Cooper Companies Profit Tops Estimate; Boosts Earnings Outlook

(RTTNews) - Contact lens maker Cooper Companies Inc. (COO) said Thursday after the markets closed that its third quarter profit rose 33% from last year, helped by higher sales and improved margins.

The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly sales. At the same time, the company raised its full year earnings outlook.

Commenting on the results, Robert Weiss, Cooper's president and chief executive officer said, "We continued to gain market share within CVI, CSI posted solid revenue growth driven by fertility, and we generated strong EPS and significant free cash flow. We remain encouraged by our business trends and believe we are well positioned to deliver strong operating results to finish our fiscal year."

Cooper Companies shares are currently losing 0.26% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $133.25, down 11 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $84.76 to $134.20.

For the third quarter ended July 31, 2013, the Pleasanton, California-based company reported net income of $89.0 million or $1.79 per share, compared to $66.9 million or $1.36 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the third quarter were $1.74 per share, up from $1.45 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.72 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the third quarter rose 9% $411.99 million from $378.19 million in the same quarter last year. Nine analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $410.54 million for the third quarter.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 65% from 63% a year ago, mainly due to a lower royalty payment on silicone hydrogel lens sales, product mix and increased manufacturing efficiencies. Operating margin for the quarter increased to 23% from 20% last year.

Third quarter revenue for the CooperVision unit, which makes contact lenses, increased 5% to $330.5 million, while it surged 27% to $81.5 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 to the fourth quarter, the company forecasts revenue of $410 million to $425 million, earnings and adjusted earnings of $176 to $1.81 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.78 per share on revenue of $421.07 million for the fourth quarter.

For the fiscal year 2013, the company now expects revenue of $1.586 billion to $1.601 billion, earnings of $6.57 to $6.62 per share and adjusted earnings of $6.23 to $6.28 per share. Previously, the company expected revenue of $1.575 billion to $1.605 billion, earnings of $6.42 to $6.52 per share and adjusted earnings of $6.15 to $6.25 per share.

Analysts currently expect the company to earn $6.22 per share on revenue of $1.60 billion for the fiscal year 2013.