 17,990 18,685
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted 18,217 19,242 18,382 19,268
========= ========= ========= =========
DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AT DECEMBER 31, 2008 AND JUNE 30, 2008
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
December 31, June 30,
2008 2008
------------ ------------
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash, cash equivalents
and short term investments $ 71,907 $ 75,701
Accounts receivable, net 72,568 74,436
Inventories 31,880 31,627
Other current assets 25,900 25,276
-------- --------
Total current assets 202,255 207,040
Property, plant and
equipment, net 72,593 72,335
Goodwill and other
intangible assets 37,568 33,133
Other assets 16,470 17,922
-------- --------
$328,886 $330,430
======== ========
LIABILITIES AND
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Notes payable $ 21,517 $ 21,805
Accounts payable 16,322 16,086
Accrued liabilities 52,603 53,563
Income taxes payable 4,614 5,873
Accrued product warranty 2,995 3,444
-------- --------
Total current liabilities 98,051 100,771
Deferred income taxes and other 30,922 32,910
Stockholders' equity 199,913 196,749
-------- --------
$328,886 $330,430
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