Cooper Companies Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Contact lens maker Cooper Companies Inc. (COO) said Thursday after the markets closed that its first quarter profit fell 4% from last year, when results were boosted by a gain on insurance proceeds.

However, the company's quarterly earnings per share came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue. At the same time, the company raised the low end of its fiscal 2014 earnings guidance range.

Robert Weiss, Cooper's president and chief executive officer, said, "We are very pleased to report a strong first quarter. CooperVision continued to gain share in all geographies and modalities with silicone hydrogel products showing especially strong growth led by Biofinity. CooperSurgical also continued to post solid revenue growth in fertility. Our businesses continue to perform well and we remain excited about the future."

Cooper Companies shares remained unchanged in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $130.09, down 79 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $102.72 to $135.41.

For the first quarter ended January 31, 2014, the Pleasanton, California-based company reported net income of $71.8 million or $1.47 per share, compared to $74.7 million or $1.50 per share for the year-ago quarter.

On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.46 per share for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the first quarter rose 7% $404.98 million from $379.84 million in the same quarter last year. Nine analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $400.37 million for the first quarter.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 65% from 63% a year ago, due to a lower royalty payment on silicone hydrogel lens sales and favorable product mix. Operating margin for the quarter increased to 20% from 18% last year.

First quarter revenue for the CooperVision unit, which makes contact lenses, increased 8% to $326.3 million, while it grew 0.3% to $78.7 million for the CooperSurgical unit, which makes products for the woman's healthcare market.

Cooper Companies mainly competes with Alcon and Bausch & Lomb Inc. in the contact lens market.

Looking forward, the company narrowed its fiscal 2014 revenue guidance to a range of $1.685 billion to $1.725 billion from its prior guidance of $1.675 billion to $1.735 billion.

The company now forecasts fiscal 2014 earnings of $6.75 to $7.00 per share, compared to its previous outlook of $6.70 to $7.00 per share.

Analysts currently expect the company to earn $6.81 per share on revenue of $1.70 billion for the fiscal year 2014.