Earnings Labs

ICU Medical, Inc. (ICUI)

Q4 2013 Earnings Call· Thu, Feb 20, 2014

$120.56

-1.86%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. And welcome to the ICU Medical Incorporated Q4 2013 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would like to turn the conference to our host, Mr. John Mills. Sir, you may begin.

John Mills

Analyst

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to review ICU Medical's financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2013. On the call today, representing ICU Medical is Vivek Jain, who joined last week as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman; and Scott Lamb, Chief Financial Officer. Vivek will start the call with a brief overview and then Scott will discuss fourth quarter financial performance and provide financial guidance for the fiscal year 2014. Finally, the company will open the call for your questions. Before we start, I want to touch upon any forward-looking statements made during the call, including management's beliefs and expectations about the company's future results. Please be aware they are based on the best available information to management and assumptions that management believes are reasonable. Such statements are not intended to be a representation of future results and are subject to risk and uncertainties. Future results may differ materially from management's current expectations. We refer all of you to the company's SEC filings for more detailed information on the risk and uncertainties that have a direct bearing on operating results and performance and financial conditions. Please note that during today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including results on an adjusted basis. We believe these adjusted financial measures can facilitate a more complete analysis and greater transparency into ICU's ongoing results of operations, particularly in comparing underlying results from period-to-period. With that said, I'll now turn the call over to Vivek Jain. Go ahead, Vivek.

Vivek Jain

Analyst

Thanks, John. Good afternoon, everyone. As John mentioned, I joined ICU Medical last week as the new CEO. Most recently, I was at the CareFusion Corporation, leading 1 of their 2 operating divisions and have responsibility for the majority of the disposable products there with over $1.3 billion in revenues across a variety of business units. I was at CareFusion and its predecessor company, Cardinal Health, for almost 7 years. And it was a very difficult decision to leave, but I felt the opportunity was compelling at ICU Medical. I wanted to thank my previous employer for the experience that I was offered, and I know CareFusion is an excellent, well-managed company filled with dedicated people, and I believe it will absolutely continue to be successful. I thought I'd take a moment and tell you the 3 basic reasons why I thought ICU represented such a good long-term opportunity. First, there are a set of deep core competencies here. ICU Medical is one of the world's most competitive manufacturer of these products. We're able to deliver these products to our channel partners and our direct customers at the highest quality and produced them at the most competitive prices. We've also become the clear leader in the ability to offer customization that the customer deeply values, and that stems from a set of operational processes that are very difficult for anybody else to reproduce. High quality, competitive production cost and customization comes from years of deep focus in this category, as well as real commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars of capital investment over the years into our manufacturing platforms. The second thing I'd like was that there were a set of macro tailwinds pushing parts of the business forward in certain very important areas. The first is around oncology…

Scott E. Lamb

Analyst

Thanks, Vivek. Before I begin, let me remind all of you that the sales numbers we are covering, as well as our financial statements are available on the Investor portion of our website for your review. Our fourth quarter 2013 revenue was $78 million compared to $83 million in the same period last year. Our fourth quarter revenue was lower than we previously expected. The growth in our oncology business was offset by lower-than-expected revenue in all our other market segments. Fourth quarter 2013 EBITDA was $19 million compared to $24 million in the same period last year. The decline was primarily due to a decline in revenue and increased operating expenses. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $13 million, or $0.86 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $12 million or $0.82 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2012. Our fourth quarter 2013 net income benefited from a lower tax rate of 3.1% compared to the same period last year of 34.8%. The lower tax rate was due to a onetime gain from foreign tax benefits and certain domestic tax credits. For the full fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, our revenue was $314 million compared to $317 million in the same period last year. EBITDA for the full year of 2013 was $72 million compared to $81 million in the same period last year. Net income for the full fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, was $40 million or $2.65 per diluted share compared to net income of $41 million or $2.80 per diluted share for the same period last year. Now let me discuss briefly our fourth quarter revenue performance by market segment. You can also view our detailed market segmentation in our earnings press release. For the fourth quarter…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And our first cushion comes from Tim Gunderson of Piper Jaffray.

