Synovis Life Technologies' stock jumped 18 percent in morning trading before closing Wednesday up $1.31, or 7.5 percent, at $18.69. The medical products firm reported first-quarter results that included a 64 percent increase in the sale of its microsurgery products. On Jan. 31 the company sold its non-core interventional business to concentrate on the fast-growing surgical and microsurgical products.
Gross margin in the first quarter rose four percentage points to 67.4 percent, which largely was because of increased sales of its high-margin Veritas and Peri-Strips products. Those tissue-based products are used in bariatric procedures for the treatment of obesity.
SYNOVIS LIFE TECHNOLOGIES INC.
(SYNO) Makes surgical tools for applications including bariatric, general, vascular, neuro, reconstructive and microsurgery and tissue based products. 1st quarter FY2008, 1/31
2008 2007 % chg. Revenue $11.3 $8.4 +34.1 Cont. ops. 1.2 0.5 +140.4 Disc. ops -0.0 -0.2 -- Extra* 5.3 -- -- Income 6.5 0.3 +2367.8 Earn/share 0.51 0.02 +2450.0 Figures in millions except for earnings per share.
* 1st quarter 2008 extra is gain on sale of discontinued interventional business.
Earnings per share from continuing operations was $0.09 per share vs $0.04 per share during the first quarter last year.
