San Clemente-based medical device maker ICU Medical Inc. reported a big gain in second-quarter profits that met Wall Street expectations, but slowing sales to the company’s dominant customer held revenue flat.
ICU, which makes connectors used in the intravenous delivery of drugs and other devices, had second-quarter profits of $4.8 million, nearly double that of a year earlier.
The company’s profit beat the average expectation of Wall Street analysts and meet the highest projections of some analysts.
The profit gain has helped by new products and lower costs at factories in Utah and Mexico, Chief Executive George Lopez said.
Sales were another story, coming in flat from a year earlier at $48.6 million.
Falling sales to big customer Lake Forest, Ill.-based Hospira Inc. were behind the stagnant revenue.
Hospira sells ICU’s critical care products,connectors, patient monitors and products used in internal X-rays of blood vessels and organs,under its own brand name.
ICU’s sales through Hospira also fell in the first quarter. Some analysts have suggested the company should sell off the business.
The company made a push into critical care in 2005 when it bought a Salt Lake City manufacturing plant from Hospira and moved most of its San Clemente manufacturing to Utah.
ICU doesn’t give quarterly forecasts but said it foresees 2008 sales of $190 million to $200 million. Analysts had been expecting sales of $197 million on average.
The company said it could see 2008 profits of about $20 million, about what Wall Street had been expecting on average.
Shares of ICU Medical were up more than 6% at close of trading Thursday. The company has a market value of about $360 million.
