Abiomed first-quarter fiscal 2011 revenue increases 11% to $22.0 million

Abiomed, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD), a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today reported first quarter fiscal 2011 revenue of $22.0 million, up 11% compared to the same period of fiscal 2010.

“The first quarter of fiscal 2011 was highlighted by continued growth of the Impella commercial platform, strong enrollment in the Protect II trial and positive operational performance”

Total commercial U.S. Impella revenue, including initial site stocking orders and reorders, totaled $15.5 million, a 48% increase compared to $10.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Commercial U.S. Impella reorders of $13.7 million were up 114% from $6.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 and represented 88% of commercial U.S. Impella revenue.

Worldwide Impella revenue totaled $16.6 million, up 38% compared to revenue of $12.0 million in the prior year.

Financial and operating highlights during the first quarter of fiscal 2011 include:

• Approximately 595 U.S. commercial patients were treated with Impella(R) 2.5, 5.0 or LD, a 74% increase compared to approximately 341 commercial patients in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• 49 patients were enrolled in the Protect II study, for a total of 390 patients completed, or 60% of the 654 patients required.
• An additional 24 U.S. hospitals purchased Impella 2.5 for commercial use during the quarter, bringing the total to 437 commercial customers, as compared to 47 hospitals added in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Gross margin rate for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 was 76%, compared to 75% in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Non-Impella revenue was $5.4 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2011, 32% lower than $7.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. The decline in non-Impella revenue was attributed partially to the Company's restructuring of its surgery business and the exiting of distributors in Europe.
• GAAP net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 was $6.0 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $7.8 million, or $0.21 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Non-GAAP net loss, which is described later in this press release for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 was $3.7 million, or $0.10 per share versus non-GAAP net loss of $5.7 million or $0.16 per share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
• Cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities totaled $54.9 million at June 30, 2010 compared to $58.3 million at March 31, 2010.
• At EuroPCR in May 2010, Abiomed announced latest results from USpella, a U.S. multicenter, observational registry of Impella 2.5(R) patients. The full presentation can be viewed here.

"The first quarter of fiscal 2011 was highlighted by continued growth of the Impella commercial platform, strong enrollment in the Protect II trial and positive operational performance," said Michael R. Minogue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Abiomed. "Our strategy is moving forward as we go deeper into existing U.S. Impella sites, training to independent use and expanding applications while amassing an extensive body of clinical evidence for hemodynamic support and heart muscle recovery."