Gen-Probe's Earnings Beat Wall Street's
Expectations: Stock Now Up 214.2%
05/08/2004
How Gen-Probe has done for us: +214.2% in the 16 months since
our buy signal. This week Gen-Probe announced their latest
quarterly results and revealed that earnings per share were
117% above the prior year period. The company also increased
their expectations for their full-year earnings. Details follow
in this excerpt from the company's announcement:
SAN DIEGO, May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Gen-Probe Incorporated (Nasdaq: GPRO) today reported strong
financial results for the first quarter of 2004, with earnings
per share, total revenues and product sales all establishing
new records.
Net income for the first quarter of 2004
was $19.7 million ($0.39 per share), compared to net income
of $8.7 million ($0.18 per share), in the first quarter of
2003, an increase of 117% per share. All per share amounts
are calculated on a diluted basis. Total revenues for the
first quarter of 2004 were $76.5 million, compared to $46.2
million in the first quarter of 2003, an increase of 66%.
Product sales for the first quarter of 2004 were $55.0 million,
compared to $43.6 million in the first quarter of 2003, an
increase of 26%.
"Both our clinical diagnostics and
blood screening businesses continued to demonstrate powerful
momentum in the first quarter of 2004," said Henry L.
Nordhoff, chairman, president and chief executive officer
of Gen-Probe. "During the quarter, we also put in place
important foundations for our next wave of growth, with successful
launches of the high-throughput, fully automated TIGRIS®
system in clinical diagnostics, and the Procleix® Ultrio(TM)
blood screening assay in Europe."
Updated 2004 Financial Guidance
Based on Gen-Probe's strong performance
in the first quarter of 2004, the Company is raising its 2004
financial guidance. For the full year, Gen-Probe now expects:
- Total revenues of $245 million
to $255 million. Compared to previous guidance, Gen-Probe
now expects higher sales of its PACE product line, and higher
blood screening revenue driven, in part, by European acceptance
of the Procleix Ultrio assay.
- Product gross margins in the low-
to mid-70s range.
- Diluted earnings per share of between
$0.93 and $0.98.
About Gen-Probe
Gen-Probe Incorporated is a global
leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of rapid,
accurate and cost-effective nucleic acid testing products
used for the clinical diagnosis of human diseases and for
screening donated human blood. Using its patented NAT technologies,
Gen-Probe has received FDA approvals or clearances for a broad
portfolio of products that detect a variety of infectious
microorganisms, including those causing sexually transmitted
diseases, tuberculosis, strep throat, pneumonia and fungal
infections. Additionally, the Company developed and manufactures
the only FDA-approved blood screening assay for the simultaneous
detection of HIV- 1 and HCV, which is marketed by Chiron Corporation.
Gen-Probe has 20 years of nucleic acid detection research
and product development experience, and its products are used
daily in clinical laboratories and blood collection centers
throughout the world. Gen-Probe is headquartered in San Diego,
California and has nearly 800 employees. Additional information
about the Company and the complete press release can be found
at www.gen-probe.com.
TIGRIS, APTIMA , APTIMA COMBO 2 and PACE
are trademarks of Gen-Probe Incorporated.
ULTRIO and PROCLEIX are trademarks of Chiron
Corporation.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Any statements in this press release about
our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions
or future events or performance, including those under the
heading "Updated 2004 financial guidance," are not
historical facts and are forward-looking statements. These
statements are often, but not always, made through the use
of words or phrases such as "believe," "will,"
"expect," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"intend," "plan," and "would."
For example, statements concerning financial condition, possible
or assumed future results of operations, growth opportunities,
industry ranking, plans and objectives of management, markets
for our common stock and future management and organizational
structure are all forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that
may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance
or achievements to differ materially from those expressed
or implied by any forward-looking statement. Some of the risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results
to differ materially from estimates or projections contained
in the forward-looking statements include but are not limited
to: (i) the risk that we may not achieve our expected 2004
growth targets, (ii) the possibility that the market for the
sale of our new products, such as our TIGRIS system, APTIMA
Combo 2 assay and Procleix Ultrio assay, may not develop as
expected, (iii) the enhancement of existing products and the
development of new products may not proceed as planned, (iv)
the risk that our Procleix Ultrio assay and West Nile virus
clinical trials may not proceed as planned and may not be
successful, (v) the risk that our Procleix Ultrio assay and
West Nile virus products may not be commercially available
in the time frames we anticipate, or at all, (vi) we may not
be able to compete effectively, (vii) we may not be able to
maintain our current corporate collaborations and enter into
new corporate collaborations, (viii) we are dependent on Chiron
Corporation, Bayer Corporation and other third parties for
the distribution of some of our products, (ix) we are dependent
on a small number of customers, contract manufacturers and
single source suppliers of raw materials, (x) changes in third-party
reimbursement policies regarding our products could adversely
affect sales of our products, (xi) changes in government regulation
affecting our diagnostic products could harm our sales and
increase our development costs, and (xii) our involvement
in patent and other intellectual property litigation could
be expensive and could divert management's attention.
The foregoing list sets forth some,
but not all, of the factors that could affect our ability
to achieve results described in any forward-looking statements.
For additional information about risks and uncertainties we
face and a discussion of our financial statements and footnotes,
see documents we have filed with the SEC, including our Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003 and
all our periodic filings made with the SEC. We assume no obligation
and expressly disclaim any duty to update any forward-looking
statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date
of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent
events.
SOURCE: Gen-Probe Inc.
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