To all, earnings announcement:
Wednesday October 30 6:45 PM EDT
Coherent, Inc. Announces Record Results
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Coherent Inc today announced record results for its fourth fiscal quarter and year ended September 28, 1996 as follows:
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Sept. 28, Sept. 30, Sept. 28, Sept. 30,
1996 1995 1996 1995
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Net sales $100,870 $ 84,213 $364,430 $285,499
Income before
income tax 13,901 10,398 49,317 31,824
Net Income $ 8,580 $ 6,331 $ 30,314 $ 19,323
Net income per share $.74 $.56 $2.63 $1.75
Average common and
common equivalent
shares outstanding 11,601 11,366 11,544 11,062
Record sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 28,1996 were 20% and 28% higher, respectively, than those of the corresponding prior year periods. Electro-Optical sales of $57.6 million and $201.6 million, represented increases of 24% and 27%,
respectively. Medical sales of $43.3 million and $162.8 million, respectively, were 14% and 29% higher than the same prior year periods. International sales grew to nearly 53% of consolidated sales for the fiscal year ended September 28, 1996 compared to 51% in the
same period last year. Backlog at year-end was approximately $60 million compared to $67 million at the end of fiscal 1995. Most of this decrease is explained by the fact that the Company entered fiscal 1996 with an excessive backlog in its medical UltraPulse(R) product
line and was successful in bringing this down to a manageable level.
Net income of $8.6 million and $30.3 million for the three and twelve month periods ending September 28, 1996 represented 36% and 57% increases over the comparable prior year periods. Higher sales, gross margins and other income all contributed to the record earnings.
"We are pleased with the outstanding performance of our two business segments," said Bernard Couillaud, Coherent's President and CEO. "We intend to build on our leadership position and continue our commitment to profitable growth. Recent product announcements are testaments to the type of actions we are taking to achieve these goals. Two new models of our UltraPulse(R) medical laser system allow physicians from all size practices to participate in the growing market for skin resurfacing with the laser that is recognized as the 'gold standard'
for this application. Our new diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser, used to improve the performance of computer hard-disk drives, provides hard-disk media manufacturers a laser capable of handling high-volume production while maintaining the highly stable operations required for this application. At the recent American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago we introduced the Selecta 7000(TM). Based on our initial results using this system for Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) we believe that the Selecta 7000(TM) has the potential for becoming the standard treatment for treating primary open-angle glaucoma."
Founded in 1966, Coherent Inc. is a Standard and Poor's 600 global growth company and the world's leader in the design and manufacturing of lasers and systems for medical, scientific and commercial applications. Direct any questions to Robert J. Quillinan, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at 408-764-4168. For more information about Coherent, visit the Company's Web site at cohr.com for product and financial updates. SOURCE Coherent Inc. |
