EX-99.1 2 f08206exv99w1.htm EXHIBIT 99.1 exv99w1
 

Exhibit 99.1

         
April 21, 2005
  Contact:   Craig McCollam
Dionex Corporation
408-481-4107

DIONEX REPORTS SALES AND EARNINGS FOR THE THIRD QUARTER

  FOR RELEASE THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2005, P.M., 1:05 PST  

Sunnyvale, California – Dionex Corporation (NASDAQ:DNEX) today announced sales and earnings for its third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2005.

For the third quarter ended March 31, 2005, sales were $70.8 million, up slightly compared with the $70.7 million reported for the same period last year. Favorable currency fluctuations added two percentage points to sales growth this quarter. Diluted earnings per share were $0.56 for the third quarter, unchanged compared with the $0.56 reported for the third quarter of last year. Cash flow from operations was $10 million in the third quarter.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2005, sales were $208.2 million, an increase of 10%, compared with the $189.6 million reported for the first nine months of fiscal 2004. Currency fluctuations added four percentage points to our sales growth for the first nine months of fiscal 2005. Diluted earnings per share were $1.59, an increase of 14%, compared with the $1.40 reported for the first nine months of fiscal 2004. Cash flow from operations for the first nine months was $38 million.

During the third quarter, the Company repurchased 246,300 shares of its common stock. In the first nine months of fiscal 2005, a total of 767,500 shares were repurchased compared to the 652,700 shares repurchased in the same period of fiscal 2004.

Lukas Braunschweiler, President and Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the results, said, “Despite reporting record sales for a third quarter, the quarterly results did not meet our expectations. However, excluding an incremental $5 million of nonrecurring sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2004 related to the new drinking water analysis regulations enacted in Japan last year, sales grew by 8% in the third quarter and 13% in the first nine months.

“Coming into the third quarter we felt that we had good momentum to continue the strong results we have reported for the last 11 quarters. However, we experienced unexpected weakness in some of our major market segments and geographic regions.

“Sales in our Life Sciences market were flat and in our Environmental market sales were down this quarter. Sales in our Chemical/Petrochemical and Food/Beverage markets were up. The weakness in our Life Sciences business was mainly due to slower project spending at some of our larger pharmaceutical customers. In Environmental, we experienced reduced spending by governmental laboratories.

 

 

“Sales in North America were flat in the quarter; demand from some of our major pharmaceutical customers was particularly weak. Sales in Europe grew in the mid-single digits this quarter and were up slightly in local currencies; we experienced weaker demand in our Life Sciences and Environmental markets. Sales in Asia/Pacific declined in the quarter, as expected; however, sales grew in the double-digits in this region, excluding the incremental $5 million of nonrecurring sales referred to above. We experienced continued strong growth in China, Korea, Australia and India.

“We believe that we are in a good position to finish the year with a solid annual performance, despite a very challenging third quarter. Looking at the fourth quarter we are cautiously optimistic, as we have the right products at hand to meet our customers’ needs. The new high-end ICS-3000 RFIC ion chromatography and the new UltiMate 3000 nano/micro flow HPLC systems launched at the 2005 Pittsburgh Conference in late February have been well received by our customers and further enhance our capabilities. In fact, we won two distinctive innovation awards for the ICS-3000 at the Conference.

“We estimate that our sales will be in the range of $69.5-$72.5 million and our diluted earnings per share in the range of $0.49-$0.55 for the fourth quarter. This forecast would result in sales of approximately $278-$281 million, diluted earnings per share of $2.09-$2.14 and sales growth of 7%-9% for the entire fiscal year. The forecast is based on the following assumptions: (a) the demand from our pharmaceutical and environmental customers will improve in the fourth quarter from the levels observed in the third quarter, but not recover to the levels seen in previous quarters; (b) foreign currency rates will not have a significant impact in the fourth quarter, (c) sales in the fourth quarter will not reflect any benefit from the drinking water analysis regulations enacted in Japan in fiscal 2004, which added $3 million in nonrecurring sales in the fourth quarter last year, and (d) further incremental operating expenses will be incurred due to the Sarbanes-Oxley 404 certification process.”

Dionex Corporation is a leading manufacturer and marketer of chromatography systems for chemical analysis. The Company’s systems are used in environmental analysis and by the life sciences, food and beverage, chemicals, petrochemicals, power generation and electronics industries in a variety of applications.

The Company will discuss third quarter results in a conference call on Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). To listen to the call live, please turn into the webcast via www.Dionex.com. A playback of the conference call will be available from 8:00 a.m. PT, Friday, April 22, 2005 until 5:00 p.m. PT, Thursday, June 30, 2005.

Certain statements regarding sales and earnings contained herein that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect sales and earnings causing actual results to differ from these statements are foreign currency fluctuations, demand in the analytical instrumentation market, economic conditions in the areas in which the company sells its products, ability to manufacture products in an efficient and timely basis and at a reasonable cost and in sufficient volume, competition from other products, ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and existing product obsolescence. These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in the Company’s Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

 

DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

                                 
    Three Months Ended     Nine Months Ended  
    March 31,     March 31,  
    2005     2004     2005     2004  
Net sales
   $ 70,801     $ 70,746     $ 208,161     $ 189,561  
Cost of sales
     22,941       24,629       69,190       64,474  
 
                        
Gross profit
     47,860       46,117       138,971       125,087  
 
                        
 
                                
Operating expenses:
                                
Selling, general and administrative
     26,060       23,367       73,895       65,429  
Research and product development
     4,801       4,606       15,127       14,204  
 
                        
Total operating expenses
     30,861       27,973       89,022       79,633  
 
                        
 
                                
Operating income
     16,999       18,144       49,949       45,454  
 
                                
Interest income, net
     347       148       755       360  
Other income
     67       60       380       (268 )
 
                        
 
                                
Income before taxes on income
     17,413       18,352       51,084       45,546  
Taxes on income
     5,453       5,965       16,732       14,803  
 
                        
Net income
   $ 11,960     $ 12,387     $ 34,352     $ 30,743  
 
                        
 
                                
Basic earnings per share
   $ 0.58     $ 0.58     $ 1.66     $ 1.46  
 
                        
Diluted earnings per share
   $ 0.56     $ 0.56     $ 1.59     $ 1.40  
 
                        
Shares used in computing per share amounts:
                                
Basic
     20,763       21,180       20,755       21,099  
 
                        
Diluted
     21,543       22,177       21,561       21,983  
 
                        

 

 

DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AT MARCH 31, 2005 AND JUNE 30, 2004
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

                 
    March 31,     June 30,  
    2005     2004  
ASSETS
                
 
                
Current assets:
                
Cash, cash equivalents and short term investments
   $ 67,381     $ 58,786  
Accounts receivable, net
     56,883       53,128  
Inventories
     27,220       24,838  
Other current assets
     14,715       14,168  
 
            
 
                
Total current assets
     166,199       150,920  
 
                
Property, plant and equipment, net
     49,311       46,656  
Goodwill and other intangible assets
     28,459       29,032  
Other assets
     8,194       8,857  
 
            
 
   $ 252,163     $ 235,465  
 
            
 
                
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
                
 
                
Current liabilities:
                
Notes payable
   $ 140     $ 1,468  
Accounts payable
     8,417       8,113  
Accrued liabilities
     30,897       31,822  
Income taxes payable
     95       2,214  
Accrued product warranty
     3,820       3,584  
 
            
 
                
Total current liabilities
     43,369       47,201  
 
                
Deferred income taxes and other
     4,484       4,810  
Stockholders’ equity
     204,310       183,454  
 
            
 
   $ 252,163     $ 235,465  
 
            

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