Abaxis first-quarter revenues increase 18% to $35.0 million

ABAXIS, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, today reported financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2010.  

Record quarterly highlights include:

• Revenues of $35.0 million, up 18% over last year's comparable quarter.
• North America revenues of $27.8 million, up 15% over last year's comparable quarter.
• International revenues of $7.2 million, up 30% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Veterinary market sales of $26.8 million, up 23% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Total veterinary reagent disc sales of 1.1 million units, up 6% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Total medical and veterinary reagent disc sales of 1.6 million units, up 10% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Total medical and veterinary reagent disc sales of $20.1 million, up 9% over last year's comparable quarter.

Other quarterly highlights include:

• Total medical and veterinary instrument sales of 1,025 units, up 23% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Total medical reagent disc sales of 521,000 units, up 21% over last year's comparable quarter.
• Cash, cash equivalents and investments as of June 30, 2010 of $98.4 million, compared to $80.8 million as of June 30, 2009.

Quarterly Results:  For the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2010, Abaxis reported revenues of $35.0 million, as compared with revenues of $29.6 million for the comparable period last year, an increase of 18 percent.  Revenues from instrument sales, which include chemistry analyzers, hematology instruments, coagulation analyzers and i-STAT analyzers, increased by an aggregate of $1.0 million, or 17 percent, over the same period last year.  The company reported total medical and veterinary instrument sales of 1,025 units, up 23 percent over the same period last year.  Revenues from consumables, which include reagent discs, hematology reagent kits, coagulation cartridges, i-STAT cartridges and heartworm rapid tests, increased by an aggregate of $4.4 million, or 21 percent, over the same period last year.  The company reported net income of $3.6 million for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2010, compared to $3.8 million for the same period last year.  The company's effective tax rate in the quarter ended June 30, 2010 was 39 percent, compared to 40 percent for the same period last year.  The company reported diluted net income per share of $0.16 (calculated based on 22,750,000 shares) for the first quarter of fiscal 2011, compared to $0.17 per share (calculated based on 22,357,000 shares) for the same period last year.

Other Reported Information:  Consumables revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 were $25.3 million, up 21 percent over the $20.9 million reported for the same period last year.  Total sales in the medical market for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 were $6.4 million, an increase of 12 percent compared to the same period last year.  Medical sales worldwide, excluding sales to the U.S. government, during the first quarter of fiscal 2011 were $5.8 million, an increase of 29 percent compared to the same period last year.  Total sales in the veterinary market for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 were $26.8 million, an increase of 23 percent compared to the same period last year.  Veterinary reagent disc sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 were $15.6 million, an increase of 8 percent compared to the same period last year.  Non-cash compensation expense recognized for share-based awards during the first quarter of fiscal 2011 was $1.1 million, compared to $896,000 for the same period last year.

Clint Severson, chairman and chief executive officer of Abaxis, commented, "We are pleased with the 18% growth in first quarter revenues and the 10% increase in reagent disc unit sales versus the comparable quarter last year.  We are particularly pleased with the 23% increase in medical and veterinary instruments unit sales during the quarter.  In spite of the continuing difficult economic conditions we achieved measurable traction in placing total instruments into operation during the first quarter.  We firmly believe that will continue to drive our recurring revenues in the form of increased reagent sales in the coming quarters and years.  We are also gratified with the 30% increase in international sales that were achieved during the quarter.  Our sales and marketing strategy is generating outstanding results in our business."

Mr. Severson continued, "During the quarter, we made significant investments in sales and marketing to support our recently introduced products.  Additionally, we have expanded our research and development initiatives in order to advance our technology and to develop new products that will drive substantial future growth and expanded market share.  We are dedicated to this process of refining and improving our existing products, continuously introducing new products, as well as improving and advancing our manufacturing operations and processes.  We believe there are great opportunities to grow our business going forward and we are dedicated to making that happen in the most effective and cost-efficient manner possible."