Cantel second quarter net income increases 28% to $7,294,000

CANTEL MEDICAL CORP. (NYSE: CMN) reported a 28% increase in net income to a record $7,294,000, or $0.27 per diluted share, on a 20% increase in sales to a record $97,297,000 for the second quarter ended January 31, 2012. This compares with net income of $5,720,000, or $0.22 per diluted share, on sales of $81,021,000 for the second quarter ended January 31, 2011. For the six months ended January 31, 2012, the Company reported net income of $13,514,000, or $0.50 per diluted share, on a 25% increase in sales to $190,559,000. This compares with net income of $10,695,000, or $0.42 per diluted share, on sales of $153,014,000 for the six months ended January 31, 2011. Results for the second quarter and first six months ended January 31, 2012 were inclusive of a $0.02 charge related to an impairment of an investment.

Andrew Krakauer, Cantel's President and CEO stated, "We are pleased to have delivered record sales and quarterly earnings in the second quarter. These positive results confirm the continued success of our three prong approach to growth which includes investing in new product development, sales and marketing programs and acquisitions. All of these strategies positively affected the results this quarter."

Krakauer added, "As in the first quarter, our Endoscopy segment, led by our newly acquired Byrne Medical business, had excellent performance as sales increased by 49% and operating profit grew by 86%. Byrne products showed core growth of over 30%, and the acquisition was accretive to earnings. The Byrne business is being integrated with our legacy endoscope reprocessing business under the "Medivators" name to establish the infection control leader in the gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy market. Integration is going well, and we are pleased that Don Byrne, the visionary founder of Byrne Medical, has become the President of our newly combined Medivators business.

Cantel's two other largest business segments also performed well. In our Healthcare Disposables unit, sales growth of 17% and improved gross margins resulted in a 49% increase in operating profit. Sales in our Water Purification and Filtration business were 6% higher. However, with effective integration of the Gambro water acquisition and a focus on margin improvement, operating profit in this segment grew by 51%."

The Company further reported that its balance sheet at January 31, 2012 included current assets of $122,574,000, including cash of $21,689,000, a current ratio of 2.4:1, debt of $108,000,000 and stockholders' equity of $256,668,000.  Krakauer stated, "The Company has a strong balance sheet and continues to generate significant cash flow and EBITDAS.  When compared with the same quarter last year, our EBITDAS grew by 45% to $18,571,000. Our net debt position improved during the quarter by over $10 million to $86,311,000."