Abiomed first quarter fiscal 2012 revenue up 25% to $27.4 million

Abiomed, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD), a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today reported first quarter fiscal 2012 revenue of $27.4 million, up 25% compared to revenue of $22.0 million in the same period of fiscal 2011.

“The Impella platform continues to expand with a wave of clinical evidence, patient success stories and U.S. reimbursement confirmation”

Financial and operating highlights during the first quarter of fiscal 2012 include:

• Fiscal first quarter worldwide Impella revenue totaled $22.2 million, up 33% compared to revenue of $16.7 million during the same period of the prior year. U.S. Impella revenues of $20.5 million were up 31% from the prior year. Impella revenue from outside the U.S. totaled $1.7 million, up 70% from the prior year.
• In alignment with the Company's strategy to open fewer sites and drive deeper utilization at existing customer sites, an additional 25 U.S. hospitals purchased Impella 2.5 during the quarter, bringing the total to 546 customer sites.
• Revenue from the sales of BVS5000, AB5000, related accessories and funded research and development was $3.6 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, 12% lower than $4.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Service revenue totaled $1.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, up 33% from $1.2 million in the prior year.
• Total U.S. revenues of $25.4 million were up 25% from $20.4 million in the prior year. Revenue from outside the U.S. totaled $2.0 million, up 25% from $1.6 million in the prior year.
• Gross margin rate for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was 78.5% compared to 76.0% in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Operating expenses for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 were $25.8 million, up 13% from $22.8 million in the prior year, largely as a result of the continued build-out of the U.S. commercial organization to support sales and marketing initiatives related to the Impella platform.
• Non-GAAP net loss, which is described later in this press release, for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $1.2 million, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $3.1 million or $0.08 per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• GAAP net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $4.6 million, or $0.12 per basic and diluted share, compared to GAAP net loss of $6.0 million, or $0.16 per basic and diluted share for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities totaled $59.1 million at June 30, 2011 compared to $60.3 million at March 31, 2011.
• The PROTECT II analysis was presented at the American College of Cardiology 2011 Scientific Session in New Orleans on April 3, 2011 and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography Interventions (SCAI) 2011 Scientific Sessions in Baltimore on May 6, 2011, and at EuroPCR in Paris on May 20, 2011.
• Additional cost-saving benefits with Impella were substantiated in the economic sub-study presented at SCAI 2011 and in the April 2011 Cardiovascular Business article, "PinnacleHealth Heart Recovery Program Aims to Stabilize Unstable Shock Patients."
• In April 2011, Abiomed filed a formal Impella submission to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) and the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare for approval of Impella in Japan.

Based on the 25% revenue growth in the first quarter fiscal 2012 and current expectations, the Company is reiterating fiscal year 2012 revenue guidance to increase by 20% to 24% and be in the range of $120 million to $125 million.

"The Impella platform continues to expand with a wave of clinical evidence, patient success stories and U.S. reimbursement confirmation," said Michael R. Minogue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Abiomed. "We remain committed to leading in innovation and technology and will be announcing specific investor updates on new Impella enhancements, new products and the Japan submission, later this year."