CFO announces retirement
UTICA — ConMed Corp. (NASDAQ: CNMD), a Utica–based surgical-device manufacturer, said its international sales increased 7.3 percent in the third quarter compared to the year-ago period.
The firm’s international sales represent 48.3 percent of the company’s total revenue.
“Foreign currency exchange rates … had a positive impact of [$900,000] on third-quarter sales. In constant currency, international sales increased 6.2 percent versus the prior-year period,” Luke Pomilio, CFO of ConMed, said during the company’s earning conference call on Nov. 2
Pomilio also used the call to announce his retirement from the company, adding that he plans to stay with the firm until it finds his replacement.
Overall, ConMed generated total sales of $190.1 million in the third quarter, up 2.9 percent from the third quarter in 2016. The company’s top executive indicated that the increase could have been bigger if not for the effect of natural disasters.
“While it is impossible to fully determine the impact from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on our top line, we estimate that our domestic results experienced an impact of approximately $2 million of either deferred or lost sales in the Texas, Florida, and South Carolina geographies. Approximately $800,000 of that was in domestic general surgery, while the remaining $1.2 million was in domestic orthopedics,” Curt Hartman, ConMed’s president and CEO, said during his remarks on the conference call.
ConMed reported net income of $7.2 million in this year’s third quarter, down slightly from $7.3 million a year prior. Reported net earnings per share totaled 26 cents in the quarter, unchanged from a year prior, ConMed said in its earnings report.
International results
Overall, ConMed’s international business is delivering “strong results,” Hartman said on the conference call.
He noted that the international-sales rise in the third quarter included “gains in both general surgery and orthopedics for the sixth consecutive quarter.”
“International general surgery remains strong, having now recorded its seventh consecutive quarter of growth at 11.9 percent as reported and 11.6 percent on a constant-currency basis,” said Hartman.
He also noted that ConMed generated gains in international orthopedics with increases recorded “across nearly every product category during the quarter,” which resulted in 5 percent reported growth and 3.6 percent constant-currency growth.
Domestic business/sales guidance
ConMed’s U.S. sales, which represented 51.7 percent of total revenue, decreased 0.9 percent in the third quarter compared to a year earlier. The growth in general surgery of 4.8 percent was offset by a decline of 8.8 percent in orthopedics.
After improved trends in the first two quarters of the fiscal year, domestic orthopedics reversed in the third quarter, Hartman said.
“Our focus in 2017 has been on new products, purchasing contracts, and sales-force development and we expect these efforts to deliver an improvement in domestic orthopedics as we exit 2017,” he added.
ConMed’s focus on innovation remains a “key priority” and the firm has introduced 17 new products through the first three quarters of 2017. The company is “on track” to launch no fewer than 20 new products by the end of the year, which is “In keeping with our prior commitment.”
Overall, Hartman said, ConMed’s results keep it “on track” to reach its financial and operating goals for 2017, noting that the firm will continue to focus on new product introductions, while leveraging investments “across the income statement to enhance profitability.”
“We believe we are set up for a strong finish to 2017 and expect to carry momentum into the New Year,” said Hartman.
The company now expects to produce 2017 constant-currency sales growth of 2.5 percent to 3.25 percent, an increase from its prior guidance of 2 percent to 3 percent.
