DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Synovis Life Technologies Inc.'s (SYNO) fiscal fourth-quarter
earnings rose a better-than-expected 83% as the medical device
company continued its streak of double-digit sales growth, helped
by demand for its Peri-Strips product.
Synovis, which makes products to repair and reconstruct soft
tissue, has benefited from a years-long stretch in revenue growth
supported by an expansion of its sales force. On Tuesday, Baxter
International Inc. (BAX) said it agreed to purchase the company in
a deal valued at roughly $325 million. Baxter, which makes medical
products used in biosurgery as well as various critical therapies
and vaccines, plans to close the deal in the first three months of
next year.
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, Synovis reported a profit of $2.7
million, or 24 cents a share, up from $1.5 million, or 13 cents a
share, a year earlier. Revenue improved 22% to $22.1 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 18 cents a
share on $21 million in revenue.
Sales of its Peri-Strips for gastric bypass surgery, the biggest
contributor to the top line, climbed 28%. Sales of its Veritas
products, used in hernia repair and breast-reconstruction surgery,
rose 8.1%.
Gross margin widened to 73.4% from 72.3%.
Shares closed Tuesday at $27.78, just below the $28-a-share
offer price from Baxter, and were inactive premarket. The stock is
up 72% so far this year, after rising 51% on Tuesday following the
acquisition declaration.
--By Ben Fox Rubin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3108;
ben.rubin@dowjones.com