Mindray Medical ($MR), the Chinese medical device giant, has decided to boost the size of an already impressive share repurchase program, capping a year of double-digit growth in both revenue and net income.
The medical device conglomerate said its board would boost the size of a previously authorized share repurchase program from $200 million to $300 million. What's more, the program itself has also been extended through March 31, 2015. So far, Mindray has bought back about $90 million of its American Depository Shares, the company said, and the program's terms and size could be adjusted or discontinued over time.
Share buybacks help boost a company's share price, but it siphons cash away from other areas of investment such as M&A, manufacturing or research and development. Li Xiting, Mindray's president and co-CEO, said in a statement that the boost in the share buyback "continues to highlight our confidence in Mindray's prospects as well as our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders."
That statement comes off a hugely impressive year for Mindray. The company said it produced $368.4 million in net revenue in its 2013 fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, a 16.5% jump from $316.1 million over the same period in 2012. The bulk of that revenue came from international markets, and the gap between international and China-centric revenue growth widened. For the year, Mindray generated more than $1.2 billion in revenue, up from just over $1 billion in revenue during 2012.
Net income for the quarter hit the $75.2 million mark, a 34.7% jump from $55.8 million generated during the 2012 third quarter. For the year, net income reached $224.8 million, a 24.7% increase over $180.2 million in net income produced in 2012.
Mindray enjoyed double-digit gains in medical imaging system and in-vitro diagnostic product revenue, and a 5.7% increase in revenue from patient monitoring and life support products. For 2014, Mindray expects net revenues to grow at least 15% over 2013 levels.
Mindray's last big tumble came in December when a little-known research firm accused it of fraud in a series of tweets, sending the stock price down 11% before it began to rebound. Mindray accused Ottoman Bay Research of being factually inaccurate.
- read the share repurchase release
- here's the earnings release