Flat sales dogged AngioDynamics' ($ANGO) 2014 first quarter. But the New York maker of surgical tools and vascular devices narrowed losses to a trickle, and the company boosted its revenue expectations for the rest of the fiscal year.
Investors reacted favorably, considering that earnings, such as they are, were better than expected. The company's stock traded at $14.50 late in the morning on Oct. 11, up more than 1.5%.
AngioDynamics booked $83.6 million in net sales during the quarter, versus $83.4 million over the same period last year. That number would have been a bit higher, save for the company's wind down of a supply agreement with Boston Scientific ($BSX). Execs said quarterly net losses hit just $400,000, an improvement over the $700,000 net loss during the fiscal 2013 first quarter.
AngioDynamics Chief Financial Officer Mark Frost said in a statement that the company is raising its revenue guidance for fiscal 2014, following the recent acquisition of a distributor. Now, revenue expectations are hitting a range between $347 million and $353 million for the year. For the second quarter, the revenue guidance has ticked up 1%, to between $85 million and $88 million, he said.
AngioDynamics cited a number of successes during the quarter. They include progress in clinical trials, FDA clearance of new products and windfalls such as new medical guidance that recommends endothermal ablation as a first option to treat varicose veins, favoring endovascular treatments such as the company's VenaCure EVLT system. As well, AngioDynamics' distribution partner Medcomp won Health Canada approval for its Celerity tip location system, which will roll out soon. Also, some of the company's recent acquisitions have helped turnaround sales over time.
"The market's response and product results are encouraging, and coupled with other positive developments, supports our expectation of accelerated growth commencing in the fiscal 2014 second half," Joseph DeVivo, AngioDynamics' president and CEO, said in a statement.
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