SAN DIEGO, Oct. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA), the leader in spine technology innovation, focused on transforming spine surgery with minimally disruptive, procedurally-integrated solutions, today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2018.
Third Quarter 2018 Highlights
“Our third quarter results reflect accelerated year-over-year revenue growth of nearly 10%, supported by strong performances in both spinal hardware and surgical support business lines with overall U.S. case volumes up more than 7%,” said Gregory T. Lucier, chairman and chief executive officer of NuVasive. “With the sense the overall U.S. spine market is trending healthier, we made strategic investments this quarter on the heels of this momentum in key R&D initiatives, additions to our commercial sales force and infrastructure upgrades to improve set fulfillment—all to support a strong start to 2019 and beyond.”
The Company’s financial results reflect continued improvement of its in-sourcing efforts at the West Carrollton, Ohio manufacturing facility, and the Company reiterated expectations that the facility will drive an additional 130 to 150 basis points in operating margins in 2019.
Lucier commented, “We made solid progress with our in-source manufacturing initiatives by bringing in additional SKUs during the third quarter with throughput ramping to higher volumes. This strategic investment is on track and will become a business advantage, both to drive a competitive cost position and to control the quality required to produce evermore complex implants.”
NuVasive also recently made several key technology introductions and partnership announcements, including the unveiling of the NuVasive Pulse™ surgical automation platform, Spine Precision Partnership with Siemens Healthineers and signing of a strategic partnership with Biedermann Technologies to further enhance NuVasive’s best-in-class complex spine deformity technologies. The Company also launched several new products to further reinvigorate its Biologics business line, which continues to recover at a faster-than-expected pace. The Company now anticipates its Biologic business will return to growth in the fourth quarter 2018.
A full reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures can be found in the tables of this news release.
Third Quarter 2018 Results
NuVasive reported third quarter 2018 total revenue of $271.3 million, a 9.8% increase compared to $247.1 million for the third quarter 2017. On a constant currency basis, third quarter 2018 total revenue increased 10.2% compared to the same period last year.
For the third quarter 2018, GAAP and non-GAAP gross profit was $197.1 million and $197.4 million, respectively, while GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin was 72.7% and 72.8%, respectively. These results compared to GAAP and non-GAAP gross profit of $181.5 million and $181.7 million, respectively, and both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin of 73.5% for the third quarter 2017. Total GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses were $179.2 million and $155.1 million, respectively, for the third quarter of 2018. These results compared to GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses of $151.1 million and $138.4 million, respectively, for the third quarter 2017.
NuVasive reported GAAP net income of $15.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the third quarter 2018 compared to GAAP net income of $33.5 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, for the third quarter 2017. On a non-GAAP basis, NuVasive reported net income of $29.5 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, for the third quarter 2018 compared to net income of $26.6 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, for the third quarter 2017.
The Company updated its full-year 2018 financial guidance by increasing its revenue guidance by $5 million to reflect a new range of $1,100 million to $1,110 million and reducing its non-GAAP operating margin guidance range to 15.0% – 15.5% as a result of accelerated investments in infrastructure and commercial sales force in anticipation of the overall spine market growth trending up to more historical averages.
- Full-year 2018 revenue in the range of $1,105 million to $1,110 million reflecting reported growth of 7.6% to 8.1%, and growth in the range of 5.7% to 6.2%, exclusive of the SafePassage acquisition;
- Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in a range of $2.15 to $2.23 compared with the prior expectation of $2.37 to $2.40;
- Non-GAAP operating profit margin in the range of 15.0% to 15.5%, compared with the prior expectation of 16.7%;
Adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of 24.4% to 24.9%, compared with the prior expectation of 25.9%; - Non-GAAP effective tax expense rate of approximately 21%;
- The Company expects currency to have a positive impact on revenue in 2018 of approximately $2 million compared with the prior expectation of $3 million; and
- The Company expects to drive an adjusted EBITDA of approximately $269 million to $276 million, compared with the prior expectation of approximately $283 million to $293 million.
The above guidance assumes a full-year benefit of U.S. tax reform, suspension of the medical device tax and the SafePassage acquisition