Thomas J. Gunderson - Piper Jaffray Companies, Research Division

Analyst

Should have spelled Tom, it's Tom Gunderson. So, Vivek. Maybe you could give us -- no, 2014 is you're setting the bar down there. We've seen this happen before, you're being realistic with what the markets are out there, but you also have to start turning the growth profile around and setting yourself up, like Scott said, for a better 2015. Can you give us a sense -- and you mentioned as one of your 3 basic reasons for coming over is the financial strength and the $20 cash per share. So with all that as a prelude, can you give us a sense of how you view both now and in your previous experience, acquisitions and maybe divestitures, and whether you think that you need to grow globally with acquisitions and what kind of acquisitions might be as far as size and dilution?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

Sure. I'm all of 5 days into this thing, so I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get to all of that. But I think, I'd first start with your 2014 question. I don't really think this is very much about moving the bar, to use your words there. I think it's just about being realistic about what's happened in the marketplace. All those other companies are publicly reported companies and you can do your own work, but I think it's pretty self-evident as to what's been going on. So I think it's just very important to finally get to the place of acknowledging that for this company. And then turning to the future, I think it's really going to be a balance of organic, which is executing well on the selling and marketing the products that we already have, finishing the development of some the stuff that's in the pipeline. Inorganically, yes, I do think down the road, that hopefully, we're lucky enough and have the credibility to undertake those activities. I would say, after 5 days of being here, the company is relatively immature in some of the areas and having the ability to absorb something else right now. And so what Scott talked about in renovating a bit is getting some of those things in order. I don't think there's going to be some rush to deploy capital here. I think it's much more about just getting the basics in order for the near term.

Thomas J. Gunderson - Piper Jaffray Companies, Research Division

Analyst

And then a shorter question, and that is on how you look at sales and marketing going forward here. In a year where you're being more realistic, one could see a contraction in the sales force. On the other hand, the most recent information we had was an expansion of the sales force to take better advantage of the sales productivity, which way are you leaning?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

I don't really have an opinion yet, Tom. I got to do the work and get in there. I mean, I think this company was built off the back of really good innovation and really passionate sales and marketing, really committed sales and marketing. And I'm going to be very careful tinkering with it, I have experience along those lines, and I want to take a little bit of time and be prudent around that.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Jayson Bedford of Raymond James. Jayson T. Bedford - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: I guess just a couple of questions. In terms of the IV therapy business, you talked about temporal issues. Can you just expand a more of what those temporal issues are and how can they be kind of remedied, if you will?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

I think those issues are obviously a change in the U.S. marketplace. I think at the end of the day, where we feel the knock-on effect of what's going on there. All we can do and what we intend to do is to support our partners by helping them be successful. I don't think it's going to be our role that changes that. Our job is to go make sure we know our role as an OEM player to them and make sure we bring the right support that they have to succeed in front of customers. Jayson T. Bedford - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: And just your non-OEM business, I think, you said is flat. Why wouldn't that grow a little bit? It seems like you've got a decent tailwind with some GPO contracts, just curious why wouldn't that grow?

Scott E. Lamb

Analyst

Yes, Jayson. This is Scott. Yes, we expect that to be roughly flat. Maybe we see a few percentage points growth there, but roughly flat. The market dynamics that Vivek spoke about are affecting everyone. So whether it's our channel partners or us direct, we were facing the same type of headwinds. Jayson T. Bedford - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: Maybe to Tom's earlier question, the SG&A, if my math is correct, it's a decent jump in '14 versus '13. Are you planning on adding folks, or is this more just a bigger marketing spend?

Scott E. Lamb

Analyst

Well, Jayson, 2 things. First of all, there's some noncash items in there and we broke out those for you on the adjusted EPS. And as Vivek and I mentioned, going forward, we'll look at how other companies are doing their reporting and our situation, and we'll continue to report out in such a manner. But I think focusing mostly on noncash is the largest driver.

Vivek Jain

Analyst

Its Vivek. I'll just jump in. I think I know where you're heading with that question. And ultimately, for a small companies like this, it has to be about growth, right? And so I don't really want to rush the judgment on expenses and the SG&A line. I've a pretty good sense of what benchmarks in the industry are, and we'll always be looking at those. But the first question is creating value here has to be growing. And we need to get back to that and that's going to take some time. And that's what's solidifying our base was about. Jayson T. Bedford - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: And just lastly, Vivek, are there any kind of non-competes or any type of restrictions that carry over from your prior employer?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

I would prefer, Jayson, not to talk about those on the call. I think -- I don't think this is the right forum for that.

Operator

Operator

And our next question comes from Chris Lewis of Roth Capital Partners.

