New Brunswick Scientific Co., Inc., Reports Sharply ImprovedSecond-Quarter and First-Half 2004 Financial Results
EDISON, N.J., Jul 30, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- New Brunswick Scientific Co., Inc. (NBS) (Nasdaq: NBSC), today announced sharply improved financial results for the 2004 second quarter and first six months ended July 3, 2004, versus 2003.
Net sales for the second quarter of 2004 increased 38.7% to $14.9 million, compared with last year's second-quarter sales of $10.7 million. RS Biotech, which was acquired in November 2003, contributed $1.3 million in sales during the period. Second-quarter net income improved significantly to $296,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $1,195,000, or $0.14 per share, in 2003's comparable period.
First-half 2004 net sales rose to $29.5 million from $22.3 million for the 2003 six-month period-an increase of 32.2%. The previously mentioned acquisition of RS Biotech increased sales during the first half by $2.4 million. Net income improved significantly during the 2004 first half, reaching $604,000, or $0.07 per diluted share. This compares with the 2003 first-half net loss of $1,627,000, or $0.19 per share, which included a pretax gain of $201,000 on the sale of property.
Gross margin expanded markedly during both the 2004 three- and six-month periods due primarily to the effect of increased absorption of manufacturing overhead due to significantly increased manufacturing activity as a result of higher sales volumes. Gross margin for the second quarter of 2004 was 40.4%, up from 32.1% in 2003's comparable quarter. For the 2004 first half, gross margin was 40.5% versus 34.2% in last year's first six months.
Co-founder and Chairman David Freedman said: "Order levels continue to hold up well, reflecting strength in the capital expenditure budgets of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as good end-market demand for life science-enabling tools. Sales to international customers were particularly strong in the most recent quarter. During the first half of this year, order intake increased 39% versus last year's first six months. Backlog at quarter end stood at $9.7 million, 59% higher than a year ago.
"Our cost-reduction efforts continue to yield tangible results," Freedman added. "SG&A as a percent of sales improved from 36.5% in last year's first half to 29.5% in this year's first six months. Excluding the effect of foreign exchange translation and the operating expenses of RS Biotech, our SG&A expenses during the first half of this year actually decreased $136,000 versus last year, despite the higher sales level.
"Market conditions in the life science industry remain solid, as indicated by our healthy backlog and ongoing strong order rate, boding well for the balance of the year. Long term, we are encouraged by the positive trend for R&D budgets in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, customers who have long recognized NBS' state-of-the-art tools as a means of helping them remain competitive by increasing precision, automation and their pace of discovery. Given these factors, we anticipate reporting significant improvement in financial results versus 2003." |
