BMET "misses" by a penny (actually they guided 23 to 24 cents and hit 23 cents)....stock getting hammered, which in the past has always been a great LTBH opp.:
biz.yahoo.com
Friday March 22, 10:45 am Eastern Time
Biomet profit growth a penny short, stock sinks
(UPDATE: Recasts lead, adds stock activity, analyst comments, changes dateline from WARSAW, Ind., adds byline)
By Susan Kelly
CHICAGO, March 22 (Reuters) - Biomet Inc. (NasdaqNM:BMET - news), maker of artificial knees and hips, on Friday reported an 11 percent increase in quarterly profits that fell a penny shy of analysts' average estimate, sending the stock tumbling in early trading.
Brisk sales of knees and hips, the company's biggest sellers, were not enough to offset soft revenues for electrical stimulation products, said Banc of America Securities analyst Kurt Kruger.
Shares of Biomet fell $3.68, or 11.7 percent, to $27.78 in early trading on the Nasdaq market after touching a four-month low of $26.78.
``They whiffed on the earnings results. It's disappointing from both a top- and bottom-line point of view,'' said Kruger, who noted total sales for the quarter were about $3 million below his projection but called the stock's sharp drop a ``massive overreaction.''
Warsaw, Indiana-based Biomet said net income rose to $61.7 million, or 23 cents a share, from $55.4 million, or 21 cents a share excluding a one-time charge a year earlier.
Third-quarter sales rose 14 percent to $304.6 million from $267.2 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Analysts had expected Biomet, based in Warsaw, Indiana, to earn 24 cents a share on average, from a range of 23 cents to 24 cents, according to a poll by market research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
In December, Biomet had said it was comfortable with analysts' third-quarter earnings estimates of 23 cents to 24 cents per share.
Biomet, like other orthopedic device makers, has benefited as an aging population in need of replacement joints, new products and improved technology continues to drive demand.
Growing demand for implants and good pricing trends for the products ensure the sector will remain vibrant, Kruger said.
``The fundamentals are still very much in place,'' said the analyst.
Biomet's worldwide sales of reconstructive devices increased 17 percent, propelled by strong sales of knees, which rose 18 percent worldwide in the quarter.
Total hip sales increased 15 percent worldwide, while sales of dental reconstructive implants also sparkled, rising 17 percent during the quarter.
However, sales of ``fixation'' products, which include electrical bone growth stimulators, increased just two percent, hurt by a 13 percent decline in sales of craniomaxillofacial implants.
The company, which also makes dental implants, bone substitute materials, and instruments used by orthopedic surgeons, said spinal sales increased 30 percent to $32.5 million during the third quarter. |
