ConMed reports preliminary 2014 results, issues 2015 guidance

UTICA, N.Y. — ConMed Corp.(NASDAQ: CNMD) has announced preliminary 2014 financial results and issued guidance for 2015.

For the just-completed 2014 calendar year, the Utica–based surgical-device maker said it expects to report sales between $739 million and $741 million. The firm expects adjusted earnings per share of $1.90 and $1.94, according to a news release ConMed issued Wednesday.

“I am pleased that, based on our preliminary numbers, we expect to deliver results within the range of the guidance we provided last July,” Curt Hartman, president and CEO, said in the release.

In last year’s second-quarter earnings report, ConMed had forecast 2014 sales in the range between $735 million and $745 million, compared to prior guidance of $770 million to $780 million.

The firm adjusted its guidance, figuring that some new products that launched in the second half of 2014 may need more time to “reach their potential.”

The adjusted estimates for 2014 exclude the costs of special charges for restructuring, shareholder activism, and senior-management changes, the company said. The firm will reconcile the costs in its earnings release for the fourth quarter of 2014, which it expects to issue on Jan. 27.

For 2015, ConMed expects to generate full-year revenue between $740 million and $755 million and adjusted earnings per share in a range between $1.92 and $2.02, the release stated.

Looking ahead in 2015, Hartman has also announced a series of changes to the commercial structure of ConMed that the firm anticipates will “reposition the company for growth.”

For 2015, the adjusted estimates for earnings per share exclude special charges for restructuring activities which the company cannot currently quantify, the business said.

“In addition to the announced commercial-management changes, we are combining the domestic Advanced Energy and Endomechanical organizations to take advantage of our broad product offering, to increase our account coverage, to focus our innovation efforts, and to leverage our infrastructure. While some of these changes will likely cause sales disruption in the short term, the goal of these changes is to position ConMed to grow at or above market rates in all the markets we serve,” said Hartman.

ConMed announced the earnings results and guidance before the open of trading Wednesday. The medical-device maker’s shares rose 2 cents yesterday, but were trading down 72 cents to $46.07 today, as of 1:48 p.m.