Chris Lewis - Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division

Analyst

In your prepared comments, Vivek, you mentioned the income statement being able to be influenced quickly. I was just hoping, first of all, you could expand on that a bit? And then possibly, talk about what areas of investment you see kind of has the immediate needs here to reaccelerate the growth trajectory that you just talked about?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

Yes, well, I mean, I think you're seeing the reality of what a small income statement means and how quickly it can be affected by what's going on right now in the marketplace. And that I don't mean that in a good way, right? So I think that same applies in the upside if we are able to grow. Right now we're feeling -- you feel a lot of pain for every dollar of revenues we're not getting. Going forward, I think the investments are, again, largely along the lines of what Scott described, some core infrastructure, some improvement of marketing, some finishing of R&D programs, et cetera. I don't think it's perfectly developed here after 5 days yet, but you could tell the company was growing a very certain way and a very lean way that made a lot of sense to get where it got. But I think going forward, we're going to need a little bit more processed, a little bit more institutionalization of things. I want to be careful, we are not talking about a large amount of money. There's very small dollars, again, on the small income statement, nor are we talking about putting in any sort of corporate expense, it's investment that I know we need to block that will drive revenue down the road.

Chris Lewis - Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division

Analyst

Okay. And then shift in to oncology, fourth quarter showed a bit of a slowdown there, just in terms of the year-over-year growth rate. And then guidance, I think implies a slightly slower growth outlook in 2014 versus 2013. You sounded pretty positive when talking about that, so can you talk about that segment and kind of the expectations there in 2014?

Scott E. Lamb

Analyst

Yes, absolutely. So Chris, we see it growing in absolute dollars relatively the same in 2014 over 2013. We're seeing more competitors getting into this space. Yet at the same time, this is a growing market, and this is a market that we expect to continue to grow in and be one of the leaders. So oncology remains a very focal point of ours.

Chris Lewis - Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division

Analyst

Okay. And then can you break out the $11 million in noncash expenses in 2014?

Scott E. Lamb

Analyst

No, I can't, really. As far as that goes but examples will be amortization of intangibles, stock compensation expense as a couple of examples to give you.

Chris Lewis - Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division

Analyst

And then just last one for me. Can you talk about new product expectations in 2014 and what's assumed in terms of new product revenues in the guidance you provided?

Scott E. Lamb

Analyst

Well, Chris, when new products become relevant, then we'll talk about them. So I'm not trying to back away from that, but I think at this point right now, we're more focused on working with our channel partners and growing the business in the ways that Vivek described.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from Mitra Ramgopal of Sidoti. L. Mitra Ramgopal - Sidoti & Company, LLC: Just a couple of questions. First, I know it's been only 5 days and there's a lot to digest but I think you said one of the things that attracted you to ICU was the financial profile or the balance sheet, so to speak. As you look in terms of deploying cash I know not immediately, but how would you sort of prioritize it as it relates to say, acquisitions, potential share buybacks or even a dividend, et cetera? Or is it pretty much going to be in growth mode?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

Look, I think we're going to have responsible capital deployment I think for a small company, it is more value creating to find growth than to be doing never-ending buybacks. That said, our board did authorize a bit of a larger buyback, as Scott mentioned, we'll be responsible about it just like we'll be responsible on the acquisition front, when we have the trust to do that, when we do things at the right value. We're going to make sure that this is the right thing to do. So you're not going to see us rush or reach or do something like that with our capital buybacks [ph]. It's very hard for small companies like this to acquire this much capital they have and we have to be very careful protecting it. L. Mitra Ramgopal - Sidoti & Company, LLC: Great. And again, as you kind of -- if you look at the sort of the product segments here, is there a lot of room for you to sort of diversify even more? For example, once infusion therapy becomes sort of an issue, are there other segments then you can potentially layer on or maybe get rid of something like a critical care that has been a drag for the last several years?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

Yes. I mean obviously I have a lot of experience in divestitures also, given some of the things that I've been associated with. I feel like it's very hard for small companies to get smaller immediately. So again, just like I don't think we'd rush into deploying capital, I don't think we're going to rush into any decisions about removal of businesses. The more interesting opportunities are exactly what you said, which are what other categories, niche categories are out there for us to look at over time. And I would say, I think there are absolutely categories that may not be the ones we're in today, but its something where our core skills around manufacturing and design, et cetera, play an important role. I'd rather get not be very clear on that. I think some of those could be very unique to us. But there's definitely ones out there at sizes that make sense for a company like ours. L. Mitra Ramgopal - Sidoti & Company, LLC: And finally, as it relates to sort of distribution channels, is there also room for diversification, say beyond Hospira, so to speak?

Vivek Jain

Analyst

I don't think I have any opinion on that yet. After 5 days, I need to get through really looking at where all the business has held and the shape of the business before I would comment on that today.

Operator

Operator

That conclude our Q&A session. I'd now like to turn it back over to Scott Lamb for closing remarks.

Scott E. Lamb

Analyst

Okay. Well, thank you, everyone, for participating in today's call. And we look forward to updating you on our 2014 progress on our first quarter call in April. Thank you.

Vivek Jain

Analyst

Thanks, folks.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your attendance. You may now disconnect. Have a great day.