EXHIBIT 99.1
Dionex Reports Record Net Sales and Earnings for the Fourth Quarter
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Dionex Corporation (Nasdaq:DNEX) today announced record net sales and earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 and for the full year ended June 30, 2008.
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, sales were $98.7 million, an increase of 15% compared with the $86.0 million reported in the fourth quarter of last year. Currency fluctuations increased sales by $5.5 million, or 6%, for the fourth quarter compared with the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.76 for the fourth quarter, an increase of 25%, compared with the $0.61 reported in the fourth quarter of last year.
For the full year ended June 30, 2008, sales were $377.5 million, an increase of 15% compared with the $327.3 million reported for the same period of last year. Currency fluctuations increased sales by $18.3 million, or 6%, for the full year compared with the full fiscal year 2007. Diluted earnings per share were $2.77, an increase of 20% compared with the $2.31 reported for the full fiscal year 2007.
During the quarter, the Company repurchased 208,965 shares of its common stock for $14.9 million. In the full fiscal year 2008, the Company repurchased a total of 928,131 shares of its common stock for $70.3 million.
Lukas Braunschweiler, President and Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the results, said, "This very strong fourth quarter completes a record year of strong sales and EPS performance and new product introductions; a new milestone for the Company. We experienced strong growth in North America and the Asia Pacific regions and in both of our major product lines, ion chromatography and HPLC.
"We are pleased that we continued to achieve good growth in our major end-user markets in the fourth quarter, including the life sciences and environmental markets.
"Sales in North America grew 4% in the fourth quarter, adding to the very solid growth reported for the first nine months of fiscal 2008. Sales in Europe increased 16% in reported dollars, and were up in local currency, showing a nice recovery from the third quarter. Sales in our Asia/Pacific region grew 25% in the fourth quarter in reported dollars and 23% in local currency. We achieved strong sales growth in all major countries in the region, particularly in China and India. In addition, Japan sales grew 6% in the fourth quarter.
"Sales of our ion chromatography products were up 14% in the fourth quarter driven by strong demand for our IC instrumentation and consumables in North America and the Asia/Pacific region. We experienced 18% growth in HPLC products for the fourth quarter driven again by strong growth in North America and Asia/Pacific, and a nice recovery in Europe.
"Driven by the solid business performance, we decided to accelerate some of our expenditures and investments during the last two quarters, in order to further our expansion in Asia/Pacific, our new product introductions and our global IT platform deployment.
"We believe that these efforts combined with our strong performance in the fourth quarter and full year 2008 leave us in a good position for solid sales and earnings growth in fiscal year 2009. We estimate that net sales will be in the range of $91-$93 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009 and that diluted earnings per share will be in the range of $0.53-$0.56 per share. For the full year, we estimate that sales will be in the range of $403-$411 million and diluted earnings per share will be $3.01-$3.13. Among the assumptions on which our guidance is based are: (1) currency rates will have a minimal positive impact on sales for all of fiscal 2009; (2) our gross margin will be approximately 65-66% for fiscal 2009; (3) our tax rate for fiscal year 2009 should be in the range of 35%-36%."
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.
Management of the Company will discuss the fourth quarter results in a conference call on Thursday, August 7, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). To listen to the call live, please tune into the webcast via www.dionex.com. A playback of the conference call will be available from 8:00 a.m. PT, Friday, August 8, 2008 until 5:00 p.m. PT, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
Certain statements contained herein that are not purely historical (such as statements related to the Company's future plans and prospects including its sales and earnings growth estimates) may be deemed to be forward-looking statements which are subject to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events and the future financial performance of the Company that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors including: foreign currency fluctuations, competition from other products, economic conditions in the areas in which the company sells its products, and demand for analytical instrumentation and other factors listed in the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. The financial information contained in th is release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, each as it may be amended from time to time. The Company's results of operations for the fourth quarter and full year ended June 30, 2008 are not necessarily indicative of the Company's operating results for any future periods. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to the Company, which is subject to change. Although any such projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, the Company will not necessarily update the information, since the Company will only provide guidance at certain points during the year. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.
DIONEX CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (In thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended June 30, June 30, 2008 2007 2008 2007 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net sales $98,721 $85,954 $377,538 $327,284 Cost of sales 32,397 27,229 126,756 109,015 -------- -------- -------- -------- Gross profit 66,324 58,725 250,782 218,269 -------- -------- -------- -------- Operating expenses: Selling, general and administrative 38,331 33,131 142,545 123,525 Research and product development 7,437 6,528 28,943 24,737 -------- -------- -------- -------- Total operating expenses 45,768 39,659 171,488 148,262 -------- -------- -------- -------- Operating income 20,556 19,066 79,294 70,007 Interest income, net 279 364 1,334 1,100 Other income (expense) (689) 47 (2,230) 183 -------- -------- -------- -------- Income before taxes on income 20,146 19,477 78,398 71,290 Taxes on income 5,919 7,590 25,598 25,968 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net income $ 14,227 $ 11,887 $ 52,800 $ 45,322 ======== ======== ======== ======== Basic earnings per share $ 0.78 $ 0.63 $ 2.85 $ 2.37 ======== ======== ======== ======== Diluted earnings per share $ 0.76 $ 0.61 $ 2.77 $ 2.31 ======== ======== ======== ======== Shares used in computing per share amounts: Basic 18,218 18,904 18,506 19,136 ======== ======== ======== ======== Diluted 18,761 19,445 19,072 19,615 ======== ======== ======== ======== DIONEX CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS AT JUNE 30, 2008 AND 2007 (In thousands) (Unaudited) June 30, June 30, 2008 2007 -------- -------- ASSETS Current assets: Cash, cash equivalents and short term investments $ 75,624 $ 55,062 Accounts receivable, net 74,436 65,990 Inventories 31,627 28,626 Other current assets 25,353 21,096 -------- -------- Total current assets 207,040 170,774 Property, plant and equipment, net 72,335 62,366 Goodwill and other intangible assets 33,133 32,398 Other assets 19,637 6,231 -------- -------- $332,145 $271,769 ======== ======== LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Notes payable $ 21,805 $ 231 Accounts payable 16,086 12,293 Accrued liabilities 53,563 48,946 Income taxes payable 5,873 13,068 Accrued product warranty 3,444 2,875 -------- -------- Total current liabilities 100,771 77,413 Deferred income taxes and other 34,626 8,648 Stockholders' equity 196,748 185,708 -------- -------- $332,145 $271,769 ======== ========
CONTACT: Dionex Corporation Craig McCollam (408) 481-4107