Cardiovascular Systems (CSII) Q3 Earnings Top, View Tapered

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSII) delivered earnings per share of 2 cents in third-quarter fiscal 2019 compared with the year-ago earnings of a penny.

The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 4 cents.

Net Sales

Cardiovascular Systems’ revenues of $63.3 million in the fiscal third quarter marks a 13.9% year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, the top line matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Segment Details

Coronary device revenues jumped above 24% year over year to $18.2 million. Domestic coronary revenues grew 18%, primarily driven by expanded unit volumes. Meanwhile, peripheral device revenues rose 10% to $45.2 million on a year-over-year basis. Worldwide peripheral unit volume was up 16% while domestically, the metric improved 14%.

Margin

Gross margin in the reported quarter was 80.8%, down 128 basis points (bps) year over year.

Meanwhile, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose 9.4% to $41.4 million plus research and development (R&D) expenses escalated 26.6% to $9.3 million. As a result, adjusted operating expenses increased 12.2% to $50.6 million. Operating margin in the reported quarter contracted 8 bps to 0.80%.

Financial Position

The company exited third-quarter fiscal 2019 with cash and cash equivalents of $115.3 million compared with $118.8 million at the end of the fiscal second quarter.

Outlook

Cardiovascular Systems updated its fiscal 2019 guidance. The company has narrowed its revenue expectation to $245-$247 million (the earlier band was $243-$247 million) for fiscal 2019. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-fiscal revenues is pegged at $245.7 million, within but near the lower end of the company's view.

Moreover, the company currently anticipates gross profit to account for 80-81% (past forecast was80%) of revenues in fiscal 2019.

The company might incur net loss of 0.5% to breakeven earnings (previous prediction was net loss of 1-2%) during fiscal 2019. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at a loss of 10 cents.

Our Take

Cardiovascular Systems exited third-quarter fiscal 2019 with earnings ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues in line with the same. The company witnessed a year-over-year uptick in both Coronary and peripheral device revenues. It is making concerted efforts in product innovation through R&D investments.

On the flip side, Cardiovascular Systems faces cut-throat competition in the niche space.

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Cardiovascular Systems currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks flaunting solid results this earnings season are Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) , Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and CONMED Corporation (NASDAQ:CNMD) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Stryker delivered first-quarter 2019 adjusted EPS of $1.88, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.2%. Meanwhile, revenues of $3.52 billion were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Abbott reported first-quarter 2019 adjusted EPS of 63 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.3%. Further, first-quarter worldwide sales came in at $7.54 billion, above the consensus estimate of $7.47 billion.

CONMED posted first-quarter 2019 adjusted EPS of 57 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 54 cents. Revenues also summed $218.4 million, outshining the consensus mark of $213 million.

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