Shares of infant formula and dietary supplements maker Martek Biosciences Corp. (Nasdaq: MATK) were up as much as 18 percent from Thursday’s close, after the company announced a 14 percent increase in second quarter earnings driven by its recent acquisition of Amerifit Brands.
For the quarter ended April 30, Martek earned $12.6 million, or 37 cents per share, up from $11 million, or 33 cents per share, during the same period a year prior. Excluding charges, the company said it would have earned 45 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter was up 34 percent to $124 million from $92.4 million a year ago.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected net income of 32 cents per share on revenue of $114.9 million.
Martek completed its $200 million buyout of Amerifit Brands in February. Branded consumer health products from the Amerifit buyout added $18 million to revenue. Sales from the company’s infant formula business rose 12 percent to $86.3 million while sales in Martek’s food and beverage business were up 52 percent to $4.5 million. Sales of products in its pregnancy and nursing, nutritional supplements and animal feeds business grew by 30 percent to $8.8 million.
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Martek Biosciences expects third-quarter net income between 33 cents and 36 cents per share on revenue between $113 million and $118 million. Analysts have forecast net income of 39 cents per share on $112.6 million in revenue, on average. For the full fiscal year, the company expects revenue between $440 million and $445 million — which tops analysts’ average $439.1 million estimate.
“The improving economy, new launches of products with Martek’s life’sDHA, growing international markets for Martek’s products and sales of Amerifit’s branded consumer health products all contributed to Martek’s record quarterly results,” said Martek’s CEO, Steve Dublin in a statement. “This year as a whole is looking strong from a revenue perspective, although revenues for the balance of 2010 are projected to be somewhat uneven on a quarter-to-quarter basis due to customer plant shutdowns for maintenance and other timing matters. Martek’s strong run rate coming out of fiscal 2010 should provide an excellent platform from which to grow as some of Martek’s new products currently in development begin to hit the market over the next eighteen months as additional consumer brands launched through Amerifit’s marketing and distribution channels.”
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