EXHIBIT 99.1
October 20, 2004 | Contact: Craig McCollam Dionex Corporation 408-481-4107 |
DIONEX REPORTS RECORD SALES AND EARNINGS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER
FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2004, 1:05 P.M. PDT
Sunnyvale, California — Dionex Corporation (NASDAQ: DNEX) today announced record sales and earnings for its first quarter of fiscal 2005.
For the first quarter ended September 30, 2004, sales were $63.2 million, an increase of 19%, compared with the $53.3 million reported in the first quarter of last year. Excluding the favorable effects of currency fluctuations, sales grew by 13% for the quarter. Operating income for the quarter was $14.3 million, an increase of 24%, compared with the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.45, an increase of 29%, compared with the $0.35 reported for the same quarter last year. Cash flow from operations for the quarter was very strong, totaling approximately $14 million.
During the first quarter, the Company repurchased 303,100 shares of its common stock for a total of $13.7 million.
Lukas Braunschweiler, President and Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the results, said, “We started the year very strongly as we reported record sales and EPS for a first quarter, and our operating income grew 24% for the quarter. These results continue a series of ten quarters with strong growth. Our growth in operating income and diluted earnings per share was mainly driven by higher sales and good cost controls.
“Looking at sales, we experienced solid growth in our three major geographic regions and in our ion chromatography and HPLC product lines, compared with sales from the first quarter of fiscal 2004. Sales in North America grew in the high-single digits for the quarter. Sales in Europe grew in the high teens in reported dollars and mid-single digits in local currency. We are very pleased with the continued growth coming from Europe as economic conditions in certain countries continue to be difficult. Sales in Asia/Pacific grew over 40% for the quarter, driven by strong growth in all countries, especially Japan and China. Compared with the last two quarters, there were minimal incremental sales from the new drinking water analysis regulations enacted in Japan in our last fiscal year.
“If we look at the markets that we serve, we experienced good growth in our major markets: life sciences, environmental, chemical/petrochemical and power.
“We believe that we are well-positioned for continued growth in fiscal 2005. Looking at the second quarter, we forecast that sales will be in the range of $70-$72 million and that diluted earnings per share will be in the range of $0.53-$0.55. For the entire year, we forecast that sales will be in the range of $277-$286 million and diluted earnings per share in the range of $2.14-$2.19. These forecasts are based on the following assumptions: (a) continued improvements in the U.S. and European economies, (b) the incremental sales from the drinking water analysis regulations enacted in Japan in fiscal 2004 will be minimal in fiscal 2005, and (c) currency fluctuations will provide a very small benefit to sales and earnings per share in the second quarter and the full fiscal year. Overall, we anticipate our underlying business will grow as strongly in 2005 as in fiscal 2004 (excluding the incremental sales in Japan and currency benefits).”
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 first quarter results in a conference call on Wednesday, October 20, 2004 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, Thursday, October 21, 2004 until 5:00 p.m. PT, Friday, December 31, 2004.
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, economic conditions in the areas in which the company sells its products, competition from other products, ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and existing product obsolescence. These factors and other risk 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 | ||||||||
September 30, | ||||||||
2004 | 2003 | |||||||
Net sales | $ | 63,208 | $ | 53,276 | ||||
Cost of sales | 21,576 | 18,008 | ||||||
Gross profit | 41,632 | 35,268 | ||||||
Operating expenses: | ||||||||
Selling, general and administrative | 22,418 | 19,168 | ||||||
Research and product development | 4,929 | 4,571 | ||||||
Total operating expenses | 27,347 | 23,739 | ||||||
Operating income | 14,285 | 11,529 | ||||||
Interest income, net | 150 | 49 | ||||||
Other income (expense) | 455 | (332 | ) | |||||
Income before taxes on income | 14,890 | 11,246 | ||||||
Taxes on income | 5,226 | 3,655 | ||||||
Net income | $ | 9,664 | $ | 7,591 | ||||
Basic earnings per share | $ | 0.47 | $ | 0.36 | ||||
Diluted earnings per share | $ | 0.45 | $ | 0.35 | ||||
Shares used in computing per share amounts: | ||||||||
Basic | 20,718 | 20,981 | ||||||
Diluted | 21,493 | 21,786 | ||||||
DIONEX CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
AT SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 AND JUNE 30, 2004
(In thousands)
September 30, | June 30, | |||||||||||
2004 | 2004 | |||||||||||
(Unaudited) | ||||||||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||||||
Current assets: | ||||||||||||
Cash and equivalents | $ | 61,605 | $ | 57,182 | ||||||||
Short-term investments | 1,863 | 1,604 | ||||||||||
Accounts receivable, net | 49,417 | 53,128 | ||||||||||
Inventories | 25,229 | 24,838 | ||||||||||
Other current assets | 14,540 | 14,168 | ||||||||||
Total current assets | 152,654 | 150,920 | ||||||||||
Property, plant and equipment, net | 47,125 | 46,656 | ||||||||||
Goodwill and other intangible assets | 28,802 | 29,032 | ||||||||||
Other assets | 8,026 | 8,857 | ||||||||||
$ | 236,607 | $ | 235,465 | |||||||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||||||||||
Current liabilities: | ||||||||||||
Notes payable | $ | 1,316 | $ | 1,468 | ||||||||
Accounts payable | 7,736 | 8,113 | ||||||||||
Accrued liabilities | 31,163 | 31,822 | ||||||||||
Income taxes payable | 2,430 | 2,214 | ||||||||||
Accrued product warranty | 3,754 | 3,584 | ||||||||||
Total current liabilities | 46,399 | 47,201 | ||||||||||
Deferred income taxes and other | 4,847 | 4,810 | ||||||||||
Stockholders’ equity | 185,361 | 183,454 | ||||||||||
$ | 236,607 | $ | 235,465 | |||||||||
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